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UK: MP Warns on Cannabis Cafes

Pippa Crerar, Political Staff

PA News wire

Wednesday 04 Feb 2004

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Drug dealers must not be able to use the downgrading of cannabis as an
opportunity to set up cannabis cafes, the Prime Minister was urged today.

As a spate of the cafes spring up around the country, Labour's Tom Harris
(Glasgow Cathcart) warned the Commons at question time that his city needed
'more jobs, not more drugs'.

Reclassification of cannabis from class B to class C, putting it in the
same category as tranquillisers and steroids, came into effect last week.

The changes mean penalties for possession will be lessened but dealers
could face up to 14 years in jail.

Mr Harris told the Commons: 'A number of drug dealers are using the recent
reclassification of cannabis as an opportunity to open up cannabis cafes in
various parts of the country - I understand that one is also planned for
Glasgow.'

He asked the Prime Minister: 'Will you agree with me that what Glasgow
needs is more jobs, not more drugs and will you commit the Government to
using all of its resources to make sure that these cannabis cafes do not
proliferate?'

Mr Blair replied: 'Yes, which is why we've taken action against such cafes
and I think it's important that we continue to do so.'

But he added: 'The possession of cannabis remains a criminal offence, the
purpose of what we have done recently however is to make sure that the
police can, where they need to do so, target their main resources and
activity on dealing with hard drugs.

'But all of these things are important to deal with.'

 

 

 

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