'Celebrity cocaine users should face punishment'
Updated on 24 June 2009
As a United Nations report suggests Britain is the cocaine capital of Europe, Keith Vaz MP tells Channel 4 News there should be a clampdown on famous drug users.
In a studio discussion with Michael Reid, Americas editor of The Economist magazine, Mr Vaz rejected the suggestion drugs could be legalised to allow the government to close criminal gangs that supply users.
Mr Vaz is chairman of the home affairs select committee, which plans to announce its policy on drug use in October and he admitted the law may allow young drug users to idolise role models.
He said: "There is a very important role for government in public awareness campaigns so even at a very young age people are aware of the dangers.
"It becomes an addiction because it is used when people are very young and therefore they continue to use it.
"There is also a role to make sure that those who we describe as celebrities are dealt with in a very tough way when they are found to be users of cocaine."
Michael Reid of The Economist, told Channel 4 News the United Nations aim of a drug-free world by 2008 has failed and he argued drugs should be legalised, taxed and regulated, to remove organised crime from the drug scene and allow the government to provide better support for addicts.
Mr Reid said: "The legal regime of drug control in Britain is really quite strict and yet we have these high problem use rates so it is something to do with culture or a broader public health problem.pab
"This should not and never should have become a law enforcement problem. It is a public health problem and should be treated as such."
