A police chief has called for cannabis to be sold in off-licenses and heroin and cocaine to be available on prescription, claiming the war on drugs has failed. North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones thinks trying to prohibit drugs is a waste of police time and kills people unnecessarily.
The former police officer and Plaid Cymru member sees no reason why cannabis shouldn't be sold in the same way as alcoholic - over the counter in licensed shops.
But Mr Jones, who has appealed to MPs at Westminster to legalise narcotics, thinks hard drugs like heroin and cocaine should only be available on prescription from pharmacies.
'A lot of the problems around drugs are caused by prohibition and strong enforcement. It just doesn't work,' he told the Daily Post Wales.
'I think prohibition kills a lot of people unnecessarily and if we did regulate, we could divert police resources towards harmful behaviours like child sexual exploitation, domestic abuse and modern slavery.
'Prosecution for minor possession of drugs is a waste of time.'
He added: 'I want to see drugs controlled and sold by responsible retailers similar to off-licences that sell alcohol.
'I don't see a difference between the use of alcohol and the use of cannabis.
'If we went back to day one, and we were legislating this again I'm sure people would realise that alcohol causes a lot more harm than cannabis does and I think the categorisation would reflect that.
'But we are where we are, alcohol is legal and cannabis is illegal and it is illogical to have it like that
'Hard drugs like cocaine and heroin could be sold or prescribed from a secure pharmacy.
'But I think cannabis could be sold with the same level of security as alcohol is sold at now in an off-licence
'This would be with suitable age restrictions to prevent children buying it which is something we do not have now. <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->
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