Pubdate: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 Source: Wall Street Journal (US) Page A25 Copyright: 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Contact: http://www.wsj.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487 Author: Quentin Letts Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/David+Cameron Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom) PUFF PIECE Britain's opposition leader is again facing claims that he took cannabis. Conservative David Cameron, an image-conscious dude, is doing little to discourage the story. In a country where right-wingers have long been regarded as improbably square, "Cameron Smoked Pot!" headlines suit him fine. The claims appear in a coming biography -- the first work of its kind, for Mr. Cameron is only 40 and has led the previously puny opposition for barely a year. The book states that as a 15-year-old schoolboy he and some friends were pulled in by his headmaster and busted for dope. They were fined and "grounded" for two weeks (i.e. prevented from leaving the premises of their pukka boarding school, Eton College). The young shavers were also forced to write out reams of Latin verse. This happened in 1982. Any teacher trying that Latin trick on pupils today could well face accusations of sadism. The penalty paid by young Cameron was certainly harsher than the justice meted out to people caught smoking joints nowadays. Tony Blair's government has downgraded cannabis to a Class C drug. Possession of a spliff today is likely to earn, at most, a raised eyebrow from the constabulary. Mr. Cameron has faced drug stories before. When he was standing for the leadership of Margaret Thatcher's old party in late 2005, he was repeatedly asked if he had toked up in his past. A simple "no" would have killed the matter. He could even have followed the example of another Conservative parliamentarian, Boris Johnson, who exploded when it was suggested he had never dabbled in controlled substances as a lad. "An outrageous slur," cried flamboyant Mr. Johnson. "Of course I have taken drugs!" Mr. Cameron decided instead, with a coy smile, to argue that he was entitled to a private life before he entered politics. Result: even more media speculation and some hysterical, flagellatory criticism by right-wing pundits. The new biography's claims about Mr. Cameron offer more of the same. London newspapers were filled with black and white photographs of him as an extremely pretty schoolboy. There was analysis of his moneyed circle of school friends. The coverage emphasized his youth, glamour and good looks. Mr. Cameron is laid-back about all this not because he has recently inhaled from a fat joint -- we are assured he no longer indulges -- but partly because the moralistic Jonahs attacking him represent old Conservatism. They are everything that Mr. Cameron has been trying to change in his party. It could have been worse for Mr. Cameron if the biography had exposed him as having been an ardent Thatcherite in his childhood. Consider, too, the dour image of Gordon Brown, 55, the chancellor of the Exchequer who is expected to become prime minister this summer when Mr. Blair resigns. If the next general election is a contest between Messrs. Brown and Cameron there is little doubt who will be seen as the sexier, the more daring. Drugs may wreck some lives but there is at least one young man they could help to become prime minister of Great Britain. Mr. Letts is parliamentary sketch-writer for the Daily Mail of London.