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InvisibleveggieM

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
How 10 joints could lead to 14 years for dealing [UK]
    #5721214 - 06/06/06 11:16 PM (17 years, 7 months ago)

Revealed: how 10 joints could lead to 14 years for dealing
JUne 7, 2006 - guardian.co.uk

Prosecutions to soar under plan to slash limits for drug possession


Drug users caught with as few as five ecstasy tablets or five grams of cannabis - enough for about 10 joints - will be prosecuted as dealers under regulations drawn up by the Home Office, the Guardian has learned. The plan to slash the limit for cannabis possession for personal use would mean that anyone found with more could face a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

The Home Office has written to the government's experts, the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs, telling them that ministers are also minded to set the threshold for possession for heroin and cocaine at two grams.

Although home secretary John Reid has yet to take a final decision, draft regulations seen by the Guardian - to be introduced into parliament shortly under last year's drugs act - will mean that those found with more than these specified amounts would be charged with possession with intent to supply. Under the act, dealers of cocaine and heroin face a maximum of life imprisonment. The plan for a 5g cannabis threshold marks a sharp reversal from David Blunkett's decision 18 months ago to ensure that cannabis possession was normally to be dealt with by confiscation and an informal warning.

The proposed thresholds are so low that the advisory committee, which discussed the issue on May 25, is believed to have warned the Home Office that they would cause policing problems. The committee suggested the cannabis threshold should be set at 28g, or 1oz. The experts also told ministers that the five tablet limit for ecstasy was low - given that they can be bought for 50p each in some areas, and some users take up to 10 in one session.

The Home Office letter to the ACMD, seen by the Guardian, says that ministers are setting thresholds at this stage only for the drugs which cause the most harm or which are most prevalent - heroin, crack, cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamines, and cannabis. It adds that the proposed levels for all the drugs - except amphetamines - are considerably lower than those originally proposed, because most respondents to a consultation on the proposals considered the limits excessive.

The government now proposes the following thresholds:

Cannabis

Ministers propose 5g, or less than 1/5th of ounce - enough for 10-20 joints. This compares with the original proposal of 4ozs or 133g of resin, and 500g or 20 bags of grass. The ACMD has replied that the limit should be set at 28g.

Ecstasy

Ministers propose 1.5g (equal to 5 tablets, costing £15), compared with an original proposal for 10 tablets. The Home Office says it would be more straightforward to do it by weight than number of tablets, as the drug also comes in powder form. The ACMD said the limit should be 2g or 20 tablets, as that was two days' supply.

Amphetamines

Ministers have kept the proposed threshold at 14g but dropped an alternative of 10 x 1g wraps, saying dealers would simply change the size of deals to avoid going above the threshold. The ACMD said the threshold should be 10g, and questioned the rationale for a threshold higher than other drugs.

Heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine

Ministers are "minded to set" a threshold of 2g for possession, compared with the original proposal of 7g. The proposed number of individual wraps - a maximum of 10 in each case - has also been dropped for these class A drugs.

When the ACMD's technical committee considered the issue in April, it was pointed out that even Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan police commissioner, had misunderstood the proposals: "Many people still think that the provisions are about setting levels that are reasonable for personal us,e and that if they are caught with amounts below the thresholds they will not be arrested for possession with intent to supply. The reality is contrary to this." Martin Barnes, chief executive of Drugscope, an information charity, said this confusion had made ministers far more cautious. "We are concerned at the amounts being considered. The rationale for some thresholds remains unclear, and it is uncertain how many more people may be prosecuted with the more serious charge of intent to supply."

Paul Flynn, a Labour MP and drugs campaigner, said he hoped the ACMD would "give the proposals the attention they deserve, given that they come from a department in chaos. Let's hope they throw them out. I am sure that many people will throw up their hands in horror at this."

In January, Mr Reid's predecessor at the Home Office, Charles Clarke, confirmed Mr Blunkett's decision to downgrade cannabis from class B to class C. Mr Clarke conceded that the move had created confusion over the drug's legal status, but said it was based in part on the fact that the reclassification had not led to an increase in use among young adults, contrary to his expectations.

At the same time, Mr Clarke announced a crackdown on British cannabis farms and a public education campaign to stress both the harm and the illegal status of the drug.


