cannabisnews.com: Cannabis Possession Limit To Be 500 Joints










  Cannabis Possession Limit To Be 500 Joints

Posted by CN Staff on November 30, 2005 at 16:27:21 PT
By Richard Ford and Stewart Tendler 
Source: Times Online 

United Kingdom -- Drug users caught with enough cannabis to make more than 500 joints will be able to claim that it is for personal use under Home Office plans published yesterday. Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, is planning to set a threshold for the amount of drugs a person can possess without being charged for dealing.
The move was announced as police in Brixton, South London, were preparing to take a tougher approach on cannabis because drug dealing has increased since the area was used to test a more liberal attitude towards people caught with cannabis. Anyone caught with any amount of the drug will face arrest under the new strategy. Threshold limits proposed by the Home Secretary will provide guidance to police and the Crown Prosecution Service on whether to prosecute for dealing or possession. A letter from the Home Office said that it was minded to set the thresholds at levels already being operated in Nottingham. The personal use threshold for cannabis would be 4 ounces, enough to roll more than 500 joints. The letter said: “Being in possession of a lower-than-prescribed amount of a controlled drug will not prevent prosecution for the offence of intent to supply if other evidence demonstrates that the defendant had the necessary intent, for example the possession of dealing paraphernalia.” The Association of Chief Police Officers has avoided setting a threshold because it said that it could lead to dealers carrying amounts just below the threshold. A Home Office spokesman said: “This is to clarify the point at which the quantity of drugs in a person’s possession becomes above and beyond that reasonably held for personal use, and so help the courts to differentiate between possession and intent to supply.” Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: “The Government was given ample warning during the passage of the Drugs Bill that this idea would backfire. Set the limit too low, and you treat all users as dealers. Set it too high, and many dealers will argue that the drugs were for personal use”. Cheryl Gillan, the Conservative home affairs spokesman, said that setting out thresholds would help dealers to know what they could get away with. The move was announced before the introduction of powers today under which there will be more drug testing of people arrested for offences such as burglary, robbery and theft. An estimated 250,000 people each year will be tested for drugs when they are arrested. Anyone who tests positive will be forced to attend a drug assessment to help them into treatment, even if they are not eventually charged. A person who fails to undergo a drug assessment faces a fine of up to £2,500 or up to three months in prison. Another power coming into force today will allow courts to refuse bail to an alleged offender unless he or she agrees to a drug assessment. Paul Goggins, a Home Office Minister, said: “Testing on arrest and compulsory assessment will help to identify more drug misusing offenders within the criminal justice system . . . and so make communities safer.” Newshawk: SiegeSource: Times Online (UK)Author: Richard Ford, Home Correspondent and Stewart TendlerPublished: December 01, 2005 Copyright: 2005 Times Newspapers Ltd.Contact: debate thetimes.co.uk Website: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/Related Articles:How Blair Stayed Cool at Spliff Time http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18768.shtmlBiggest Shake-Up of Britains Laws in 30 Yearshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18261.shtml

