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UK: Cannabis offences up a third in London under new law
AFP
Monday 22 Nov 2004 LONDON (AFP) - Cannabis-related offenses have gone up by a third since January, when the government relaxed the law on possession of the drug, the Metropolitan Police said. Cannabis was reclassified from class B, which includes drugs like amphetamines, to class C, which includes tranquilizers and prescription antibiotics. The report, endorsed by Commissioner Sir John Stevens, said the changes had created confusion among users about whether hash and marijauana was illegal, and greater overall pressure on police officers. "The reclassification has sent out a mixed/confusing message to police officers and members of the public," it said. "It was reported that front line officers were finding searches resulting in cannabis seizures were often confrontational. "Youths were telling officers that they could not do anything about their possession of the drug." For a four-month period ending in August, 8,148 people were arrested for possession of cannabis, up from 6,231 for the same period a year earlier, according to the police statistics. The new guidelines which accompanied the drug's reclassification reduces the sentences associated with cannabis possession. The Association of Chief Police Officers said officers in general should not arrest most people for cannabis possession but serve them with a warning instead and confiscate the drug. Minors caught with the drug should be arrested and given a formal warning, they said, as should anyone caught smoking it near a school. With all cases, police still retain the power to arrest those in possession, who risk a maximum two-year prison sentence. The changes to the legal status of cannabis fueled a major debate in Britain in January, as medical experts warned about serious health effects and Home Secretary David Blunkett countered that 40 percent of Britons under 30 had already smoked the substance. Blunkett also insisted that the law, which kept cannabis illegal, would allow police to focus on tackling the problem of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin.
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