BRITISH OFFICIAL WANTS MARIJUANA LAWS RELAXED

LONDON -- Britain's marijuana laws should be relaxed to give police more
time to battle harder drugs, the nation's top law-enforcement official said
Tuesday.

Home Secretary David Blunkett said reclassifying marijuana, or cannabis, as
a "Class C" drug - putting it in the same category as anabolic steroids -
would not be the same as decriminalization or legalization. However, such a
change means that those possessing marijuana would not be subject to arrest.

"Cannabis would remain a controlled drug and using it a criminal offense
... but it would make clearer the distinction between cannabis and Class A
drugs like heroin and cocaine," Blunkett told a House of Commons committee
meeting.

Blunkett's statement comes amid an intensifying political debate about
marijuana. Senior figures from all three major political parties have urged
a review of cannabis laws.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens called the proposal a
reflection of changing police and public attitudes.

A leading researcher in the potential use of marijuana for medical
treatment praised the proposal.

Dr. John Zajicek, who is doing clinical trials with cannabis to treat
multiple sclerosis, said a loosening of the law could aid MS sufferers.