NEWS RELEASE FROM THE LIBERTARIAN ALLIANCE
In Association with the Libertarian International
London, Monday 26th January 2004
Contact Details: Sean Gabb, 07956 472 199,
sean@libertarian.co.uk
For other contact and link details,
www.libertarian.co.uk/news/nr012.htm
"Relaxed Law on Cannabis Step in Right Direction, but
Nowhere Near Far Enough", Says Free Market and Civil Liberties
Think Tank
On Thursday the 29th January, cannabis will be downgraded from a
Class B to a Class C substance, which means users will no longer
face a prison sentence. This is a step in the right direction, but
does not go far enough, says Dr Sean Gabb, Director of
Communications for the Libertarian Alliance. The real answer to the
drug problem is full legalisation.
"Any adult should be able to walk into a pharmacy, and
without showing identification or any permit, buy as much of
whatever substance he or she can afford. Whether this is for
recreational use or self-medication is unimportant", he
says.
Only legalisation will end the problem of organised criminal
networks that now control the supply, and will remove users from an
economic and cultural environment in which it is normal for them to
finance their habits by crime.
"We must go back to the good old days before 1920"
says Dr Gabb, "when individuals were free to make their own
lifestyle choices."
Sean Gabb is available for media comment on 07956 472 199
ENDS
Note to Editors
1) Dr Sean Gabb sits on the Executive Committee of the Libertarian
Alliance and edits its journal “Free Life”. His latest
book, Dispatches from a Dying Country: Reflections on Modern
England, is available from Politico’s.
He can be contacted for further comment on 07956 472 199 or by
email at sean@libertarian.co.uk
2) The Libertarian Alliance has previously published four reports
on relegalising drugs. These are available on our website
(www.libertarian.co.uk) or in hard copy on request.
The Libertarian Alliance is Britain’s most radical free market
and civil liberties policy institute. It has published over 700
articles, pamphlets and books in support of freedom and against
statism in all its forms. These are freely available at
The Libertarian Alliance
Suite 35
2 Lansdowne Row
Mayfair
London
W1J 6HL
Tel: 07956 472 199
Associated Organisations
The Libertarian International - http://www.libertarian.to - is a
sister organisation to the Libertarian Alliance. Its mission is to
coordinate various initiatives in the defence of individual liberty
throughout the world.
Sean Gabb's personal website - http://www.seangabb.co.uk - contains
about 800,000 words of writings on themes interesting to libertarians
and conservatives
Liberalia - http://www.liberalia.com - maintained
by by LA Executive member Christian Michel, Liberalia publishes
in-depth papers in French and English on libertarianism,
anarcho-capitalism and the free market. It is a prime source of
documentation on these issues for students and scholars.
Libertarian Samizdata - http://www.samizdata.net - works in
association with the Libertarian Alliance and has an ever larger
following. Check it out.
