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…but not is the way I wanted. From the Washington Post:

The Supreme Court has unanimously upheld a 10-year prison sentence for cocaine possession, rejecting a claim that harsh penalties in federal law apply only to crack cocaine.

An interview with Richard Branson about drugs. In the Guardian: “I’ve seen the war on drugs and I’ve not been impressed.” That must be what they call classic British understatement.

“I’m the sort of person who is extreme at anything they do. I’m therefore careful not to overindulge.” He has admitted to taking other drugs including cocaine and ecstasy in the past. The vast majority of people, himself included, can use drugs safely and occasionally, he says.

It’s the sort of candour that doesn’t play well with politicians, even in an age when the president of the US has openly admitted he has taken drugs, and that he even inhaled. Branson isn’t expecting to convert David Cameron or any other politician overnight: “I talk to a lot of politicians and, individually, almost every single one of them knows that this is the right approach. They all are just terrified of the Daily Mail. If the Daily Mail changes its approach, the politicians will change their approach. If the Daily Mail don’t, they won’t.” The situation is “sad” he says.
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But the problem is that politicians use the war on drugs to score points off each other. “The opposite of war on drugs is soft on drugs in some people’s minds,” says Branson.

The same arguments hold true for prostitution, he says. Politicians don’t want to say it, but if prostitution were decriminalised and brothels were safe places for sex workers and their clients, society would benefit.

Ian Birrell give a nice new twist to the same-old-same-old in the Guardian’s Observer Magazine:

In 1998, the United Nations committed member states to achieve a “drug-free world”, pledging to eliminate or “significantly reduce” use of opium, cannabis and cocaine by 2008. Instead, global opiate use rose by more than one-third over that time, with big rises also for cocaine and cannabis.
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Politicians say they fear drug use would rise if prohibition is lifted. Evidence from abroad shows they are wrong. Look at Scandinavia, where the tough Swedes and more liberal Norwegians have similar addiction rates. Or Switzerland, where heroin demand and crime fell sharply following new policies based on public health rather than legality. Or Portugal, where heroin use fell by half after decriminalisation.
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So here is a suggestion for our three main party leaders, who are all young enough to know better: why not hoist the white flag and work out a unified way to end a struggle that does so much more harm than good?

The alternative is to carry on fighting like generals in the First World War, ignoring the deaths, the devastation and the wastelands created around the world in a battle than can never be won.