HOME SECRETARY PRAISES CANNABIS SCHEME

Police plans for a "softly, softly" approach to cannabis were endorsed
yesterday by David Blunkett, the new Home Secretary.

He praised a London scheme that will see people caught with small amounts
of the drug given a caution rather than prosecuted.

Mr Blunkett said on BBC1's Breakfast with Frost that he had told officers
at the police unit in Brixton where the plan is being masterminded that it
fitted in with his intention to target Class A drugs. His comments
represent a significant shift in government policy on cannabis, which has
always emphasised the need for a strict ban on drug use.

Mr Blunkett said it made sense to concentrate police resources where they
were needed most on fighting the spread of more powerful drugs such as
heroin and cocaine.

Earlier, Michael Portillo, the front-runner to be the next Tory leader, had
told Breakfast with Frost that the party should be brave enough to think
about the issue of legalising cannabis. Although he stopped short of
backing the proposal, he said: "Here is an issue which is extremely
complicated. It is an issue where there are very strong arguments on both
sides.

"Many people in this country now have a view on this. They either have
personal experience or they have experience in their family, and I think
it's extraordinary that the political class is not prepared to debate this
issue."

His remarks came after a report suggesting that other candidates for the
Tory leadership, including David Davis, Iain Duncan Smith and Michael
Ancram, also accepted the need for a debate on legalising the drug.