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InvisibleOJK
Stranger
 User Gallery
Registered: 06/08/03
Posts: 10,629
Re: How 10 joints could lead to 14 years for dealing [UK] [Re: veggie]
    #5722061 - 06/07/06 06:20 AM (17 years, 7 months ago)

Setting the same limit for heroin and cocaine? That's insane.

I'm writing to my MP.


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OfflineSeussA
Error: divide byzero

Folding@home Statistics
Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 23,480
Loc: Caribbean
Last seen: 2 months, 20 days
Re: How 10 joints could lead to 14 years for dealing [UK] [Re: OJK]
    #5722074 - 06/07/06 06:33 AM (17 years, 7 months ago)

Seems to me that if you have evidence of somebody dealing, then and only then should you be able to charge them as a dealer. I cannot fathom how a certain amount of a substance ensures that a person is absolutely a dealer and not a user. Of course, the war on drugs is insane so it doesn't surprise me, I guess.


--------------------
Just another spore in the wind.


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InvisibleTheDude
is waiting forthe peak

Registered: 04/15/03
Posts: 2,876
Re: How 10 joints could lead to 14 years for dealing [UK] [Re: veggie]
    #5722892 - 06/07/06 01:38 PM (17 years, 7 months ago)

this makes me sick. 14g of Amphetamines verses 5g of Cannabis? wtf?


--------------------
"this lebowski he called himself 'the dude'. now, 'dude', that's a name no one would self-apply where i come from but there was a lot about the dude that didn't make sense to me...."--the Stranger


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Invisibleasd11
final sky

Registered: 08/02/04
Posts: 501
Re: How 10 joints could lead to 14 years for dealing [UK] [Re: TheDude]
    #5725660 - 06/08/06 03:10 AM (17 years, 7 months ago)



Plans to toughen drugs law 'only sow confusion'
By Stewart Tendler and Richard Ford
'Flip-flopping' ministers accused of making a shambles of possession legislation

HOME OFFICE plans to toughen the law on drug possession were attacked yesterday as a “shambles” by opposition politicans.

Conservatives and Liberal Democrats were in broad agreement with proposals to lower the quantities of drugs a person can carry before the charge of possession is upgraded to possession with intent to supply, which carries a higher penalty.

John Reid, the Home Secretary, has proposed a maximum of 2g of heroin or cocaine and 5g of cannabis.

Last year Charles Clarke, his predecessor, suggested 7g of hard drugs — enough for ten or more street doses — and enough cannabis to roll 250 strong joints or 500 light ones.

Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, was among critics of the more liberal proposals, which he said were a licence for dealers.

Now there is concern that the levels may be too low. But yesterday Andy Hayman, the national spokesman for senior officers over drug legislation, said it was very important for officers on the streets to be able to make a “clear determination” between dealing and simple possession and “the proposed reduction would help that”.

Jan Berry, chairman of the Police Federation, which represents junior ranks, said too much tinkering with the legislation made the situation more confusing. She said: “The constant changes only add to public confusion. We have repeatedly said you do not need to change classification to change the way drug issues are policed. It’s important that police officers have discretion to take account of all individual circumstances.”

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said the shift in policy showed that the Government was in a state of “total panic and chaos”.

He said: “Britain has younger and younger heroin addicts . . . half of children under 16 have tried illegal drugs. Labour’s flip-flopping on drugs is simply not an adequate response. The Government’s policy is a complete shambles.”

David Davis, the Conservative Shadow Home Secretary, said: “This is a move in a sensible direction, but continuous changes by the Government have only added to the confusion over this vital area of policy. It should never be forgotten that a significant number of soft-drug users go on to become hard-drug addicts.”

One chief constable, who thought the Clarke plans would have made it difficult to mount prosecutions for dealing because of the very high threshold, said that many senior officers would be happy with the new plan.

Rick Naylor, the president of the Superintendents’ Association, said there were problems with dealers who kept a small amount on their person so that they could argue it was just for personal use. They also had a cache near by which they used to top up their supplies.

In Belgium the limit for hard drugs is 3g, in the Netherlands 5g and in Spain 1.5g-3g. In Germany the limit is 1g-2g and 6g-30g for cannabis, depending on local laws.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,29389-2215933,00.html


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