Pubdate: Wed, 02 Nov 2005
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd 2005
Contact:  http://www.scotsman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/406
Author: Michael Howie
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?179 (Nadelmann, Ethan)

BLAIR WARNED OVER CANNABIS LAW CHANGE

THE world's leading advocate for drugs reform last night urged Tony Blair 
to resist toughening the law on cannabis.

Ethan Nadelmann said making cannabis a class B drug would be "incredibly 
stupid", doing nothing to reduce its use and only serving to criminalise 
thousands of young people.

Mr Nadelmann, executive director of the United States-based Drug Policy 
Alliance, also said the only way to reduce harm caused by heroin was to 
allow doctors to prescribe it to addicts.

Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, is awaiting a report from the 
government's advisory council on drug misuse on whether cannabis should be 
restored to Class B status.

Mr Nadelmann said doing so "would be an incredibly stupid thing to do".

"This would simply intensify the hypocrisy of the government's war on drugs 
and is one area where Tony Blair is foolishly following in the footsteps of 
a disastrous US policy," he said.

Mr Nadelmann said the only sensible option was to take cannabis out of the 
black market and legalise it.

He put forward his argument at the prestigious Edinburgh Lectures in the 
City Chambers. Previous speakers at the event have included former Soviet 
president, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Professor Stephen Hawking.

Tom Wood, former deputy chief constable of Lothian and Borders Police and 
now chairman of the Drugs Action Team in Edinburgh which invited Mr 
Nadelmann, said: "We may not agree with everything he says, but Mr 
Nadelmann is a breath of fresh air to the drugs debate in Scotland."
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