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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Dope Smoking: 400 Let Off
Sky News
Wednesday 02 Jan 2002 Around 400 cannabis smokers have been let off for possession of the drug under a controversial pilot scheme in London. Under the radical policy in Brixton, south London, those caught with small amounts of dope are let off with a formal warning - but their cannabis is confiscated. The scheme was introduced last July and is intended to free up police time so officers can concentrate on the fight against harder drugs such as crack cocaine and heroin. Arrests But opponents say cannabis is a gateway to more dangerous drugs and are critical of the experiment. From July to November last year, 381 people were given a formal warning for possession of cannabis - a figure expected to rise to 400 by the end of December, a Metropolitan Police spokesman said. During the same period in 2000, 278 people were arrested for the same offence. Police time The Met has argued that confiscating drugs and issuing a warning on the street generally takes 10 minutes of an officer's time, instead of up to 10 hours if the person is arrested, taken to a police station and formally cautioned. "Lambeth has many issues with harder drugs, and crack cocaine is the drug which concerns people the most," said the spokesman. "This scheme gives officers more time to target those drugs." The initiative has been extended until the spring and the Met is awaiting the results of two reports - an internal evaluation and an independent inquiry - into its merits.
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