cannabisnews.com: Tough-on-Drugs Britain Softens Line on Marijuana





Tough-on-Drugs Britain Softens Line on Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on July 11, 2002 at 16:00:39 PT
By Jenny MacKenzie, Special to The CSM
Source: Christian Science Monitor 
For Lauren Ringwood, Britain's debate over drug laws hits close to home. At her local bus stop in Brixton, a neighborhood where police have experimented for a year with relaxed enforcement of marijuana laws, the dealers are growing more brazen – peddling bags of "skunk" to commuters during the day. "It's frightening," she says. You never know if they have a knife or a gun."
On Wednesday Britain said that – though marijuana is still technically illegal – it would soften enforcement nationwide so that private use of marijuana in small amounts will no longer be subject to arrest.The announcement by Home Secretary David Blunkett in the House of Commons is sparking a media furor here, with some newspapers accusing the government of "gambling with our children." Opposed by Conservatives and some Labour members of Parliament, the decision has some critics charging that Britain is moving toward decriminalization of drugs.But supporters say the change will allow police to focus on more serious drug crimes. Within the European Union, Britain has the most drug-related deaths, with heroin the most frequent cause.In announcing the change, which puts marijuana in the same category as antidepressants and steroids, Mr. Blunkett said that the sentence for marijuana dealing would be increased to a 14-year maximum.The plan also includes increased funding for treatment of abusers – to $283 million over the next three years – and for antidrug education programs. Regional trend Several European countries have recently eased drug laws. Marijuana is legal in the Netherlands, and Spain and Italy do not jail users of small amounts of drugs intended for personal consumption. Portugal has gone the furthest toward decriminalization of drug use, ordering treatment rather than jail time in cases of possession of small amounts of any illegal drug.Though it will be July 2003 before Britain's decision becomes law, the Metropolitan Police said its officers would adopt the policy from October this year, with other forces likely to follow. Police can now let users off with a warning and confiscate the drug, but they retain the right to arrest those who endanger public order with "aggravated behavior."Until the much-heralded "Softly, Softly" experiment in Brixton, Britain had taken a tougher approach to cannabis possession than had any other European country, endorsing a five-year jail sentence for possession.According to a study by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Abuse, Britain has one of the highest rates of cannabis use in Europe."Our research nationwide showed that over 50 percent of young people in Britain had taken cannabis, but that very few had gone on to hard drugs," says Sir Michael Rawlins, the chairman of the medical think tank that advises the Home Office on drug issues."We felt that the five-year penalty in place was quite out of proportion to the act."But we are not saying that cannabis is harmless," he adds. "I have always said that anyone who takes cannabis is a fool. It is unquestionably harmful, it affects concentration, decisionmaking, and it can aggravate health problems like heart conditions. However, it has been inappropriately positioned beside such drugs as amphetamines, which are much more dangerous. This decision announced Wednesday is a very sensible move." A drug czar's protest Keith Hellawell, a former chief constable who has worked as a drug strategy adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair, criticized the government's decision. "Reclassifying cannabis ... gives a mixed message to the public and to young people. We will now see an increased use of cannabis." Hellawell, who was dubbed Britain's "drugs czar" by the media, last month resigned from his post as Britain's ambassador on drugs strategy to the EU in protest at Britain's softening line on drug policy.During a heated debate in the House of Commons, Labour MP for Vauxhall Kate Hoey, whose constituency includes Brixton, warned that Britain would one day come to regret its decision.A local doctor at a clinic serving families in the Brixton area, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the work, warned of marijuana's increasing toxicity."The cannabis of today ... has 10 times the strength of the cannabis on the market in the '80s.... The use of cannabis, holding it in the mouth, inhaling it deeply, greatly increases the risk of mouth, throat, and lung cancer. It is absolutely vital that we hold public education debates to bring this information to the public."But the group of neighborhood residents who worked with police in introducing and monitoring the Brixton experiment welcomed the government's decision."It will allow more police attention to the real problems of hard drugs in our community," spokesman Paul Andell says. "It will keep youngsters out of the criminal-justice system, and relieve some of the community tensions we experience here."Andell says it was the previous policy of "stop and search" which led to violent riots in the area in 1981: "Black youths increasingly resented what they saw as victimization."He added that a poll conducted last year, surveying 2,000 area residents, showed that 81 percent thought "formal warnings" about cannabis use were more appropriate than arrest."All this is cold comfort for Lauren Ringwood and her mother Ann, who see the decision as compounding their community's drug troubles."Neither I, or my daughter would dream of going out alone at night," says Ann."The problem is definitely getting worse. There were five of us walking down Coldharbour Lane a few days ago a well-known busy Brixton street, but notorious as a haven for dealers and we were approached half-a-dozen times."Note: The decision Wednesday to ease penalties for marijuana use stirs debate on whether Britain will legalize drugs.Complete Title: Tough-on-Drugs Britain Softens its Line on MarijuanaSource: Christian Science Monitor (US)Author: Jenny MacKenzie, Special to The Christian Science Monitor Published: July 12, 2002 EditionCopyright: 2002 The Christian Science Publishing SocietyContact: oped csps.comWebsite: http://www.csmonitor.com/Related Articles:Britain to Stop Arresting Most Users of Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13368.shtmlBritain Loosens Up on Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13367.shtmlCannabis Laws Eased By Blunkett http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13356.shtmlCannabisNews Articles -- Cannabis - UKhttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=+cannabis+uk 
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Comment #5 posted by xxdr_zombiexx on July 12, 2002 at 06:14:18 PT
Crooks already in the hospital!!
