BRITAIN LOOKS AT RELAXING ITS MARIJUANA LAWS

LONDON - A sudden and unexpected movement to loosen controls on marijuana
use is sweeping Britain, gaining bipartisan support each day and setting
the stage for a possible decriminalization of the drug, which is very
popular here.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has promised a hard-line approach to drug
abuse, has not spoken out, but senior figures in his Labor Party have
called for the use of small amounts of marijuana to go unpunished.
Surprisingly, some leaders in the Conservative Party have agreed that the
time has come to change the law.

Newly appointed Home Secretary David Blunkett has called for an "adult,
rational debate" on the subject, showing far more openness than his
predecessor, Jack Straw, who frequently ruled out easing laws governing
"soft" use.

Michael Portillo, the leading candidate in the race to become Conservative
Party leader, joined the chorus this week by suggesting that a "strong
enough case" for legalization of marijuana has been made. Some politicians
have suggested that marijuana be sold in licensed stores and taxed, much as
it is in the Netherlands, which has Europe's most liberal drug policy.

The epicenter of change, at least for the moment, is the predominantly
African and Caribbean neighborhood of Brixton, where police have announced
a six-month experiment. During that time, they will not charge people found
to be smoking or carrying marijuana with any criminal offense if the
quantity involved is small.

The sudden announcement of a no-prosecution zone has delighted Brixton's
many Rastafarians, who trace their family roots to Jamaica. Many of them
regard marijuana use as part of their religious activity and use the drug
daily.

The pot-tolerant policy angers some people in Brixton, particularly
shopkeepers who believe a rise in street crime is associated with the
widespread drug use there. Blacks who own small businesses in downtown
Brixton say they resent their neighborhood being chosen for the project.

"It's not a good idea," said Kwaku Nyami, who runs a small food shop near
the Brixton market, where drugs are openly sold, often by dealers perched
in late-model German sedans. He said it was unfair to start the new policy
in a poor, largely black community that is susceptible to drug abuse.

Others worried that Brixton would become a lure for drug-using youths from
other parts of Britain and the rest of Europe. This phenomenon of so-called
"drug tourists" has caused some problems in the Netherlands, where border
towns have become a magnet for marijuana users from Germany, France and
other countries.

Some local businessmen said they are untroubled by the policy shift, and
they say it simply recognizes the reality that police do not have the
manpower to shut down the marijuana dealers and should instead concentrate
on those selling heroin and crack cocaine.

Shoe salesman Errol Brady said police can put the marijuana dealers out of
business for several hours but not for an entire day.

"They can't stop it," he said. In Britain, marijuana is still listed as a
Class B drug, with anyone found possessing it facing up to five years in
prison. Many now call for it to be reclassified as a Class C drug, which
would mean someone found carrying a small amount would not face criminal
charges.

Lord Baker, who was home secretary from the Conservative Party in the
1990s, said the policy no longer makes sense. "To fill our prisons with
marijuana users is a bum use of prisons," he said.

Some trace the movement toward looser marijuana laws to a call this spring
by Anne Widdecombe, a hard-line Conservative Party leader, for an
intensification of the police campaign against marijuana users. Widdecombe
had expected approval for her tough stance, but found instead that
virtually no one agreed with her in public.

A shift in attitude also was revealed when disclosures of past marijuana
use by a number of Conservative Party leaders failed to alarm the public.

The growing acceptance of marijuana may also be related to the fact that
the generation that celebrated the drug in the 1960s is now in power
throughout the society.