BLUNKETT'S CANNABIS STRATEGY 'FLAWED'

An academic will warn chief police officers that retaining the power of
arrest for simple cannabis possession is a sideways step that could lead to
confusion among officers when the drug is reclassified.

Tiggey May, who co-wrote a study on the policing of cannabis funded by the
Joseph Rowntree Foundation, is expected to tell a drugs conference on
Thursday that she fears that the home secretary's decision to keep the
power of arrest when certain aggravating factors apply was a mistake.
Though supporters of the move have argued that the retention will stop
cannabis users from mocking officers by smoking in front of them, Ms May
believes this is "hardly a persuasive argument".

"People who smoke in front of police officers are likely to be very naive,
and the best thing to do when confronted by that kind of behaviour is to
rise above it, or ignore it.

"I don't think people want to be stopped and searched, so they are not
likely to draw attention to themselves".

Ms May, a senior research fellow at South Bank University in London, is one
of the speakers at a two day drugs conference starting on Wednesday. It has
been organised by the association of chief police officers.

Earlier this year Ms May co-wrote a study with Mike Hough on policing and
cannabis. She will draw on her research, which involved eight police forces
- - including the Metropolitan police - to show that 69% of police officers
have dealt with cannabis possession in an informal way, often by throwing
it down a drain.

Analysis of 30,000 custody records also found that only 1% of those charged
with cannabis possession were later charged with more serious offences.

Figures show that 75% of those arrested for cannabis were accused of simple
possession, rather than anything more serious. Only 10% were charged for
possession and other drug offences.

Ms May said yesterday that there was danger in cannabis users "having laws
forced upon them that they don't believe in" at a time when "crack houses
are opening up in a number of cities, and heroin prices are continuing to
fall". She added: "Most officers we spoke to did not think that
criminalising young people was a good use of their time".

In July David Blunkett announced his intention to reclassify cannabis to
class C, a category which does not have an automatic power of arrest for
simple possession.

Rather than stripping police of this option, Mr Blunkett said legislation
would be passed to give officers a reserve power of arrest if the offence
involved children, public disorder, or a "flagrant disregard for the law".

The Association of Chief Police Officers is, however, struggling to draw up
the guidelines for officers regarding the aggravating factors. They are due
to be published in November.

Ms May warned yesterday that the guidelines, if unclear, could lead to
disparity of practice within and across regions.