Home    Comment    Email    Register    Recent Comments    Help





Comment #32 posted by FoM on December 01, 2005 at 18:43:57 PT
Ferre 
I wanted to say that you have a beautiful forum. Good luck in all you do.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #31 posted by Ferre on December 01, 2005 at 18:16:37 PT
I can live with 500 joints
As I spend quite a lot of time in the UK, this is good news.
join the Global THC Ministry Community !
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #30 posted by FoM on December 01, 2005 at 14:28:59 PT
westnyc
I never heard the song before. I never saw the Sopranos either or maybe I might recognize the song.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #29 posted by westnyc on December 01, 2005 at 14:04:48 PT
The Clash and the Sopranos
The Clash were partly from Brixton hence their song "The Guns of Brixton" and the theme song from the Sopranos is actually called "Exile on Cold Harbor Lane" about Brixton. I loooove this song......And after three days of drinking with Labrador, I just get an inkling to get on home. So I'm walking down Cold Harbor Lane, head hung low, 3, 4 in the morning, the sun's comin' up, the birds are out singin'. So I let myself into my pad, wind my way up that spiral staircase and stretch out nice on the Chesterfield. Hit the Canfibus Erectus already on the CD player and I just push that remote button to sublimity, listen to the sweet sculptural rhythms of Charles Mingus and JR Montorose and Jackie McClain and G-Rad on your saxaphones and the sound makes its way out the window minglin' with the traffic noises outside, y'know, and all of a sudden I'm overcome by a feeling of brief mortality. Cos I'm gettin' on in the world, comin' up on forty one years, forty one stony, grey steps towards the grave, y'know, the box, awaits its grisly load, and now I'm gonna be food for worms. And just like Charles Mingus wrote that beautiful piece of music, Epitaph, for Eric Dolphe, I say "So long Eric, so long John Coltraine and Charles Mingus, so long Duke Ellington and Leslie Young, so long Billie Holiday and Ella FItzgerald, so long Jimmy Reed, so long Muddy Waters. And so long Howlin' Wolf..." Woke up this morning... You woke up this morning 
Got yourself a gun, 
Mama always said you'd be 
The Chosen One. She said: You're one in a million 
You've got to burn to shine, 
But you were born under a bad sign, 
With a blue moon in your eyes. 
You woke up this morning 
All that love had gone, 
Your Papa never told you 
About right and wrong. 
But you're looking good, baby, 
I believe you're feeling fine, (shame about it), 
Born under a bad sign 
With a blue moon in your eyes. Woke up this morning You woke up this morning 
The world turned upside down, 
Thing's ain't been the same 
Since the Blues walked into town. 
But you're one in a million 
You've got that shotgun shine.(shame about it) 
Born under a bad sign, 
With a blue moon in your eyes. Woke up this morning 
Got blue moon in your eyes 
Woke up this morning 
Goddamn, Goddamn shame about it. When you woke up this morning everything was 
gone. By half past ten your head was going ding-dong. 
Ringing like a bell from your head down to your toes, 
like a voice telling you there was something you should 
know. Last night you were flying but today you're so low 
- ain't it times like these that make you wonder if 
you'll ever know the meaning of things as they appear to 
the others; wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, sisters and 
brothers. Don't you wish you didn't function, wish you 
didn't think beyond the next paycheck and the next little 
drink' Well you do so make up your mind to go on, 'cos 
when you woke up this morning everything you had was gone. Woke up this morning 
Wanna be the chosen one. When you woke up this morning, 
When you woke up this morning, 
When you woke up this morning, 
Mama said you'd be the Chosen One. When you woke up this morning, 
When you woke up this morning, 
When you woke up this morning, 
You got yourself a gun.
[ Post Comment ]

 


Comment #28 posted by FoM on December 01, 2005 at 13:50:12 PT

westnyc
I think that England has brought us some of the truly great music of the last few decades at least since the 60s. I hope they don't cause a lot of trouble in Brixton and let them live and let live.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #27 posted by westnyc on December 01, 2005 at 13:42:28 PT

Ozzy
Nope - Actually Ozzy is from Aston, a mining town in the West Midlands of England! That's what's funny about England - every little town has their own accent. :-)
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #26 posted by FoM on December 01, 2005 at 13:26:31 PT

westnyc 
Isn't Ozzy from Brixton? I can barely understand anything he says because of his accent. I think Ozzy is a nice person just hard to understand.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #25 posted by FoM on December 01, 2005 at 13:24:38 PT

westnyc
So they are trying to clean up Brixton. It must be that.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #24 posted by westnyc on December 01, 2005 at 13:13:53 PT

Brixton
I think - FOM - it is like anywhere in America. Perhaps Harlem of yesterday. It is a very working class and impoverished area of the city which the proper and corrupt (white, upscale) Brits want to control for their own personal gain. It is mostly comprised of poor black and proud immigrants with a strong sense of independence. Also Britain still maintains a strong class system; but, theirs is "out" in the open and it is very difficult for someone born in Brixton to ever receive the same opportunity as say the whites living in the West End. A Brixton accent is very definable. However, Brixton is also very very ecclectic. There is a large art crowd, music scene, street markets and entertainers, and a huge gay influence as well. All live peacefully with each other.  However, those that live removed from this area consider it a cess pool that should be expunged. 
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #23 posted by FoM on December 01, 2005 at 12:55:42 PT

westnyc 
Thank you. Do you know why they are picking on Brixton? If I am getting it right the rest of the UK isn't being hassled just Brixton. 
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #22 posted by westnyc on December 01, 2005 at 12:49:21 PT

