DEWAR HITS OUT AT MSPS OVER CANNABIS VIEWS

FIRST Minister Donald Dewar yesterday delivered a public rebuke to two
Labour MSPs who said they wanted an inquiry into whether cannabis should he
legalised.

He left Kate MacLean and Cathie Peattie in no doubt they had gone too far
by airing their controversial views in public.

MacLean caused a furore on Monday when she admitted she had smoked dope for
years when she was younger.

Labour chiefs sought to disown her comments but said no action would be
taken against her.

But there was further embarrassment for the party yesterday when she and
another MSP were quoted in a magazine survey backing more liberal laws on
soft drugs.

Both MacLean and Peattie have said they have an "open mind" on whether
cannabis should be legalised for recreational use.

But yesterday Dewar told a conference of chief police officers in Dunblane:
"There have been a number of calls recently to legalise or decriminilise
certain controlled substances on the grounds that this would lead to
improved control and take the profit motive out of the equation.

"Let me assure you that neither legalisation nor decriminalisation forms
any part of the UK Government's policy."

Two other Labour MSPs, Margaret Jamieson and Margaret Curran, were dragged
into the row.

Both are against legalisation of cannabis for recreational purposes. But it
was claimed they backed a change in the law to allow cannabis to be used
for medicinal purposes.

They reacted angrily saying they had merely said there should be research
into the issue.

* The Record yesterday named Cathie Jamieson as having responded to the
survey instead of Margaret Jamieson. We are happy to point out our error.