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UK: Cannabis conviction 'causes more harm than drug itself'

Ananova

Tuesday 19 Feb 2002

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A criminal conviction for cannabis possession causes greater harm than a
few years' experimentation with the drug, a Dutch expert warns.

Bob Keizer, who was in Liverpool to address a conference, says he sees no
reason why the liberal approach adopted by the authorities in Holland will
not work in Britain.

Drug policy adviser to the ministry of health, welfare and sports in the
Netherlands, he claims Dutch-style cannabis cafes has helped crack down on
dealers peddling their wares in schoolyards and on the streets.

Speaking before the conference Mr Keizer outlined the benefits of Dutch
drug policy, explaining that 25 years of effective decriminalisation had
not led to an increase in cannabis use while all links with hard drugs were
severed.

"A situation like that in a number of other countries, where the mostly
youthful users run the risk of coming into contact with the judicial
system, is seen as highly undesirable in the Netherlands," added Mr Kaizer.

"The harm done by a criminal record is greater than the harm caused by
(generally) a few years of experimental drug use," he told the gathering.

Cannabis Conference: Shaping a New Agenda was staged at Liverpool's
Devonshire Hotel and organised by the North West Public Health Observatory,
the Drug Prevention Advisory Service and the Regional Drugs Training and
Information Service.

It comes as the Home Office considers proposals that could see the
reclassification of cannabis as a Class C drug with possession of small
amounts no longer an arrestable offence.

The conference was opened by Professor John Ashton, North West Director of
Public Health, who admitted to smoking cannabis once as a student in the 1960s.

He welcomed recent developments saying "decent policy" came "from having a
full picture - not from dogma or ideology".

 

 

 

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