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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: I smoked dope
News & Star, Carlisle
Thursday 11 Jul 2002 CUMBRIA'S former Chief Constable Colin Phillips today admitted smoking cannabis. Mr Phillips, who quit his post as the county's senior police officer last October, revealed that he had tried the drug before becoming a police officer. His comments came as the Government yesterday officially downgraded cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug. Mr Phillips, 50, is a former chairman of a national police drugs committee. He also revealed that he believed the UK would have cannabis coffee shops within two to three years. Cough Speaking exclusively to the News & Star, he said: "I tried it out of curiosity. I had a couple of puffs but, like cigarettes, I can't smoke and it would be virtually impossible for me to smoke a joint. I don't know how to do it. "I didn't enjoy it. It just made me cough. It didn't have any effect on me." Mr Phillips said he tried the drug more than 30 years ago. He retired as Cumbria's chief constable last October to become a director of his family's catering firm in Newcastle. He said he did not break any laws during his brief cannabis experience but would not comment on the circumstances surrounding it for personal reasons. Despite his brief cannabis use, he said he was not in favour of full-blown legalisation but he believed it would happen. He also said Dutch-style cannabis coffee shop were inevitable in Britain and may start appearing in a couple of years time. "It's inevitable that we will have them but we're not ready yet," Mr Phillips said. "I think we will start to see the coffee shops in two or three years time. I don't believe people should have a criminal record for possession of small amounts of cannabis for their own use." A former chairman of the Association of Chief Police Officers drugs sub-committee, Mr Phillips advised Government ministers on cannabis issues while Cumbria's Chief Constable. He said there was evidence that the drug had proven medical benefits for multiple sclerosis sufferers and dismissed fears that it led to harder drug abuse. "There is no evidence that cannabis is a gateway drug leading to people taking harder drugs," he added. "That's like saying drinking water leads to alcohol abuse." Mr Phillips fuelled the debate surrounding cannabis nearly two years ago when he told The Cumberland News he would turn a blind eye if someone smoked it in front of him at a friend's house. His remarks were put to Prime Minister Tony Blair and featured on national TV news
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