Pubdate: Thu, 11 Jul 2002
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2002 The Dallas Morning News
Contact:  http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Author: Gregory Katz, The Dallas Morning News
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

BRITAIN CUTS SOME SLACK FOR POT SMOKERS

Ticket, Small Fine More Likely Than Arrest Or Jail

LONDON -- In a major relaxation of drug laws, British Prime Minister Tony 
Blair's government announced Wednesday that marijuana laws would be eased 
so that people who use small quantities of the drug will not face arrest.

The controversial reclassification of marijuana from a Class B to a Class C 
drug will take effect next July, British Home Secretary David Blunkett said.

Mr. Blunkett said the new law stopped short of decriminalization of 
marijuana but would allow police to focus on hard drug users and dealers.

"The message to young people and families must be open, honest and 
believable," he told Parliament. "Cannabis is a potentially harmful drug 
and should remain illegal. However, it is not comparable with crack, heroin 
and ecstasy."

Mr. Blunkett, who announced last year that he intended to make this change, 
said marijuana should not be classified in the same way as drugs that kill.

In Britain, possession of a Class B drug carries a maximum penalty of five 
years in jail.

Possession of a Class C drug carries a maximum sentence of two years, but 
the Home Office said that penalty was rarely invoked for first- time 
offenders, who normally receive only a ticket.

Instead of being arrested and possibly put in prison, marijuana users would 
face modest fines or other penalties, officials said.

The change in emphasis puts Britain in the forefront of a European movement 
toward easing penalties for marijuana use.

Already, there has been a reduction of penalties for marijuana in Portugal, 
Spain, Italy and several other countries, including the Netherlands, which 
has long tolerated use of marijuana and hashish.

Also, a number of European governments advocate approaches that focus on 
"harm reduction," seen as reducing the damage to drug users' lives, instead 
of prosecuting them.

Additionally, experts said, these countries have increased the level of 
resources spent on drug prevention and treatment.

The British proposal to reduce penalties for marijuana has received strong 
support from police chiefs and police associations.

Law enforcement officials have argued that it was unrealistic to expect 
young people to respect a legal system that permitted tobacco and alcohol 
use but treated marijuana as a life-threatening substance.

But the policy was opposed by the government's drug czar, Keith Hellawell, 
who resigned early Wednesday to protest the loosening of marijuana laws.

He said he believed that the tolerant approach is misguided because 
marijuana smoking can lead to dangerous hard-drug use.

"It is a softening of the law and it's giving the wrong message," he said. 
After marijuana is reclassified, it will be in the same category as 
anti-depressants and steroids.

There was also sharp criticism of the policy shift from leading members of 
the opposition Conservative Party, who attacked Prime Minister Tony Blair 
in a parliamentary confrontation.

"Why should anyone have confidence now in the government's new drugs policy 
when your own drugs czar has resigned saying it is all wrong," Conservative 
Party leader Ian Duncan Smith said.

He was joined by Oliver Letwin, the Conservative Party spokesman on law and 
order issues, who said Mr. Blunkett should have made a clear choice, either 
legalizing marijuana or making a serious commitment to enforcing existing laws.

Instead of taking a stand, he said the government had chosen a "muddled and 
dangerous" course.

"You need to explain how, with a policy that consists of deeply confusing 
mixed messages, you can conceivably expect to reduce drug dependency and 
criminality in this country," he said in Parliament.

Mr. Blair, in response, said the policy shift would give police more leeway 
when dealing with marijuana smokers.

He said that marijuana use would "remain a criminal offense" and that more 
resources could be used against drug dealers of all types, including those 
who specialize in marijuana.

Mr. Blunkett said the proposed downgrade would be accompanied by a 
beefed-up anti-drug education campaign, teaching young people that all 
drugs can harm them and that hard drugs can kill.

The policy change follows an experimental program that began last summer in 
the London neighborhood of Brixton that allowed police to ticket marijuana 
users rather than arrest them.

Mr. Blunkett said the program had been judged a success by London police 
and would be extended throughout London.

Police studies have found that this policy freed officers from spending 
long hours processing paperwork from marijuana arrests and allowed them to 
focus on arresting traffickers.

He also said police would still have the authority to arrest marijuana 
smokers in "aggravated" cases, such as when it is smoked in public near 
children. The change in approach in Britain and the rest of Europe has been 
criticized by Bush administration drug officials who say they are not in 
favor of any laws that encourage a proliferation of drug use.
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