BELGIUM LEGALISES PERSONAL POT USE

Governments in Europe are about to come under renewed pressure to
decriminalise cannabis after Belgium's decision to legalise the personal
use of le hasch for anyone over the age of 18.

Under radical plans approved by the cabinet on Friday, it will soon be
legal to grow, import and consume potentially unlimited amounts of pot for
personal use in Belgium.

"Any possession of cannabis for personal consumption will no longer provoke
a reaction from the justice system unless its use is considered to be
problematic or creates a social nuisance," the health minister, Magda
Aelvoet, said.

However, it will still be against the law to deal in or supply cannabis, or
to produce the drug in industrial quantities for sale. Nor will Belgium
replicate the Netherlands' fabled network of coffee shops selling cannabis
cigarettes over the counter. Hard drugs will continue to be outlawed.

Italy, Spain and Portugal are reported to be considering similar moves for
cannabis and Belgium's decision to relax its laws will make the British
government, which has repeatedly refused to consider decriminalisation,
look increasingly isolated.

It has been legal since 1976 to buy and use cannabis in any one of the
Netherlands' 1,500 coffee shops. Within a few months, Belgium will become
the second country in the EU to follow suit when it amends its own drugs
laws, which date back to 1921.

In Britain, the government has stated that it will reject calls to
decriminalise cannabis despite a report from the Police Foundation
recommending more relaxed penalties for its use and medical evidence that
the drug eases chronic pain.

Controversially, the Belgian government has said it will not define what
constitutes a reasonable amount of pot, leaving it up to the country's
judiciary to set the of legal precedent.