'I SMOKED CANNABIS' SAYS MP

NORWICH South MP Charles Clarke has admitted on national television that he
smoked cannabis as a teenager.

Mr Clarke, who is also a Home Office Minister, was panelist on the BBC
Question time programme last night when the admission came.

When asked if the slate can be wiped clean for those with minor drug
offences, he said he had tried the drug twice as a teenager while on
holiday in America.

The MP has previously admitted trying cannabis, but has never gone into
such detail on the place and time.

Today he told the Evening News he had seen no problem with revealing
details of his cannabis use on television.

"I was asked the question. I have never tried to hide it. Nobody on
Question Time knows which questions are going to be asked and I have
already said this back in 1997."

Mr Clarke's comments come just days after Government ministers indicated
they were thinking of scrapping laws which force people cautioned for minor
offences such as drugs possession to tell employers.

The proposal emerged in the Home Office's response to the recent Runciman
inquiry into drugs laws.

Mr Clarke said he supported the idea, but stopped short of Runciman's call
to legalise the drug.

However, he said he would favour a relaxation of cannabis laws if the drug
was proved to help people with certain medical conditions.