cannabisnews.com: Thinktank Urges Leniency for Cannabis Growers


cannabisnews.com: Thinktank Urges Leniency for Cannabis Growers 





Thinktank Urges Leniency for Cannabis Growers 
Posted by CN Staff on April 14, 2003 at 11:44:26 PT
By Staff and Agencies
Source: Guardian Unlimited UK
People who grow their own cannabis should escape with a police warning if they only cultivate the drug on a small scale, according to a social policy thinktank.The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said 243 people were jailed for growing cannabis in 2000, but there were wide variations in the way different police forces treated the crime. 
Some charged growers with production, carrying a mandatory seven-year sentence for a third conviction, while others used the lesser offence of cultivation.The JRF report said guidance on when to use this more lenient punishment could be based on the weight of cannabis or the number of confiscated plants. It added that such a change would not breach international conventions on drug controls.Another option would be to create new offences of "social supply" and "social cultivation" when people grow the drug non-commercially for friends, although the Home Office has previously rejected these types of offences.The JRF report, A Growing Market, said that up to half of all cannabis consumed in the UK may now be home grown and punishments for cultivation needed to be altered as the drug was reclassified.Its co-author, professor Mike Hough, said: "If small-scale home cultivation attracted an on-the-spot warning rather than a caution or a court conviction, it is likely that more users would switch to growing their own and stop buying from dealers. "Large minorities of young people use cannabis. It is essential to insulate them as much as possible from drug markets operated by dealers who sell not only cannabis but crack and heroin. "As their profits from cannabis sales diminished, criminal entrepreneurs could be forced to abandon the cannabis market altogether."The home secretary, David Blunkett, is to take the final steps towards reclassifying cannabis from class B to class C this summer - meaning that possession will only be an arrestable offence in extreme circumstances.According to the British Crime Survey just under half of 16 to 29-year-olds admit trying cannabis.The JRF's recommendations came as a British drug reform group urged the United Nations to rethink its hardline global policy on drugs. The thinktank Forward Thinking on Drugs (FTD) said the UN's promotion of strict prohibition policies was having little effect on the production, trafficking and consumption of drugs around the world.At a conference opening in Vienna tomorrow the UN commission on narcotic drugs will discuss the impact of targets set at the United Nations general assembly special session in 1998 to create a "drug-free world". But the FTD report said the chances of the UN meeting its targets by 2008 appear "remote". It found that five years into the UN's campaign, drug supply levels are stabilising at high levels, or increasing, rather than declining.The thinktank warns that policy makers need to either massively extend prohibition or acknowledge that a "certain level of illicit supply and use is inevitable" and concentrate instead on reducing the harm that drugs do. Special Report: Drugs & Alcohol: http://society.guardian.co.uk/drugsandalcohol/0,8145,386873,00.htmlJRF: Domestic Cultivation of Cannabis: http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialpolicy/423.aspSource: Guardian Unlimited, The (UK)Published: Monday, April 14, 2003Copyright: 2003 Guardian Newspapers LimitedContact: letters guardian.co.ukWebsite: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Related Articles & Web Sites:Joseph Rowntree Foundationhttp://www.jrf.org.uk/Drugs Uncovered: Observer Special http://freedomtoexhale.com/dc.htmLeniency Urged Towards Grow Your Own Cannabis http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15960.shtmlResearchers Call for Softer Pot Cultivation Lawshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15957.shtmlCannabis Leniency Pleahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15954.shtmlHalf of All Cannabis Possibly Grown at Home http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15953.shtml 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on April 19, 2003 at 10:19:49 PT
News Article from PNN Online
 UK Government Urged to Rethink Cannabis Penalties Friday, April 18, 2003 
 
