BRITAIN LOOSENING ITS MARIJUANA LAWS

LONDON - Britain, which has one of the highest rates of cannabis use in
Europe, said Wednesday that it was relaxing its laws on marijuana smoking,
keeping the practice theoretically illegal but making private use in
discreet amounts no longer subject to arrest.

The decision, announced by Home Secretary David Blunkett in the House of
Commons, stirred criticism from the Conservative opposition and some Labor
politicians and prompted the government's drugs chief to resign because, he
said, Britain is "moving further toward decriminalization than any other
country in the world."

Blunkett tempered his announcement, which takes effect next July and puts
cannabis on a par with antidepressants and steroids, by saying he would
also raise the punishment for marijuana dealing and step up drug education
and treatment for abusers.

An estimated five million people in Britain regularly use marijuana, and
government data show that its use has risen sharply in the last 20 years.

A study published last year on drug habits in the European Union showed
that 20 to 25 percent of adults in Britain used marijuana - about the same
rate as shown for Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.

The action followed recommendations of a parliamentary committee in May,
which said that a new attitude of tolerance would give drug policy greater
credibility among young people and help the police direct resources towards
heroin and cocaine.

Britain has the most drug-related deaths of any country in the European
Union, with heroin cited as the principal cause.

The parliamentary committee also suggested reclassifying the club-drug
ecstacy, but Blunkett said he had rejected that advice.

Several other European countries have already relaxed their drug laws. The
Netherlands has legalized marijuana, while Luxemburg has ended jail
sentences for marijuana possession. Spain and Italy do not jail people
caught with drugs meant for personal use. Last year, Portugal adopted a law
eliminating jail time for possession of small amounts of any illegal drug.

Laws differ among individual U.S. states. Eight states have taken some kind
of step toward permitting marijuana for medicinal use: California,
Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada and Colorado.

The U.S. Supreme Court, however, ruled last year that there was no
exception in federal law for people to use marijuana, so even those with
tolerant state laws could face arrest if they do.

Under the British reform, possession of marijuana would no longer be
considered an arrestable offense. Though this will not take effect for a
year, from now on any police action will be limited to issuing a warning
and seizing the drug.

Blunkett countered suggestions that Britain was going "soft on drugs" by
saying the police would retain the right to arrest users in "aggravated"
cases like smoking outside schools or in the presence of children. The Home
Office stressed that any marijuana cafes where the drug is sold and used
openly remained illegal and would be closed.

"It is critical that police can maintain public order," Blunkett said.
"Where cannabis possession is linked to aggravated behavior that threatens
public order, the police will retain the power of arrest."

Scotland Yard said it welcomed the reclassification combined with
maintaining a discretionary police power to intervene. The drugs spokesman
for the officers association, Andy Hayman, said, "The retention of police
power of arrest will enable the police to have greater flexibility in
dealing with incidents on the street."

Blunkett insisted that Wednesday's move did not constitute legalizing
marijuana. "All controlled drugs are harmful and will remain illegal," he
said. "We must concentrate our efforts on the drugs that cause the most
harm, while sending a credible message to young people."

But Keith Hellawell, Prime Minister Tony Blair's one-time anti-drug chief,
said the new policy "would virtually be decriminalization of cannabis, and
this is, quite frankly, giving the wrong message." He said the proposals
would damage communities and lead to more, not less, drug use.