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 veggie
Registered: 07/26/04
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 Cannabis becomes Class B drug today, but no spot fines yet [UK] 
#9679424 - 01/25/09 10:49 PM (4 years, 3 months ago) |
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Cannabis becomes Class B drug today, but no spot fines yet
January 26, 2009 - TimesOnline
Cannabis is upgraded to a Class B drug today, but users will not be fined after the sudden withdrawal of new powers to allow on-the-spot penalties.
The embarrassing hitch has arisen after the Ministry of Justice withdrew a parliamentary order that would have given police the power to issue penalty notices for 21 offences, including possession of cannabis.
It had been expected that, from today, police would be able to impose an £80 fine for possession as a key part of tougher action against the drug. The new approach means that officers would issue a warning for a first-time offender, a second offence of possession should result in the £80 on-the-spot fine, and a third would lead to arrest.
Until a new order is passed by Parliament, police will not be able to impose the fine. The Home Office said yesterday that the order would be debated on Wednesday and, if approved, guidance would be sent to police forces in England and Wales.
“The Home Secretary has made clear that PNDs [penalty notices for disorder] are necessary for possession of cannabis, to allow police to operate an escalated enforcement regime,” a spokesman said. “The police are currently able to deal with the offence of cannabis possession by warning or by prosecution.”
Home Office officials have made clear their dismay at the Ministry of Justice's failure to have the power ready in time for the upgrading.
The Ministry of Justice said that the order was dropped when ministers decided to consult on a range of new offences to be punishable with penalty notices. A spokesman said: “Penalty notices for disorder for possession of cannabis will go ahead as soon as possible, subject to the agreement of Parliament.”
The ministry withdrew the parliamentary order last week after a decision to drop the introduction of £80 on-the-spot fines for bogus minicab drivers and to rethink whether instant penalties should be considered for 19 other offences.
As the planned cannabis fine was included in the order, it was also withdrawn. The Government has known since last November that cannabis was to become a Class B drug and the implementation date has been known for weeks.
A £2.2million advertising campaign next month using television, radio and the internet will inform the public of the upgrading and will warn that “cannabis can mess with your mind”.
Cannabis was downgraded to a Class C drug in 2005, but Gordon Brown signalled shortly after he became Prime Minister that he wanted the decision reversed.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the Government's official adviser, recommended that the drug should remain Class C. Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, rejected the advice, justifying her decision on the ground of the greater availability of more potent strains of cannabis.
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 neopet nub
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Re: Cannabis becomes Class B drug today, but no spot fines yet [UK] [Re: veggie]
#9679625 - 01/25/09 11:34 PM (4 years, 3 months ago) |
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Even though I do not live in the UK, I was always happy that they had weed scheduled so low.
I do not understand how things did not appear to get better when the drug was Class C. Things should have improved like in the Netherlands.
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Ego death from weed!
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buddhabadger
Evil Overlord
Registered: 01/16/09
Posts: 491
Loc: The Forest
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Re: Cannabis becomes Class B drug today, but no spot fines yet [UK] [Re: neopet nub]
#9679855 - 01/26/09 12:14 AM (4 years, 3 months ago) |
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Jacqui Smith is an easily-swayed moron who's overly influenced by moral panic-based non-issues.
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- I don't abuse drugs; in fact, I think I treat them quite nicely. -
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mofo
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Re: Cannabis becomes Class B drug today, but no spot fines yet [UK] [Re: veggie]
#9679882 - 01/26/09 12:20 AM (4 years, 3 months ago) |
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why are the various political establishments of the world so fixated on persecuting cannabis? I really, really, really, really, really don't get it.
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ShroomerRoss
Registered: 08/29/08
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Re: Cannabis becomes Class B drug today, but no spot fines yet [UK] [Re: mofo]
#9680691 - 01/26/09 04:43 AM (4 years, 3 months ago) |
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its a big step back for us, strange thing is even though usage decreased after they lowered the classification to class c, they still decided to upgraded it back to b. still confuses me how they class a bit of dope as bad as the rest of the class b drugs. baffling
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filthee
DWWP
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Re: Cannabis becomes Class B drug today, but no spot fines yet [UK] [Re: veggie]
#9680812 - 01/26/09 06:57 AM (4 years, 3 months ago) |
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“cannabis can mess with your mind”
now that'll get the kids interested for sure
it reminds me of that idiot uk judge who said, "marijuana does untold damage to your health"
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Spiderbaby
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Re: Cannabis becomes Class B drug today, but no spot fines yet [UK] [Re: neopet nub]
#9681393 - 01/26/09 11:29 AM (4 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
neopet nub said:
Even though I do not live in the UK, I was always happy that they had weed scheduled so low.
I do not understand how things did not appear to get better when the drug was Class C. Things should have improved like in the Netherlands.
things didn't get better like in the Netherlands because no licensed coffee shops opened to sell cannabis to people over 18 like in the Netherlands
the cannabis was still being supplied in the UK by organised crime, all classing it as C did was make it easier for users and dealers to operate.
just decriminalising things doesnt work, substances need to be regulated aswell to take the market out of criminal hands
. . oh and iv read cannabis use did go down in the last year or two so it actually did work . . .  you just cant please politicians first people were smoking too much and now not enough, there was an article about it here lately . . edit:- here it is http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/9197569#9197569
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Theres a time and a place for everything and its called college,
Edited by Spiderbaby (01/26/09 11:35 AM)
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IdeLOLogies
Strange
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Re: Cannabis becomes Class B drug today, but no spot fines yet [UK] [Re: Spiderbaby]
#9681860 - 01/26/09 01:22 PM (4 years, 3 months ago) |
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Such a shame, there goes all the progress this country was making.
