CANNABIS USERS WILL ESCAPE ?80 FINES AFTER 'THREE STRIKES' REGIME IS DELAYED
BY PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION

Cannabis users will not face fines from today, despite it being
upgraded to a Class B drug.

Police will be unable to hand out the ?80 fines intended as part of a
new 'three strikes' regime.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith decided to move the drug from Class C to
Class B last year, because of fears over the impact of stronger
strains of 'skunk' on the mental health of young people.

Under the new regime, police should issue a warning to anyone caught
with cannabis for a first offence, and give second time offenders an
?80 fine and penalty notice.

Anyone given a third 'strike' will be arrested and could face an
unlimited fine and a prison sentence of up to five years.

The order in Parliament making cannabis use an offence punishable with
a Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND) was scheduled to pass last week.

It was bundled up with a group of other offences, including mini-cab
drivers hawking for business.

But because of opposition to some of the changes, the package of
measures was withdrawn for consultation, the Ministry of Justice said.

The cannabis order is not due to be debated in the House of Lords
until Monday and will come in to force on Wednesday morning.

It has also emerged that not all police forces will record cannabis
warnings, meaning repeat offenders could escape fines or
prosecution.

A system for recording all cautions is not due to be introduced until
next year.

Home Office Minister Alan Campbell warned the average age of
first-time cannabis users is now 13.

He said: 'Cannabis is a harmful drug and while fewer people are taking
it than before, it poses a real risk to the health of those who do use
it.

'I am extremely concerned about the use of stronger cannabis - skunk -
and the harm it can cause to mental health.

'We are reclassifying cannabis to protect the public and future
generations.

'That is why, together with reclassification, it is crucial that we
are communicating with young people through the FRANK drug awareness
campaign to warn them about the consequences.'

Ms Smith, who has admitted smoking cannabis at university, announced
the decision to reclassify the drug in May last year.

In Class B, cannabis users who are successfully prosecuted can face an
unlimited fine and up to five years in prison.

It was declassified by David Blunkett in 2004, putting it in the same
category as body building steroids and some tranquillisers.

A report out last week revealed record numbers of young people were
being given help for drug and alcohol abuse because of an increase in
the number of treatment places.

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity SANE,
said: 'SANE has been campaigning for many years over the mounting
evidence of direct links between cannabis and later schizophrenia, and
we support the proposal to reclassify it as a Class B drug.

'Cannabis, especially in its more toxic varieties such as skunk, can
double the chance of developing severe mental illness in a significant
minority of people, particularly the young whose brains are still
developing.

'While we do not yet know the cause of psychotic illness, or the ways
in which drugs such as cannabis may trigger breakdown, relapse, and
worsen outcomes, we need to maintain a clear message that it is
dangerous to the 10-20 per cent of people who may be at risk but do
not know it.'

Former Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner and London
mayoral candidate Brian Paddick told BBC Breakfast that changing the
classification of the drug would make little difference to the numbers
of people using it.

'I don't know that there are any young people who are making the
decision to smoke cannabis saying "hang on - what class is this drug
in?"'

Mr Paddick pioneered a 'softly - softly' approach towards cannabis use
as a commander in Lambeth, south London.

He said: 'If the police have a problem with stronger drugs like heroin
and cocaine then they will concentrate on those, as we did in Lambeth.

'The Magistrates Association have said this morning that the
Government have moved it to a Class C plus or a B minus.

'The three strikes approach only applies to cannabis and not to any
other sort of drug.

'It is a very confusing message.'