BRITAIN MELLOWS ITS MARIJUANA LAWS

Moderate Users Won't Be Arrested

LONDON -- Britain, which has one of the highest rates of marijuana use in
Europe, said Wednesday that it was relaxing its laws on smoking pot,
keeping the practice theoretically illegal but making private use in
discreet amounts no longer subject to arrest.

The decision, announced by Home Secretary David Blunkett in the House of
Commons, stirred criticism from the Conservative opposition and some Labor
politicians and prompted the government's drugs chief to resign because, he
said, Britain is "moving further toward decriminalization than any other
country in the world."

Blunkett tempered his announcement, which takes effect next July and puts
cannabis on a par with antidepressants and steroids, by saying he would
also raise the punishment for marijuana dealing and step up drug education
and treatment for abusers.

An estimated 5 million people in Britain regularly use marijuana, and
government data show that its use has risen sharply in the last 20 years.

A study published last year on drug habits in the European Union showed
that 20 percent to 25 percent of adults in Britain used marijuana--about
the same rate as shown for Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.

The government action followed recommendations of a parliamentary committee
in May that said that a new attitude of tolerance would give drug policy
greater credibility among young people and help the police direct resources
toward heroin and cocaine.

Britain has the most drug-related deaths of any country in the European
Union, with heroin cited as the principal cause.

The parliamentary panel also suggested reclassifying the club drug Ecstasy,
but Blunkett said he rejected that advice.

Several other European countries have already relaxed their drug laws. The
Netherlands has legalized marijuana, while Luxemburg has ended jail
sentences for marijuana possession. Spain and Italy do not jail people
caught with drugs meant for personal use. Last year, Portugal adopted a law
eliminating jail time for possession of small amounts of any illegal drug.

Under the British reform, possession of marijuana would no longer be
considered an arrestable offense. Though this will not take effect for a
year, from now on any police action will be limited to issuing a warning
and seizing the drug.

Blunkett countered suggestions that Britain was going "soft on drugs" by
saying police would retain the right to arrest users in "aggravated" cases
like smoking outside schools or in the presence of children. The Home
Office stressed that any marijuana cafes where the drug is sold and used
openly remained illegal and would be closed.

"It is critical that police can maintain public order," Blunkett said.
"Where cannabis possession is linked to aggravated behavior that threatens
public order, the police will retain the power of arrest."

Scotland Yard said it welcomed the new reclassification of the drug
combined with maintaining a discretionary police power to intervene. The
drugs spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers, Andy Hayman,
said, "The retention of police power of arrest will enable the police to
have greater flexibility in dealing with incidents on the street."

Blunkett insisted Wednesday's move did not constitute legalizing marijuana.
"All controlled drugs are harmful and will remain illegal," he said. "We
must concentrate our efforts on the drugs that cause the most harm, while
sending a credible message to young people."

Kate Hoey, a Labor member of Parliament, said the government may live to
regret Wednesday's decision because of the increasing strength of marijuana
being peddled on the street.

"It is a very strong type of cannabis--it's genetically modified, it is not
perhaps like people tried 20 years ago," she said.