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UK: Why it's far safer to smoke a joint in Northampton than Bournemouth
The Independent on Sunday Sunday 13 Feb 2000 Subj: UK: Why it's far safer to smoke a joint in Northampton than Bournemouth Date: 13 Feb, 2000 Source: The Independent on Sunday Why it's far safer to smoke a joint in Northampton than Bournemouth By Mark Gould and Sophie Goodchild An analysis of Home Office figures exclusively obtained by the Independent on Sunday has shown huge inconsistencies in the way that cannabis smokers are dealt with by the police. Striking regional variations mean that offenders in some parts of Britain are eight times more likely to get a criminal record than in other, more lenient areas. Northamptonshire is officially the safest county in the UK to smoke cannabis, and Dorset the area where users are most likely to receive a conviction. The latest regional breakdown suggests that, at a local level, the official policy on soft drugs is confused. It is understood that there have been disputes between Home Secretary Jack Straw, favouring the hardline approach, and advocates of a more pragmatic line, including Cabinet Office minister Mo Mowlam and "drugs tsar" Keith Hellawell. Responding to the survey, Mr Hellawell told the Independent on Sunday that police efforts should focus on harmful drugs. "I don't support the legalisation or decriminalisation of cannabis but the police must be allowed to use their discretion. "For a first offence involving a small amount, a warning or a caution may be the most appropriate policy. Each case must be judged on its merits." In Northamptonshire, 93 per cent of people who were arrested for possession of cannabis were let off with a caution; 3 per cent were fined; and only 1 per cent received prison sentences. But in Dorset just 37 per cent were cautioned, while 63 were per cent were charged and found guilty. Twenty six per cent were fined and 5 per cent went to prison. Northamptonshire police seized UKP700,000 worth of cannabis last year. But a spokesman acknowledged that harder drugs were proving to be the more significant problem: "Arrests for heroin use among the under-25s rose by more than 11 per cent last year, so we are following a national strategy trying to target dealers and hard drugs like heroin and cocaine." Dorset's assistant chief constable, Chris Lee, said that the high conviction rate was based on figures from 1997 and that a different approach had been adopted. "Now we have a new emphasis on increasing numbers of convictions for supplying and possession with intent to supply. The latest figures we have for April 1999 to January 2000 show a 45 per cent rise in prosecutions for supplying." Despite this, Pete Whiteley, 19, Student Union entertainments officer at Bournemouth and Poole College, said cannabis was "unbelievably easy" to buy in most clubs. "People think of Bournemouth as full of old people, but about 60 per cent of the population is under 25 and there are about 45 pubs." Most drug charities believe that a reform of the cannabis laws is overdue. Chris Snelling, from Dorset Drugs and Alcohol Advisory Service, was surprised at the apparently tough policy adopted in the county. "I was under the impression that far more people were receiving cautions now for simple possession," he said. The countryside around Bridport in west Dorset has a history associated with the cultivation of hemp, a close relative of cannabis, which was used to make ropes for the Royal Navy. "Over the past few years there have been discoveries of factories growing skunk (a high strength cannabis) and normal cannabis around Bridport - people have been convicted of manufacturing but I didn't think the police would be very interested in personal use." Release, the respected national drugs and legal advice service, said it would at the "very minimum" back the deprioritisation of cannabis. "In terms of the relative harm the drug causes, we think that a more lenient attitude is long overdue," said a spokesman. Research carried out by the Independent Drug Monitoring Unit shows that cannabis users stopped by the police were more likely to reoffend. "Our findings show that cannabis users who are hauled up by the police end up using a wider range of drugs," said Matthew Atha, director. "This breeds the attitude of 'I might as well be a druggie now'. The policy towards arrest and cautioning really should be reviewed and there should also be some guidelines issued on medicinal users." Chris Sanders, spokesman for the Cannabis Coalition, branded the Government's drug policy "a mess". "Addiction is going to increase if ministers carry on with these policies," he said. "The whole cannabis law is built on a myth of reefer madness. We would like arrests stopped immediately and an amnesty granted for all cannabis prisoners."
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