|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
UK: Avon and Somerset police relax attitude to cannabis use Ian Onions Western Daily Press Thursday 28 Apr 2016 Avon and Somerset police made its stance clear after comments by a Bristol mayoral candidate. But the force will not tolerate the smoking of cannabis in front of vulnerable people, such as children, or near schools and colleges. And they will continue to crack down on the commercial production of the Class B drug in so-called cannabis factories. The revelation came after Liberal Democrat Kay Barnard said she would like to see a "more relaxed approach" by the police towards cannabis if she were to be elected as Bristol's next mayor. Dr Barnard said she wanted to foster a "more joined-up approach" towards the housing crisis, tackling homelessness and helping the most vulnerable people in the city. To this end, she wants to "encourage a 'relaxed approach' to the policing of cannabis-related offences". In response, the police have re-issued a statement which says they have never targeted the personal use of cannabis "unless that use is in itself creating a more harmful situation and endangering vulnerable people (i.e. the smoking of cannabis around children or close to educational premises)". It goes on: "We do receive information from the public about suspected cannabis cultivation sites on a daily basis, so the growing of cannabis is clearly a concern for many within our communities. As the public would expect, that intelligence is researched and when appropriate, a warrant is applied for and executed. "We do, however, target organised groups who are responsible for the supply and production of cannabis on a commercial scale and some of the tactics used by these groups can involve small grow sites consistent with 'personal use'. These sites are taken very seriously as they can often involve vulnerable people being forced to grow cannabis against their will." The Lib Dems in Bristol have produced a six-point mini-manifesto to highlight their priorities during the next four years, which includes a reference to relaxing the way police deal with cannabis-related offences. Becky Lockyer, a Lib Dem local election candidate in Bishopston and Ashley Down ward, added: "We want to ensure that in a time of squeezed police budgets that financial resources are not wasted on the unnecessary prosecution and imprisonment of users and addicts; the focus instead should be on getting addicts the treatment they need. Police in our city should concentrate their efforts on tackling serious and violent crime and those who deal in hard drugs." In autumn last year, the Lib Dems set up an independent panel of experts to look at how a regulated, legalised cannabis market could work. Former London mayoral candidate and former Met Police deputy assistant commissioner Brian Paddick previously led a pilot scheme in Lambeth which effectively decriminalised possession of cannabis for personal use for a one-year period. The Lib Dems say the pilot saved resources and enabled police to deal more effectively with serious crime and led to crime rates falling significantly during the period. The party also says that police in County Durham will not target those who grow the drug for their own consumption. http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Police-relax-attitude-cannabis-use/story-29188691-detail/story.html
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!