Brixton
I know Brixton well. I lived there for three years. Brixton is the last stop on the Victoria Line; and, as you emerge from the Tube - you will find the Electric Avenue from the Eddy Grant song. It is an area of mostly poor Jamaican immingrants and the area is predominantly black. Brixton also has a strong sense of community - just see the street decorations at Xmas. I worked at a nightclub called The Fridge back in the early nineties, which is adjacent to Cold Harbor Lane and faces Brixton Hill. The park - actually a very small park; but, this is the park where drug dealers make their deals that we all keep hearing about. However, I walked across this park everyday for years and -never- not even once was I offered drugs simply because the dealers knew this wasn't what I was there for. I also knew most of the big important dealers becuase they are organized and they also provided security at the Fridge Nightclub as well as the others in the area. In fact, I used to have a great time getting "cheeky" with them. They actually help make Brixton safer. These same dealers also made it known that nobody is to mess with any employees or guests of the clubs - and nobody in Brixton ever did. Odd - but true! The dealers actually make Brixton safe through their own illegal stronghold in what would be a very dangerous area. BTW - Brixton was the site of the largest set of riots and unrest that ever happened in the U.K. It was comparable to the race riots in the South during the sities. Also, I think it is where Jimmy Hendrix died as he loved Brixton too! Look for signs of David Bowie (Bowie Circle).
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #21 posted by FoM on December 01, 2005 at 12:13:35 PT

Hope
I wonder if it would be like how New York City has Queens, Manhattan and The South Bronx etc. 
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #20 posted by Hope on December 01, 2005 at 12:10:29 PT

Brixton
A neighborhood that's a part of London is what it seems to be.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #19 posted by FoM on December 01, 2005 at 11:59:25 PT

About The UK
I don't know much about the United Kingdom. I thought this link might help others who aren't familiar with the UK. Is Brixton a city or a town or something else altogether?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #18 posted by FoM on December 01, 2005 at 10:46:01 PT

Hope
I understand what you mean. Brixton now will be shut down because of the abuses I assume they are having. Then they can fix it is what I believe. I doubt they will hassle people who smoke in the privacy of their own home but out in the public people will get in trouble. I don't know how Brixton is since I've never been out of the country but that's what point I think they are trying to make. Brixton is only one city in the UK.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #17 posted by Hope on December 01, 2005 at 10:39:59 PT

FoM
The article you post in comment 15, which states, "Under the new rules, due to take effect next July, police will no longer have the automatic power to arrest a person found with small amounts of the drug. They will simply confiscate the marijuana or hashish and issue a warning." conflicts with this one, which says, "Anyone caught with any amount of the drug will face arrest under the new strategy."
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #16 posted by FoM on December 01, 2005 at 09:51:21 PT

Hope
I want to add this. I have seen specials on the 60s and it was a good thing. Caring and loving each other and losing judgmentalism was right on. Liberty for all but then the trouble begins which causes things to change. People push too hard and then the idealism gets hurt. Society always has people pushing harder then many people would push. It's the nature of some folks. Good change can get stopped for those reasons.
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #15 posted by FoM on December 01, 2005 at 09:39:22 PT

Hope
Cannabis has been re-scheduled in the UK. They must have people pushing too hard in Brixton so they want to stop dealers. That's what I think but I could be wrong.They are making it ok for those who enjoy using cannabis but they don't want dealers to run rampant. Fixing that problem will probably be the next step in the UK I believe. Britain To Let Pot Smokers Off Lightly: 
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13384.shtml 
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #14 posted by Hope on December 01, 2005 at 09:32:57 PT

