cannabisnews.com: Cannabis To Be Reclassified 





Cannabis To Be Reclassified 
Posted by FoM on October 23, 2001 at 11:23:46 PT
By Matthew Tempest, Political Correspondent
Source: Guardian Unlimited
The soft drug cannabis is to be reclassifed, the home secretary, David Blunkett, announced today. Under new proposals, first recommended 18 months ago, cannabis will move from class B to class C and will no longer be an arrestable offence, heralding a massive shake-up of drugs policy. Class C puts it in the same category as anti-depressants and steroids - but LSD and ecstasy will remain class A drugs, Mr Blunkett said.
Mr Blunkett, who made the announcement before MPs on the home affairs select committee, denied the move was decriminalisation by another name and stressed the drug will remain illegal. But in practice, cannabis smokers will be unlikely to face any consequences if they are caught with small amounts of the drug.If cannabis is re-graded as Class C, the maximum sentence for possession would be two years in crown courts or three months in magistrates courts. Only offences punishable with at least five years imprisonment are arrestable. Possession with intent to supply or supplying Class C drugs carry a five-year maximum. Today's move is designed to free police time to concentrate on hard drugs like heroin and cocaine, removing the "policing anomaly" which means nearly seven out of 10 drug arrests are for a relatively harmless drug. "Re-classification would be quite different from decriminalisation or legalisation," said Mr Blunkett. "Cannabis would remain a controlled drug and using it a criminal offence. "It would not detract from the simple message that all drugs are harmful and that no-one should take drugs. "But it would make clearer the distinction between cannabis and Class A drugs like heroin and cocaine. "Above all it would make sense to both those policing the system and those providing education and advice to prevent young people falling into addiction." The police are believed to be concerned at the prospect of losing the power to arrest someone for possession but ministers are not proposing to take options which are open to them to retain it as an arrestable offence under its new class C status. "They will still have plenty of powers to stop people but possession of cannabis won't be one of them," said a home office spokesman. Mr Blunkett also said that if current clinical trials are successful he will change the law to allow the use of cannabis-based prescription drugs to combat conditions such as multiple sclerosis and arthritis. A group of key experts has been set up to develop an action plan to tackle the treatment of crack and cocaine, and with the Department of Health would be producing new guidance for heroin prescribing. "This will work towards providing a bridge between those who are obtaining heroin illegally, often through criminal activity, and the methadone treatment prescribing. "It would be under highly secure and strict procedures and would allow the transfer into treatment without the current risks that exist to heroin users," he said. In 1999, some 68% of the 120,000 drugs offences had been cannabis-related with each one taking officers two to three hours to process. Today's proposals would help "marry up reality with the law as it stands" but were not a move towards reclassification of harder drugs, said a home office official. Reclassifying cannabis - or hash, as it is also known - was first recommended by a Police Foundation report last year, after more than 30 years of lobbying and protests from the general public.Source: Guardian Unlimited, The (UK)Author: Matthew Tempest, Political CorrespondentPublished: Tuesday October 23, 2001 Copyright: 2001 Guardian Newspapers LimitedContact: letters guardian.co.ukWebsite: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Related Articles:Medicinal Cannabis Set To Be Legalisedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11150.shtmlCannabis Laws Set To Be Easedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11149.shtml
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Comment #7 posted by bruce42 on October 23, 2001 at 14:23:21 PT
I think
a lot of change is going to happen when these governments that decide to experiment with hemp and marijuana find that the doom and gloom our government keeps forcasting doesn't come. They're going to realize that Uncle was playing them for fools and they're going to make sure Uncle gets an earful. 
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Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on October 23, 2001 at 14:01:05 PT:
I remember those days well
First, it was a few guys with hammers. Just hammers; pounding away, but hardly making a dent. But the the Stasi snipers didn't shoot them off the walls. Then came people with power tools, and the Wall started suffering some real damage. Finally, it was construction equipment ripping out huge gaps, segment by segment...and then it was down.That's what we are, friends; the little guys with the hammers. Cannabists all over the world started chipping away...and some were shot off the wall. But more took their places. And now, progressive thinking governments are carrying the ball, despite screams from Uncle.The more I think about it, the more the leaders of the DrugWar remind me of the demented Captain Ahab. But now most nations are jumping ship from the USS DrugWar and getting as far away as they can so when it finally goes down they won't get sucked under with this decrepit and rotten old barge.
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Comment #5 posted by senorsalvia on October 23, 2001 at 13:45:13 PT:
Thank you for showing some good common sense
 Do you hear what I hear: Sounds like the rushing winds of freedom, tearing open the gates of a crumbling kafkaesque prison.........The hero shall be henceforth be known as "GOOD COMMON SENSE
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Comment #4 posted by TroutMask on October 23, 2001 at 12:29:30 PT
Right On
you are so right, Bruce: Mike Goodman, director of national drug and alcohol advice charity Release, called it "a Berlin Wall-type development" likely to herald many changes in society's attitude to drugs.Tear down the wall!!!!-TM
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Comment #3 posted by bruce42 on October 23, 2001 at 12:22:06 PT
built in 1961
opened in 1989. Roughly 28 years of communist oppression. Sadly, the Berlin Wall was a tangible object, guarded by snipers and razor wire. The drug war is just an idea- a program, a policy. Yet this idea has destroyed lives and the environment in mulitple countries and has cost our government billions of tax dollars and the trust of its people. Perhaps that is what makes the drug war so dangerous- ideas are easy to export.The Berlin Wall stood as a symbol of oppression and economic regression. The drug war is our Berlin Wall. Its time to tear it down. 
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Comment #2 posted by TroutMask on October 23, 2001 at 12:09:56 PT
Excuse me.
Sorry, but I just have to say:YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Thank You.-TMP.S. I realize this is not a complete victory, but it is sure is one heck of a win!
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Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on October 23, 2001 at 11:51:36 PT
It's harder to kill than Communism
Reclassifying cannabis - or hash, as it is also known - was first recommended by a Police Foundation report last year, after more than 30 years of lobbying and protests from the general public.And how long did the Berlin Wall last?
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