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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Blair firmly opposed to legalising cannabis Paul Majendie Reuters Friday 13 Oct 2000 LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair, alarmed by the link between drugs and organised crime, has said he is firmly opposed to legalising cannabis. "There is a debate about whether you decriminalise cannabis or legalise cannabis. I am against it," he said. The issue hit the headlines when opposition Conservative Ann Widdecombe unveiled "zero tolerance" plans for instant fines for possessing even small amounts of the drug and criminal records and court cases for repeat offenders. Police, the public and even members of her own party turned on Widdecombe, forcing Conservative leader William Hague to back down even though she claimed he had cleared the policy. Eight of Hague's front bench spokesmen confessed to having smoked dope in the past. On Friday Blair's public health minister, Yvette Cooper, admitted she had tried cannabis at university. Blair said what happened on some university campus years ago was not important. "What is important is making sure that we fight organised crime and the drugs trade," he told BBC Radio. "There are some inner city areas in our country where 50, 60, 70 percent of the crime is drug-related. I don't think it is a very sensible thing to send out a signal that you now want to legalise drugs." "What is important is to concentrate on the fight against drugs, organised crime, the links between drugs and crime." Blair said he was worried about the message that might be sent out to impressionable young people. "I would really prefer my children to have nothing to do with drugs at all." Interior Minister Jack Straw has said the government is testing drugs based on cannabis compounds to see if they could help in the treatment of diseases like multiple sclerosis. If the results prove positive, he would look at decriminalisation in that specific area. But he dismissed campaigners' arguments that cannabis is less harmful than alcohol. He said doctors and psychiatrists say the drug can exacerbate mental illness and cancer in the long- term and was carcinogenic. If it was legalised, consumption would increase fast, raising the prospect of damage being done. Two former police chiefs have called for legalisation to help stamp out harder drugs. Straw agreed to the extent that the focus had to be on hard drugs like heroin and cocaine. But with an election possible within seven months, even Labour MPs who favour decriminalisation, such as Paul Flynn and Brian Iddon, admit there is no chance of ministers grasping the nettle any time soon.
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