cannabisnews.com: Europe's Antidrug Bastion Reconsiders





Europe's Antidrug Bastion Reconsiders
Posted by FoM on August 30, 2001 at 09:47:13 PT
By Daniel Whitaker, Special To The CSM
Source: Christian Science Monitor 
In years past, people caught smoking marijuana in the south London neighborhood of Brixton could expect to be arrested. But now, police are giving them a warning, confiscating the drug, and sending them on their way.Britain, which has long had the strictest policies in West Europe on narcotics use, is showing signs of a possible relaxation in official attitudes toward marijuana.
While Britons remain divided on whether cannabis should be legalized, the six-month experiment with lenient enforcement in Brixton has some wondering whether Britain may eventually follow other Western European countries in relaxing attitudes toward so-called 'soft' drugs. The new policy experiment reflects a trend in British society toward acceptance of marijuana consumption - and an acknowledgement that the punitive approach taken over the past few decades may have been misguided.Politicians are no longer shy about the topic. Home Secretary David Blunkett gave the clearest signal yet that the government might be prepared to soften its stance on drugs when he described the Brixton policy as "interesting," and last month called for an "adult, intelligent debate on the subject." At the same time, however, Mr. Blunkett stressed that the government must send a clear antidrugs message, especially to young people. And he said that there would be no swift decision on decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana.Blunkett's comments followed calls by conservative Peter Lilley, former deputy Tory leader and a loyal Thatcherite minister, for marijuana to be sold (and taxed) in licensed outlets.Lower down the political ranks, an overwhelming majority of the Labour MPs that currently dominate Parliament are prepared to vote to decriminalize cannabis, according to a BBC survey. David Winnick, a Labour member of the cross-party Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, which will be studying the topic, says he believes the drug will be decriminalized by the next general election.The change in tenor does not extend to harder drugs, such as heroin and crack cocaine, widely seen as fueling violence, theft, and social marginalization.British Customs officers have been told to switch efforts away from marijuana interdiction to seizing hard drugs, which flow in increasing quantities into the UK.Commander Brian Paddick, in charge of policing in Lambeth, the borough where Brixton is located, says freeing resources to fight harder drugs like crack cocaine is part of the rationale for his officers' new tolerant line on marijuana. He stresses that the move does not legalize marijuana possession in the borough. The lenient enforcement applies only to small amounts of the drug for personal use. "The officer will seize the cannabis, which then must be signed for by the suspect. It will then be sealed and disposed of."Some efforts to legalize marijuana are in the works, however. Jon Owen Jones, a Labour MP for Cardiff, says he will make the first British attempt to have marijuana fully legalized for recreational use when Parliament returns from its summer recess in October. However, this appears to be moving faster than the official consensus, and is likely to fail.Debate still rages. Conservative newspapers like the largest selling broadsheet, Daily Telegraph, and the No. 2 tabloid, Daily Mail, are strongly against marijuana smoking. Britain's 'drug czar,' ex-policeman Keith Hellawell, also opposes treating marijuana more leniently than other drugs, maintaining that this would make little difference to criminals' currently lucrative situation. In a statement earlier this month, he said: "The only way you would take the whole thing out of the criminal justice system is to actually say we will legalize everything and make it available to everybody."There are also academics to the left, such as Robin Bunton, of the University of Teesside, who see liberalization as a 'neo-liberal' move that would give market forces sway in an area where the state previously had responsibility for citizens' welfare.More surprising is the extent to which acceptance and use of soft drugs has apparently spread through various agencies of the government. The chief inspector of prisons. Sir David Ramsbotham, has added his name to those of a number of senior policemen calling for consideration of decriminalization of marijuana.A recent study shows that within the police force itself, there is growing drug consumption, especially by younger officers taking cannabis and ecstasy. The study's author, David Wilson, professor of criminal justice at the University of Central England, Birmingham, says: "When you consider how many 20-year-olds take drugs, it is not surprising that some of the people who join the police are also drug users."In the Brixton experiment, which extends through early January, Britain is following a pan-European trend.The trail toward greater tolerance was blazed by the Dutch, where, since 1976, officially tolerated cafés have served marijuana as well as coffee. Experience in the Netherlands seems to refute the idea of marijuana working as an automatic 'gateway' to harder drugs - Dutch rates of heroin addiction are lower than those in the UK, whose anti-marijuana laws have until now been the stiffest in Western Europe. Survey figures also indicate that only 14 percent of Dutch 15-16 year-olds smoke marijuana, compared to 16 percent of their British