CHIEF CONSTABLE IMPRESSED BY 'FUN' DRUG CAFES

A CHIEF CONSTABLE who held a staunchily traditional view about drug abusers
underwent an overnight conversion after a tour of Amsterdam's cannabis
cafes.

John Hamilton, Chief Constable of Fife and a panellist on the Police
Foundation's committee reviewing the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, said he
expected to uncover a "dope-crazed society" during his fact-finding mission
to certain coffee shops in the Dutch capital where people openly smoke
cannabis.

Instead, the 56-year-old policeman discovered a "relaxed and unthreatening
atmosphere". Yesterday he condemned British laws on the possession of
cannabis for personal use as "draconian".

During his visit in May last year he was escorted by Dutch police to three
different cafes and shown cannabis menus listing different "flavours" from
a variety of countries. He took the two-day trip as part of his research
for the inquiry.

Mr Hamilton said that the cafes served cannabis to people ranging from
teenagers to adults in their fifties. "I didn't see any drunkeness or
rowdiness and no one was abusive. I saw British people there but I didn't
go into any direct dialogue with them."

The Dutch police first escorted him to a darkly lit cafe which he felt was
"seedy and grubby", but had no customers. He was then chaperoned to a
livelier coffee shop spread out over three floors, where he indulged in
coffee and a beer.

"There were up to a hundred people there who were smoking and drinking
beer. It was like an atmosphere in any British pub. Some kids were
drinking, others read the newspaper." His tour ended in a quieter bar where
people puffed on cannabis "joints" and tapped their feet to the sounds of
jazz music.

"I saw teenagers, husbands and wives and couples smoking and drinking in
the cafes. It wasn't a threatening atmosphere," he said. "In fact, it was
very relaxed."

Mr Hamilton backs the commission's recommendations to downgrade cannabis
from class B to class C, but believes the cafe culture of Amsterdam would
not suit Britain.

"The Dutch have arrived at the scheme over a number of years. The culture
in Britain is very different. In Amsterdam I imagined that I would find a
dope crazed society. I actually found a pragmatic approach on behalf of
police.

"I think in Britain the penalties that are applied to people in possession
of cannabis for their own personal use are draconian. Young people aren't
deterred from taking cannabis by the law, their main concern is to have
fun. The greatest threat comes from heroine and other opiates. I've never
known anyone die from an overdose of cannabis."