I SMOKED DOPE

CUMBRIA'S former Chief Constable Colin Phillips today admitted smoking
cannabis. Mr Phillips, who quit his post as the county's senior police
officer last October, revealed that he had tried the drug before becoming a
police officer. His comments came as the Government yesterday officially
downgraded cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug.

Mr Phillips, 50, is a former chairman of a national police drugs committee.
He also revealed that he believed the UK would have cannabis coffee shops
within two to three years.

Cough

Speaking exclusively to the News & Star, he said: "I tried it out of
curiosity. I had a couple of puffs but, like cigarettes, I can't smoke and
it would be virtually impossible for me to smoke a joint. I don't know how
to do it. "I didn't enjoy it. It just made me cough. It didn't have any
effect on me." Mr Phillips said he tried the drug more than 30 years ago.
He retired as Cumbria's chief constable last October to become a director
of his family's catering firm in Newcastle.

He said he did not break any laws during his brief cannabis experience but
would not comment on the circumstances surrounding it for personal reasons.
Despite his brief cannabis use, he said he was not in favour of full-blown
legalisation but he believed it would happen. He also said Dutch-style
cannabis coffee shop were inevitable in Britain and may start appearing in
a couple of years time.

"It's inevitable that we will have them but we're not ready yet," Mr
Phillips said. "I think we will start to see the coffee shops in two or
three years time. I don't believe people should have a criminal record for
possession of small amounts of cannabis for their own use." A former
chairman of the Association of Chief Police Officers drugs sub-committee,
Mr Phillips advised Government ministers on cannabis issues while Cumbria's
Chief Constable.

He said there was evidence that the drug had proven medical benefits for
multiple sclerosis sufferers and dismissed fears that it led to harder drug
abuse. "There is no evidence that cannabis is a gateway drug leading to
people taking harder drugs," he added. "That's like saying drinking water
leads to alcohol abuse."

Mr Phillips fuelled the debate surrounding cannabis nearly two years ago
when he told The Cumberland News he would turn a blind eye if someone
smoked it in front of him at a friend's house. His remarks were put to
Prime Minister Tony Blair and featured on national TV news.