BRITAIN'S BIGGEST DRUGS REFORM IN DECADES

SCOTTISH police chiefs yesterday warned cannabis users that they would
continue to be prosecuted, despite the biggest shake-up in Britain's drugs
laws in a generation.

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, announced in the Commons that cannabis
would be reclassified from Class B to Class C to distinguish between "drugs
which kill and drugs that cause harm".

It will, in effect, extend across the UK the controversial "tolerance"
experiment piloted in the London borough of Lambeth, where cannabis users
were only cautioned and not automatically arrested by police.

Mr Blunkett faced down critics in Parliament of the moves to soften the
drugs laws and insisted "cannabis possession remains a criminal offence".

He also said the maximum prison sentence for dealing in Class B and Class C
drugs would increase from 10 to 14 years.

The new policy provoked confusion, uproar and the resignation of the
government's former "drugs tsar", Keith Hellawell. Sidelined last year when
he was given a part-time role as an adviser on international drugs issues,
he said of the new policy: "This would virtually be decriminalisation of
cannabis and this is, quite frankly, giving out the wrong message. Cannabis
is simply not a sensible substance to take."

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) said it was
"committed to enforcement", while the Scottish Police Federation said the
move would make little difference to street policing.

Police officers in Scotland have no power under Scots law to warn or
caution people, said Jim Orr, of ACPOS.

Mr Orr, who is also director of the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency,
added: "It is important that the public is aware that cannabis remains a
controlled drug which can have serious health implications. The police may
arrest anyone found in possession of the drug and will continue to report
alleged offenders to the procurator fiscal. ACPOS remains committed to
enforcement, in particular tackling the criminal networks responsible for
supplying the most harmful drugs."

Norrie Flowers, the chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, said: "It's
not going to make an awful lot of practical difference to police officers.

"In the vast majority of cases of cannabis being recovered from people
possessing it for their own personal use, it is usually as a result of some
other inquiry."

The clear split in policy north and south of the Border was criticised by
the Scottish National Party, who claimed the Executive was "at sixes and
sevens".

The Home Secretary told MPs that where possession of cannabis was linked to
behaviour threatening public order, police would retain the power of
arrest, but added: "In the majority of cases, however, officers will issue
a warning and seize the drugs".

He admitted that until two years' ago, he had opposed the government's
drugs policy, but changed his mind about reclassifying cannabis because he
was "convinced by the evidence, by the need to target hard drug users". The
declassification is expected to be in place by July next year.

Dr Richard Simpson, Scotland's deputy justice minister with responsibility
for criminal policy in relation to drugs, highlighted the Home Office's
insistence that cannabis cafes, where the drug is sold and used openly,
would remain illegal .

But Kevin Williamson, who hopes to establish Scotland's first cannabis cafe
in Edinburgh, said: "I see this as a green light to open a coffee shop. It
means overall drugs strategy is moving in the right direction ."

Mr Blunkett repeatedly denied the announcement was effectively making
cannabis legal. And he said tough safeguards would be put in place to
continue to protect young people from drugs dealers.

There would also be a "reserve power of arrest" for police officers to deal
with cannabis users who are a "danger to public order" or to protect
children. Dealers who prey on the young may also face a new aggravated offence.

Oliver Letwin, the shadow home secretary, called on Mr Blunkett not to go
ahead with the "muddled and dangerous policy".