Pubdate: Tue, 27 Jan 2009
Source: Herald, The (UK)
Copyright: 2009 The Western Morning News Co. Ltd
Contact:  http://thisisplymouth.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4406
Author: Brian Donnelly

POLICE MOVE TO CLEAR CONFUSION OVER CANNABIS CRIME PENALTIES

Police said last night it would be "business as usual" over cannabis 
arrests in Scotland amid concerns that the reclassification of the 
drug has deepened ambiguity over its legal status.

The change in the official classification of the drug from Class B to 
C and then back again has already led to confusion over its use.

Despite the reclassification, cannabis users in England and Wales 
will not yet be subject to the controversial "three strikes" regime 
because the issue must again be debated in Westminster.

 From yesterday, when the classification changed, police south of the 
border should have been able to hand out a warning to anyone caught 
with cannabis for a first offence. Second-time offenders would face 
an UKP 80 fine and a penalty notice, and anyone with a third "strike" 
would be subject to arrest, an unlimited fine and a prison sentence 
of up to five years.

But the proposed change has been challenged and it will be debated in 
Westminster on Monday before a possibly amended version is introduced 
later next week.

The Scottish Government and the Association of Chief Police Officers 
in Scotland said last night there were no plans to introduce such a 
system here and that everyone caught with cannabis faces being 
reported to the Procurator Fiscal.

That stance has been consistent in Scotland and did not change even 
when the drug was classed down in 2004.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith decided to move the drug from Class C to 
Class B last year because of fears over the impact of stronger 
strains of "skunk" on the mental health of young people.

Although the law and penalties are the same as England and Wales, the 
legal process and guidance for officers is separate in Scotland. The 
prevalence of cannabis factories in homes in Scotland is often said 
to be co-ordinated by Chinese Triad gangs

Last year it emerged that police recovered plants worth UKP 21.6m 
through Operation League, during which 127 people were arrested in 
connection with cultivating cannabis across the country.

Since the introduction in 2006 of Operation League, a national 
crackdown led by Strathclyde Police which targets those involved in 
the cultivation of cannabis, more than 160 cannabis sites have been 
identified and dismantled throughout Scotland.

Drugs experts last night said that the latest move in Westminster 
would cause confusion, particularly among young people.

Home Office Minister Alan Campbell yesterday warned the average age 
of first-time cannabis users is now 13.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "The decision to reclassify 
cannabis was, of course, made at UK level, however our own approach 
to tackling cannabis has never wavered.

"Guidance to the police in Scotland from the Lord Advocate on 
enforcement did not change, and we have been consistent in 
highlighting that the drug is both illegal and dangerous to health. 
It will be business as usual' for the police. People caught in 
possession of cannabis continue to be reported to the fiscal."

Professor Neil McKeganey, director of Glasgow University's Centre for 
Drugs Misuse Research, said: "The changes that have been discussed in 
England quite frankly add to the confusion. It is positive that we in 
Scotland have continued to treat this consistently, particularly as 
it is the most widely used illegal drug and is often the drug which 
young people start to use, and you wouldn't want to have a confusing 
layer of policies."

Alistair Ramsay, of educational consultancy Drugwise, said that the 
message should be consistent for young people across the UK.

The ABC of drugs

Class A Ecstasy, LSD, heroin, cocaine, crack, magic mushrooms, 
amphetamines (if prepared for injection). Possession: Up to seven 
years in prison or an unlimited fine or both. Dealing: Up to life in 
prison, or an unlimited fine or both.

Class B Amphetamines, cannabis, methylphenidate (Ritalin), 
pholcodine. Possesssion: Up to five years, or an unlimited fine or 
both. Dealing: Up to 14 years, or an unlimited fine or both.

Class C Tranquillisers, some painkillers, gamma hydroxybutyrate 
(GHB), Ketamine. Possession: Up to two years, or an unlimited fine or 
both. Dealing: Up to 14 years, or an unlimited fine or both.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart