POLICE HAND OUT WARNING OF CANNABIS CHAOS IN SCOTLAND

POLICE and legal experts yesterday warned of confusion on the streets with
cannabis to be reclassified as a less dangerous drug.

David Blunkett, the home secretary, said the downgrade, from a class B to a
class C drug, would come into effect in July next year. It means possession
will no longer be an arrestable offence.

Police said many people would view it as an effective decriminalisation of
the drug, leading to widespread misunderstanding.

In Scotland, officers seldom specifically target people carrying small
amounts of cannabis. However, unlike their English and Welsh counterparts
who will now merely issue warnings about possession of cannabis, police in
Scotland will continue to report offences to the procurator-fiscal.

Rank-and-file officers in Scotland warned the changes, as well as causing
confusion among the general public, would cause more paperwork for them.

Norrie Flowers, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, said: "This is
going to put an awful lot of confusion in people's minds which makes our
job more difficult. People are saying this is a carte blanche to buy and
sell drugs as they wish, but it isn't. Dealers are in fact going to face
heavier penalties and possession is still an offence which will be reported
to the fiscal."

Mr Blunkett said police would simply "issue a warning and seize the drugs"
in the majority of cases of cannabis possession.

His strategy was undermined by the resignation of Keith Hellawell, the
government's former drugs czar. Claiming Mr Blunkett was sending out the
wrong message, he said: "This would virtually be decriminalisation of
cannabis and this is, quite frankly, giving out the wrong message. Cannabis
is simply not a sensible substance for people to take".

The reclassification could also leave a loophole in the law for
"bring-your-own" cannabis cafes, it was claimed.

The Home Office stressed cannabis cafes remained illegal and the police
would be expected to close them.

In a bid to counter allegations that he was going "soft on drugs", the home
secretary said the maximum sentence for dealing class C substances would be
increased from five years to 14. It means dealing in other drugs in class
C, including anabolic steroids and certain anti-depressants, will also,
theoretically, carry a 14-year penalty.

There will also be a "reserve power of arrest" for police "where public
order is threatened or where children are at risk".

Mr Blunkett said officers would be encouraged to concentrate resources on
catching dealers in hard drugs, such as heroin and cocaine.

However, the Association of Chief Police Officers stressed that the change
would make little difference to the overall work of the police in Scotland
as they would have to continue to report to the procurator-fiscal.

Senior sources within the fiscal service warned that there was a lot of
confusion about the way the reclassification would be implemented, and
groups in favour of complete decriminalisation appeared determined to test
the new rules to their limit.

Kevin Williamson, the Scottish Socialist party's spokesman on drugs policy,
said he remained keen to open a cannabis cafe in Edinburgh, despite higher
penalties for dealers which police have warned would apply to cafes selling
the drug.

Richard Simpson, deputy justice minister, warned: "It will continue to be
an offence for managers and occupiers of premises to allow people to smoke
cannabis on their premises."

Michael Matheson, SNP deputy justice spokesman, said reclassification would
not enable officers to concentrate on class A drugs because they would
still be obliged to report possession, and Scottish Tories condemned
Labour's drugs stance as "short-sighted and faint-hearted".