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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Q&A: the new cannabis rules
Stewart Tendler, Crime Correspondent The Times On-Line
Tuesday 03 Sep 2002 Cannabis users will escape with a formal warning if they are caught smoking the drug on one or two occasions, but, under national guidelines to be introduced next year, they will face prosecution on the third offence. Stewart Tendler, left, Crime Correspondent, reports. Is the "three strikes" system much less severe then the current one? Yes. At present, possession of cannabis can mean a caution or a fine which leads to a criminal record. Under the plan anyone caught with cannabis in the street would get a formal warning which is not part of a criminal record. But if they are caught three times in a year they will be arrested and could be cautioned or charged and sent to face magistrates. Who was responsible for the guidelines? They were drawn up at the request of chief constables by Andy Hayman, a Deputy Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard, and the national spokesman for senior officers on drugs. The chief constables are expected to ratify the guidelines next month. Is there a starting date for their implementation? They are likely to apply from about July 2003. Will they be followed by police right across the country? They should be. Chief constables representing all the forces in England and Wales will be asked to agree to the plan. Scotland and Northern Ireland are likely to follow suit. Has there been a pilot for this system? It has been tested in part in Lambeth, South London, where people caught with a small amount of cannabis have been dealt with informally - with a caution - rather than being arrested, since July 2001. A Scotland Yard review found that crime figures in the area had fallen during the scheme, while arrests for more serious drugs offences had risen The aim in Lambeth was to allow police to concentrate on hard drugs rather than cannabis and to halt the high level of bureaucracy involved in taking someone to court. What practical difference will this make to police? Research shows that many officers already give unofficial warnings to cannabis users and dump their drugs down the nearest drain. They are likely to accept the change which gives them less paperwork while maintaining the powers of arrest which many chiefs wanted.
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