 
Topic PNN WorldwideHome cultivation of cannabis is so widespread that it may now account for as much as half of all consumption in Britain. But there are wide discrepancies in the way that police and the courts apply the laws against cultivation, which will be left unchanged after Government plans make possession of cannabis a less serious offence.New research for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation highlights an increasing tendency for cannabis users to 'grow their own', making them less dependent on the international trade in narcotics. It suggests that some cultivation is by commercial dealers, but much is on a small scale for personal use or use by friends.It also describes how the home-grown market is supported by a thriving, legal trade in cannabis seeds and horticultural equipment - including soil-less 'hydroponic' cultivation systems and lighting - that can be purchased through magazines, the internet and even garden centers.The report is being published in the same week as the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) meets in Vienna to review international action against illegal drugs. The researchers, at South Bank University's Criminal Policy Research Unit and the National Addiction Centre at King's College London, surveyed practice in English and Welsh police forces, reviewed the law and enforcement arrangements in other countries, and examined the requirements of the United Nations conventions on illicit drugs. They also surveyed 37 cannabis growers. Their findings led them to divide cannabis cultivators into five different groups:Sole-use growers, who cultivated cannabis for personal use or use with friends. They tended to view cultivation as a hobby where they could save money and avoid contact with dealers.Medical growers, who used the drug to relieve the symptoms of long-term conditions, such as multiple sclerosis.Social growers, who wanted to ensure a good quality supply for themselves and friends.Social/commercial growers cultivating for themselves and friends, but also selling the cannabis to provide an income.Commercial growers cultivating the drug to make money and sell to any potential customer.The cultivators who were interviewed used a variety of growing techniques, depending largely on their knowledge and technical expertise, and achieved very variable yields from their 'crops'.Home Office statistics show that 458 offenders were cautioned for cannabis cultivation in 2000, while another 1,502 were convicted in court, including 243 who were sent to prison. However, the police survey revealed how similar offences were treated differently by different forces. Some forces charged growers with 'production', which carries a mandatory seven-year prison sentence for a third conviction, while others used the lesser offence of 'cultivation'.David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, has announced that possession offences will usually attract on-the-spot warnings and confiscation when cannabis is reclassified as a Class C drug later in the year. The report discusses ways in which the police and courts might treat cultivation of cannabis for personal use on a par with possession. One possibility would be to leave the law unchanged, but for the police, prosecutors and the courts to receive guidance about the circumstances when home growers should be given on-the-spot warnings. This guidance could be based on the weight of cannabis or the number of confiscated plants. Another option would be to create new offences of 'social supply' and 'social cultivation' of cannabis - defined as growing and distributing the drug non-commercially to friends - and for guidance to be issued about the way that these offences should be dealt with by the police and the courts. The report notes that a UK decision to change the law so small-scale cultivation of cannabis was treated in a similar way to possession would not contravene the UN drug conventions. But it would bring British law into line with many other developed nations - including the Netherlands and Switzerland, where enforcement policy deliberately seeks to draw cannabis users away from criminal suppliers who may also try to sell them more harmful drugs like heroin and cocaine.Prof. Mike Hough of South Bank University, co-author of the report, said: "The Government has decided to re-classify cannabis as a Class C drug, with less serious penalties for possession. Yet debate has so far ignored the issue of cultivation and the opportunities for careful reform that would reduce the harm caused by dangerous drugs and drug dealing."Large minorities of young people use cannabis. It is essential to insulate them as much as possible from drug markets operated by dealers who sell not only cannabis but crack and heroin. If small-scale home cultivation attracted an on-the-spot warning rather than a caution or a court conviction, it is likely that more users would switch to growing their own and stop buying from dealers. As their profits from cannabis sales diminished, criminal entrepreneurs could be forced to abandon the cannabis market altogether."Dame Ruth Runciman, Chair of the Foundation's Drug and Alcohol Research Committee, and formerly Chair of the Police Foundation's Independent Inquiry into the Misuse of Drugs Act, said: "I very much hope that the Government will pay close attention to the anomalies highlighted by this report and to the range of policy options that it identifies. In particular, it seems likely that a more careful distinction in law between social and commercial cultivation could be used to drive a wedge between users and the criminally sophisticated gangs who might otherwise try to sell them more harmful, Class A drugs as well as cannabis." 
Link: http://www.pnnonline.org/article.php?sid=4373&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
 
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