"Dr John Watson" <drjohn@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:67t6njF2mlg22U1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> This will upset the Daily Mail - they were calling on tuesday for all
> 3,000,000 cannabis users to jailed:
>
> "That means not only tightening the law but seeing that it is rigorously
> enforced - against pushers and users alike."
>
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/newscomment.html?in_article_id=562669&in_page_id=1787
>
> I have no doubt there will be a rant against this in today's mail - I
look
> forward to seeing it.
>
>
>
> Police reject tougher action on cannabis
>
> Brown plan to upgrade drug will not change 'confiscate and warn' stance
>
> Police will not adopt a tougher approach to cases of simple possession
of
> cannabis when ministers upgrade the legal status of the drug to class B,
> the Guardian can disclose.
>
> The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) confirmed last night
that
> the current policy of "confiscate and warn" would continue, despite
Gordon
> Brown's determination to reclassify the drug in an attempt to "send a
> tough message" to young people about its use.
>
> Chief constables are debating whether or not fixed penalty fines should
be
> available alongside cannabis warnings. But the basic approach of saving
> police time by not making an arrest and taking the offender to the
police
> station to be charged, introduced four years ago, will remain.
>
> Before cannabis was downgraded to class C in 2004, 58% of possession
cases
> formally dealt with by police ended in arrest and formal caution, while
> 42% were taken to court.
>
> Campaigners for drug law reform last night questioned the relevance of
the
> drug classification system, which dates back to 1971, and its ability to
> send a message.
>
> Roger Howard, chief executive of the UK Drug Policy Commission, and a
> former government drugs adviser, said: "There will be no new powers or
> resources for policing if cannabis is made class B, and cannabis
warnings
> can still be issued instead of arrest."
>
> He said this underlined the muddle at the heart of government over the
> purpose of a drug classification system which was unlikely ever to be
able
> to "send a message to young people". Since cannabis had moved from class
B
> to class C, the number of schoolchildren who think it is fine to try
> cannabis had halved, he said.
>
> It is expected that Acpo guidance to police officers will use different
> language from existing guidelines to stress the discretion that is
> available to constables to take more robust action in cases involving
> repeat offenders or aggravating factors such as disorder or evidence of
> organised crime.
>
> An Acpo spokesman last night: "The key will be the discretion for
officers
> to strike the right balance. We do not want to criminalise young people
> who are experimenting." However, he stressed that cases involving
> "aggravating factors" were more likely to see an arrest and prosecution.
>
> When the police announced their sup****t for regrading cannabis as a
class
> B drug this year, Simon Byrne, Merseyside's assistant chief constable
and
> the Acpo lead on policing cannabis, entered a little-noticed but crucial
> caveat to the police position. He said that since cannabis had been
> downgraded there had been growing concerns over increased potency, the
> rise of "homegrown" cannabis farms and a perception that its legal
status
> meant it was seen as a low policing priority.
>
> But he added that the police had sup****ted the decision to downgrade the
> drug four years ago because of "the dispro****tionate time spent by
> frontline police officers in dealing with offenders in possession of
small
> amounts of cannabis for personal use. Should the decision be taken to
> reclassify cannabis to a class B, Acpo believes the service should
retain
> this flexibility in dealing with instances of possession on the street,
> including the discretion to issue warnings in appropriate
cir***stances".
>
> The 2005 Serious and Organised Crime and Policing Act introduced new
> criteria for making an arrest which emphasised that it had to be
necessary
> because, for example, the officer doubted whether he had been given a
real
> name or a valid address by the offender. The number of cannabis warnings
> issued has spiralled to more than 100,000 since its legal status was
> downgraded; that forms an im****tant part of the ability of the police to
> meet their national target for the number of offences brought to
justice.
>
> In legal terms, the move back to class B means the maximum prison
sentence
> for possession will be increased from two to five years.
>
> --
> Dr John Watson
> Baker Street
> You see kids blantently smoking this on the streets, more so than ever,
when you walk past houses the smell hits you, I think alot of crime is
linked to its use, also kids are going younger that are using it something
need doing
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