CANNABIS DOWNGRADE IS A ' WASTE OF
TIME' SAY MP'S
Source: Essex Gazette
[UK]
Pub Art:
Cannabis downgrade is a ' waste of time' say MP's
Pub Date:
Thursday, 30 October 2003
Author: Gina
Marden
Cited: The Legalise Cannabis Alliance http://www.lca-uk.org
CANNABIS
DOWNGRADE IS A ' WASTE OF TIME' SAY MP'S
ESSEX MP's have
Slammed government plans to downgrade cannabis from a class B to a class C
drug.
Under Home
Secretary David Blunkett's proposals, possessing the drug will no longer be an
arrestable offence.
It is hoped the
reclassification will allow police to concentrate their efforts on tackling
class A drugs.
But the
proposals debated in the Commons yesterday (Wed) have met with strong Opposition
from MPs and pro-cannabis groups.
Angela
Watkinson, Tory MP for Upminster, said she would vote against the plans, as
cannabis was the "gateway" for users to "take stronger
drugs".
"Most
people who are hard drug addicts start on cannabis," she said. "The
Home Secretary is hoping to reclassify it on the grounds that police can concentrate
on targeting class A drugs.
"But
evidence shows cannabis and heroin have similar effects on the brain," she
added.
Linda Perham,
Labour MP for Ilford North, also voiced concerns about the move and said she
would vote against the downgrade.
"I am
concerned about the dangers the drug poses to health. People use it for medical
reasons, but it's not administered by a doctor and that is not safe," she
said.
Don Barnard,
Chelmsford spokesman for the Legalise Cannabis Alliance branded the downgrade a
"waste of time".
"The
government should look towards the legal regulatory control of cannabis,"
he told The Enquirer.
"This
reclassification makes no provision for those using cannabis for medical
reasons not to be punished. It will just be left to the discretion of police
officers."
Officers will
have the power to arrest individuals in situations where they are repeatedly
found to have the drug or are found smoking it near children.
Currently around
80,000 cannabis users are arrested and fined for possession each year.
Under the Home
Office proposals, users will instead face a warning and have the drug
confiscated.
A regional
spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers praised he plans and
said the reclassification would "allow police to focus more time and
resources on hard drugs".
If the plans are given the
green light, cannabis will be downgraded on 29 January 2004.