Decriminalized?
Where are you guys seeing that possession has been decriminalized?It looks to me like the temporary experimental decriminalization of possession in Brixton is being ended because of the natural increase in dealing in such an area, which was bound to happen because of not allowing for a legal source. I don't see decrim anywhere in this article. What am I missing?
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #13 posted by jared3602 on December 01, 2005 at 09:19:59 PT

catching up
Looks the UK is just trying to catch up to Russia who made personal possesion of 1oz of cannabis, 1 gram of cocain, .5 grams of herion, etc. (i forget the rest but they made up a list of drugs and personal usage amount) decriminalized.
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #12 posted by FoM on December 01, 2005 at 08:23:30 PT

Just a Note
It seems Tripod won't let you just post the link. To see the pic you need to put it in your address bar and press enter.
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #11 posted by FoM on December 01, 2005 at 08:19:00 PT

500 This Size Would Do Just Fine
http://austintexas420.tripod.com/marijuana-march-pics/big-ass-joint-austin.jpg
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #10 posted by VitaminT on December 01, 2005 at 08:04:44 PT

.2272 g /Joint?
Guess they never heard of fatties in England.
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #9 posted by b4daylight on November 30, 2005 at 19:55:51 PT

yep
Comment #7 posted by Dankhank on November 30, 2005 at 19:05:47 PTdon't forget the hash.
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #8 posted by FoM on November 30, 2005 at 19:36:47 PT

Oh Dankhank
You're too much! LOL!
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #7 posted by Dankhank on November 30, 2005 at 19:05:47 PT

maybe if ...
you were rolling "Shiva Skunk" or some such like it you WOULD be rolling pinners, cause ONE toke was good for a couple of hours ...you partook of a joint created by yours truly in Europe generally, no tobac ...Imagine being in a coffeeshop, smoking a Dutch spliff, nicotine,cannabis, drinking coffee, caffeine, retiring then upstairs to the bar, if you were in the Bulldog, to drink a coctail or two. Shrooms down the street ... whadda night that would likely be....
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #6 posted by FoM on November 30, 2005 at 19:00:30 PT

What Constitutes Paraphernalia?
The letter said: “Being in possession of a lower-than-prescribed amount of a controlled drug will not prevent prosecution for the offence of intent to supply if other evidence demonstrates that the defendant had the necessary intent, for example the possession of dealing paraphernalia.” 
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #5 posted by Hope on November 30, 2005 at 18:48:33 PT

"Joints" in England
include tobacco.
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #4 posted by mayan on November 30, 2005 at 18:47:13 PT

Compulsory Assessment
Another power coming into force today will allow courts to refuse bail to an alleged offender unless he or she agrees to a drug assessment. Paul Goggins, a Home Office Minister, said: “Testing on arrest and compulsory assessment will help to identify more drug misusing offenders within the criminal justice system . . . and so make communities safer.”Compulsory assessment? What? All "alleged" offenders should resist a drug assessment. Let the jails overflow and be gone with this intrusive scheme! The 500 joint limit is pretty cool though. That would get me through the day!THE WAY OUT...BYU Issues Statement About Steven Jones's WTC Research Paper:
http://www.911blogger.com/2005/11/byu-issues-statement-about-steven.html9/11 - WHAT DID THE GOVERNMENT KNOW AND WHEN DID IT KNOW IT?
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/govknow.htmlNational security whistleblowers boycott upcoming hearing: 
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=32881&dcn=e_hsw
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #3 posted by Hope on November 30, 2005 at 18:46:55 PT

Much more drug testing.
"An estimated 250,000 people each year will be tested for drugs when they are arrested."And failure to be "assessed" will be costly to the persecuted and may mean no bail.This isn't good at all.
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #2 posted by Hope on November 30, 2005 at 18:43:07 PT

This is not good.
It's the end of the experiment in Brixton and it's bad." Anyone caught with any amount of the drug will face arrest under the new strategy."It's a "threshold" that divides personal possession charges and Dealing charges.
[ Post Comment ]



 


Comment #1 posted by medicinal toker on November 30, 2005 at 18:39:23 PT

small doobs
"4 ounces, enough to roll more than 500 joints"That's less than a fourth of a gram per joint. They must roll them thin at the Home Office!
[ Post Comment ]






  Post Comment