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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Cannabis possession rises by a third
Catriona Davies The Telegraph
Tuesday 23 Nov 2004 The number of people caught with cannabis in London has risen by a third since the Government relaxed the possession law, the Metropolitan Police Authority said yesterday. A report endorsed by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir John Stevens, said there had been a 31 per cent increase in "possession offenders" - people arrested or given warnings - since the drug was de-classified from class B to class C in January. The change in law also created tensions between police and youths, who believed they could openly smoke cannabis. Between April and August, 8,148 people were arrested or given warnings for possession, up from 6,231 for the same period last year. For the same period there was a 53 per cent fall in arrests, from 6,231 in 2003 to 3,307 in 2004. The report said the law had saved time as officers handled fewer arrests. In the five months compared, 14,620 hours or UKP423,980 had been saved. It said it was too early to know whether officers had been able to concentrate on class A drugs.
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