counterparts.The past two years have seen Belgium, Switzerland and Germany all follow the Dutch lead by decriminalizing marijuana sale and consumption to varying extents. French health minister Kouchner added to the movement this month by himself admitting to smoking the drug and stating that he thinks it should be legal in France.In July, Portugal decriminalized use of all drugs as part of a new public-health strategy. The focus is on treatment and rehabilitation of users, rather than on criminal punishment. Only Swedish and Greek authorities remain at least nominally fixed on the goal of a drug-free society.One reason for Britain's changing official attitude toward cannabis may be a realization that the drug has become popular across a spectrum of society. Back in Brixton in the mid-1980s, smoking by the neighborhood's large Caribbean minority stoked conflict with a largely white police force, which contributed to urban riots. Last month the 'Big Chill' music festival, 200 miles west of London in Wiltshire, occurred under a haze of marijuana smoke. Most of the thousands who paid £100 ($145) to attend were white professionals.Note: As Britons debate easing drug policy, some London police try softer enforcement in minor marijuana cases. Newshawk: AnonSource: Christian Science Monitor (US)Author: Daniel Whitaker, Special To The Christian Science Monitor Published: August 30, 2001 Edition Copyright: 2001 The Christian Science Publishing SocietyContact: oped csps.comWebsite: http://www.csmonitor.com/Related Articles: Europe Goes To Pot - Time Magazinehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10605.shtmlPublic Endorses Police Soft Line on Cannabishttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10326.shtml 
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Comment #5 posted by Bud Mick on August 31, 2001 at 01:41:16 PT:
The Daily Telegraph bit is wrong
Actually the Daily Telegraph has been pro full legalisation for over a year, along with The Times, Independent and Guardian. Its only the middle aged womens papers like the Daily Mail and Express that still feel it necessary to say cannabis should be illegal.The tide is turning and it won't be long before its decriminalised in the UK. Hydro shops are booming now.
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Comment #4 posted by legalizeit on August 31, 2001 at 00:08:18 PT
Anybody see ABC Downtown last night?
They had a segment about Dutch cannabis policy, fairly good but for the "con" side they had to dredge up McCrackpot. He made an ass of himself as usual, comparing legal cannabis to keep kids off hard drugs to legal shoplifting to keep kids from robbing banks. His intelligence (or lack of) never fails to astound.More interesting was the online poll, 79% favored cannabis legalization! (Of course we all know this isn't a consensus of the general population, because many of the crusty old fogeys who support the WOSD are too old-fashioned to get a computer.)
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Comment #3 posted by Anon on August 30, 2001 at 17:03:31 PT
durg war links and government addresses
http://www.drugsense.org/http://serendipity.magnet.ch/wod.htmlhttp://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/ticp.htmlhttp://www.marijuana-uses.com/examples/default.htmlhttp://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/law02.htmhttp://www.motherjones.com/news_wire/bushboys.htmlhttp://www.lindesmith.org/http://www.marijuananews.com/http://drugwarpropaganda.selfhost.com/prohibprop/frame.cgi?theme=2http://www.igc.org/trac/issues/military/featured/2001/dyncorp.htmlWrite to you senators. Here are their addresses:http://www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cfmWrite to your House representatives. Here are their addresses:http://www.house.gov/writerep/
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Comment #2 posted by PoisonedFor4YrsSoFar on August 30, 2001 at 15:01:36 PT
When is the next UK general election?
"Lower down the political ranks, an overwhelming majorityof the Labour MPs that currently dominate Parliamentare prepared to vote to decriminalize cannabis, accordingto a BBC survey. David Winnick, a Labour member of thecross-party Commons Home Affairs Select Committee,which will be studying the topic, says he believes the drugwill be decriminalized by the next general election."When is the next general UK election? Once the UK goesthe issue will be unavoidable for the USApoliticians.
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Comment #1 posted by Sudaca on August 30, 2001 at 13:38:01 PT
Even the French?
"French health minister Kouchner added to the movement this month by himself admitting to smoking the drug and stating that he thinks it should be legal in France"Wow, Europe is happening these days. The most traditional allies in narcohysteria were the French, and Swedish. I guess the Swedes will end up partying by themselves..On a sadder note, other countries in South America have taken notice of the relaxing of cannabis laws in the world.. but instead of taking the cue, the US zero tolerance partyline is now being melded with the catholic conservative view of the world. So, we have a number of politicians calling for harsher penalties for pot a la Gringoland, to resist the "degeneration" , the "decadence" of the older countries. Reasons cited , the gateway theory, the impotence theory, the God would never smoke pot theory.It's sickening that countries with a chance to skip mistakes just keep following the lead into the pothole (no pun intended).
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