POLICE MOVE TO CLEAR CONFUSION OVER CANNABIS CRIME PENALTIES

Police said last night it would be "business as usual" over cannabis
arrests in Scotland amid concerns that the reclassification of the
drug has deepened ambiguity over its legal status.

The change in the official classification of the drug from Class B to
C and then back again has already led to confusion over its use.

Despite the reclassification, cannabis users in England and Wales
will not yet be subject to the controversial "three strikes" regime
because the issue must again be debated in Westminster.

From yesterday, when the classification changed, police south of the
border should have been able to hand out a warning to anyone caught
with cannabis for a first offence. Second-time offenders would face
an UKP 80 fine and a penalty notice, and anyone with a third "strike"
would be subject to arrest, an unlimited fine and a prison sentence
of up to five years.

But the proposed change has been challenged and it will be debated in
Westminster on Monday before a possibly amended version is introduced
later next week.

The Scottish Government and the Association of Chief Police Officers
in Scotland said last night there were no plans to introduce such a
system here and that everyone caught with cannabis faces being
reported to the Procurator Fiscal.

That stance has been consistent in Scotland and did not change even
when the drug was classed down in 2004.

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.

Although the law and penalties are the same as England and Wales, the
legal process and guidance for officers is separate in Scotland. The
prevalence of cannabis factories in homes in Scotland is often said
to be co-ordinated by Chinese Triad gangs

Last year it emerged that police recovered plants worth UKP 21.6m
through Operation League, during which 127 people were arrested in
connection with cultivating cannabis across the country.

Since the introduction in 2006 of Operation League, a national
crackdown led by Strathclyde Police which targets those involved in
the cultivation of cannabis, more than 160 cannabis sites have been
identified and dismantled throughout Scotland.

Drugs experts last night said that the latest move in Westminster
would cause confusion, particularly among young people.

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

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "The decision to reclassify
cannabis was, of course, made at UK level, however our own approach
to tackling cannabis has never wavered.

"Guidance to the police in Scotland from the Lord Advocate on
enforcement did not change, and we have been consistent in
highlighting that the drug is both illegal and dangerous to health.
It will be business as usual' for the police. People caught in
possession of cannabis continue to be reported to the fiscal."

Professor Neil McKeganey, director of Glasgow University's Centre for
Drugs Misuse Research, said: "The changes that have been discussed in
England quite frankly add to the confusion. It is positive that we in
Scotland have continued to treat this consistently, particularly as
it is the most widely used illegal drug and is often the drug which
young people start to use, and you wouldn't want to have a confusing
layer of policies."

Alistair Ramsay, of educational consultancy Drugwise, said that the
message should be consistent for young people across the UK.

The ABC of drugs

Class A Ecstasy, LSD, heroin, cocaine, crack, magic mushrooms,
amphetamines (if prepared for injection). Possession: Up to seven
years in prison or an unlimited fine or both. Dealing: Up to life in
prison, or an unlimited fine or both.

Class B Amphetamines, cannabis, methylphenidate (Ritalin),
pholcodine. Possesssion: Up to five years, or an unlimited fine or
both. Dealing: Up to 14 years, or an unlimited fine or both.

Class C Tranquillisers, some painkillers, gamma hydroxybutyrate
(GHB), Ketamine. Possession: Up to two years, or an unlimited fine or
both. Dealing: Up to 14 years, or an unlimited fine or both.