It was bold from Starmer to go on Sun TV’s first show with Harry Cole. He should have known that Cole would be asking the more fun and personal questions. Still, when asked if he had ever taken drugs, Starmer stonewalled. Harry challenged Keir: “When did you last take illegal drugs?” All Keir would confirm was that “Harry, I had a good time when I was a student”. When asked what a good time was, Keir simply repeated the line “It means I had a good time.” Starmer, characteristically, stayed on the fence.
Guido reminds his readers of an anecdote of a square, slightly fresher faced Starmer. In 1989, the young barrister argued on our behalf that Thames Valley Police had acted unlawfully by setting up roadblocks and confiscating sound equipment to prevent a Sunrise rave from taking place. Amongst small talk with the rave organisers, Starmer told them that during his youth, he had experimented with LSD. Perhaps an attempt to boost his street-cred, though notably he didn’t say a hard no to Harry’s question…
Evening Standard owner Evgeny Lebedev appeared yesterday on the Drug Science Podcast to speak to former UK drugs tsar Professor David Nutt about his powerful experience with the South American psychedelic brew ayahuasca. Nutt has appeared today on Lebedev’s own podcast Brave New World to discuss Lord Lebedev’s firm belief “in the power of psychedelics as a cure for today’s mental health crisis“. The FDA is reviewing psychoactive substances, Australia has already legalised them for treating mental health issues…
We already know that use of magic mushrooms can boost economic productivity and make investors money. With research showing that left-wing individuals are dramatically more likely to be diagnosed with mental health conditions, psychedelics could solve rampant socialism too. No wonder the last Labour government criminalised harvesting and using naturally growing psilocybin mushrooms …
Justice Minister, Mike Freer, today used the despatch box to come out strongly against a pilot of a drug safety room in Glasgow. He slammed the programme for not “working that well”:
“That particular pilot, I’m not sure is working that well, based on recent reports. But I have asked colleagues to see whether that pilot is working, as the honourable gentleman has said, because that’s not what the newspapers are reporting”
One slight problem… there isn’t yet a pilot scheme.
Sure the economy is stagnant, migrants are crossing the Channel thick and fast and there’s a war in Europe, yet this hasn’t stopped the government getting on with the people’s priorities: making it harder to buy whipped cream. The government has confirmed it will ban Nitrous Oxide – commonly known as laughing gas – by the end of the year, with users facing up to two years in prison if caught. The Home Office say it’s part of the government’s ‘Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan’, with Suella Braverman talking tough on “flagrant drug taking in the streets”. It’s no laughing matter…
“The British people are fed up with yobs abusing drugs in public spaces and leaving behind a disgraceful mess for others to clean up. Earlier this year the Prime Minister and I promised a zero-tolerance approach to antisocial behaviour and that is what we are delivering. If you are caught using ‘laughing gas’ as a drug, you could be hit with a hefty fine or face jail time.”
The government seems to be criminalising littering which, as far as Guido can tell, is already illegal…
The government say there will still be exemptions, such as in “medical or catering industries“. Guido has asked if this means whipped cream chargers are now banned for under-21s, as in New York. They said it’s “not about size but legitimate use – all Nos will be unlawful to possess, unless exempt for a legitimate purpose“. Expect lots of teenagers to develop a keen interest in baking and desserts next year…
Whilst browsing the government’s news release page on the lookout for a five o’clock recess story, Guido’s imagination was captured by the announcement of a newsworthy Border Force seizure. What were the contents of this drug bust, so important as to make it to the front page of the UK government’s website? A boatload of cocaine? Kilos of heroin? Maybe proceeds from a county lines operation? Well, not quite. All this fanfare was was for one 10 millilitre bottle of medicinal CBD oil for cats…
Whilst Sunak’s off tripping in Tokyo, Crispin Blunt has been making a powerful case for the government to deregulate psilocybin for use as mental health treatment. Crispin used a passionate Commons speech to attack the government’s approach to drugs – first charging at the fact the minister responsible for drugs, Chris Philp, had “so little regard” for the debate that he couldn’t appear in the chamber to respond. Crispin broadened his criticisms to drug policy more generally:
“It should be the minister for medicine that is replying to this debate. But the Health Department doesn’t own this policy. The Home Office does. And that’s part of the reason our drugs policy is in such an unforgivable mess”.
It’s no truffling matter…
Crispin’s scathing attacks didn’t end there. He pointed to the fact that 125 people kill themselves every week, and said “knowing what they know [about psilocybin treatments], that now makes the government guilty of joint enterprise in those decisions”. Crispin’s powerful argument doesn’t leave mush-room to disagree…
