MP JOINS IN
CANNABIS ROW
Source: The Argus,
Worthing, UK
Pub Date: Friday,
29 August 2003
Subj: MP joins in
cannabis row
Author: Huw Borland
Web: http://www.thisisworthing.co.uk
Contact:
letters@theargus.co.uk
Cited: Legalise Cannabis Alliance
Cannabis Cafes http://www.ccguide.org/cannabiscafes.php
MP joins in
cannabis row
An MP has joined in
the row surrounding alleged cannabis cafes, saying police operations to shut
them down will cost more than £100,000.
Officers have so
far closed two of the three cafes in Worthing where it is alleged the drug has
been sold and consumed.
Tactics have included
stationing officers in Brougham Road and Victoria Road to search anyone leaving
or entering the cafes.
Now Tim Loughton,
Tory MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, said the "unofficial" price
of this police pressure, which has continued for the past month, may exceed
£100,000.
He disclosed the
figure in a letter to a pro-cannabis campaigner who had suggested police were
wasting resources on the crackdown.
Mr Loughton said it
was "purely an unofficial ballpark estimate" and added: "The
cheek of these cannabis campaigners is amazing. Whatever you think about the
legalisation of cannabis, as it stands, it is against the law.
"What they are
saying is it should not be policed in the this way but that's entirely a matter
of opinion depending on your views of legalisation.
"While it is
illegal it should be policed in the same way as burglary or any other
crime."
Chief Inspector
Russ Whitfield said it was difficult to estimate how much money was being spent
on the crackdown and police had not released any figures.
He said: "It's
different with a murder inquiry, you can ask for exactly how many hours have
been worked on it, but the cafes get normal patrols driving past. It's part of
normal policing, although we are putting in extra resources."
Mr Whitfield said
there was a remaining cafe in Victoria Road and efforts to close it would
continue.
Owners of Buddy's,
the alleged cannabis cafe in Brougham Road, had decided to shut following what
they called a "police siege" of the site.
But Legalise
Cannabis Alliance Press officer Don Barnard has continually questioned whether
the costly police tactics in Worthing were warranted.
In an email to Mr
Loughton, he wrote: "I'm confused by your ideology that possession of
cannabis is the same as theft, assault or whatever is against the law in this
country and must be treated equally.
"No one would
disagree that crimes of robbery, murders, rapes and assaults should be
punished. These types of crimes infringe on people's human rights, harm the
individual, their families and society in general. As such, punishment in these
cases can be justified.
"How can you
compare the above crimes with cannabis possession. Where is the harm to others?
"How does smoking a joint or growing a few plants impact on society as a whole? No one has their privacy or quality of life infringed. There is no victim."
Several people have been charged with drug offences in relation to a former cafe called Bongchuffa in Rowlands Road, Worthing, and are due to appear in court later this year.