CAN YOU LISTEN WITHOUT PREJUDICE?

Star's Appearance With Cannabis Sparks Renewal In Debate Over Legalisation

If you get stopped in the street by a police officer and they find
you with cannabis you won't get arrested.

Cannabis hasn't been legalised, but since January 2004, when former
Home Secretary David Blunkette's plan to change cannabis from a class
B to a class C drug came into force, police across the country have
adopted the policy not to arrest for simple possession.

If they catch you with a small amount of cannabis, they'll assume
it's for your own use, confiscate it and give you a warning.

This is why George Michael felt comfortable enough to smoke a joint
while being interviewed for ITV's South Bank Show, which will be
broadcast on Tuesday.

So is it now safe to use cannabis without fear of arrest? Well, no.
Police do still have the power to arrest for possession but they will
use their discretion, based on the cir. circumstances.

The exception to the rule is if you are seen smoking cannabis in
public, you are caught with the drug again after receiving a warning,
or if you are causing a nuisance while in possession of cannabis.

You will also be arrested if police catch you with cannabis near a
school or a youth club. Superintendent Richard James, head of
community. policing and partnerships, says the policy on cannabis
possession is to allow police to devote their resources to targeting
possession and dealing of class A drugs such as cocaine.

Supt James said: "In Northamptonshire, we have always made targeting
dealers of class A drugs our priority.

"In that respect, we will continue to use our discretion when dealing
with people found in possession of small amounts of cannabis, deemed
for personal use.

"However; people should be warned that officers still retain their
power of arrest where there are aggravating circumstances, such as
repeated possession of cannabis, smoking of cannabis in public view
or possession of cannabis near to young people. "While this is a
sensitive balance to maintain, it is important that we are always
looking to concentrate our resources on the most harmful aspects of
drug misuse.

"A key thrust of the declassification of cannabis was to free up
police officers' time, enabling officers to focus more effectively on
class A drug suppliers and users and, working with partners, getting
people Into treatment where appropriate."

However, police will arrest anyone suspected of dealing cannabis and
when the new law came Into effect, so did new sentencing powers.

The maximum penalty for dealing class C drugs went up from five years
to 14 years in prison, while the maximum sentence for possession went
down from five to two years.

When Mr Blunkette announced his plans to downgrade cannabis there
were fears more people would start using it, assuming it was now 'allowed'.

But Service Six, a young people's support and counselling service in
Wellingborough, carried out a survey with young people soon after Mr
Blunkette's proposal and the results were unexpected.

The 13 to 25-year-olds questioned were split 50-50 on whether
cannabis should be legalised and while some made comments like "it
helps people to relax" and "it's better than cigarettes", others were
well aware of the possible dangers of cannabis use, saying "it's not
a good thing to get on to" and "people will abuse it".

Service Six project co-ordinator Jane Deamer says young people's
attitudes to cannabis are pretty much the same four years on.

She said: "There were a lot of assumptions about young people's
attitudes to cannabis and drugs and our results were quite
surprising. "Young people were more aware of the issues around drugs
and it was a topic that came high on their agenda. The majority of
young people are very anti-drugs.

"There is certainly more awareness than there used to he and if we
were to repeat the survey I think a lot of young people would still
feel very much the same."

However, there are others who think Mr Blunkett's law doesn't go far
enough and are continuing to fight for the legalisation of cannabis.

The Legalise Cannabis Alliance is a political party formed to
campaign for legalisation of the drug and it has had election
candidates stand unsuccessfully - for seats in Wellingborough and Northampton.

Don Barnard, of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance, argues there are all
sorts of substances sold in shops that are far more dangerous to
people's health than cannabis.

He said: "The argument is legalising cannabis 'may' increase use,
'might' lead to societal destruction and 'possibly' increase health
risks to the users.

"Life is full of health and safety ~ risks which are far more
harmful. "Every supermarket sells food items and over the counter
medications, many of which, if used inappropriately, may, might or
even possibly cause toxic response, gastrointestinal distress,
cardiac arrest, obesity; liver damage, neurological damage and even death.

"We do not prohibit these substances arrest and imprison people who
them. Instead, we live with these risks. We to advise the public with
health notions, warning the consumer of the potential harms on the
pack19, and we regulate the suppliers. The moment cannabis is termed
a controlled drug' in law, but in practice is not subject to any form
of regulation

"Given the widescale availability use of cannabis, shouldn't it be
subject to similar controls as other substances we consume every day?