Pubdate: Wed, 29 Mar 2000 Source: Irish Independent (Ireland) Copyright: Independent Newspapers (Ireland) Ltd Contact: http://www.independent.ie/ NO SOFT LINE ON DRUGS PROPOSALS to relax Britain's drugs laws were given short shrift by the Government yesterday. A major inquiry into drug laws called for jail terms for hard drug users to be slashed and scrapped altogether for softer drugs including ecstasy, LSD and cannabis. But the Home Office and Government drug tsar Keith Hellawell said they had no plans to accept proposals to downgrade the seriousness of the illegal drugs offences. The police also expressed concern over the proposals, despite the presence of some of the country's most senior police officers on the inquiry panel, although the report was welcomed as a ``breath of fresh air'' by some drug campaign groups. - --- MAP posted-by: Greg