CANNABIS LAW COULD SOFTEN, SAYS MOWLAM

Mo Mowlam, the Cabinet Office Minister, hinted yesterday that the
Government might consider decriminalising cannabis if research showed that
it did not lead to hard drugs. She said long-term alcohol abuse had much
worse effects than cannabis use over a similar period.

Dr Mowlam, who is in charge of Government drug policy, suggested that
Labour was prepared to consider relaxation of the law if scientific
evidence showed that it was not harmful or addictive. But she made clear
that there was no change in Labour's 10-year drugs strategy, which
recognised that heroin and cocaine were the most dangerous drugs.

At present, cannabis remained illegal and its use was not condoned by the
Government. Any changes in the law would be based on scientific evidence.
The suggestion that one whiff of "whacky baccy" ended in heroin addiction
had always been an overstatement. It could be that drug pushers persuaded
cannabis users to try heroin, she told BBC Television's On the Record
programme.

Dr Mowlam's remarks came days after her Cabinet Office colleague Ian
McCartney - whose son Hugh died of a heroin overdose aged 23 last year -
called for a "new realism" on drugs.

Mr McCartney's admission that the Government's "Just Say No" campaign had
not worked was interpreted by some observers as a sign that Labour was
preparing to soften its stance on cannabis before the second annual report
tomorrow from Keith Hellawell, the Government's anti-drugs co-ordinator.

Dr Mowlam also let slip her belief that Tony Blair will call a general
election next spring. The widespread belief at Westminster is that it will
be held in May.