POLICE EASE UP ON CANNABIS USE

Police want to focus on the fight against hard drugs A controversial pilot
scheme to let off drug users caught with a small amount of cannabis is to
go ahead, Scotland Yard has confirmed.

Police in Brixton will be trying the new policy in an attempt to focus
their efforts on the fight against hard drugs like crack cocaine.

Offenders will get an on-the-spot warning and the drugs will be
confiscated, but the matter will go no further.

If the scheme is successful it may be extended for the entire Metropolitan
area, a Scotland Yard spokesman said.

Police chiefs believe the new approach could save vast amounts of police time.

They say it could take just 10 minutes of an officer's time, compared with
up to 10 hours if an offender is arrested and taken to a police station for
a formal caution.

The plan has been backed by the country's most senior police officer,
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens, who described it as an
"innovative step".

"We are not turning a blind eye to crime but we have to prioritise," he
said. "Possession and use of cannabis is not a priority."

It has not yet been announced when the pilot scheme will begin.