Torture. The Home Office can't deport Abu Qatada because of the very spectre of it. There is an entire international treaty on it. It is a crime no matter who you are or where you live.

Resistance to harm reduction initiatives, and to legalisation or decriminalisation of drug use, stems from many impulses. Here I will discuss just one: an expectation placed upon the addicted.

The Guardian/Mixmag drugs survey, published this week, highlighted the fact that there are many people out there using drugs without significant health harms. Among them are 'legal highs' or, more accurately, 'new psychoactive substances'.

Last year, the Global Commission on Drug Policy called for an open debate on the global war on drugs. On Tuesday night, they went a long way to achieving this objective.

A woman who had struggled with substance addiction, and who also had read my book, was now involved with helping others in her field (health care) get the counseling they need.

All over the world, the war on drugs hurts, incarcerates and kills people. It is an abomination.

Last Friday, Malaysian Police confirmed the arrest of Hamza Kashgari, a journalist wanted by Saudi Arabia for insulting the Prophet Mohamed on Twitter...

If you're concerned about the toughness of future generations, I could find you a 20 year old to fight with. After he knocks you out, you might feel more secure knowing that the future is safe.

This 1 December, as with every other year, will see political speeches and statements from high level UN officials and others in positions of power and influence reaffirming their commitment to stopping HIV in its tracks, and sending out messages of hope and how much we've achieved.

Is demand for cocaine here in the UK and elsewhere contributing to violence and environmental damage in Colombia? Yes. It is nonsensical to deny this. We are all responsible for our own actions. That prohibition makes things vastly worse says nothing about a personal choice made in the knowledge of the damage the drug trade inflicts today.

What do spies do when they retire? Write novels, garden, spend time with their family - or, in the case of one former MI5 head, call to legalise drugs...

First there was the sleeping, then the swearing and now the House of Lords want to legalise drugs. Well, some of them do. An event on drugs policy ...

A Canadian inquiry into the Robert Pickton case, involving the capture and murder of drug addicted sex trade workers in the lower east side of Vancouv...

When we finally get past this whole thing - war on drugs, hitting bottom, abstinence only - future generations will perceive it all much as we, today, perceive monstrosities like the persecution of witches and the Inquisition.

Often, dependence of any kind is presumed - without reflection - to be a problem that must be solved. For the record, every human being depends on air, food and water - are we all sick, or defective, for this reason?

If you think that something like a "war on drugs" was a good idea to begin with, and also that it can be won, then by all means keep it up. I advise you to watch many episodes of the Three Stooges, and to learn all that you can from your mentor, Curly.