Source: Eastern Daily Press, UK
Pub Date: Saturday, 13 September 2003
Subj: Is dope law reefer madness?
Author: Richard Balls
Web: www.edp24.co.uk
Cited: Legalise Cannabis Alliance http://www.lca-uk.org/
Contact: EDPLetters@archant.co.uk
IS DOPE LAW REFFER MADNESS?
If smoking pot
muddles the mind, then the new guidelines on police enforcement could leave you
equally confused. In trying to usher in a more relaxed attitude towards
cannabis, also known as dope, pot, hash, weed and blow, the Government is
reclassifying the drug from Class B to Class C, and effectively saying that
smoking it at home is fine by them.
Police chiefs this
week issued their guidelines about the circumstances in which cannabis users
could find themselves arrested.
But while there is
no doubt that a more relaxed approach is being taken to allow police to
concentrate their efforts on crack cocaine and heroin, critics say it fails to
address many key issues.
If it is OK to
smoke a spliff or joint at a friend's party or in your garden, why not in a
public park or at a concert? Will forces in big cities be as tough on people
who blatantly smoke in public as those in rural counties like Norfolk?
And if cannabis is
in the 'least harmful' category along with anabolic steroids and some
prescription anti-depressants, why should their supplier face 14 years in
prison?
These are just some
of the obvious questions posed by the guidelines issued by Norfolk's police
chief and the Association of Chief Police Officers' drugs spokesman Andy
Hayman.
It is, the Legalise
Cannabis Alliance says, an "illusion of change" which fails to
address fundamental issues which have surrounded the drug for years.
"The
Government is afraid to legalise it in case it has bad consequences, so they
are doing it a step at a time to see what happens and what the backlash
is," said Alun Buffry, the Norwich-based co-ordinator of the Legalise
Cannabis Alliance. "There are moves on the medical supply side so other
courts are beginning to accept that the plant is a medication for a lot of
people.
"I know
someone who has multiple sclerosis and is in a wheelchair and he smokes a joint
and it stops his spasms. But if he is outside in the park and has spasms
because he can't smoke a joint, there is something wrong there."
Under ACPO's new
guidance, most people caught in possession of cannabis will be left off with a
verbal warning. Situations in which people could be arrested include:
Smoking cannabis in
public;
Smoking it after being
found repeatedly with it;
Possessing it
inside or near places where there are children – such as schools, youth clubs
or play areas;
Using it in areas
where it is causing a 'local policing problem,' meaning a 'fear of public
disorder';
People aged under
17 found using cannabis.
Plans for a 'three
strikes and you're out' policy have however been abandoned by the Government,
and police have set no limit in terms of how much makes someone a dealer.
The guidelines
would be implemented in January next year when the drug is expected to be
reclassified.
Home Secretary
David Blunkett yesterday denied suggestions that the proposals about how to
deal with cannabis use would result in confusion, and said the Government was
simply recognising what many forces were already doing.
It would lead to a
"sensible consistency across the country" which would distinguish
between less harmful drugs like cannabis from "killer drugs in the
community."
Asked if he thought
ACPO's guidelines had sent out the wrong message to young people, he said:
"The only wrong message that is being put out is those proclaiming that
we've been legalising cannabis, which we have not, and those who have said that
it isn't a long-term dangerous drug, which it is.
"What we have
said it that it is not the killer and not the danger to the community that
drugs like heroin and crack cocaine are."
Mr Hayman said:
"In the spirit of the Home Secretary's decision to reclassify cannabis,
the new guidance recommends that there should be a presumption against arrest.
"In practice,
this means that the majority of case officers will issue a warning and
confiscate the drug.
"Police
officers will be expected to use their discretion and take the circumstances of
each case into account before deciding whether to arrest or not."
But cannabis users
insist the Government must go further to adopt a sensible policy and allow dope
smokers the same rights as drinkers.
Mr Buffry said:
"The Government should be concerned about protecting people even when they
are doing things like rock climbing or driving a fast car. They make rules for
people so they have advice and the right equipment and you can go on a race
track to do it.
"But for
cannabis, which 30pc or 40pc of young people and 20pc of older people use,
there is nowhere for anyone to go and gather socially – which is hypocritical
when you consider the damage that alcohol causes.
"We still need
to get dealers out of the picture and provide private clubs and coffee shops
where cannabis users can socialise together and get information and
advice."
Shadow home
secretary Oliver Letwin attacked the proposals as the "worst of both
worlds".
"There is a
case for legislation, and there is a case for people getting off drugs,"
he said. "What there is not a case for is making them semi-legal."