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Tories Split Over Drug Fines
CNN.com (US Web)
Sunday 08 Oct 2000 Website: http://www.cnn.com/ UK TORIES SPLIT OVER DRUG FINES LONDON, England -- The U.K.'s opposition Conservative Party has suddenly split between advocates of a tough new policy against marijuana and senior party figures who admit they smoked the drug in their youth. The issue flared up at the party's annual conference, where criminal justice spokeswoman Ann Widdecombe announced a policy of mandatory fines for the first offence of possessing any amount of marijuana. "It means zero tolerance of possession. No more getting away with just a caution, no more hoping that a blind eye will be turned. If someone possesses drugs, the minimum for a first offence will be a fixed penalty of 100 pounds ($150). But not for a second offence. Then it's into court," said Widdecombe, who cited New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's anti-crime policies as her inspiration. Cannabis accounted for 77 percent of the drug possession cases in 1998, the Home Office reported. In half of the total cases, the defendant was simply cautioned, and about one of four was fined. Senior police officials have said that enforcing the law against marijuana is not high among their priorities. Like all policies announced at the conference, Widdecombe's announcement was calculated to be popular with members of the traditional law and order party, and attractive to swing voters. However, the Police Superintendents' Association said the policy was impracticable and unenforceable. The Daily Telegraph, usually a cheerleader for the Conservatives, said in an editorial that Widdecombe "displayed almost zero common sense." An editorial in The Times said her policy would "criminalize thousands of otherwise law-abiding individuals." Then seven senior Tories admitted to the Mail on Sunday newspaper that they had used marijuana. "It was quite hard to go through Cambridge University in the '70s without doing it a few times," said Francis Maude, the party's spokesman on foreign affairs. Environment spokesman Archie Norman said he tried marijuana and had no regrets. "It didn't do much for me. I turned to drink instead," Norman said. "I think you expect human beings to explore and experiment. If you don't you haven't been young," Norman said. Culture spokesman Peter Ainsworth said he tried marijuana, but "it made me feel slightly sick." Welfare spokesman David Willetts admitted trying two puffs, but not liking it. The issue illustrated a split on the party between Widdecombe's hard line and Treasury spokesman Michael Portillo's appeal for a more inclusive and caring party. Portillo, who has admitted to a past gay relationship, declined to talk about marijuana. "I think I've given enough information about my younger days, don't you?" said Portillo. The split poses a dilemma for William Hague, the party leader who boasted recently of downing 14 pints of beer a day as a teenager. He faces contrary pressures either to soften the policy, or dismiss the admitted marijuana users. The governing Labour Party has avoided a debate on marijuana. The Liberal Democrats, the third largest party in Parliament, want to create a Royal Commission to examine the issue and recommend possible changes in the law. The party's leader, Charles Kennedy, said Sunday he personally favoured an end to criminal penalties. "I am thoroughly persuaded that where cannabis is concerned, it should be a prescribable drug for people, for example, who suffer from multiple sclerosis," Kennedy said in a television interview. Recreational use, he said, should be a civil offence, on a par with littering.
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