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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Cannabis arrests soar as heroin cases drop
Weston, Worle and Somerset Mercury Monday 05 Dec 2011 Statistics from the past five years – from October 2006 to September 2011 – show changing patterns of drug possession in the resort. For example, in 2006-07 heroin arrests comprised 20 per cent of all drug possession offences in Weston, and that figure rose even more in the following 12 months. However, by 2010-11, only nine per cent of arrests for drug possession related to the class A drug. Crack cocaine arrests have also dropped significantly. Total crack possession arrests in the three years from 2008-11 amount to less than those in 2007 alone. It is a similar story for cocaine possession, which peaked three years ago. Arrests over the past 12 months stand at just 60 per cent of 2008 levels. But class B drug cannabis bucks these trends. Arrests for possession of cannabis or cannabis resin have risen in four of the past five years, and the 2010-11 total represents a 91 per cent rise on the 2006-07 figure. Police say the drop in class A arrests is partly explained by tougher enforcement action – but also partly by Britain’s economic woes, with drugs like cocaine proving prohibitively expensive for dealers to import at current exchange rates. However, officers attribute the rise in cannabis prosecutions to the creation of a specialist police team looking to crack down on people who trade the drug. A spokesman said: “The increase in arrests for cannabis possession and supply is largely due to our force-wide initiative Operation Viscount. "This is our ongoing campaign to disrupt and destroy cannabis farms and the associated supply of cannabis throughout Avon and Somerset." And Superintendent Julian Moss sounded a warning to others involved in the production and supply of cannabis. He said: "We will be continuing to carry out many more warrants over the coming months to clamp down on cannabis cultivation in Avon and Somerset. "The cultivation of cannabis has become a highly profitable illegal business. It also brings with it many potential harms to our communities. "Operation Viscount should send out a clear message that illegal drugs of any kind will not be tolerated and we will continue to bring offenders to justice." http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/news/cannabis_arrests_soar_as_heroin_cases_drop_1_1144080
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