EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TO DELAY CANNABIS VOTE

STRASBOURG, France, Jan 14 (Reuters) - A European Parliament vote on
whether to recommend decriminalising cannabis in the EU could be postponed
as anti-prohibition supporters seek more time to win round reticent British
Labour deputies.

The Socialist Euro-MP behind the plan, Hedy D'Ancona, a former Dutch Health
Minister, said British Labour support was pivotal to success of Thursday's
planned vote, which would make the EU assembly the first in Europe to take
an anti-prohibition stance.

``If you are missing them, then you can not get a majority,'' she told
reporters on Wednesday.

Decriminalisation of drugs is a sensitive issue with Britain's ruling
Labour Party, which takes a tough line on narcotics but has recently been
embarrassed by allegations that the son of Home Secretary Jack Straw sold
illegal cannabis to a newspaper reporter.

British police said this week they would not bring charges against him or
the reporter.

British Labour deputies in the Parliament, who planned to abstain in
Thursday's vote, have been subject to a massive lobbying effort from
deputies who have heartfelt beliefs that by banning the drugs, governments
are propping up the Mafia.

Disguised as Mafioso, Italian Radical deputies Olivier Dupuis and
Gianfranco Dell'Alba told a news conference on Wednesday only the Mafia
benefit from tough laws.

``I would like to invite the British Labour deputies...to reflect on the
seriousness of the consequences of the choice they are about to make,''
Dupuis said in a statement.

In the run-up to the vote, the issue has proved a divisive one which has
split political groups across national lines.

The Parliament's Christian Democrat deputies were holding out on Wednesday
against postponing the vote, seeing a majority against decriminalising soft
drugs as a victory for their law and order agenda.

British Conservative deputy Sir Jack Stewart-Clark disputed that a move to
decriminalise cannabis would help stop the Mafia, saying they would just
sell more dangerous hard drugs even harder.