REVEALED: HOW 10 JOINTS COULD LEAD TO 14 YEARS FOR DEALING

Prosecutions to Soar Under Plan to Slash Limits for Drug Possession

Drug users caught with as few as five ecstasy tablets or five grams
of cannabis - enough for about 10 joints - will be prosecuted as
dealers under new regulations drawn up by the Home Office, the
Guardian has learned. The plan to slash the limit for cannabis
possession for personal use would mean that anyone found with more
could face a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

The Home Office has written to the government's own drug experts, the
Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs, telling them that
ministers are also minded to set the threshold for possession for
heroin and cocaine at two grams.

Although home secretary John Reid has yet to take a final decision,
draft regulations seen by the Guardian - to be introduced into
parliament shortly under last year's drugs act - will mean that those
found with more than these specified amounts will be charged with
possession with intent to supply. Under the act, dealers of cocaine
and heroin face a maximum of life imprisonment.

The plan to set the cannabis threshold at 5g marks a sharp reversal
from David Blunkett's decision 18 months ago to ensure that cannabis
possession was usually dealt with by confiscation and an informal warning.

The proposed thresholds are so low that the advisory committee, which
discussed the issue on May 25, is believed to have warned the Home
Office that they will cause policing problems. The committee
suggested the cannabis threshold should be set at 28g, or 1oz. The
experts also told ministers that the five tablet limit for ecstasy
was low given that they can be bought for 50p each in some areas and
some users take up to 10 in one session.

The Home Office letter to the ACMD, seen by the Guardian, says that
ministers are setting thresholds at this stage only for the drugs
that cause the most harm or which are most prevalent - heroin, crack,
cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamines and cannabis. It adds that the
proposed levels for all the drugs - except amphetamines - are
considerably lower than those originally proposed because most
respondents to a consultation on the proposals considered the limits excessive.

The government now proposes the following thresholds:

. Cannabis

Ministers propose 5g or less than 1/5th of ounce - enough for 10-20
joints. This compares with the original proposal of 4ozs or 133g of
resin and 500g or 20 bags of grass. The ACMD has replied that the
limit should be set at 28g.

. Ecstasy

Ministers propose 1.5g (equal to 5 tablets, costing UKP15), compared
with an original proposal for 10 tablets. The Home Office says it
would be more straightforward to do it by weight than number of
tablets as the drug also comes in powder form. The ACMD said the
limit should be 2g or 20 tablets, as that was two days' supply.

. Amphetamines

Ministers have kept the proposed threshold at 14g but dropped an
alternative of 10 x 1g wraps, saying dealers would simply change the
size of deals to avoid going above the threshold. The ACMD said the
threshold should be 10g and questioned the rationale for a threshold
higher than other drugs.

. Heroin, Cocaine and Crack Cocaine

Ministers are "minded to set" a threshold of 2g for possession,
compared with the original proposal of 7g .The proposed number of
individual wraps - a maximum of 10 in each case - has also been
dropped for these class A drugs.

When the ACMD's technical committee considered the issue in April it
was pointed out that even Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan police
commissioner, had misunderstood the proposals: "Many people still
think that the provisions are about setting levels that are
reasonable for personal use and that if they are caught with amounts
below the thresholds they will not be arrested for possession with
intent to supply. The reality is contrary to this."

Martin Barnes, the chief executive of Drugscope, a drugs information
charity, said last night this confusion had made ministers far more
cautious. "We are concerned at the amounts being considered. The
rationale for some thresholds remains unclear and it is uncertain how
many more people may be prosecuted with the more serious charge of
intent to supply."

Paul Flynn, a Labour MP and drugs campaigner, said he hoped the ACMD
would "give the proposals the attention they deserve given that they
come from a department in chaos. Let's hope they throw them out. I am
sure that many people will throw up their hands in horror at this."

In January, Mr Reid's predecessor at the Home Office, Charles Clarke,
confirmed Mr Blunkett's decision to downgrade cannabis from class B
to class C. Mr Clarke conceded that the move had created confusion
over the drug's legal status, but said the decision was based in part
on the fact that the reclassification had not led to an increase in
use among young adults, contrary to his expectations.

At the same time, Mr Clarke announced a crackdown on British cannabis
farms and a public education campaign to stress both the harm and the
illegal status of the drug.