Britain’s record on drugs is stuck on a loop. ‘Crackdowns’ simply don’t work | Simon Jenkins

After 50 years of costly failure it’s clear that punishment is no deterrent, yet Boris Johnson is not to be dissuaded

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 must be the worst law ever passed by a modern parliament. Its purpose was “to prevent the misuse of controlled drugs” by means of “a complete ban on their possession, supply, manufacture, import and export”. It has plainly failed.

Fifty years on, the act is variously credited with a soaring prison population, the devastation of working-class communities...