A sensible drugs policy
Marion Coleman highlights a concern among Quakers in Cornwall
In the eighteenth century, in England, Quakers established the first modern hospital for the treatment of mental disorders – the Retreat at York. Previously, the method had been to imprison the mentally ill. They were often chained to walls and lived in appalling conditions. Today, we have people who are addicted to drugs imprisoned for using illegal drugs. We are back to the eighteenth century. We are imprisoning people because of their health problems. The churches in Britain have not spoken out about this punishment. It is time that Quakers did so.
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