cannabisnews.com: Blunkett's Cannabis Strategy 'Flawed' 





Blunkett's Cannabis Strategy 'Flawed' 
Posted by CN Staff on September 01, 2002 at 22:31:12 PT
By Nick Hopkins, Crime Correspondent
Source: Guardian Unlimited
An academic will warn chief police officers that retaining the power of arrest for simple cannabis possession is a sideways step that could lead to confusion among officers when the drug is reclassified. Tiggey May, who co-wrote a study on the policing of cannabis funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, is expected to tell a drugs conference on Thursday that she fears that the home secretary's decision to keep the power of arrest when certain aggravating factors apply was a mistake.
Though supporters of the move have argued that the retention will stop cannabis users from mocking officers by smoking in front of them, Ms May believes this is "hardly a persuasive argument". "People who smoke in front of police officers are likely to be very naive, and the best thing to do when confronted by that kind of behaviour is to rise above it, or ignore it. "I don't think people want to be stopped and searched, so they are not likely to draw attention to themselves". Ms May, a senior research fellow at South Bank University in London, is one of the speakers at a two day drugs conference starting on Wednesday. It has been organised by the association of chief police officers. Earlier this year Ms May co-wrote a study with Mike Hough on policing and cannabis. She will draw on her research, which involved eight police forces - including the Metropolitan police - to show that 69% of police officers have dealt with cannabis possession in an informal way, often by throwing it down a drain. Analysis of 30,000 custody records also found that only 1% of those charged with cannabis possession were later charged with more serious offences. Figures show that 75% of those arrested for cannabis were accused of simple possession, rather than anything more serious. Only 10% were charged for possession and other drug offences. Ms May said yesterday that there was danger in cannabis users "having laws forced upon them that they don't believe in" at a time when "crack houses are opening up in a number of cities, and heroin prices are continuing to fall". She added: "Most officers we spoke to did not think that criminalising young people was a good use of their time". In July David Blunkett announced his intention to reclassify cannabis to class C, a category which does not have an automatic power of arrest for simple possession. Rather than stripping police of this option, Mr Blunkett said legislation would be passed to give officers a reserve power of arrest if the offence involved children, public disorder, or a "flagrant disregard for the law". The Association of Chief Police Officers is, however, struggling to draw up the guidelines for officers regarding the aggravating factors. They are due to be published in November. Ms May warned yesterday that the guidelines, if unclear, could lead to disparity of practice within and across regions. Special Report: Drugs in Britain: http://www.guardian.co.uk/drugs/0,2759,178206,00.htmlNewshawk: puff_tuffSource: Guardian Unlimited, The (UK)Author: Nick Hopkins, Crime CorrespondentPublished: Monday, September 2, 2002Copyright: 2002 Guardian Newspapers LimitedContact: letters guardian.co.ukWebsite: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Related Articles:Cannabis Users Facing Caution Instead of Arrest http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13940.shtmlPot Users Relax with New Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13410.shtml Britain To Let Pot Smokers Off Lightlyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13384.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by CorvallisEric on September 02, 2002 at 09:42:53 PT
Corruption Perceptions Index
The latest version of an interesting resource was released last week.
A CPI 2002 Score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people, academics and risk analysts, and ranges between 10 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).
http://www.transparency.org/pressreleases_archive/2002/2002.08.28.cpi.en.html
I won't spoil it for those of you who like guessing games. It lists 102 countries, so chances are you'll find your favorites there (but not Saudi Arabia, Iran or Iraq).
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Comment #3 posted by CorvallisEric on September 02, 2002 at 09:14:07 PT
MJ in France
Basle (also spelled Basel) is in Switzerland, not France. Right on the border of both France and Germany. It's (tri-country) airport is in France. I haven't heard of open cannabis selling anywhere in France but I'd sure like to know if it exists.
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Comment #2 posted by p4me on September 02, 2002 at 08:01:55 PT
MJ in France on the DE messageboard
You know how it is with the media blockade of anything cannabis. You just have to glean information where you find it. Today on the DE messageboard JohnQuay put up information about outlets selling MJ in the eastern part of France and it is copied below from:  http://212.129.240.114/upload/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3811-----------------------"What I did on my holidays" - or, "we're all one Europe now."Imagine my surprise when buying my daily lefty read, Liberation, to find a whole page devoted to Stockport and its coffee shop! Entitled 'Fumerie a l'anglaise' it was all about the history and contemporary situation of the coffee shop and even interviewed a couple of people there! I don't have access to a scanner, but I could always copy the article out I guess. Great stuff - and if you're in the east of France don't forget that Basle is only about an hour and a half away and they apparently have tolerated weed-selling outlets there now. I got mightily faced last Monday off just such a baggie that a pal had brought back - I don't know what strain it was, but lumme.All of which is to say that the French have an amused but respectful view I think of the efforts in Stockport. But then all articles on weed are chock-full with puns and references to the state of wastedness, so I suppose they're no different.---------------------------------1,2
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Comment #1 posted by CannabisMan on September 01, 2002 at 23:41:46 PT:
People arrest other people because of sadness...
People who are depressed and are control freaks tend to not have enough entertainment in their lives. I recommend the following for police officers and government officials to lighten the fuck up:Wherever I go I always carry a backpack around with the following inside:Sony CD/MP3 WalkmanŽ
http://www.sonystyle.com/home/item.jsp?itemid=21021Sony WalkmanŽ Digital Tuning AM/FM Stereo Radio
http://www.sonystyle.com/home/item.jsp?itemid=6162Sony h.ear Headphones
http://www.sonystyle.com/home/item.jsp?itemid=23061Nintendo Game Boy Advance
http://www.gameboyadvance.com[the following I keep on a belt clip]
Kyocera QCP 3035e (Verizon Wireless)
http://www.kyocera-wireless.com/qcp3000/qcp3000_brew.htm
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