MET TO END LAMBETH CANNABIS SCHEME

Anyone hoping to spend their summer relaxing in Lambeth, south London, by
smoking cannabis in a public park is advised to act quickly: from next week
cannabis users will once again face arrest for smoking the drug in the open.

The Metropolitan police launched a public information campaign today in
Lambeth to warn that a pilot scheme on cannabis will come to an end next
Thursday, as police are once again given the power to arrest anyone caught
smoking the drug.

Cannabis smokers in the borough will lose the year-long assurance that they
faced nothing worse than confiscation of their stash and a verbal warning
for public consumption.

The drug never ceased to be illegal during a pilot scheme begun last July,
however police officers did not have the power to arrest those with a small
amount of cannabis, even if they blew smoke into a police officer's face.

From August 1 arrest will be at the police officers' discretion if
aggravating factors are present or if the someone under the age of 17 is
caught in possession of the drug.

"The pilot scheme on the whole was successful, but we need to change a few
things," a spokeswoman for the Met explained. "We will on the whole seize
and warn as before, but if there are aggravating factors we'll nick you."

The acting borough commander, Brian Moore, said: "The aim of this campaign
is to clearly explain to everyone in Lambeth that cannabis is illegal and
will remain illegal."

The Met listed aggravating factors as public disorder in association with
cannabis smoking, and openly smoking cannabis in a public place. The latter
includes consuming cannabis while driving, blowing smoke in a police
officer's face, or openly displaying cannabis in a public place.

The pilot scheme was launched last July by Lambeth commander Brian Paddick.
It allowed overworked officers to caution those is possession of small
amounts of cannabis and concentrate on tackling those possessing harder
drugs such as crack and heroin.

The status of the drug has caused some confusion lately, particularly after
the home secretary, David Blunkett, announced earlier this month that he
intends to reclassify cannabis as a class C drug, putting it on a par with
steroids and anti-depressants. However those changes are unlikely to take
effect before next year.