Cannabis is to be reclassified
The Home Secretary, David Blunkett, has signalled that
possession of cannabis will no longer be an arrestable offence (our Lobby
correspondent writes).
He told the House of Commons Home Affairs Select
Committee on 23 October that cannabis should be moved from Class B to
Class C of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, "thereby allowing the police
to concentrate their resources on crack cocaine and other Class A drugs."
The class determines the penalties for offences under the Act.
Mr Blunkett said: "It will lighten their load and
make more sense on the streets than it does at the moment." But he added
that he was not in favour of legalisation or decriminalisation.
The Home Office stressed that it will not pave the
way for cannabis cafes or off-licence sales. A spokesman said that the
announcement had "no implications" as to whether cannabis would be available
on prescription for medicinal use in the future.
A Labour Member of Parliament (Jon Owen Jones, Cardiff
Central) said that he would press ahead with a bill calling for the legalisation
of cannabis. This would permit the sale of cannabis on licensed premises
and make it lawful for people to cultivate hemp for private use.
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