I don't see the madness ending anytime soon.
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God takes those closest to us, because it makes him feel better about himself. He is a very vengeful God. He's all pissed off about something we did thousands of years ago. He just can't get over it, so he doesn't care who he takes. Children, puppies, it don't matter to him, so long as it makes us sad.
Why does God give us anything?
Look at it this way: if you want to make a baby cry, first you give it a lollipop. Then you take it away. If you never give it a lollipop to begin with, it would have nothin' to cry about. That's like God, who gives us life and love and help just so that he can tear it all away and make us cry, so he can drink the sweet milk of our tears. You see, it's our tears, Stan, that give God his great power.
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jazzillion
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Re: Cannabis becomes Class B drug today, but no spot fines yet [UK] [Re: Spiderbaby]
#9681889 - 01/26/09 01:29 PM (4 years, 3 months ago) |
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I really hope this sensationalism doesn't find itself spreading to other countries. It's a big step back for the movement, and it's mind-numbing to see going on. All the evidence points in the opposite direction.
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"Consciousness is the Universe recognizing itself." Once we perceive that everything is conscious we can then ask, "How does consciousness take all these varied forms?" - The Primacy of Consciousness by Peter Russell
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Cepheus
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Re: Cannabis becomes Class B drug today, but no spot fines yet [UK] [Re: jazzillion]
#9682012 - 01/26/09 01:54 PM (4 years, 3 months ago) |
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Doesn't affect me one bit. Changing the letter just means people who sell it can up the cost, meaning there will be even more money in it  .
The fact that possession of any mind altering substance is illegal; the fact that they can put me in cage for X amount of years for possessing a certain quantity of certain chemical / plant is a complete and utter joke. Stupid fucking monkeys, what do they ever hope to achieve? It doesn't even phase me now, because drugs are such an integral part of my life; I see so many people partaking, distributing, producing etc that any attempt to prohibit it is just laughable.
Clamp down all you want motherfuckers, it just means that my friends will make more money off of your idiotic policies.
I hope they never legalise drugs  .
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"I only ever hope to reach equilibrium, in Nature's matrix, in line with the meridian" ~ Jehst
 "...and I know that I have to keep breathing, as tomorrow the sun will rise, who knows what the tide will bring?"
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Green_T
Getting to the chopper
Registered: 10/02/08
Posts: 4,024
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Re: Cannabis becomes Class B drug today, but no spot fines yet [UK] [Re: Cepheus]
#9682073 - 01/26/09 02:08 PM (4 years, 3 months ago) |
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The BBC said in their article that upgrading it to class B sends mixed messages. Amphetamines and marijuana are both class B, but the penalties are much more severe for amps then mj. Also, since its common knowledge that marijuana is basically harmless, uneducated drug users may be fooled into thinking amps are just as safe, since they are in the same class...
They need to put marijuana in the class where it belongs: in-between tobacco and alcohol.
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"I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man" - Thomas Jefferson
Legalize Meth | Drug War Victims
Their vial of acid, which is on the table over there, tastes vile because they're incompetent chemists.
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LobsterSauce
Concrete clogs
Registered: 11/09/08
Posts: 14,509
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Re: Cannabis becomes Class B drug today, but no spot fines yet [UK] [Re: Green_T]
#9682143 - 01/26/09 02:22 PM (4 years, 3 months ago) |
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Get this ketamine is class C. WTF!?
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Green_T
Getting to the chopper
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Re: Cannabis becomes Class B drug today, but no spot fines yet [UK] [Re: LobsterSauce]
#9682193 - 01/26/09 02:33 PM (4 years, 3 months ago) |
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These dont make sense to me. Ecstasy, LSD, shrooms, Cannabis should all be class C IMO. All the class C should be class Bs.
Class A :
Ecstasy, LSD, heroin, cocaine, crack, magic mushrooms, amphetamines (if prepared for injection).
Possession: Up to seven years in prison or an unlimited fine or both.
Dealing: Up to life in prison or an unlimited fine or both.
Class B :
Cannabis, amphetamines, Methylphenidate (Ritalin), Pholcodine.
Possession: Up to five years in prison or an unlimited fine or both.
Dealing:Up to 14 years in prison or an unlimited fine or both.
Class C :
Tranquilisers, some painkillers, Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), Ketamine.
Possession: Up to two years in prison or an unlimited fine or both.
Dealing: Up to 14 years in prison or an unlimited fine or both
Source:Cannabis Law Change "illogical" (BBC)
EDIT: More on this story
Have Your Say: Do You Agree With the Cannabis Upgrade? (BBC)
Debate Over Cannabis Classification (BBC)
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"I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man" - Thomas Jefferson
Legalize Meth | Drug War Victims
Their vial of acid, which is on the table over there, tastes vile because they're incompetent chemists.
Edited by green_titan (01/26/09 02:51 PM)
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ShroomNinja
P. Shuriken -Ninjas Choice!!
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Re: Cannabis becomes Class B drug today, but no spot fines yet [UK] [Re: Green_T]
#9682879 - 01/26/09 04:20 PM (4 years, 3 months ago) |
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What gets me is they say how demonic weed is and how it has to be upgraded to the dangerous class B, but then they say how ecstasy isn't as harmful as it was first though so they move it down to a B.
One minute class b is for dangerous drugs, the next its for not so dangerous drugs. Like titan said it's all mixed messages.
I gotta agree with Cepheus as well that who really cares for classification? The dealers will all be very happy by this move.
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