BRITISH EURO-MP ARRESTED IN CANNABIS PROTEST

LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A British member of the European
parliament was arrested on Saturday for possession of cannabis after
turning himself in to police with some of the illegal drug in support
of a cannabis cafe in North West England.

Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies, who represents northwest England,
planned the event to show support for a constituent, Colin Davies (no
relation), who was arrested in November at an Amsterdam-style
cannabis cafe he ran in Stockport.

"I am glad to have added myself to the dozens of people who have
already been arrested in protests aimed to demonstrate their support
for Colin Davies," the MEP said in a statement.

Police confirmed a man was being interviewed after arriving at
Stockport police station in Manchester with a small amount of the
illegal drug.

Colin Davies said he had never used illegal drugs, but expressed
support for the Chief Constable of North Wales, Richard Brunstrom,
who told a meeting on Friday that the only way to win the war against
drugs might be to legalise them all.

"The legal priorities are wrong. Last year nearly 800 young people in
Britain died of alcohol-induced cirrhosis of the liver. Not one
person died from the health effects of cannabis, yet some 50,000
people were arrested for possession of the drug," Davies said.

"It is not surprising that many police officers admit that they have
better things to do with their time than arrest people for a supposed
offence which causes no harm to anyone else."

Brunstrom said a Royal commission should be set up to consider how to
tackle the issue of drugs, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC)
reported.

Colin Davies' cafe sold cannabis for recreational purposes but gave
the illegal drug free to those wanting it for medical purposes, his
brother Mark said.

Colin Davis smoked cannabis himself to alleviate pain resulting from
a car accident six years ago.

"The people who will miss out most are those in the Multiple
Sclerosis Cannabis Association," Mark Davies said.

Many people say the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and other diseases
are alleviated by cannabis. British commentators have called in
recent months for the drug to be legalised and the government has
promised to at least relax laws against it.