check the story.Too bad crooks has outstanding warrants..but..on the other hand...thy may save his life...so that the Evil Placer County Sherrifs will do their number on him.Can you imagine what Homeland Security will be like?It will become a lot like this everywhere...The images of Soylent Green - where the people are scooped up in Payloaders and dumped out of the way - always teem into my head.America is dying.
Crooks in Hospital
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Comment #4 posted by Lehder on July 11, 2002 at 20:34:23 PT
from mayan's link
it's much more than closing raves, it's the police state:The new law would also make it a federal crime to temporarily use a place for the
    purpose of using any illegal drug. Thus, anyone who used drugs in their own home
    or threw an event (such as a party or barbecue) in which one or more of their guests
    used drugs could potentially face a $250,000 fine and years in federal prison. The
    bill also effectively makes it a federal crime to rent property to medical marijuana
    patients and their caregivers, giving the federal government a new weapon in its war
    on AIDS and cancer patients that use marijuana to relieve their suffering. We have truly become a police state. There's no longer any exaggeration at all in those words. People initiate social policies by popular constitutional vote, then the government passes laws in direct contradiction to the popular law. It sends forth armed police to imprison and destroy citizens who are in compliance with the popular and legal policy and then it prevents the media from reporting on the crimes of repression. As the government's war on drugs loses its popularity and as more mature governments slacken their own drug wars, the US government will only grow more vicious. The people mean absolutely nothing to elected officials. Those in power carry out programs in obedience only to the extremely wealthy; people who question the government's single-minded programs will be treated ever more harshly.You can be certain that I'll be voting against the incumbents in November, but I wonder what good it will do.The same cops who will be enforcing the new "rave laws" are already in the libraries checking on what we read. I saw a report that they've been to 150 big-city libraries already. It's all the more disgusting to know that these pigs lack the capacity to read most of the books we borrow or to hold 
sensible conversation with the readers.Somehow this sickening, selfish brutality must all end.
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Comment #3 posted by mayan on July 11, 2002 at 17:56:34 PT
Oh Yeah...
I know someone already posted this or something similar, but for those who didn't see it this is very frightening. We must oppose the Reducing American's Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act(RAVE Act). Here is some more info:
http://ga1.org/campaign/rave/explanation
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Comment #2 posted by mayan on July 11, 2002 at 17:20:06 PT
Crooks
That's pretty crazy zombiexx! It's unfortunate that we can't trust law enforcement. It wouldn't surprise me if Crooks was found dead after he "hanged himself" in his jail cell.Here's some more crazy stuff -Justice Department To Attempt Shut Down of 9/11 Evidence Friday(surprise,surprise!)
http://www.scoop.co.nz/archive/scoop/stories/0b/64/200207111853.1e41b4b8.htmlPanel Finds No 'Smoking Gun' in Probe of 9/11 Intelligence Failures(another surprise!)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52296-2002Jul10.htmlOil, Gas Pipelines High Priority for U.S. in Central Asian Military Campaigns(Gee Gus, ya' think?) 
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/071102_pipelineistan.html
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Comment #1 posted by xxdr_zombiexx on July 11, 2002 at 16:18:04 PT
A concern well off topic here
Witness in Custody
Man Who Videotaped Police Beating Teen Is Arrested
From Wire ReportsL O S A N G E L E S, July 11 — The man who videotaped the police beating of a teenager in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood was arrested today for outstanding warrants for previous offenses, as he refused to appear before a grand jury.Mitchell Crooks, 27, could be heard screaming for help inside a police van after officers arrested him outside CNN's Los Angeles bureau. The Los Angeles district attorney's office said he was arrested on warrants alleging petty theft and driving under the influence in a hit-and-run accident. 
Before the arrest, Crooks had been subpoenaed to testify before a Los Angeles grand jury that began hearing evidence today on the beating of Donovan Jackson, but said he was reluctant to appear because he feared police reprisal.On Wednesday, Crooks called a KFI-AM talk radio show hosted by John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou to discuss the case. He said he was afraid that officers would be "coming after" him."I fear for my life," Crooks said. "They're going to kick my ass in a cell and take turns on me probably."Deputy District Attorney Kurt Livesay, who was also a guest on the show, then told Crooks on the air that authorities did not want to hurt him, and asked that he give his address to investigators. Instead, Crooks hung up the phone.All of it: ABCNEWS.com">http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/crooks_beating020711.html">ABCNEWS.comI could just be overly paranoid, but I am concerned that this man is correct and that the police have had enough bad media, despite having nobody but themselves to blame for it.Police Brutality is just going to become a bigger issue befor it goes away.I think this man will meet with an unfortunate accident.
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