LET THEM SMOKE DOPE

Scots Police Forces Stop Arresting Cannabis Users

POLICE officers have been told not to arrest anyone caught with cannabis
for personal use, the Sunday Mail can reveal.

All eight Scottish forces adopted the secret policy because they were
wasting time arresting suspects with small amounts of the drug.

Last night a source close to Justice Minister Jim Wallace confirmed
cannabis has effectively been decriminalised in secret.

Police have become frustrated after prosecutors binned 45,000 drug cases
last year - one in five of all reported.

The source said: "There might not be a formal signed policy document from
the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland but that doesn't mean
the policy is not in place.

"In an ideal world, every crime would be properly investigated and
prosecuted. But we have to live in the real world where the possession of
cannabis is no longer seen as a law enforcement priority.

"It means that if you don't have a record and there are no other offences
involved you would be incredibly unlucky to be prosecuted for possession of
cannabis."

Last July, police in London adopted a "softly, softly" approach to cannabis
possession, in an intiative sanctioned by the Home Office.

Officers in Lambeth were instructed not to arrest cannabis users with small
amounts for personal use.

Local Metropolitan Police commander Brian Paddick was later suspended amid
allegations that he had smoked cannabis, which he claimed were part of a
smear campaign against him.

Cannabis is due to be downgraded from a Class B to a Class C drug by Home
Secretary David Blunkett this summer.

That would reduce the penalties for cannabis offences but police officers
will still be required to send a report to the procurator fiscal when
someone is caught in possession of the drug, even if it is a small amount.

Yesterday, David Liddell, director of the Scottish Drugs Forum, said:
"Officers in urban areas are changing their attitudes to the use of cannabis.

"This could be because of the overworked legal system, but also because
they want to focus on drugs like heroin and cocaine.

"Perhaps officers in rural areas will still adopt a hardline to cannabis
use, but we've certainly been told that officers in urban areas are more
tolerant."

One senior police officer said: "As long as there's a public desire for us
to prosecute people in possession of controlled substances - heroin, speed,
ecstasy or cannabis - then the courts will be under huge pressure from the
sheer volume of cases.

"The fact of the matter is that these cases are regularly being binned for
administrative convenience because the courts can't handle the level of
work being put to them."

Last year, Strathclyde Police, which covers around half the country,
reported around 12,000 people to the fiscal for alleged possession of cannabis.

The total number of drugs-related cases, ranging from possession to
trafficking of Class A drugs, to reach court in 2000 was 6500 - down a
fifth from the peak of 8200 in 1997.

Joe Grant, general secretary of the Strathclyde Police Federation, said:
"We're are frequently hearing from officers that they're concerned and
frustrated that the procurator fiscal is marking case no proceedings to
expedite their workload."

Tory Justice spokesman, Bill Aitken, said: "The use of cannabis is illegal.
I find it deeply distressing that there should be, on the face of it, a
back door approach to decriminalising drugs."