GOVERNMENT RESISTS CALL FOR DRUG CLASSIFICATION CHANGES

The government is to keep the existing method of classifying illegal
drugs into classes A, B and C, the Home Office announced today in
response to a parliamentary report that called for the system to be scrapped.

The Commons all-party Science and Technology committee report on
drugs classifications, published at the end of July, said the current
system for controlled drugs was "clearly not fit for purpose".

But in a document published today - titled Drug Classification:
Making a Hash of it? - ministers rejected this argument. "The
government believes that the classification system discharges its
function fully and effectively and has stood the test of time," it said.

"The current three-tier classification system allows for clear and
meaningful distinctions to be made between drugs. Its familiarity and
brand recognition amongst stakeholders and the public is not to be dismissed.

"There is a wide understanding that Class A drugs are the most
dangerous substances, and therefore carry the heaviest criminal
penalties, whilst Class C drugs, although still harmful, are not of
the same order."

Earlier today it was announced that crystal methamphetamine, a
particularly potent variety of amphetamine, will be reclassified as a
Class A drug from the current Class B.

When smoked, the drug, sometimes known as "ice", produces a very
intense rush similar to crack cocaine, and can quickly become highly
addictive. It is relatively easy to synthesise in illegal
laboratories and is particularly common in south-east Asia, notably Thailand.

The Commons committee had said that a new scale for drugs
classification should be devised that rated substances purely on the
basis of health and social risks rather than potential punishments.

Alcohol and tobacco should also be included in the ratings to give
the public a "better sense of the relative harms involved".

But today's government response argued that the existing system gave
the public an accurate measure of the relative risks of various
controlled drugs.

"The harms caused to the individual and to society are the
predominant and defining factors in the classification of any drug," it said.

"As a consequence, it is the government's position that, far from
implication, but by its design, the current classification system
goes far in establishing a ranking of harms.

"This is then greatly complemented by a substantial body of evidence
that informs and further distinguishes the specific harms of individual drugs."

In a separate document published today, following consultation with
the police, drugs groups and others, the Home Office announced that
there would be no change to the threshold for the amount of drugs
that can be carried, without being charged with dealing.

The consultation process showed that there are "difficulties in
establishing prescribed amounts [of drugs] which are universally
applicable and appropriate" in determining whether someone is a
dealer, the report noted, saying that there are other variable
factors, such as drug purity.

Overall, there was no need for change, although the amounts would be
kept under review.

Last November, the Home Office publicly floated plans to set a
"500-spliff" limit for a personal stash of cannabis, as well as
thresholds for other drugs.

In June, a leaked document suggested the plans would be significantly
tightened up, slashing the limits to as little as one hundredth of
the original level.