JAIL THREAT MAY BE LIFTED FROM CANNABIS SMOKERS

Possession of cannabis would no longer be punishable by jail under a
controversial shake-up of Britain's drug laws to be recommended by an
independent inquiry soon.

The most far-reaching investigation of drugs legislation for a quarter
of a century will also call for a relaxation of the ban on the use of
cannabis for medical purposes and is expected to propose that Ecstasy
be downgraded from a "hard" to "soft" drug.

The report is due to be published in mid-March by a committee of
inquiry established in 1997 by the Police Foundation, whose president
is the Prince of Wales. The Prince's Trust has made a financial
contribution to the inquiry, which was set up to determine whether the
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 was effective.

The inquiry is chaired by Lady Runciman, a former member of the
Government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, and its members
include senior police officers.

Lady Runciman declined to comment on the details of the report last
night and made plain that it had yet to be completed. Other sources
said that several key decisions remained to be taken.

However, The Economist today publishes an account of the expected
contents of the report; and The Times has learnt that the most
controversial recommendation will be a proposal for the
"depenalisation" of cannabis possession - for which 500 people were
jailed in 1997.

The inquiry has found that the 1971 Act is inconsistent and imposes
heavy demands on the criminal justice system. It suggests that
cannabis possession, now punishable by up to seven years in prison,
should instead by dealt with by fines or other penalties.

The proposal falls short of the "decriminalisation" favoured by some
members of the inquiry team, but it is understood to have felt
constrained by the need to come up with a report that might eventually
be embraced by the Government. Even so, removing the threat of prison
would be seen as moving towards the more liberal approach of The
Netherlands, where cannabis is freely available for sale in small quantities.

Tony Blair and Jack Straw are extremely cautious on the subject of
reform and are unlikely to back decriminalisation of the drug. Only
Charles Kennedy, leader of the Liberal Democrats, has backed calls for
a royal commission to consider such a move. The Home Secretary has
even rejected a Lords report recommending that cannabis should be
available for medicinal use - a proposal that will feature in the
Police Foundation report.

The report is also believed to make a new distinction between supply
and possession, apparently suggesting that possession of less than two
grammes of cannabis should be treated as a minor offence, but over two
grammes could attract a charge of supply.

The report is certain to be attacked by the Conservatives. Ann
Widdecombe, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: "Existing penalties
should continue."