Scotland’s drug minister Dr. Richard Simpson said he backs a move by United Kingdom’s Home Office to reclassify marijuana so that it is no longer an arrestable offense, in an interview with The Scotland Sunday Herald earlier this week.
“We need to concentrate on the most dangerous drugs, … such as heroin and cocaine,” he said. “The reason for changing the classification of cannabis … is to send a clear message about priorities. It says to young people that we recognize all drugs aren’t the same.”
British Home Office Secretary David Blunkett announced last October that marijuana would be reclassified as a “Class C” or “soft” drug sometime later this year. Although possession of “Class C” drugs technically carries a two-year maximum prison term, only offenses punishable by at least five years imprisonment are arrestable in United Kingdom.
Simpson further pledged to upgrade Scotland’s drug treatment and harm reduction services, and made it clear that he no longer supports U.S.-styled criminal approaches to drug enforcement. “The only time you will hear me use terms such as ‘War on Drugs’ and ‘Just Say No’ is to denigrate them,” he said.
For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of The NORML Foundation at (202) 483-8751.