vast increase in public drunkenness and
alcohol-related problems. Genies are
often difficult to put back into bottles.
Theodore Dalyrmple,
Telegraph
, 9 March
I FOUND OUT
a few months ago that
Nick Clegg is astonishingly ignorant
about the drug laws in this country. He
really believes that the police cruelly
persecute drug users (if only they did).
Ignorance of this kind is wilful. The truth
is readily available. He remains ignorant
because he does not want to know.
Peter Hitchens,
Mail on Sunday
, 8 March
CANNABIS, OFFICER?
No, it’s lucky
heather. Gypsies given £1.3m of
taxpayers’ money by the Welsh
Government to improve their caravan
site showed their gratitude by turning
it into a giant cannabis factory… It is
believed suspicions were aroused
because no one could ever remember
travellers actually buying garden
equipment before.
Richard Littlejohn,
Mail
, 3 March
THE PROBLEM
isn’t just that the money
we spend on welfare is out of hand. It’s
the effect of that spending. Welfare
has become, for many, not a helping
hand in times of need – the help in
need that almost everyone agrees we
should offer to the vulnerable and
those in temporary difficulties – but an
alternative way of life… And that is not
just financially reckless; it is morally
reckless, promoting an entirely new
and warped model for society itself.
Stephen Pollard,
Express
, 27 March
Voices
ISN’T IT TIME
for a wider discussion on
the potential effects of safe, regulated
cannabis consumption on society?...
In an age when every penny of
government spending is fought for, the
demonstrated potential savings and
revenues at very least deserve serious
investigation. Revenue raised from a
regulated cannabis trade could be
directed towards education on safe use
of cannabis. That’s why the next
government – regardless of who it is
led by – should set up a Royal
Commission into drug legislation.
Paul Birch,
Telegraph
, 4 March
IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER
that we
do not consider the law against murder
a failure simply because, year after year,
there continue to be murders and that
therefore the ‘war’ against murder has
been lost. No law achieves exactly and
only its ostensible purpose. We should
be wary of applying the experience of
other countries too directly to our own,
however. For example, relaxation of the
drug laws in Portugal had been followed
by only a relatively minor increase in
consumption. But in Britain, the
relaxation of the licensing laws led to a
The news, and the skews, in the national media
MEDIA SAVVY
The steel industry
is a very challenging place,
and until my retirement on 31 March, I worked as
works chaplain at the Tata Steel works in Port Talbot,
South Wales. As chaplain I had a wide-ranging role,
which was all about getting alongside people in the
workplace and being there to help with those
experiencing problems in their lives.
Many things crop up with a workforce of some
5,500 on site and I believe I have been able to provide
something special dealing with family problems,
financial problems, employment worries, family
bereavements, terminal illnesses with family
members, and drug and alcohol issues, as well as dealing with the aftermath of
accidents on site and, sadly, even fatalities.
I trained as a drugs counsellor with the prison service as a prison chaplain, and
have been privileged to put those skills to good use over the last nine years; and the
result is that I have been able to help many people through their problems.
In a workforce of this size, it is inevitable that some people will have problems
with drugs and alcohol, and I have been used as a counsellor along with colleagues
for people who have failed drug or alcohol tests, or indeed have referred
themselves for help. On a site where many of the processes are dangerous,
involving hot molten metal, the safety of work teams cannot be over emphasised.
It follows therefore than anyone having drink or drug problems cannot be allowed
to potentially put other people’s safety at risk.
In retirement, I plan to still be involved with a Christian drug and alcohol
rehabilitation centre, perhaps on one day a week. I have loved my work and will
carry some special memories into this new phase of my life.
First person
‘I had a wide-
ranging role,
which was all
about getting
alongside
people in the
workplace
and being
there to help
with those
experiencing
problems in
their lives.’
Rev Peter Lolley
trained as a drugs counsellor with the
prison service. As he nears his retirement he shares his
experience as a works chaplain
6 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| April 2015
