WE MUST CLEAR UP DRUG LAW CONFUSION

NATIONALIST MSP Margo MacDonald today urged the Scottish Executive to
order its own review on cannabis following Home Secretary David
Blunkett's announcement the drug is to be downgraded.

Ms MacDonald tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament calling for a
commission to monitor and research the use of the cannabis now it is
to be reclassified in the UK.

And she said she hoped such a body could come back with
recommendations in time to be implemented when the change is made a
year from now.

Mr Blunkett announced on Wednesday that cannabis was to be downgraded
from a class B to a class C drug. Possession will remain a criminal
offence, but the maximum jail sentence will be reduced from five years
to two.

In England and Wales, police will normally be expected to caution
anyone caught with cannabis for personal use. But in Scotland, there
is no formal caution system so users could still be arrested, though
it would be up to the procurator fiscal to decide whether an
individual should be charged. The move follows a "tolerance"
experiment in Lambeth in London.

But Ms MacDonald said: "I'm frustrated with the way the whole cannabis
issue has been handled. By changing the classification but keeping it
criminalised, David Blunkett has probably made things worse.

"The reason for doing what he has done is the police have said they
cannot any longer justify the manpower required to police this policy.

"He has not done it from the point of view of someone taking an
overview of what drugs we can live with and control and those we have
to forbid. Unless you do it from that point of view, you are not going
to get a sensible drug-use policy. I don't think young people are
going to think the law has stopped being an ass on this."

Ms MacDonald made a similar call for a commission back in 1999 and won
all-party support for the move.

She said: "I'm really disappointed I was unable to persuade the SNP to
give the time to try to persuade the parliament to have a commission.

"We could have established a commission in Scotland, it could have
reported by now and it could have fed into David Blunkett's changes.

"But we have got a full year before he is going to change the law and
issue guidelines. It is sensible for us to monitor the effect of his
announcement. We should find out more about cannabis use. "The
commission could then make recommendations on any changes in the law
to suit the Scottish situation."

Mike Cadger, project manager with city-based drugs information group
Crew 2000, said the reclassification announcement had caused confusion.

"A review would be welcome if it helped to clarify the
situation."

"It is probably the case one or two Scottish police forces are as
pragmatic as some of the best of their colleagues south of the Border,
but equally we have got the other extreme.

"Young people are asking: 'How much cannabis can you have on you
without it being an issue for the police?'

"There needs to be equity across Scotland in dealing with this
issue."

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland pointed out
cannabis remained a controlled drug which could have health
complications. A spokeswoman added: "There is no policy change as to
how we deal with people in possession of the drug."

The Scottish Executive said it had a separate drugs policy from the
Home Office, and ministers took advice from police and drugs workers .
A spokeswoman said: "The Executive sees no need for an immediate
review of drugs policy."