Playgrounds would become ‘crack dens’ if Greens were in power, policing minister says
Playgrounds will become “crack caves” under the Green Party’s drugs policy, a minister has warned.
Police minister Sarah Jones described the Greens’ position as “reckless” during a public row with Zack Polanski.
The two men exchanged blows ahead of the by-elections planned to be held in Greater Manchester next week.
Mr. Polanski defended a “public health approach” to drug use, arguing that “the war on drugs has failed.”
He urged Labor figures not to “make this a cheap and stupid game where people keep dying”.
The Green Party has previously campaigned to decriminalize drug possession, directing those harmed to housing, employment and health support.
The party has proposed establishing a “regulated market” for drugs in 2024 that would “stop criminal supply and profiteering and reduce harm, including preventing children from accessing drugs”.
But according to Ms Jones, “these reckless plans will tear apart communities across the country and tear apart the fabric of Britain”.
He added: “Polanski will create a drugs epidemic that will see our parks and playgrounds across Britain become drug dens.
“Let’s be clear about what this means: lives have been ruined, anti-social behavior has skyrocketed and public drug use has become rampant.
“It is extremely irresponsible to even suggest this idea to the families and young people in our society who will pay a heavy price for it.
“Drug seizures are at a record high in Labor as we invest billions in drug prevention and treatment, while tackling drug-related organized crime.
“This is a common-sense approach to keeping our communities safe and drugs off our streets.”
Green Party Gorton and Denton by-election candidate Hannah Spencer previously said in an interview with the BBC that she thought “decriminalization is a conversation we need to have”.
He and Reform England’s Matthew Goodwin are racing to overturn Labour’s 13,413 majority in 2024, while Labour’s Angeliki Stogia is defending it in next Thursday’s poll.
Speaking outside his campaign headquarters in Gorton, Mr Polanski told PA: “It is completely unacceptable that the Labor Government is playing political games with people’s lives and I think that is why people in places like Manchester are fed up with old order politics.
“They see people who do not take the problems seriously, who do not do what needs to be done to protect people, who do not take a public health approach, who make sure that children do not come close to drugs.
“Currently children can often take drugs if they want, this is completely unacceptable.
“So I say very clearly, I want to legalize, regulate and control drugs, and that is a public health approach by public health professionals.”
Green Party leader Polanski also said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the government “seem to be shouting lies about the Green Party”.
He said: “Take alcohol for example – we regulate it because we know it is dangerous for anyone to be exposed to alcohol at any time and from a public health perspective the same should be true for drugs.
“This isn’t about saying it should be completely accessible to everyone.
“It is an admission that the war on drugs has failed.
“This is not a controversial thing to say.
“When people around the world have tried to implement the same policy that we have on drugs, it hasn’t worked, and it hasn’t worked in this country either.
“What I’m talking about is that, rather than allowing drugs to fall into the hands of drug gangs or to be available on the black market or on the streets, various ways have been tried around the world, including in places like Portugal, where drugs have reduced deaths, reduced HIV transmission and reduced what is often labeled as antisocial behaviour.
“What you really mean is that if someone has a problematic relationship with drugs, then they should go to a public health professional or someone from the National Health Service to get the specialist help and advice they need.”
Mr. Polanski later added: “What I’m saying is, let’s have a sensible, evidence-based approach, led by healthcare professionals, led by pharmaceutical experts, and let’s not make this a cheap, stupid game where people keep dying.”
In the US state of Oregon, the state legislature decriminalized the possession of small amounts of hard drugs in 2020, but reversed that decision almost two years ago.
Research by OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) showed that the number of overdose deaths in the state more than doubled between 2020 and late 2023; many of these were a result of fentanyl use.
The Greens’ proposal could lead to a doubling of drug-related deaths and open drug use in public spaces, according to Labour.
