CANNABIS WARNING TRIAL EXTENDED

A trial relaxation of cannabis laws in south London is to be extended by up
to three months.

The six-month pilot scheme in Lambeth had been due to finish on New Year's
Eve but Scotland Yard has decided to continue it while two reports into its
success are being compiled.

Under the experiment, people found in possession of small quantities of
cannabis are let off with a formal warning rather than being arrested and
cautioned.

The idea of the scheme is to cut down demands on police time and to allow
officers to focus on catching dealers in Class A drugs such as cocaine,
crack and heroin.

In November, Home Office minister Bob Ainsworth praised the Lambeth
experiment, saying it had saved hundreds of hours of police time.

Two evaluations of the scheme are being carried out - by the Metropolitan
police and by the Police Federation.

If they show favourable results, it could be widened to cover the whole of
London.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "No decision on whether to extend the
warning scheme across the Met will be made until February or March, and the
scheme in Lambeth will continue to be used until then."

The force revealed that officers in Lambeth have continued to stop people
suspected of drugs possession.

'Domestic Use'

The latest figures show that they issued 381 warnings to people caught with
cannabis between 2 July and 30 November, a Yard spokesman said.

In each case, the drug was confiscated and the user's name and address was
recorded.

Last year officers arrested 278 people for cannabis possession in the same
period.

The spokesman added: "Without the full evaluation, it would be wrong to
read too much into the figures, but they do show that officers in Lambeth
are using the scheme.

"The number of warnings is higher than the number of arrests which shows
that our officers are not ignoring cannabis possession.

"The amount of cannabis being seized indicates domestic use, rather than
dealing."