cannabisnews.com: No Clash Over Cannabis - Government





No Clash Over Cannabis - Government
Posted by FoM on January 23, 2000 at 09:54:18 PT
News & City
Source: This Is London
The Government today hit back at claims that it has clashed with Cabinet Minister Mo Mowlam over moves to relax cannabis laws."Any suggestion that the Government's anti-drugs policy is in disarray and that Ministers are at odds is complete speculation," a Cabinet Office statement said.
The denial comes after The Observer reported that Ms Mowlam, who last week admitted to having smoked marijuana in the sixties, was "sympathetic" to proposals that people found in possession of cannabis should not be jailed.Ms Mowlam, who has been in charge of co-ordinating the Government's drugs policy since October, was also reported to believe that cannabis should be made available for medical use.The statement added: "Government policy on cannabis is steadfast ­ possession and use of this drug is illegal and will remain so."As for medicinal use, vigorous scientific tests are being carried out right now to discover whether any medical benefit can be gained from the drug."If, and only if, substantive evidence is delivered to prove that cannabis is beneficial, and a safe way to administer the drug is found, then the Government will look at the evidence."To suggest that the drug should be decriminalised without any scientific proof is to totally disregard public health."Claims that the government's two-year-old anti-drugs policy is ineffective and hampered by targets which are hard to measure were also dismissed."It is a realistic ten-year strategy built on the evidence of what works, and will tackle the root causes of drug misuse while giving help to those who need it," the statement said.© Associated Newspapers Ltd., 23 January 2000Related Article:Britain's Anti-Drug Chief Mowlam Smoked Cannabis - 1/16/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4335.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on January 23, 2000 at 14:47:54 PT
Ah, the sweet sound of DrugWarrior harmony!
It's happening faster in the UK than it is here, but it's happening all the same. The DrugWarriors are losing the credibility battle in their precious little War. The cracks are showing in the hull of the S.S. DrugWar, and the more honest and intelligent of them (or, just like rats, the more opportunistic of them) are covertly checking out the lifeboats.I expect a gag to be surrepticiously placed on the MPs in the Labour party; and that will only add gasoline to the fire.The fireworks should be quite impressive, when the LibDems and others hear about it.
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