Who said what to whom?
In their pre-manifesto, published this week, the Liberal Democrats say they will end the use of prison as punishment for those found guilty of possessing drugs.
What does it mean?
This doesn't mean that the Liberal Democrats want highs to be legal. They are merely suggesting the decriminalisation of drugs. Their argument is a practical one—drug users should not be stigmatised by incurring prison sentences which then limit their future employment opportunities. The focus should be on treating addicts and presumably fining more casual users.
What could go wrong?
The Liberal Democrats will certainly have to govern in coalition, if they govern at all, after the next election. So the question is whether either Labour or the Conservatives could sign up to this. While there are reformers in both, the frontbenchers are likely to be more cautious. The Conservatives presumably are opposed to change or the Liberal Democrats may have pursued it via the Coalition; and Sadiq Khan, the Shadow Justice Secretary, has recently criticised what he sees as the government's lax approach to drugs in prison, suggesting they are easier to get hold of than soap.
Setting the politics aside, the numbers of people in prison for drug possession alone is low, somewhere around 1,000 people were given custodial sentences last year out of almost 40,000 who were found guilty of possession. New 2012 sentencing guidelines for judges make it clear that the starting point is a fine, even for possession of Class A substances like cocaine. According to the guidelines prison sentences might be given where; the drugs are found in prison or school, the offender has previous convictions, or the offender has tried to conceal or destroy the evidence. The average prison sentence is short—just over four months for a Class A drug and below two months for Class C.
When the Sentencing Council, a judge-led body, moderated its guidelines two years ago, the Police Federation responded by calling the changes "bizarre" and suggesting that reducing sentences for possession makes it easier for wholesalers to get their product to market, as they can divide it among a larger number of street dealers who may no longer face prison for possessing small quantities. If its politicians rather than judges who are liberalising the approach to drugs, then such criticism may turn into a campaign against any change.
When will we know?
Technically the Liberal Democrats' pre-manifesto commitment would have to find its way into a new coalition agreement as the next step to implementation. Perhaps looking ahead to that negotiation, the document also suggests a commission to review the effectiveness of drugs laws. That feels like a much simpler detail to slip into a coalition agreement than a definite promise to end the use of prison for possession.
