WHY IT'S FAR SAFER TO SMOKE A JOINT IN NORTHAMPTON THAN BOURNEMOUTH

An analysis of Home Office figures exclusively obtained by the
Independent on Sunday has shown huge inconsistencies in the way that
cannabis smokers are dealt with by the police.

Striking regional variations mean that offenders in some parts of
Britain are eight times more likely to get a criminal record than in
other, more lenient areas.

Northamptonshire is officially the safest county in the UK to smoke
cannabis, and Dorset the area where users are most likely to receive a
conviction.

The latest regional breakdown suggests that, at a local level, the
official policy on soft drugs is confused. It is understood that there
have been disputes between Home Secretary Jack Straw, favouring the
hardline approach, and advocates of a more pragmatic line, including
Cabinet Office minister Mo Mowlam and "drugs tsar" Keith Hellawell.

Responding to the survey, Mr Hellawell told the Independent on Sunday
that police efforts should focus on harmful drugs.

"I don't support the legalisation or decriminalisation of cannabis but
the police must be allowed to use their discretion.

"For a first offence involving a small amount, a warning or a caution
may be the most appropriate policy. Each case must be judged on its
merits."

In Northamptonshire, 93 per cent of people who were arrested for
possession of cannabis were let off with a caution; 3 per cent were
fined; and only 1 per cent received prison sentences.

But in Dorset just 37 per cent were cautioned, while 63 were per cent
were charged and found guilty. Twenty six per cent were fined and 5
per cent went to prison.

Northamptonshire police seized UKP700,000 worth of cannabis last year.
But a spokesman acknowledged that harder drugs were proving to be the
more significant problem: "Arrests for heroin use among the under-25s
rose by more than 11 per cent last year, so we are following a
national strategy trying to target dealers and hard drugs like heroin
and cocaine."

Dorset's assistant chief constable, Chris Lee, said that the high
conviction rate was based on figures from 1997 and that a different
approach had been adopted.

"Now we have a new emphasis on increasing numbers of convictions for
supplying and possession with intent to supply. The latest figures we
have for April 1999 to January 2000 show a 45 per cent rise in
prosecutions for supplying."

Despite this, Pete Whiteley, 19, Student Union entertainments officer
at Bournemouth and Poole College, said cannabis was "unbelievably
easy" to buy in most clubs.

"People think of Bournemouth as full of old people, but about 60 per
cent of the population is under 25 and there are about 45 pubs."

Most drug charities believe that a reform of the cannabis laws is
overdue.

Chris Snelling, from Dorset Drugs and Alcohol Advisory Service, was
surprised at the apparently tough policy adopted in the county.

"I was under the impression that far more people were receiving
cautions now for simple possession," he said.

The countryside around Bridport in west Dorset has a history
associated with the cultivation of hemp, a close relative of cannabis,
which was used to make ropes for the Royal Navy.

"Over the past few years there have been discoveries of factories
growing skunk (a high strength cannabis) and normal cannabis around
Bridport - people have been convicted of manufacturing but I didn't
think the police would be very interested in personal use."

Release, the respected national drugs and legal advice service, said
it would at the "very minimum" back the deprioritisation of cannabis.

"In terms of the relative harm the drug causes, we think that a more
lenient attitude is long overdue," said a spokesman.

Research carried out by the Independent Drug Monitoring Unit shows
that cannabis users stopped by the police were more likely to reoffend.

"Our findings show that cannabis users who are hauled up by the police
end up using a wider range of drugs," said Matthew Atha, director.

"This breeds the attitude of 'I might as well be a druggie now'. The
policy towards arrest and cautioning really should be reviewed and
there should also be some guidelines issued on medicinal users."

Chris Sanders, spokesman for the Cannabis Coalition, branded the
Government's drug policy "a mess". "Addiction is going to increase if
ministers carry on with these policies," he said.

"The whole cannabis law is built on a myth of reefer madness. We would
like arrests stopped immediately and an amnesty granted for all
cannabis prisoners."