EASING OF MARIJUANA LAWS EYED

Britain Looks To Focus Fight On Harder Drugs

LONDON - Prime Minister Tony Blair's government moved yesterday to relax
its laws on marijuana, stopping short of legalization but guaranteeing most
users will get off with just a warning while police focus their enforcement
efforts on harder drugs.

Under the proposal, marijuana would be downgraded from a Class B to a Class
C drug, making its use and possession less serious crimes, Home Secretary
David Blunkett said in outlining the plan to the House of Commons. Police
would retain the authority to arrest those caught with marijuana, but in
most cases would confiscate the drug and issue a warning.

''The message to young people and families must be open, honest and
believable,'' Blunkett said. ''Cannabis is a potentially harmful drug and
should remain illegal. However, it is not comparable with crack, heroin,
and Ecstasy.''

The proposed downgrade would put marijuana on a par with anabolic steroids
instead of amphetamines and barbiturates, the drugs it is grouped with now.
Blair's Labor Party has a large majority in Parliament, and the proposal is
virtually certain to pass.

Blair said the proposal did not amount to decriminalization and had wide
support among the police because it would allow them to spend more time
fighting more serious drug-related crimes.

''The power to arrest remains, but what reclassification does is allow the
police, where they think it right, to focus on hard drug dealing and drug
dealing of any description, including cannabis, and that is why the
proposals are supported by the chief police officers and the Metropolitan
Police,'' he told the House of Commons.

The opposition Conservative Party criticized the proposal as potentially
dangerous to the public, and Keith Hellawell, a government adviser who
previously served as Britain's drug czar, resigned in protest.

In the United States, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws praised the British policy shift, saying it would be similar to
changes made in 12 US states.

''Great Britain's reclassification of cannabis is an honest and common
sense approach to refocus drug policy on those substances that cause the
most harm,'' said the group's founder and executive director, Keith Stroup.

In Britain, possession of a Class B drug carries a maximum penalty of five
years in prison. Possession of a Class C drug carries a maximum sentence of
two years, but the Home Office said that penalty is rarely invoked for
first-time offenders, who normally receive only a ticket.

Blunkett said that in most marijuana possession cases police would simply
confiscate the drug and issue a warning to the offender. He said the
proposed rules would give officers the power to arrest those possessing
small amounts of marijuana if public order is threatened or children are
put at risk.

A Home Office spokesman said Blunkett could order marijuana reclassified,
but because he wants to modify the rules to make sure officers retain the
power to arrest, the change must be approved by Parliament, which approves
virtually anything Blair requests.

Blunkett said he hoped to have the reclassification in place by July 2003.

In London, though, the change could come more quickly.

Blunkett said that the Metropolitan Police soon will expand a pilot project
that tests ticketing marijuana users instead of arresting them. The
experiment, launched in the Brixton neighborhood, will be expanded to the
entire city in the next few months.

This story ran on page A9 of the Boston Globe on 7/11/2002.