Green Party leader Zack Polanski has launched a scathing attack on Britain’s “very racialised” approach to drug enforcement, as he defended his party’s policy to legalise all substances, including crack and heroin.
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, the Green leader said: “I’ve actually never taken a drug in my life, or even drunk alcohol, but I still don’t sit here as the fun police.”
Mr Polanski, a London Assembly member, insisted that individuals should be free to make their own choices.
“I very clearly believe people should be able to do what they want to do. It just wasn’t for me,” he said.
Explaining his lifelong abstinence, he said growing up around friends who drank and used drugs made him feel someone needed to stay sober.
The Green leader used the interview to mount a broad attack on Britain’s drugs laws, claiming enforcement was “very racialised”.
“Very often it is young black people who are stopped and searched in the street… despite the fact there is no evidence they are more likely to be holding or taking drugs,” he said.
He claimed that in London, young black people are eight times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people.
The Green leader insisted he had never touched alcohol or drugs in his life
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Mr Polanski also accused politicians from both major parties of hypocrisy, arguing that ministers who have admitted to drug use continue to support laws that criminalise others for the same behaviour.
He claimed prosecutions fall disproportionately on young black and brown people.
The Green leader also took a swipe at Sir Keir Starmer following a comment made during Prime Minister’s Questions, when he accused the Greens of being “high on drugs, soft on Putin”.
Mr Polanski described the comment as “pretty disgraceful”, criticising what he called “cheap jokes delivered badly”.
ZACK POLANSKI – READ THE LATEST:
Sir Keir Starmer accused the Greens of being ‘high on drugs, soft on Putin’
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He added: “First of all, there are thousands and thousands of unnecessary deaths from drug harm and from dangerous drugs, and actually, what we need is a public health approach.
“That’s not me saying that. That’s experts who work in the National Health Service who say this just isn’t working.
“So when I talk about legalising drugs, the key bit is it’s about legalising and regulating. If someone has a problematic relationship to drugs, then surely the answer is to make sure they’re seen by a medical health professional who can help them.”
The interview comes as the Greens prepare to contest the Gorton and Denton by-election on February 26, with the party unveiling 34-year-old plumber Hannah Spencer as their candidate.
The interview comes as the Greens prepare to contest the Gorton and Denton by-election
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The contest is expected to be a three-way fight, with Reform widely seen by analysts as the current frontrunners.
When first challenged on drug legalisation, Mr Polanski attempted to reframe the debate by pointing to alcohol.
“We need a public health approach to that too,” he said.
He also said that if he were Prime Minister he would refuse to fly wherever possible, favouring video calls for international diplomacy – while acknowledging some face-to-face meetings would still be required.