MINISTER URGED TO BACK CANNABIS

A GROUP campaigning for the decriminalisation of cannabis has called on the
Cabinet minister whose son was arrested for supplying the drug to help make
cannabis legal.

A spokesman for the Campaign to Legalise Cannabis said that the minister
should "impress the need for decriminalisation" upon cabinet colleagues.

"Now he has had a taste of it, I think he should use his position within
government to persuade his colleagues of the absurdity of the law," said
Don Barnard. "The devastation that this experience has caused to the family
concerned will be absolute and completely disproportionate to the offence
involved," said Mr Barnard.

"The stress of being arrested, going to a police station, wondering whether
your house is to be searched and wondering whether your son is going to be
put in the cells is awful.

"We're not talking about hard drugs in this case. The damage caused by the
arrest will do more harm than actually smoking cannabis ever would," he said.

"This case shows prohibition just does not work. The law is making
criminals of hundreds of thousands of people every weekend. A law that
cannot be enforced is a bad law," said Mr Barnard.

Yesterday, a spokesman for the Cannabis Hemp Information Club said that the
case illustrated the need for prohibition of cannabis to be abolished.

"The problem is that gangsters and some major criminals are involved in
supplying a lot of cannabis. If you make the drug legal then it takes away
their business," said Rob Free Cannabis.

Mr Cannabis, who says he changed his name by "people poll" in support of
the legalisation of cannabis, said: "This case will affect so many people,
including his personal friends and family, and it is way out of proportion
to the alleged crime he has committed."

The Government refuses to review the cannabis laws. Home Secretary Jack
Straw has said: "The more I examine the evidence, I am less and less
convinced of the case for decriminalisation."