SMOKING POT WON'T GET YOU JAILED IN BRITAIN

Police Told To Focus On Hard Drugs

LONDON (CP) -- Smoking pot in Britain without fear of arrest will be a
reality by next summer as the government virtually decriminalized cannabis
on Wednesday to give police more time to fight the use of hard drugs.

The decision by Home Secretary David Blunkett to reclassify cannabis is
risky as critics fear it sends the wrong message and could encourage
children to take up smoking marijuana.

The government has downgraded cannabis to a Class C drug, putting it at the
same level as anabolic steroids and anti-depressants.

And while that means it is still a criminal offence to possess pot, in most
cases police will be instructed not to charge people if they smoke it for
their own personal use.

"Cannabis is a potentially harmful drug and should remain illegal,"
Blunkett told the House of Commons. "However, it is not comparable with
crack, heroin and ecstasy."

By maintaining provisions of the law that make possession a criminal
offence, Blunkett argued the government is ensuring that police can
properly keep order on Britain's streets.

"I am determined that the police are able to control the streets and uphold
order," he said. "They will be able to arrest for possession where public
order is threatened or where children are at risk."

In Canada, the government has allowed doctors to prescribe marijuana for
medical use in some cases, but it has resisted calls from some MPs and
municipalities to decriminalize pot for personal use.

The downgrading of cannabis caused Britain's top anti-drug official to
resign in protest as he described the policy as the virtual
decriminalization of cannabis.

"Cannabis is simply not a sensible substance for people to take," said
Keith Hellawell, a former police chief.

"There are strains of cannabis which are extremely powerful, hallucinogenic
and very dangerous."

The government's decision follows an experiment in Brixton, south London,
where police officers stopped arresting people for using pot to concentrate
on busting dealers.

The pilot scheme has drawn mixed reviews in the poor London borough, which
was evident at a public meeting held by the Conservative party on the eve
of Blunkett's announcement.

Pauline Cummings, 50, who is a foster mother in the neighbourhood, said the
new policy is unacceptable. "Drugs are becoming part of the way of life for
children. They're growing up with it all around them, and not just cannabis."

Others, however, praised the program.

"Police time is being wasted, they are spending three or four hours on a
cannabis suspect when they could be concentrating on the harder drugs,"
said Huey Rose, 32, a youth worker.

Blunkett said the pilot program in Brixton has meant a 10-per-cent increase
in the number of dealers arrested for selling hard drugs.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said the policy has support from police
departments across the country who are tired of wasting their time on
marijuana arrests.

"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," he said during question period in the House.

Possession of a Class B drug carries a maximum penalty of five years in
jail, while the sentence is two years for Class C drugs. The two-year
sentence is rarely invoked for first-time offenders, who usually end up
with a ticket.

Under Blunkett's proposals, the sentence for dealing class B and C drugs
would increase to 14 years from 10 years, and public education programs
would get more funding to warn children of the dangers of smoking pot.

Blunkett said new guidelines would likely instruct local forces to
confiscate pot and issue a warning to offenders once the drug's
reclassification is in place. The change is expected by next July after the
proposal is passed by the Commons, a virtual certainty since Blair's Labour
party has a large majority.

The Conservatives called Blunkett's announcement confusing because the
experience in Brixton had allowed dealers to openly sell marijuana with
impunity.

"You need to explain whether you intend that the police should arrest
people who are openly selling cannabis -- as they are on the streets of
Brixton today -- or whether you are asking the police to look away," Tory
MP Oliver Letwin told Blunkett.