Home Office ordered to release suppressed Drugs Classification Review from 2006
Drug Equality Alliance | 23.05.2010 23:52 | Repression | Social Struggles
In response to a Freedom of Information request process submitted by Casey Hardison, acting with the Drug Equality Alliance, on the 9th of March 2010 the Information Commissioner's Office ordered the Home Office to disclose a suppressed draft consultation paper with suggestions for a review of the drug classification system. The Home Office appealed against this decision and the outcome of this appeal is now pending. However on the 7th of May 2010 the Home Office released part of this consultation paper.
n January 2006 the then Home Secretary Charles Clarke declared
"… I will in the next few weeks publish a consultation paper with suggestions for a review of the drug classification system, on the basis of which I will make proposals in due course… one needs to proceed on the basis of evidence… I want to emphasise to the House the importance of evidence and research on this subject".
However shortly after this announcement Clarke was replaced by John Reid and the promised consultation paper was suppressed. In October 2006 Reid announced that the Government would not be proceeding with the review.
Casey Hardison has been working to get the paper which was penned by officials as well as civil servants disclosed on the grounds of public interest for 3 years, but the Home Office have persistently tried to keep it out of the public domain claiming various overriding justifications for not releasing it. Subsequently Casey lodged a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office and an investigation ensued. On the 9th of March 2010 the Information Commissioner's Office ruled in favour of the complainant and ordered the Home Office to disclose the consultation paper.
We believe the contents of this paper, when it is eventually disclosed, will be of immense public interest. It may well provide further damning evidence demonstrating that the Government is administering the Misuse of Drugs Act arbitrarily - and this ought to assist the legal battles which the Drug Equality Alliance is currently undertaking.
Drug Equality Alliance
http://www.drugequality.org/
For more information please download the document below:
http://www.drugequality.org/files/FS50198230.pdf
"… I will in the next few weeks publish a consultation paper with suggestions for a review of the drug classification system, on the basis of which I will make proposals in due course… one needs to proceed on the basis of evidence… I want to emphasise to the House the importance of evidence and research on this subject".
However shortly after this announcement Clarke was replaced by John Reid and the promised consultation paper was suppressed. In October 2006 Reid announced that the Government would not be proceeding with the review.
Casey Hardison has been working to get the paper which was penned by officials as well as civil servants disclosed on the grounds of public interest for 3 years, but the Home Office have persistently tried to keep it out of the public domain claiming various overriding justifications for not releasing it. Subsequently Casey lodged a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office and an investigation ensued. On the 9th of March 2010 the Information Commissioner's Office ruled in favour of the complainant and ordered the Home Office to disclose the consultation paper.
We believe the contents of this paper, when it is eventually disclosed, will be of immense public interest. It may well provide further damning evidence demonstrating that the Government is administering the Misuse of Drugs Act arbitrarily - and this ought to assist the legal battles which the Drug Equality Alliance is currently undertaking.
Drug Equality Alliance
http://www.drugequality.org/ For more information please download the document below:
http://www.drugequality.org/files/FS50198230.pdf
Drug Equality Alliance
e-mail:
darryl@drugequality.org
Homepage:
http://www.drugequality.org/
