26/11/2003 (Agence Europe) - The Italian Radical Marco Panella seized the opportunity offered by the meeting between the Italian Defence Minister, Antonio Martino, and the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, on Tuesday in Brussels, to send his warm and supportive salutations to Emilio Colombo who has just admitted to the courts that he has consumed cocaine since the age of 80 (he is now 83). Questioned by Mr Pannella over the 'war against drugs,' Mr Martiono stated: I am convinced that prohibition causes much more damage than drugs and he notably mentioned the revenues drawn from the farming of opium poppies by war lords in Afghanistan and the profits of dealers and the links for various forms of organise crime. Nevertheless, he nuanced his statement by explaining that he is not sure whether other solutions may work in practice.