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Bridgeburner
Not spiritual at all.




Registered: 09/16/06
Posts: 20,010
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'Lay off cannabis users' says drug tsar
#8510159 - 06/11/08 06:07 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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link
The Government's drug tsar, Keith Hellawell, has called for a liberalisation of the law on cannabis in a radical overhaul of the way the criminal justice system deals with drug offenders.
In an exclusive interview with The Observer , he said the Government and the police should concentrate on the fight against heroin and cocaine use and stop being distracted by cannabis.
His comments, which were last night attacked as being 'defeatist', follow calls from the Liberal Democrats for a Royal Commission on decriminalising cannabis use. Mo Mowlam, the Cabinet Minister who has admitted smoking cannabis in her youth, is thought to be sympathetic to a softening of the law.
Hellawell said: 'What I have done is lift the stone on the hidden truth about drugs in Britain, which is that we need to discriminate between different drugs and the relative harm caused and then talk openly about the difference we can make. The focus is going to be on the drugs that cause the major harm.'
He said the police were convicting too many people for the possession of small amounts of cannabis to hit the drug crime targets.'By far the greater proportion of arrests are for cannabis and I am looking for a change on that. I am looking for a shift towards those dealing in heroin and cocaine.'
Although he said new legislation would not be needed, his comments will be seen as an attempt to reform the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act by the back door. Under the Act, the possession of cannabis is a criminal offence punishable by prison.
His comments angered Ann Widdecombe, the shadow Home Secretary. 'What we need is a clampdown on the possession of cannabis,' she said. 'Hellawell is completely wrong. We should be looking at a zero tolerance policy.'
He said: 'Successive Conservative governments said the solution to the drug problem lay with the criminal justice system. Now funds are being shifted into treatment and education.'
His comments chime with the findings of a Police Foundation report on the 1971 Act to be published next month. The committee is set to recommend withdrawing prison sentences for possession of cannabis and taking ecstasy off the list of Class A drugs.
Hellawell added: 'The report will be a another step towards facing up to the reality of the situation. They are grappling with many of the issues we are taking care of.'
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Mr Natural 25
Stranger


Registered: 06/04/08
Posts: 15
Last seen: 15 years, 7 months
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Re: 'Lay off cannabis users' says drug tsar [Re: Bridgeburner]
#8510177 - 06/11/08 06:24 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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that link is 8 years old! it was written before the downgrade to class C, which has since been reversed due to newspapers which are a total waste of tree attacking the Government for releasing a cannabis epidemic
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Bridgeburner
Not spiritual at all.




Registered: 09/16/06
Posts: 20,010
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Re: 'Lay off cannabis users' says drug tsar [Re: Mr Natural 25]
#8510184 - 06/11/08 06:26 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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oh yeah... but it was published again on the 10th of june... my bad.
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Mr Natural 25
Stranger


Registered: 06/04/08
Posts: 15
Last seen: 15 years, 7 months
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Re: 'Lay off cannabis users' says drug tsar [Re: Bridgeburner]
#8510211 - 06/11/08 06:40 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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i wish the Lib Dems had more balls when they decided to reverse the class C decision, and spoke up about it. goddamn pussys
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Mr Natural 25
Stranger


Registered: 06/04/08
Posts: 15
Last seen: 15 years, 7 months
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Re: 'Lay off cannabis users' says drug tsar [Re: Mr Natural 25]
#8510215 - 06/11/08 06:41 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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by *they* I mean the current Government
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero



Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 23,480
Loc: Caribbean
Last seen: 3 months, 9 days
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Re: 'Lay off cannabis users' says drug tsar [Re: Bridgeburner]
#8510230 - 06/11/08 06:50 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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> His comments, which were last night attacked as being 'defeatist',
Yes, the government giving into the will of the people is 'defeatist'... please,
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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haymaker
Mr Psychonaut




Registered: 10/26/07
Posts: 1,374
Loc: United Kingdom
Last seen: 4 years, 6 months
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Re: 'Lay off cannabis users' says drug tsar [Re: Seuss]
#8510294 - 06/11/08 07:17 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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oh what, i got excited there until i realised the date 
fucking UK government
-------------------- "Make hay while the sun shines" My Trade List
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creekfreek
Certified phunologist



Registered: 01/26/08
Posts: 4,818
Loc: Right about here
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Re: 'Lay off cannabis users' says drug tsar [Re: haymaker]
#8511321 - 06/11/08 01:24 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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I was thinking that this was about the USA. I almost came in my pants.
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Le_Canard
The Duk Abides


Registered: 05/16/03
Posts: 94,392
Loc: Earthfarm 1
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Re: 'Lay off cannabis users' says drug tsar [Re: creekfreek]
#8511789 - 06/11/08 03:29 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Yeah, I was hoping that too.
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