POLICE: NEW POT LAWS LEAD TO HARD DRUGS

A pilot program relaxing curbs on marijuana in a London district has
attracted users to the area and increased the use of hard drugs, a senior
police officer said Tuesday.

Under the program, people in Lambeth in south London found with small
amounts of marijuana are not arrested, but receive a warning.

Fred Broughton, chair of the Police Federation, said Tuesday that the pilot
program didn't appear to be reducing the use of drugs in the area, as had
been hoped. "The reverse seems to be true," he said.

He also said cocaine abusers and dealers were becoming more visible and
more active.