cannabisnews.com: Cannabis: Time to Change The Law?





Cannabis: Time to Change The Law?
Posted by FoM on February 06, 2001 at 07:24:49 PT
By Peter Gould, BBC News Online
Source: BBC News
An opinion poll carried out for BBC News Online suggests that almost half of Britons over the age of 18 want to see the use of cannabis decriminalised. And in the south of the country there is now a majority in favour of changing the law. ICM Research conducted the survey across England, Scotland and Wales, questioning a random selection of 1,000 people by telephone. 
Forty-nine per cent said they thought that using the drug should no longer be a criminal offence. But there were some sharp differences according to age. Not surprisingly perhaps, the greatest support for change was amongst the young. In the 18-24 age group, 62% said they wanted the law to be changed. The least enthusiasm was among the over 65s, with only 33% in favour. Treatment: People in social class AB were more receptive to the idea (54%), as were those in the South of the country (51%). The survey also asked if people who use drugs, but not those who deal in drugs, should be encouraged by the courts to accept treatment as an alternative to being sent to prison. Four out of five people questioned in the survey said they agreed with the idea. The results of the opinion poll may be seen as evidence of a gradual shift in public attitudes, although many politicians remain opposed to a liberalisation of the law. A survey last October revealed that a greater percentage of UK adults use cannabis than in any other country of the European Union. One in ten British adults use the drug, or have done in the last 12 months, the European Union Drugs Agency figures suggested. And the problem is also common in schools, where almost half of all pupils have tried cannabis by the time they leave. 'Pragmatic' The Liberal Democrats want an advisory body to be set up to look at the way drugs are classified and to see whether the law needs to be changed. "I think public opinion has moved on considerably," says the party's Home Affairs spokesman Simon Hughes. "I think public opinion is also being pragmatic and saying, well, I might not want to use it myself, but this should not be a policing priority, and there are many things we want the police to do, and many crimes we want them to deal with, and actually people using cannabis for recreational activities isn't anywhere near the top of our list." Mr Hughes says the question is not just whether using cannabis should no longer be a criminal offence, but whether it should be legitimate to sell it and buy it. "Some of the recommendations are that you allow people to use it, without it being regarded as committing a criminal offence, but you still regard it as a crime to sell. "I think that is a difficult policy to sustain and a government, if it was going to move the law in the direction the poll suggests the public might now be ready for, ought to be honest and say it would be nonsense to have it legitimately used but not legitimately bought and sold." Fines: Last October, the Shadow Home Secretary, Ann Widdecombe, advocated £100 on-the-spot fines for anyone caught in possession of cannabis. But the Tories then suffered the embarrassment of several members of the Shadow Cabinet admitting they had smoked the drug in their youth. Nevertheless, Miss Widdecombe remains firmly opposed to any move that would make cannabis freely available. "We've got two legal drugs, cigarettes and alcohol, and we've got massive problems with both of them," she argues. "Why add a third drug to the legal list?" She says soft drugs could be a factor in many road accidents, and can also exacerbate mental health problems for users. "Cannabis is also a cause of crime, and I would ask that 49% this question: 'If you legalise soft drugs what do you think the drugs barons are going to do? Are they going to go home, or are they going to put all their efforts into marketing hard drugs and targeting the young in particular? Which is it going to be?'" The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has made it clear he has no plans to change the law on cannabis. Last November his anti-drugs co-ordinator, Keith Hellawell, said new research showed it was a "gateway drug" that led onto substances like heroin and cocaine. "The argument for the legalisation of cannabis is dead," said Mr Hellawell. But others disagree. The former chief constable of Gwent, Francis Wilkinson, is the patron of Transform, an organisation lobbying for reform of the drugs laws. He says it is time that cannabis was debated, demystified and decriminalised. After the high profile Tory admissions, 250 financial directors were asked whether they had tried cannabis in a survey by Accountancy Age. A total of 33% said they had. Home Office figures from the 1998 British Crime survey also suggest that a large proportion of the UK's adult population have experimented with illegal substances. The results indicate that a third of people aged between 16 and 59 have tried drugs at some time, while almost half of those aged between 16 and 29 have done so. Statistics also show that in 1998, more than 97,000 people were arrested for misuse of cannabis - a leap from about 26,000 in 1988. The proportion of people cautioned over the drug rose from 36% to 54% in the same period. Source: BBC News (UK Web) Author: Peter Gould, BBC News OnlinePublished: February 6, 2001Copyright: 2001 BBC Website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ Feedback: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/ Forum: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/forum/ Related Article:Cannabis Laws Too Strict Say Doctorshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7524.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on February 06, 2001 at 12:29:03 PT:
Anne Widdecombe
WARNING! Engage anti-emesis procedures before continuing. Failure to do so may cause you to lose whatever you had for a meal. The Management is not responsible for Patrons not following these directions!What our poor brethren in the UK have to put up with:http://www.acct.freeserve.co.uk/torybich.htmAnd what they have to say about her vis-a-vis cannabis:http://www.urban75.com/Punch/widdecombe.htmlhttp://www.charleskennedy.org.uk/frame.htm?http://www.charleskennedy.org.uk/pr091000.htmhttp://www.paston.co.uk/users/webbooks/widdicom.htmlInsanity respects no national boundaries.
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Comment #3 posted by Dan B on February 06, 2001 at 08:06:06 PT:
Oops! I Did It Again.
No, I'm not Britney Spears.I was referring to my continued problem with closing a command after I initiate it.Sorry for all the bold.Dan B
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Comment #2 posted by Dan B on February 06, 2001 at 08:04:16 PT:
A Third Drug?
"We've got two legal drugs, cigarettes and alcohol, and we've got massive problems with both of them," she argues. "Why add a third drug to the legal list?"This is becoming a mantra, just like "we need to send the "right message" for "the children." And, frankly, I am sick of it.Here are 5 reasons why it makes more sense to "add a third drug to the legal list":(1) Prison: what evidence exists that incarcerating any drug users helps to curb either drug use or drug addiction? More importantly, what evidence exists to suggest that prison is preferable to drug use in terms of the effects on the user and on society as a whole?(2) Alcoholism and Hard Drug Addiction: Some (albeit anecdotal) evidence suggests that marijuana can be used effectively to help alcoholics and those addicted to hard drugs (heroin, for example) kick the habit, replacing it with a more benign substance.(3) Personal Freedom: In a free society, laws prohibiting personal use of any substance have no place. Period.(4) Industrial Hemp: Cannabis prohibition has stifled production of biofuels, plastics, paper, and about 50,000 other potential hemp-based products. In many countries (including the U.S.), industrial hemp has never been given a fair chance.(5) Medical Patients: Legalization of cannabis is the only way to insure that medical patients can grow and use cannabis to alleviate their symptoms without fear of arrest, fines, and imprisonment.I would call these "the Big 5" reasons why we should add a third drug to the legal market. But, in fact, to say that legalization of cannabis would add a "third drug" is false. Any ten-year-old can go to the store and buy cough syrup, Ibuprofen, Aspirin, Tylenol, and a host of other drugs that, if taken in large quantities or regularly over long periods of time, can cause serious damage to the body, and even kill. In addition, many bookstores and virtually all grocery stores and restaurants sell another social drug: caffeine. This drug, every bit as "dangerous" as marijuana, is marketed to children regularly in every form of mass media. In fact, it may well be that caffeine is the world's most regularly used drug. We can even use it at work and school.Dan B
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on February 06, 2001 at 07:46:31 PT:
Here's a Reason
"Why add a third drug to the legal list?" Because it is the only proper thing to do, and because it will lower morbidity and mortality of the other 2.
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