Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:


After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.

UK: Police accused of drugs law 'sabotage'

Stewart Tendler

The Times

Thursday 05 Sep 2002

---
THE head of a drugs agency accused conservative elements in the police of
ruining efforts to liberalise cannabis laws.

Roger Howard, chief executive of the charity Drugscope, said yesterday that
plans by chief constables to introduce a "three spliffs and you're out"
rule for cannabis possession, when the drug is reclassified from Class B to
Class C, showed some police wanted to cling to their powers of arrest.

Under the plan, outlined at a national drugs conference in Blackpool,
anyone caught once or twice in possession of cannabis would receive a
warning. If caught a third time in a year, they would be arrested.

Mr Howard, who sits on a council advising the Government on drugs policy,
said the Home Secretary had said that arrests would be made only if there
were aggravating factors. He said: "Repeat possession is not an aggravating
factor. This three strikes policy is likely to hit communities subject to
the most stop and searches."

Police are not allowed to make arrests for possession of Class C drugs, but
Mr Blunkett bowed to police pressure for some related powers.

 

 

 

After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back. 




This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.

Feel free to link to this page!