Blunkett moves to downgrade cannabis
Cannabis will be reclassified as a less dangerous drug so that possession is no longer an arrestable offence, British Home Secretary David Blunkett confirmed today.
The move from Class B to Class C means the drug will be effectively decriminalised in the UK by July next year, although Mr Blunkett denied it amounted to legalisation or decriminalisation.
But he said that in most cases of cannabis possession police officers will simply ‘‘issue a warning and seize the drugs’’.
The British Home Office stressed that cannabis cafes - where the drug is sold and used openly - remain illegal and the police would be expected to swoop swiftly to close them down.
It came after the British government’s former drugs tsar, Keith Hellawell, resigned in protest at the plans to reclassify cannabis, claiming the move was ‘‘giving out the wrong message’’.
In today’s announcement Mr Blunkett rejected proposals from an influential group of MPs to also downgrade ecstasy, and expressed ‘‘caution’’ about their proposal to create special centres where heroin addicts could inject the drug without fear of arrest.
The top priority, he said, was to tackle the Class A drugs which fuel crime and break apart communities.
Mr Blunkett said: ‘‘All controlled drugs are harmful and will remain illegal.
‘‘We must concentrate our efforts on the drugs that cause the most harm, while sending a credible message to young people.
‘‘I will therefore ask Parliament to reclassify cannabis from Class B to Class C.’’
He added: ‘‘I have considered the recommendations of the Home Affairs Committee and the advice given to me by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs medical experts that the current classification of cannabis is disproportionate in relation to the harm that it causes.
‘‘It is important to remember that cannabis is a harmful substance that still requires strict controls to be maintained, hence its classification as a Class C drug.
‘‘I therefore have no intention of either decriminalising or legalising the production, supply or possession of cannabis.’’
Mr Blunkett said today’s announcement place greater importance on providing treatment and minimising the harm drug users do to themselves and others.
He announced with British Health Secretary Alan Milburn that an additional £183m will be made available to treat substance abuse over the next three years.
He promised there would be faster and more effective treatment for cocaine and crack users, who are known to commit vast amounts of crime to feed their expensive habits - up to £200 a day in the case of crack addicts.
The criminal justice system will be urged to get more offenders into treatment, including an acceleration of existing drug treatment and testing programmes, he said.
There will also be an expansion of ‘‘carefully managed heroin prescribing’’ in some cases.
In a bid to counter allegations that he was going ‘‘soft on drugs’’, the Home Secretary said maximum sentence for dealing Class C substances would be upped from five years to 14, retaining existing penalties even though cannabis is being downgraded.
It means that dealing in other drugs in Class C, including anabolic steroids and certain anti-depressants, will now also carry a theoretical 14 year penalty.
There would also be a ‘‘reserve power of arrest’’ for police officers to deal with cannabis users who are a ‘‘danger to public order’’ or to protect children.
Dealers who prey on the young may also face a new aggravated offence, added the Home Secretary.
He said: ‘‘It is critical that police can maintain public order. Where cannabis possession is linked to aggravated behaviour that threatens public order the police will retain the power of arrest.
‘‘In the majority of cases, however, officers will issue a warning and seize the drugs.’’
On ecstasy, which the Home Affairs select committee said earlier this year should move from Class A to Class B, Mr Blunkett said: ‘‘We still have much to learn about the long-term harm that it causes, but what we do know is that ecstasy can kill unpredictably and that there is no such thing as a safe dose.
‘‘I believe all killer drugs such as ecstasy should remain in Class A.
‘‘I also want to express caution on the recommendation by the committee to pilot the use of safe injecting rooms for heroin users.’’
An update of the British government’s 10-year drugs strategy will be published after the government’s spending review has been completed, he added.
The reclassification of cannabis - first mooted by Mr Blunkett last October - will be carried out by a Parliamentary ‘‘order in council’’ which will be debated before both Houses and approved by the Privy Council.
The Home Office said the legislation would be in place by July 2003.
There would also be ‘‘immediate action’’ by the Government to ‘‘counter any misunderstandings about the legal status of cannabis,’’ said a spokesman, by providing information to parents, schools and youth workers through the NHS Responseline.
