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UK: Tories condemn Brixton cannabis scheme

Matthew Tempest

The Guardian

Tuesday 09 Jul 2002

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The Conservative high command today tried to pre-empt the home secretary's
reclassification of cannabis by declaring the Lambeth police pilot a
"disaster".

The Tory leader, Iain Duncan Smith, and his shadow home secretary, Oliver
Letwin, are visiting Brixton today to highlight their opposition to the
policing policy of issuing an informal caution to those found in possession
of cannabis.

Mr Blunkett is expected to formally announce tomorrow his decision to
reclassify cannabis as a class C drug, therby making possession a
non-arrestable offence.

Although the Conservatives do not oppose the cannabis reclassification per
se, they have joined forces with the Daily Mail and the London Evening
Standard to criticise former Lambeth police commander Brian Paddick's
scheme. The trial was launched to give police more time to combat hard drugs.

Mr Letwin said today: "We are going to Brixton to highlight the disaster
that the Brixton cannabis experiment has become.

"Community leaders, local police officers and local residents have all
rightly pointed out that this experiment has caused a significant increase
in drug dealing of all kinds in Brixton.

"Worse yet, it is clear that this experiment has handed over control of the
estates to drug dealers and their gangs."

He added: "Ultimately, this issue is about whether the forces of law and
order control an area or whether it is controlled by other forces."

In a bid to sugar the pill of the drug reclassification - which was
recommended by both the police foundation and the home affairs select
committee - Mr Blunkett is expected to announce a doubling of the maximum
sentence for dealing cannabis.

However, the Tories say there has been a significant overall increase in
drug trafficking in Lambeth and that drug dealers are in control, not the
police.

Kate Hoey, one of the local Labour MPs, has also condemned the experiment,
saying it has made drug trafficking socially acceptable.

Last week, Mr Paddick defended the scheme, saying there was no evidence to
show his relaxed approach had attracted an influx of "drugs tourists" to
Brixton.

Figures from Scotland Yard last month showed street crime in Lambeth had
fallen dramatically.


The policy of issuing police warnings might be extended to other parts of
the country if - as seems likely - Mr Blunkett announces on Wednesday that
the penalties for cannabis are to be downgraded.

He told MPs last October there was a case for reclassification, although he
declared he was not in favour of shifting ecstasy from class A to class B.

 

 

 

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