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Campaign To Legalize Marijuana Use In Britain Picks Up Steam

Washington Post (DC)

Tuesday 10 Oct 2000

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Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: T.R. Reid, Washington Post Foreign Service


CAMPAIGN TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA USE IN BRITAIN PICKS UP STEAM

LONDON - The campaign to legalize marijuana in Britain gained a burst of
new momentum this weekend as politicians, pundits and even some police
officers called for repeal of the prohibition on use of the drug. And
it all came about as a backlash against a tough new proposal calling for
"zero tolerance" of marijuana.

The idea of legalizing marijuana for general use has been a non-starter
in the United States for years, but in most of Western Europe it is
increasingly popular.

Even before the latest surge of interest in Britain, decriminalization
had been supported here by several members of Parliament and major news
organizations. A report by the Police Foundation, a law enforcement
charity, said the prohibition of marijuana "produces more harm than it
prevents."

Then along came Ann Widdecombe, a tough law-and-order advocate who is
the spokeswoman on crime issues for the Conservative Party. At the
party's national convention last week, Widdecombe gave a fiery anti-
marijuana speech, calling for the immediate arrest and prosecution of
anyone suspected of having used the drug. She said police on the beat
should perform on-the-spot blood tests to identify pot users.

Of the scores of policy proposals floated at that convention,
Widdecombe's war on the drug known here as cannabis was the one that
caught the imagination of the press and the people. The result, hardly
the one she intended, has been to give a big push to the
decriminalization side.

First, police leaders said marijuana use is so widespread in Britain
that thousands of new officers would be needed just to arrest people
spotted with a spliff, slang for a marijuana cigarette. Then the feisty
London papers turned up at least seven top officials in Widdecombe's own
party who admitted to smoking the drug in the past; all would have
criminal records under the Widdecombe plan.

Even more striking, leading newspapers and several prominent politicians
argued that the better approach to cannabis would be legalization.
Among those now backing decriminalization is Charles Kennedy, leader of
Britain's third-largest party, the Liberal Democrats.

The reaction here reflects the growing divide between the United States
and most European countries on "soft drugs."

As the United States has been tightening drug laws, Europe has been
loosening them. The Netherlands has effectively legalized possession of
small amounts of marijuana; France and Germany have stopped enforcing
their laws. Britain still fines a few hundred cannabis users each year,
but thousands more are let off with a warning. It would be difficult
for Britain's government to step up enforcement, because the teenage son
of the cabinet's chief law enforcement official received nothing more
than a warning when he was caught dealing the drug three years ago.

Ann Widdecombe's call for a crackdown has been a political embarrassment
for the Conservatives, just as they were starting to make progress in
the polls. Conservative leader William Hague--who toasted Widdecombe
with champagne after her convention speech--said today he now believes
her idea needs "some reconsideration." Hague said he is "150 percent
confident" in his law enforcement spokeswoman.

 

 

 

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