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UK: Can you listen without prejudice?
Joni Ager Evening Telegraph
Saturday 21 Oct 2006 Star's appearance with cannabis sparks renewal in debate over legalisation. If you get stopped in the street by a police officer and they find you with cannabis you won’t get arrested. Cannabis hasn’t been legalised, but since January 2004, when former Home Secretary David Blunkette’s plan to change cannabis from a class B to a class C drug came into force, police across the country have adopted the policy not to arrest for simple possession. If they catch you with a small amount of cannabis, they’ll assume it’s for your own use, confiscate it and give you a warning. This is why George Michael felt comfortable enough to smoke a joint while being interviewed for ITV’s South Bank Show, which will be broadcast on Tuesday. So is it now safe to use cannabis without fear of arrest? Well, no. Police do still have the power to arrest for possession but they will use their discretion, based on the cir. circumstances. The exception to the rule is if you are seen smoking cannabis in public, you are caught with the drug again after receiving a warning, or if you are causing a nuisance while in possession of cannabis. You will also be arrested if police catch you with cannabis near a school or a youth club. Superintendent Richard James, head of community. policing and partnerships, says the policy on cannabis possession is to allow police to devote their resources to targeting possession and dealing of class A drugs such as cocaine. Supt James said: “In Northamptonshire, we have always made targeting dealers of class A drugs our priority. “In that respect, we will continue to use our discretion when dealing with people found in possession of small amounts of cannabis, deemed for personal use. “However; people should be warned that officers still retain their power of arrest where there are aggravating circumstances, such as repeated possession of cannabis, smoking of cannabis in public view or possession of cannabis near to young people. “While this is a sensitive balance to maintain, it is important that we are always looking to concentrate our resources on the most harmful aspects of drug misuse. “A key thrust of the declassification of cannabis was to free up police officers’ time, enabling officers to focus more effectively on class A drug suppliers and users and, working with partners, getting people Into treatment where appropriate.” However, police will arrest anyone suspected of dealing cannabis and when the new law came Into effect, so did new sentencing powers. The maximum penalty for dealing class C drugs went up from five years to 14 years in prison, while the maximum sentence for possession went down from five to two years. When Mr Blunkette announced his plans to downgrade cannabis there were fears more people would start using it, assuming it was now ‘allowed’. But Service Six, a young people’s support and counselling service in Wellingborough, carried out a survey with young people soon after Mr Blunkette’s proposal and the results were unexpected. The 13 to 25-year-olds questioned were split 50-50 on whether cannabis should be legalised and while some made comments like “it helps people to relax” and “it’s better than cigarettes”, others were well aware of the possible dangers of cannabis use, saying “it’s not a good thing to get on to” and “people will abuse it”. Service Six project co-ordinator Jane Deamer says young people’s attitudes to cannabis are pretty much the same four years on. She said: “There were a lot of assumptions about young people’s attitudes to cannabis and drugs and our results were quite surprising. “Young people were more aware of the issues around drugs and it was a topic that came high on their agenda. The majority of young people are very anti-drugs. “There is certainly more awareness than there used to he and if we were to repeat the survey I think a lot of young people would still feel very much the same.” However, there are others who think Mr Blunkett’s law doesn’t go far enough and are continuing to fight for the legalisation of cannabis. The Legalise Cannabis Alliance is a political party formed to campaign for legalisation of the drug and it has had election candidates stand unsuccessfully - for seats in Wellingborough and Northampton. Don Barnard, of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance, argues there are all sorts of substances sold in shops that are far more dangerous to people’s health than cannabis. He said: “The argument is legalising cannabis ‘may’ increase use, ‘might’ lead to societal destruction and ‘possibly’ increase health risks to the users. “Life is full of health and safety ~ risks which are far more harmful. “Every supermarket sells food items and over the counter medications, many of which, if used inappropriately, may, might or even possibly cause toxic response, gastrointestinal distress, cardiac arrest, obesity; liver damage, neurological damage and even death. “We do not prohibit these substances arrest and imprison people who them. Instead, we live with these risks. We to advise the public with health notions, warning the consumer of the potential harms on the pack19, and we regulate the suppliers. The moment cannabis is termed a controlled drug’ in law, but in practice is not subject to any form of regulation “Given the widescale availability use of cannabis, shouldn't it be subject to similar controls as other substances we consume every day? -- WebBooks Amazing Amazon Store: http://astore.amazon.co.uk/webbooks05
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