“The current classification of cannabis is disproportionate in relation to the harm it causes,” says top official
London, United Kingdom: Government officials reaffirmed plans yesterday to reclassify marijuana so that its possession is no longer an arrestable offense under British law. The official announcement, made by Home Secretary David Blunkett, had been expected since late last fall when Blunkett and other government officials initially voiced their intentions to liberalize United Kingdom’s pot laws.
“The current classification of cannabis is disproportionate in relation to the harm it causes,” said Blunkett. “We must concentrate our efforts on the drugs that cause the most harm, while sending a credible message to young people. I will therefore ask Parliament to reclassify cannabis from Class B to Class C.”
Class C is the least harmful category of illegal drugs under British law. 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.
Earlier this year, both the British House of Commons and Parliament’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) released reports recommending marijuana possession be downgraded to a non-arrestable offense.
NORML’s Executive Director Keith Stroup called the impending policy change “an honest and common sense approach that will refocus Britain’s drug policies on those substances that cause the greatest harm.
“Neither the marijuana user nor the drug itself presents a legitimate danger to public safety,” he said.
Blunkett said that he anticipates Britain’s new pot policy to be enacted by July 2003. That time frame marks a departure from initial press reports that claimed Blunkett would implement Britain’s pot-law change by executive order sometime this year. In the interim, it’s expected that a marijuana decriminalization pilot project in the Lambeth neighborhood of London will be extended throughout the entire city.
Since police officers began verbally cautioning marijuana offenders in Lambeth, the numbers of robberies and muggings in the borough have fallen nearly 50 percent, the BBC reported in May. The Home Office added that there has been a 19 percent increase in arrests for hard drug dealers, and that more than 1,300 hours of police time had been saved by the pilot scheme.
Blunkett tempered yesterday’s announcement by stating that he would also seek to increase penalties for those caught supplying Class C drugs from five years to 14 years in jail. Blunkett added that the establishment of so-called “cannabis cafés,” such as the kind that operate legally in the Netherlands, would not be allowed under Britain’s new policy.
United Kingdom’s impending policy will be similar to the laws in 12 U.S. states where the possession and use of small amounts of marijuana is no longer punishable by criminal arrests and/or jail time.
For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500.