A former Supreme Court judge said in a radio interview that drug prohibition has done more harm than good, and that more Icelanders are starting to lean towards legalisation.
Vísir reports that lawyer and former Supreme Court justice Jón Steinar Gunnlaugsson told radio show Harmageddon yesterday that he believes drug laws are not working, and that the emphasis should rather be on rehabilitation of addiction.
“We’re not improving the situation by creating an underworld,” he said in part. “Where we let criminals control this world, rather than law enforcement.”
Jón believes that the western world as a whole needs to look at the drug problem, change its method of operations, and work internationally. He dismissed the possibility that legalisation is solely motivated by drug users themselves.
“I believe that more and more people are starting to realise how off-base we are in our drug policy,” he said. “Need I remind us that getting high has been around for as long as humanity. We make only one intoxicant that is legal, because we want to go to the pub, the fine people that we are, and ban everything else.”
The entire interview can be seen here (in Icelandic).
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