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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Tories Seek to Tighten Cannabis Law
Nick Mead and Jane Kirby, PA Political Staff Press Association
Tuesday 22 Feb 2005 The Tories today launched a Commons bid to reclassify cannabis as a class B drug. Cannabis was downgraded to class C by former Home Secretary David Blunkett last year, leading to claims that the Government was going soft on drugs. The move came in report stage debate of the Drugs Bill, which is due to pass its final Commons stages tonight. The Bill will create an offence of the "aggravated supply" of drugs, meaning longer sentences for drug dealers who operate near schools or who use under-18s to transport drugs or drug money. It also strengthens the law on the possession and supply of magic mushrooms and gives police new powers to test people suspected of drug misuse on arrest rather than on charge. Police will be able to keep people suspected of swallowing drugs to conceal them so packages have time to pass through their bodies and judges will be able to direct a jury to draw an inference from the fact that a suspect has refused permission for a body cavity search or an x-ray. The Tories said in tonight's debate aggravated supply should apply to people dealing drugs near anywhere children congregate rather than just in the vicinity of school buildings. Their concerns were echoed by Labour backbencher John Robertson (Glasgow Anniesland) who said children attending sports centres or sports clubs could become "easy prey" for dealers. Home Office minister Caroline Flint replied that the Government had considered extending the areas where someone could be guilty of aggravated supply but that had led to problems with definitions.
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