Ray Lakeman’s campaign to legalise all drugs reached an increasingly wide audience with a long feature and video by the Guardian newspaper.

Renowned feature writer Decca Aitkenhead visited Mr Lakeman at his Port St Mary home recently and a team from the newspaper made a short video which is on their Facebook page and has been viewed over 200,000 times.

Mr Lakeman’s tireless quest to legalise drugs follows the tragic deaths of his sons Jacques and Torin of MDMA overdoses in 2014, they were 20 and 19.

The agonising grieving process and analysis of what happened to his boys led him to a simple conclusion: the current drugs policy isn’t working and drugs need to be legalised and safely supplied through state run pharmacies.

Ms Aitkenhead, who visited during the TT races, also drew interesting parallels between motorsport and drug taking: both are dangerous and endanger lives but one (motorsport) is legal and made as safe as possible.

She wrote: ’Two days before we meet, a young TT racer on the Isle of Man had crashed and died. In the course of our conversation, another crash takes another life.

’It occurs to me that had these young men died because we had made it illegal for them to know the size of engine on the motorbike they were riding, there would be public uproar.

’Were motorbike racing promptly banned for being dangerous, there would be equal outrage. Instead, mourners will almost certainly take comfort in the knowledge that the two riders died doing something they loved; however dangerous, their choice will be respected, and efforts to make the race safer redoubled.’

Referring to TT comparison, Mr Lakeman said: ’I was trying to make it relevant, It’s about trying to make it as safe as possible if people choose these things. As she was talking to me a Scottish rider died.’

Mr Lakeman said the article generated ’a huge response’, explaining when he went to the House of Commons on June 26 with charity Anyone’s Child to call for drug law reform many people had got in contact with Anyone’s Child, and Ms Aitkenhead had referenced it. The weekend after the article the magazine canvassed opinion, 75% supported legalisation of drugs,15% were not sure.

He added Anyone’s Child met a cross party group of MPs and different police force representatives, ’it was all on the back of the legal cannabis case (in which 12-year-old epileptic Billy Caldwell was granted use of cannabis oil after it was confiscated at Heathrow airport). They are all fully supportive, the police explained there are difficulties with the law.

’Momentum is building saying these things are wrong. If they are planning to act on medicinal cannabis, they might look at others.’

’The Guardian was very interested in the Manx government’s investigation into decriminalising cannabis for medical use. An official report has revealed that the island’s death rate from drug misuse is higher than England’s.

Mr Lakeman said: ’I’m absolutely sure everyone’s expectations are changing, things are moving on, laws are not fit for purpose. The world has moved on since 1971, when the law was made.

’That’s 47 years ago. If you go 47 years before 1971 you think of changes since 1924! In that context it is ancient and outdated and it needs to be looked at. More and more are questioning what’s going on.’

He was angered by a letter in last week’s Examiner calling for laws governing cannabis to remain the same saying police work apprehending cannabis users is ’some of the most valuable work the police can do’. .

Misconceptions

Mr Lakeman said: ’The police are one of the driving forces behind decriminalising. I want to correct misconceptions. It’s about other people’s lives. What is happening is horrendously wrong ... this fear of cannabis is deeply rooted that it’s causing all these problems.

’It is banned, you cannot ban it any more than it is. But the system isn’t working. It’s illogical. If you want to look after people something has to change.

’While people want to talk to me and while there is no change it is what I will do.

’I wish I was not in this position but nothing will bring my boys back and I want to stop others going through the same thing.

I’m not ashamed of my boys. We need education. We need to make drugs regulated, it will make it boring.’