THE debate on legalising drugs is a contentious one. Most mainstream politicians have always rejected the idea. But the argument continues to rumble on.

Recently here in Britain, Bob Ainsworth, a member of parliament and former government minister, spoke out on the subject. Ainsworth is, on the face of it, an unlikely proponent of a more lenient drugs regime. He is a respectable moustachioed former trade union official firmly on the right of the party.

But he stated last week that the war on drugs was “nothing short of a disaster”. He went on to say that it was time to study other options, including decriminalising possession of drugs and legally regulating their production and supply.

Ainsworth said that it was his experience as a government minister that has made him come round to the idea of legalisation. He was initially a home office minister with responsibility for drugs; however, he quickly realised that the current criminal regime was putting hundreds of young men in prison but was doing nothing to lessen the flow of drugs into Britain.

Then he became a defence minister with particular responsibilities for Afghanistan, which is a major producer of heroin. There he realised that (in his own words) “the war on drugs creates the very conditions that perpetuate the illegal trade, while undermining international development and security”.

He is calling on all sides in the debate to support “an independent, evidence-based review, exploring all policy options, including further resourcing the war on drugs, decriminalising the possession of drugs, and legally regulating their production and supply”.

Ainsworth also said “Leaving the drugs market in the hands of criminals causes huge and unnecessary harm to individuals, communities and entire countries, with the poor the hardest hit. We spend billions of pounds without preventing the wide availability of drugs. It is time to replace our failed war on drugs with a strict system of legal regulation, to make the world a safer, healthier place, especially for our children. We must take the trade away from organised criminals and hand it to the control of doctors and pharmacists.”

Long-time campaigners for the legalisation of drugs would agree with every word that Ainsworth says. And he even has support from some conservative politicians here in Britain. But he has been slapped down by the new leader of his party, Ed Milliband. Even before Ainsworth made his major speech on the subject, his party leader put out a crisp statement making it clear that the former minister spoke only for himself.

There is no question that the so-called war on drugs has failed. Drugs continue to flow unabated into North America and Europe. The drugs cause human misery and death. But the corruption involved in the trade and the violence intrinsic in its activities are just as serious.

The vast fortunes amassed by the drug cartels can destabilise some states. Around the world we can see the emergence of “narco-states”. These are countries where the drug gangs wield more power than elected politicians.

It may be that if countries legalised marijuana, it would send the wrong signal to young people and drug use would rise. But the drug trade continues to pose a terrible threat to people, communities and whole countries. I do not support legalisation, but it is certainly time to take a fresh look at policy.

One option would be to fund the war on drugs properly and for countries like Britain to recognise that it is no good talking about such a war when they are pursuing trade policies that decimate jobs in the Caribbean. But the debate on drugs policy will not go away.