Pubdate: Sun, 28 Oct 2001 Source: Sunday Times (UK) Copyright: 2001 Times Newspapers Ltd. Contact: http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/439 Author: Nicholas Hellen and John Elliott Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) 'SKUNK' FEARS HIT BLUNKETT DRUG PLAN It was enough to give even the notoriously clean-living home secretary a headache. On almost every conceivable measure, David Blunkett's advisers told him, the war against drugs was floundering. While cannabis had become de rigueur at middle-class dinner parties, the police were still under orders to arrest anyone found smoking it. According to one report handed to Blunkett, two thirds of all drug busts involved possession of cannabis, and each one tied up police officers for up to three hours. Almost half of all 16 to 29-year-olds had experimented with the drug. Since the 1960s not one of his predecessors had resolved the dilemma. He laid the groundwork for last week's announcement immediately after he was made home secretary in June. Keith Hellawell, the "drug czar", was pushed aside, and Blunkett seized control of drug policy from the Cabinet Office. The beginnings of his softer line on cannabis emerged in the south London borough of Brixton, where Brian Paddick, the local police commander, decided there was no longer any point arresting everyone found with cannabis. Blunkett visited the scheme, inviting television news crews to record it. His mind was made up. According to Bob Ainsworth, the drug minister, the amount of police time wasted in pursuing trivial cases - with average fines of UKP87 - meant that a more liberal approach had to be introduced. But leaving local police chiefs to decide how harshly cannabis users should be dealt with risked making a mockery of the law. Ainsworth said: "We have a tradition in this country where we ensure laws are enforced and, to retain their credibility, they must command widespread support. This is not compatible with widespread variations in police practice." Blunkett secured Tony Blair's agreement to reclassify cannabis as a category C drug, saying this would enable the police to spend more time tackling the 250,000 people estimated to use category A drugs. However, while proposing that possession of cannabis should become a non-arrestable offence, he stopped short of legalising it. Supply remains in the hands of criminals, which many have argued means cannabis smokers come into contact with more dangerous drugs. A Whitehall source attempted to defend the policy. "We are only reviewing possession, not supply, so the issue did not arise," he said. However, in a Mori poll published this weekend, 65% say cannabis should be legalised. The downgrading of the drug from class B to C is expected to be approved early next year, after a review by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. But it may not be a foregone conclusion. Blunkett is braced for criticism from Hellawell, who will be asked on Tuesday by the home affairs select committee if he agrees with this strategic retreat. Whitehall insiders said this weekend that Hellawell, who remains an adviser to the Home Office, had not been consulted on the climbdown. One said: "He has taken a firm stance against this very idea, arguing that a formal change sends out the wrong signals." New research into the damaging effects of cannabis may also rally opposition to Blunkett's recommendation. Experts say new strains of virulent "skunk" are up to 20 times stronger than the "wacky baccy" smoked by the Woodstock generation, and compare its effects to the difference between vodka and a shandy. As Tom, 26, a music producer, said: "Skunk is a lot stronger than hash or weed. It drives you bonkers, and with one type, Northern Lights, you see flashes of light." Heather Ashton, a government adviser on cannabis, said there was a tendency to underestimate the effects of high doses of tetrahydrocannabinols (THC), the active ingredient in cannabis. "The reefers they used to smoke in flower power days contained about 1% THC, whereas skunk has about 20%," she said. "It affects the memory, aggravates schizophrenia and has risks for heart disease and also in pregnancy." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth