DRUGS ADVISER QUITS OVER NEW CANNABIS LAWS

Keith Hellawell, the former "drugs tsar" today announced his
resignation as a part-time Government adviser in a protest at the Home
Secretary's plans for the biggest shake-up in drugs policy for 30 years.

Mr Hellawell led a backlash against David Blunkett's move which will
include the downgrading of cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug.
The change will put cannabis in the same group as steroids and
anti-depressants, effectively decriminalising the drug as possession
of small amounts would no longer be an arrestable offence.

Police would be limited to handing out penalty tickets to users, and
it would mean the controversial cannabis experiment in Brixton, South
London, will be extended across Britain.

Mr Hellawell, side-lined last year as drugs tsar but retained as a
part-time adviser, said he had written to Mr Blunkett to inform him of
his resignation, but had so far had no response.

Criticising the drugs law shake-up, he said: "It's moving further
towards decriminalisation than any other country in the world. "I have
resigned over this issue and over the issue of spin."

A spokesman for the Home Secretary hit back at Mr Hellawell's
criticism, claiming his stance on cannabis appeared to have changed
since a meeting last year.

"Keith Hellawell said to the Home Secretary in a meeting last autumn
that he was fully supportive of the Home Secretary's proposal to
reclassify cannabis," said the spokesman.

"This was a meeting before the Home Secretary made his announcement to
the Home Affairs Select Committee (revealing he planned to reclassify
the drug).

"He tendered his resignation last month to take effect in August but
the Home Office kept this private at his request."

Former minister Kate Hoey also predicted today that the Government may
live to regret the decriminalisation of cannabis.

The Labour MP, whose Vauxhall constituency is covered by the
Metropolitan Police's "softly, softly" cannabis experiment, said the
long-term effects of the drug were not known and rolling out the
stance across the country would hit the most deprived areas.

Ms Hoey told GMTV: "There are more drug dealers than ever, cannabis
much more widely available. There is a mixed message being sent out.

"On the one hand we're trying to say drugs are bad and at the same
time cannabis is being seen as something that is just there, that
people are smoking."

The former minister at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport
warned that dealers would target areas already suffering high levels
of deprivation, with young people being picked out.

She also attacked the cannabis experiment in Brixton where those found
in possession of the drug are warned by police rather than being
arrested, with the aim to divert policing to more serious crime such
as tackling hard drugs like heroin and crack cocaine.

Ms Hoey said in effect only 1.8 officers had been freed for other work
because of the softer drugs policy.

There has been confusion over when the changes expected to be
announced by Mr Blunkett would come into force. Mr Blunkett is able to
downgrade the drug by an "order in council", a Parliamentary procedure
which can take effect immediately, although MPs have 40 days in which
they can seek to nullify it.

The Department for Education and Skills is known to be preparing
guidance for teachers on the reclassification of cannabis, which
suggests ministers want the change in place by Parliament's summer
recess.

But Mr Blunkett was also expected to announce that police will retain
the power to arrest cannabis users in certain "aggravated" cases, such
as when the drug is smoked outside schools. Such a move would require
legislation which would take up to a year to become law.

The Home Secretary was expected to counter allegations that he is
going "soft on drugs" by announcing that maximum sentences for dealers
of Class C drugs will be increased from five years to at least 10.

However, opponents in the Conservative Party have pointed out this
would still be less than the 14-year maximum currently available for
cannabis dealers. There have been suggestions that Mr Blunkett was
considering raising the sentence for Class C dealing even further,
possibly to match the 14-year tariff, to undermine Conservative criticisms.

Today's package was also expected to place a new emphasis on drug
treatment and reducing the harm drug users cause themselves, but would
rule out separate proposals to downgrade Ecstasy from Class A to Class
B.

The Tories launched an attack on Mr Blunkett's drugs policy by
condemning the Brixton cannabis experiment as "disastrous". Iain
Duncan Smith, the Tory leader, and shadow home secretary Oliver Letwin
visited local residents in the South London district who claim the
Metropolitan Police's "softly, softly" stance on the drug has made
drug dealing rampant on their streets.

Mr Duncan Smith urged the Home Secretary to abandon his plans as it
was "handing drug policy over to the criminals".