WANT SOME DOPE? TRY THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT

THEY still do not want to talk about it, but cannabis is now at the heart
of Government and the Independent on Sunday has the proof. Last week, IoS
reporter Graham Ball was supplied cannabis inside the Houses of Parliament.
The full story of how he "scored" marijuana in the corridors of power is on
page 22.

Pressure on the Government to debate liberalisation has intensified with a
call from Lord Woolf, Master of the Rolls, for a discussion on whether
cannabis should be legalised.

Lord Woolf's intervention means that since the IoS launched its campaign,
the two most senior judges in England and Wales have publicly called for a
proper debate on reform of the laws on cannabis.

Previously, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Bingham, has called for a debate.
Lord Woolf said: "Should we not at least be considering whether it would be
preferable for drugs or at least some drugs to be lawfully available in
controlled circumstances, so that it would no longer be necessary for
addicts to commit crimes to feed their addiction." Melanie Field, Lord
Woolf's Private Secretary, said that he "was referring to cannabis in
making these remarks".

As well as senior judges, the Prince of Wales's charity, the Prince's Trust
is also taking a lead, providing a meeting room and a formal notetaker to
an inquiry into drugs legislation, which includes the laws on cannabis.

The investigation is being sponsored by the Police Foundation, an
organisation of which Prince Charles is president, and has met twice since
its launch in August.

William Saulsbury, secretary to the independent inquiry into the Misuse of
Drugs Act 1971, confirmed that the law regarding cannabis is under
scrutiny. He said: "It would be hard to look at the whole issue of misuse
of drugs without taking a look at the difference between the hard and soft
drugs scenes, and the recreation end of the scene of which cannabis is a
part."

Last Friday, lawyers representing a cabinet minister threatened the IoS
with a High Court injunction to prevent publication of a story concerning
alleged cannabis use in 1979.