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UK: Give us a proper debate on cannabis

The Independent

Sunday 11 Feb 2001

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With a general election looming, it was never likely that the Government
would react imaginatively to last year's Police Foundation report on drugs.
Nevertheless, forced by the Home Affairs select committee to come up with a
formal response, last week's reaction was disappointing. Twenty-four of the
report's sensible suggestions were rejected. Most notably, the Government
refused to consider the reclassification of cannabis, which would have made
possession of the drug a non-imprisonable offence; although ministers did
at least make some moves to end the stigma of the cautioning process, which
currently forces caught-but-cautioned job applicants to 'fess up like
convicts.

The report's author, Viscountess Runciman of Doxford, was unimpressed by
the Government's response to her two years of research. Describing it as
"mistaken and complacent", she complained that "this leaves us with a law
that is out of touch with reality". She was supported by the Labour MP
David Winnick, who said: "Many law-abiding people, who wouldn't dream of
flouting the law, nevertheless do take cannabis, don't believe they are
criminals, and I believe we simply have to recognise a fact of life."

But the laws as they stand do have their uses for the Government, it seems.
Speaking on Question Time last week, the Home Office minister Charles
Clarke dangled the carrot of marijuana legalisation for medicinal purposes.
Cynics might suggest that the Government intends to split the vocal lobby
clamouring for Multiple Sclerosis sufferers to be prescribed the
(expensive) Beta Interferon, which may alleviate their symptoms, by
allowing the use of this (cheap) alternative. We hope that that is unfair.
The best way for the Government to prove us wrong would be - once the election is over - to treat the Runciman proposals seriously by initiating
a proper debate about the pros and cons of decriminalising cannabis.

 

 

 

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