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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Q&A: Cannabis guidelines
Danny Shaw BBC Online
Monday 01 Sep 2003 Police in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, have been given new guidelines on how to deal with cannabis users. BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw takes a closer look at the guidelines and the changes they will bring. What are the key changes in the guidelines? The key change is that there will be a "presumption against arrest" when officers come across someone with cannabis in their possession. At present, police are expected to arrest cannabis users, though officers in some forces already take a pragmatic approach and turn a blind eye to people who have small amounts of the drug for their own use. What will the changes mean for cannabis users? Most people found in possession of cannabis are unlikely to be arrested. Instead, the police will give them an informal on-the-spot warning and confiscate the drug. Can people still be arrested for using and dealing cannabis? Yes. Police still have the power to arrest anyone found with cannabis, though they are advised to use their discretion. Those who smoke the drug in "public view" or in front of children - near playgrounds, schools and youth clubs - are more likely to be arrested. Persistent cannabis offenders are also more at risk of arrest as are those who use the drug in situations where there is a "fear of public disorder". Dealers will continue to be arrested and face the same penalties as before - a maximum of 14 years in prison. Why are these changes being brought in? The guidelines are intended to help the police put the policy on re-classifying cannabis into practice. The Home Office and the police hope the changes will mean officers will spend less time arresting and processing cannabis offenders, allowing them to focus on more harmful drugs like heroin, cocaine and crack. When will they take effect? Subject to Parliamentary approval cannabis will be re-classified on 29 January 2004. The guidelines will take effect at about the same time. Are they likely to face much opposition? A number of MPs and anti-drug campaigners have grave misgivings about the decision to re-classify cannabis, saying it sends out the wrong message about drugs. The Police Federation, which represents frontline officers, is also opposed to re-classification, though it welcomes the guidelines. But many drugs workers say the changes are long overdue. Are they likely to cause confusion amongst the public? There is some evidence that the decision to re-classify, and the experiment at Brixton in south London under which police took a more lenient approach to cannabis offences, led some people to think that cannabis was being legalised. Whether confusion remains depends on how well ministers, police, teachers and drug workers can explain the changes whilst reinforcing the message that cannabis remains illegal.
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