Connie Fozzard says there needs to be a public debate on drugs

Connie Fozzard, 70, who is currently the mayor of Truro, is addressing the British Medical Association (BMA) conference in Torquay.

Recreational drugs should be legalised, quality controlled and sold over the counter, she has said.

She also said she there needs to be a public debate aimed at reducing drug-related crime.

The motion, from the BMA's Cornwall branch, specifically refers to cannabanoid drugs, but Miss Fozzard said that ecstasy could be brought into the discussion.

The government should be treating people as adults Connie Fozzard

Miss Fozzard maintained that the move would help reduce violent crime committed by users to pay for drugs.

She was personally ambivalent about the legalisation issue, she said, adding: "We want to get the discussion going in public.

"It is something which should be raised for the public to have a say in."

Asked if legalisation would tempt more people to sample drugs, she said: "Is it not the same with alcohol. What is the difference?"

Miss Fozzard says controlled quantities of drugs could be sold

Controlled quantities of purified drugs could be sold in licensed premises and could be taxed just like alcohol, she said.

The motion calls for an expansion of "the range of legal recreational drugs available beyond alcohol and tobacco which are quality controlled and taxable".

Miss Fozzard said: "The government should be treating people as adults and not treating adults as children in their own homes."

The BMA advised against the legalisation of cannabis when it gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee in 2002.

The committee recommended downgrading of the class A drug ecstasy to Class B, but this was rejected by ministers.

Ministers did agree to downgrade cannabis from Class B to C, but the Home Office is opposed to legalisation.