MOWLAM CALLS FOR CANNABIS TO BE LEGALISED

Pro-Cannabis campaigners were given a double boost yesterday when Mo
Mowlem, former head of the Government's anti-drug policy, called for it to
be legalised and her senior adviser agreed that he could be wrong about
links to heroin or cocaine Their comments came on the eve of the launch
today of a police trial of softer enforcement of the law on possession of
cannabis. Users in South London will have their drugs confiscated and get
only an official ticking-off. Dr Mowlem, writing for a Sunday newspaper,
said that the sale of the drug should be legalised to take it out of the
hands of criminals and a tax on the drug would help to pay for the
treatment of all addicts. She described the present practice and debate
about cannabis as a farce and attacked a legal lottery in which some courts
treat possession as serious and others do not.

The former minister, who said last year that she had tried cannabis at
university, said: "What I am concerned with is the hypocritical and
confusing situation we are in at the moment.

"From my time with the Government's drug policy I have come to the
conclusion that we must decriminalise cannabis. It is a view I know that
many in the police, social workers and others working with cannabis smokers
fully agree with," she said.

Police forces were divided about what to do about the use of the drug.
Parents were also divided, she said.

"Many parents I know ask their children to smoke -- if they are going to --
at home so they don't get caught. Other parents lecture their children on
the dangers of drugs with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the
other," she added.

She said that Holland, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Switzerland took a more
relaxed approach. There were also differences within Britain. "If you live
in an area where the police do not enforce the laws for small amounts and
your parents adopt the view that it is better to know what you are doing,
you are less likely to get into trouble."

She called for an inquiry into how to decriminalise the drug. Dr Mowlem
said it would be "totally irrational to decriminalise cannabis without
looking at the sale of it" adding: "It would be an absurdity to have
criminals controlling the market in a substance people can use legally."

Her comments came as Keith Hellawell, Britain's first so-called drug czar,
said that he had softened his view that cannabis was a "gateway drug". The
phrase is used to suggest that users try cannabis and are then tempted to
try stronger drugs. Mr Hellawell, who has been sidelined by David Blunkett,
the new Home Secretary, had based his view on research from New Zealand.
But at the weekend he said that he now felt the issues were more complex.

Dr Mowlem's and Mr Hellawell's comments appeared yesterday as Scotland Yard
prepared to start a scheme in Brixton today which could radically change
the enforcement of drug laws on the streets. Under the scheme, which will
be studied by Mr Blunkett, police will not arrest suspects for possession
of cannabis. Instead they will confiscate the drug for destruction and give
the suspect an official warning. Normally, London officers arrest and
caution for possession of the drug. The warning will be held locally on
police records for three years and the details will not have to be declared
for job references.

Commander Brian Paddick, in charge of police in Brixton, said it can take
up to five hours to process someone arrested for cannabis possession. Yet
the defendants would be fined only UKP20 to UKP50. He said that his policy
was different from the Dutch approach, where possession was tolerated. He
said that users users not be allowed to keep their drugs.