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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Majority of poll callers favour legalising cannabis
The Daily Telegraph, UK
Tuesday 04 Apr 2000 Subj: UK: Majority of poll callers favour legalising cannabis Date: 4 Apr, 2000 Source: The Daily Telegraph, UK Majority of poll callers favour legalising cannabis By Philip Johnston and Richard Eden A CLEAR majority of callers who took part in The Daily Telegraph telephone poll on drugs favoured the legalisation of cannabis for an experimental period. Of nearly 4,000 calls received at the weekend, 2,438 (61 per cent) were for the sale and consumption of the drug and 1,559 (39 per cent) against. The result coincides with a new push in Parliament to test the extent of support among MPs for decriminalisation or legalisation. Paul Flynn, Labour MP for Newport West and a campaigner for drug law reform, is gathering support for a 10-minute rule Bill calling for cannabis to be legalised for an experimental period of four years. Last week he tabled a Commons motion congratulating The Telegraph for its "intelligent, progressive call to legalise cannabis for an experimental period". His Bill will call for the drug to be sold under strict conditions from specially licensed premises. Although all three major parties are officially opposed to legalisation - and such a move is of dubious international legality because Britain is signatory to several United Nations conventions on drugs - there is growing scepticism at Westminster about the current laws. Howard Flight, Conservative Treasury spokesman and MP for Arundel and South Downs, became one of the first leading Tories to show some public sympathy for the argument to legalise cannabis. Mr Flight said that he "might" support Mr Flynn's Bill, but this would depend on the precise wording. He said: "I think that there are extremely powerful arguments that criminalisation creates crime and does not stop usage." Jackie Ballard, Liberal Democrat MP for Taunton, called for the possession of cannabis to be decriminalised, but thought that it was too early for the sale of the drug to be legalised. She said: "I think that we do not know enough about the link between cannabis and hard drugs. While it makes sense to downgrade possession of cannabis, we should not do anything which could encourage people to harm their health." Mr Flynn said that if cannabis were legalised, it could be brought under effective control. Mr Flynn said: "Prohibition does not work. Cannabis needs to be taken away from the criminals and the thrill of illegality removed. If, like alcohol, it was legal, people could choose the strength of drug they took. They would be much more likely to take a mild form, in the same way that they are more likely to drink a beer than strong alcohol." Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, acknowledged last week that there was a "coherent argument" for legalising cannabis, although he said the case for doing so was fatally flawed. He did allow for the possibility that cannabis might be made available on prescription to relieve the pain of those suffering from conditions such as multiple sclerosis.
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