Drug attack father speaks out

Roger and Joseph Dorrington oppose new cannabis laws

A father prosecuted for punching a man he accused of supplying drugs to his sons has spoken out against the legalisation of cannabis.

Speaking on BBC Radio Four's Today programme, Roger Dorrington, together with his son Joseph, 21, said they felt there was a link between cannabis and harder drugs.

Mr Dorrington, from Blissford, New Forest, was initially ordered to pay £250 compensation after the attack.

Despite having the payment order later dropped, Mr Dorrington criticised police prosecution policy.

It feels that the police or the system can chose who they like to prosecute

Roger Dorrington

Asked whether he backed calls for the legalisation of cannabis, Mr Dorrington said: "Basically I've got nothing against cannabis, but my view is that those people on harder drugs all started off on cannabis.

"If the cannabis use was stopped at an early age, that would stop the roots of it and the harder drugs would not come into it."

Joseph Dorrington, who started taking cannabis at 13 years old, backed this view.

"Because I started using cannabis I had a gateway into that sort of world and through that you get offered many other drugs.

"So once I was interested in drugs I just carried it on," he said.

Drug pain

He added: "People think that cannabis is a soft drug so people use it but once you've used cannabis, your head ticks that drugs are OK.

"If it had just been heroin I'd have been scared of it, but because I'd used other drugs I just carried on.

"I wouldn't like it to be legal, I wouldn't like any drugs to be legal because through my experience all drugs have brought me is pain."

Roger Dorrington also attacked the justice system which had left him serving a community service sentence.

Harsher sentences

He said: " I think the whole situation in the relating law is wrong.

"It feels that the police or the system can chose who they like to prosecute and I think that's wrong.

"I think they should look at it as a broader issue.

"I think they should look into the situation before charging someone."

'Scared off'

Despite his opposition to relaxing laws, Mr Dorrington was against harsher sentences for those using drugs.

He said: "I think they should be dealt with, possibly going down the road of rehabilitation.

" I think there should be sentences other than going to prison."

Joseph was asked what might have stopped his slide into harder drugs.

He said: "I think if people who had been through drugs could explain to you exactly what happened and exactly what their lives had been like using drugs, it would probably have scared me off at the time."