cannabisnews.com: Former Judge Calls for Legalisation of Cannabis Former Judge Calls for Legalisation of Cannabis Posted by CN Staff on July 05, 2003 at 21:34:45 PT By Murdo MacLeod Source: Scotland On Sunday UK A former High Court judge called last night for cannabis to be legalised and the drug supplied in the same way as alcohol and tobacco. Speaking days after the case against a multiple sclerosis sufferer accused of supplying cannabis was abandoned, Lord Prosser said the current laws on the Class B drug were unenforceable and should be scrapped. Lord Prosser, who retired from the Bench in October, is the most senior Scottish legal figure to call for the legalisation of cannabis. Government policy is to effectively decriminalise the drug by reclassifying it from B to C. The debate has been fuelled by the case of Biz Ivol, from Orkney, who was accused of supplying cannabis chocolates to fellow MS sufferers. The case was dropped by the Crown on the grounds that Ivol’s condition has advanced to the point where it was no longer in the public interest to prosecute. After the case was dropped, Ivol, 56, attempted to take her own life with an overdose of paracetamol but was discovered by neighbours and is now recovering in hospital. Lord Prosser said he did not wish to comment about the Biz Ivol case in particular, but added: "I have long believed that the law [on cannabis] in its present form should be changed. "It should be legal to posses the drug and there should be a system of controlled supply similar to that which exists for tobacco and alcohol. You obviously cannot have a free-for-all for supply - that has to be controlled, just as alcohol and tobacco are controlled." Lord Prosser said large numbers of people were using cannabis, despite a high-profile government ‘war on drugs’ that has sought to cut off supplies and penalise dealers and addicts. He said: "The current law is clearly not working. It should be scrapped and we should start again. If a law seems to be unenforceable then one would have to think very carefully about how to solve the problem in other ways. It cannot be a sound law if it does not achieve what it was meant to achieve." Lord Prosser’s recent retirement has left him free to air his opinions. By convention, judges who still sit in Scottish courts do not comment on whether laws should be changed. Margo MacDonald, the independent MSP for the Lothians, and a long-term advocate of more liberal drug laws, said: "Lord Prosser is to be applauded for his stance. The truth is that society has moved on and most people regard cannabis as no different in principle to alcohol or cigarettes." Kevin Williamson, a campaigner for more liberal drugs laws, said: "Politicians are way behind public opinion on this issue. There has been a sea-change in public attitudes. Now we have judges who are more in tune with the public mood than our political leaders." However, Lord Prosser’s views drew a less favourable response from the Scottish Conservatives, who claimed that the cannabis lobby was exploiting the Ivol case to argue for laxer drug laws. A spokesman said: "There are too many mixed messages coming out... we need clarity in the fight against drugs. "While there is a justifiable debate about the medicinal uses of cannabis, the two issues should remain separate." MacDonald has also written to Colin Boyd QC, the Lord Advocate, demanding a change in policy on prosecuting MS sufferers who make use of cannabis, in the aftermath of the Ivol affair. She wants them to be allowed to use cannabis as a palliative without the fear of prosecution. The Scottish Executive was last night unwilling to voice any view on the subject, saying that the regulation of drugs was a matter reserved to the UK government and not a subject which MSPs could decide. A Home Office spokesman said ministers would not be commenting on the views of an individual judge. However, he added that the government’s plans to reclassify cannabis from a class B to a class C drug would mean that possession of the drug would still be an offence, although it was not regarded as being as dangerous as harder drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Complete Title: Former Judge Calls for Legalisation of Cannabis and End To 'Unenforceable' Law Source: Scotland On Sunday (UK)Author: Murdo MacLeodPublished: Sunday, July 6, 2003 Copyright: 2003 The Scotsman Publications Ltd.Contact: letters_sos scotlandonsunday.comWebsite: http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Thc4MShttp://www.thc4ms.org/Legalise Cannabis Alliancehttp://www.lca-uk.org/End of a Desperate Legal Battle? http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16756.shtmlCannabis Policy Goes Up In Smoke http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16671.shtmlThinktank Urges Leniency for Cannabis Growers http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15962.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by WolfgangWylde on July 06, 2003 at 06:40:30 PT Great Britain... ...is so much under the thumb of the U.S. that leglization will never happen. We'll be lucky if they even get some minor form of decriminalization. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by mayan on July 06, 2003 at 03:37:47 PT Prohibit Prohibition "The current law is clearly not working. It should be scrapped and we should start again. If a law seems to be unenforceable then one would have to think very carefully about how to solve the problem in other ways. It cannot be a sound law if it does not achieve what it was meant to achieve."Judges everywhere in the free world are dismissing cannabis cases! The tide is swiftly turning, even in the face of unprecedented fascism(at least in the U.S.). We have finally regained the momentum that we had prior to 9/11. Only another "terror attack" can hinder our progress. We will prohibit prohibition!The way out is the way in...Autopsy: No Arabs on Flight 77 http://www.sierratimes.com/03/07/02/article_tro.htmSenator Says White House Pre-Attack Briefings May Have 'Probative Value' as 9/11 Evidence: http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/archive/scoop/stories/42/4d/200307031300.fe725cc3.htmlGerman 9/11 Skeptics Meeting sabotaged by Neo-Nazis: http://news.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/07/02/1253225Beyond Bush - Part I: http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/070103_beyond_bush_1.html [ Post Comment ] Post Comment