CHRONICLE COMMENT - CANNABIS

Home Secretary David Blunkett's decision to change the rules on
cannabis use so that possession is no longer an arrestable offence is
a sensible move that takes account of the reality of life in Britain
today.

Changing the classification of cannabis will mean that very many young
people are not running the risk of gaining a criminal record for
experimenting with a drug that is less harmful, either to the
individual or to society at large, than alcohol.

Dealing remains a criminal offence which seems strangely at odds with
the reclassification of cannabis - if it is not a criminal offence to
possess, where will the possessors get it from? - and there is likely
to be a humane relaxation on the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes.

The police will be among the main beneficiaries of the rule change. A
huge amount of police time is currently wasted arresting and
processing cannabis users and that time can now better be spent
dealing with the real problem drugs, heroin and crack cocaine.

There is also a sense in the move on cannabis that the Government is
dipping its toe ever so gently into the excitable waters of anti-drug
legislation, especially in the Home Secretary's committment to
encourage more GP's to prescribe heroin to addicts.