Feature
Ben Curran On Drug Policy And Community Support
About this feature
In this interview from the programme Community Chest, Dominik and Thordis Fridriksson speak with Ben Curran about drug prohibition and community support. Curran argues for the decriminalisation and government regulation of the drug market to remove control from criminals. Key moments include a discussion on the failure of prohibition, the role of Julian Housing in mental health support, and the influence of the media on drug policy.
In this interview from the programme Community Chest, Dominik and Thordis Fridriksson speak with Ben Curran, who holds a degree in psychology and has experience in London's drug rehab, outreach, and community work. Curran argues that drug prohibition has failed, fostered organised crime, and increased substance use. He advocates for the decriminalisation and government regulation of the drug market to remove control from criminals, suggesting that funds be reinvested from the criminal justice system into health-based services. The discussion also touches on the role of the organisation Transform and the impact of prison systems as 'mini universities' for criminality. Dominik includes a selection of Eric Clapton's 'Cocaine' to illustrate how popular culture links substance use to problem-solving.
Topics
- The legalization and decriminalization of drugs
- The role of the media in stifling rational debate on drug policy
- The impact of the criminal justice system on drug users
- Decriminalisation and regulation of drugs
- The impact of prohibition on crime and society
- Public perception and emotional responses to drug policy
- Drug production and legal control
- Platforms for political advocacy
Participants
- Dominik
- Thordis Fridriksson
- Ben Curran
- Ben
Listen · selected clips
No clips have been selected for this feature yet.
Passages from the recording
Text from the recording. These passages are not linked to a playable clip.
Drug use does take place within within prison systems. People enter the prison system, you know, meet up with lots of other people that have experience of supplying, dealing drugs. So in a sense, you've got a you could argue you've got a mini university of people coming together, learning about criminality, and going back out.
Clearly, from my point of view, prohibition hasn't worked. It's been disastrous. You know, it's if if anything, it's increased you know massively the use of of substances in this country. Decriminalisation, I would argue, would keep it a much more regulated, much more controlled market.
Sort of avenue, which I think is a really, really important one, is is the organisation transform, and they can be found on on the website. If somebody just Google's transform, they'll get that, and and that's one of the sort of big.