Do We Have A Casual Drug Culture in the UK?
Every country and their cities have their own cultural and political leanings on a whole bunch of things; religion, food, work, you name it…Though one thing you might not think about every day yet still causes a lot of controversy is --- drugs.
Yes, it’s probably not your average household dinner discussion, unless you’re at my house, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
Let’s be honest, despite them being very much illegal in the UK, they still seem to be considered in a fairly casual way, whether it’s on the news (okay less casual), tv, movies and sometimes in own lives. This really depends on the kind we’re talking about, too. That said, in other countries such as the Philippines, where I grew up before I moved to the UK, this would be an entirely different kind of article.
Heck, I probably wouldn’t even be able to write this.
The Filipino War on Drugs
It’s so illegal in PH that there is a genuine ‘war on drugs’ that began when Duerte became president in 2016. Nowadays, it’s spoken about less but it still goes on today. The media gives it less screen time because of the criticism it received, understandably.
I often get asked questions at parties when I mention I was born there, “Aaaaah The Philippines, the war on drugs, wow..scary.” usually said by someone who’s most definitely high.
When it began, I didn’t really believe it. But boy, was I wrong not to. Just a few months into it and after watching several press conferences/speeches, it didn’t take much to realise the president was not messing about. Simply, Duerte’s plan of action was to have a zero-tolerance policy when it came to those in contact with drugs - and it became savage, to say the least. The reason for this was because he was convinced that drugs were the leading cause of other crimes. But in fact, the way in which the government and the police had dealt with has been considered is ultimately a worse crime. Sound familiar?
A similar thing happened in the USA under Nixon’s presidency in the 70s, and no shock here, it was HIGHLY racist and classist. Sadly, Duerte followed in those footsteps and hasn’t stopped walking.
Without getting too political (hard at the minute, I know), the brutal murders ordered by the president, police and whoever else involved was just devastating - for the tourism, for the families of the victims and for the lives lost, most importantly. My ‘Tito’ (uncle) said he witnessed a death whilst at work in the local market of a young mother of 3 children (who were there at the time), as she had been ‘suspected’ of dealing. The story has stayed with me ever since - it’s crushing.
The Philippines and the UK are ultimately very different places but isn’t it mind-boggling that for the same ‘issue’ people can have such contrasting opinions.
Having said that, it has actually been surveyed at 88% of Filipino citizens do support the drug war. I have seen posters around the country to support this. Do they agree with their president? Or are they just afraid of him?
The UK’s Opinion
Comparing this to the UK, it really is something to discuss when you think about how laisse-faire the situation here is. I’ll be real, I’m a half-white girl so I’m almost certain my privilege needs checking if I’m about to say that unfair drug regulation doesn’t happen in the UK. IT REALLY DOES. For sure, there are individuals who are targetted and attacked by the law due to this tricky topic. Institutional racism runs deep, as we’ve been learning.
I’ve also learnt from GOV.UK that you can get fined or a prison sentence for taking, carrying, making or selling/sharing. The penalties differ depending on the classes and situations. But that said, I’m sure everyone who is reading this knows someones who’s either experimented, has dabbled themselves or knows someone who maybe even deals. According to Drugs.com, 1 in 11 adults in the UK aged 16-59 had taken a drug in the last year (2018/2019). Which is high, I guess, considering in the Philippines it could cost you your life.
I’ve been to enough festivals, parties or clubs to know that there’s not a lot of nationwide fear that exists around narcotics in the UK. In some ways, they can bring about a lot of positive experiences.
That also doesn’t mean it should be completely legal, I mean it only takes a few looks on the history channel (and the news) to tell you that yeah, drugs are not good for everyone.
But if we’re already a little casual, should we take a more Dutch approach?
Holland and Their Coffee Shops
Let’s not forget there are hundreds of different strands of classes of the stuff. Of course, we all consider cannabis as tolerant in the Netherlands, but did you know ALL drugs are actually prohibited? Yes, they are technically illegal. But don’t worry, you weren’t breaking the law - there’s a catch - as long as it’s under the gov guidelines it’s A-okay. In coffee shops, you can buy or sell as long as it’s sold in small batches. And that’s the coffee *wink*.
“The Dutch recognize that it is impossible to prevent people from using drugs altogether. Coffee shops are therefore allowed to sell small amounts of soft drugs. This pragmatic approach means that authorities can actually focus on the big criminals who profit from drugs and who supply hard drugs. “ - Holland.com
Closing The Deal
I have no no no idea on what the law *should* be in the UK. I’m SO glad I’m not in charge. That said, I don’t love those who are in charge either… especially in the Philippines.
At school when we had SPSE (situational problem solution evaluation classes) about drug-taking, I was genuinely horrified, there are some real horror stories. Then on the other hand, when I went to University, I learnt it’s certainly not as terrifying as I was taught in school, especially if half of the Halls were engaging in them.
Should a young boy who gets caught selling something at a festival be put in prison when there’s 100’s of other people selling at the same festival getting ‘away with it’? Absolutely not.
But how do you police this when the police itself are ‘pretty’ corrupt?
I do feel like Holland have a pretty sweet deal that doesn’t demonise it but tries to be open about it - but I’m not from there and I can’t speak Dutch so what do I know?
What do you think?
Written by Danielle Conlon
Danielle is a Filipino born, North-East girl at heart who’s lived in London and Barcelona the past few years only to find herself back up North (UTB) since Ms Pandemic. She now spends her days writing about food, travel, anything funky and dancing (badly).