Pubdate: Sat, 20 Jan 2001 Source: Independent (UK) Copyright: 2001 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd. Contact: 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5DL Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/ Author: Stephen Castle CANNABIS SHOULD BE LEGAL, BELGIAN CABINET DECIDES Belgium's cabinet has approved plans to legalise the use of cannabis, while resisting calls for a drugs regime as liberal as that of its neighbour, the Netherlands. After a hot debate, Belgium's coalition government agreed on a compromise making it legal to grow or smoke cannabis, but not to buy or sell it. Smoking openly in the Grand Place of Brussels or other public places will still leave Belgians open to possible prosecution under laws to prevent "social nuisances," commonly used for those who urinate flagrantly in public (doing so discreetly is not considered a crime). The curious Belgian compromise over the weed has some logic, even for a country which says it wants to reduce drug use. Surveys shows that as many as 40 per cent of the country's 10 million population has experience of cannabis and, with the Dutch border, an hour away for most of the population, some liberalisation seems inevitable. At present, possession of any cannabis is technically punishable by a prison sentence. Paul Geerts, a spokesman for the Consumer Affairs and Health Ministry, said that plans to allow Dutch-style cafes, where cannabis is legally available, had been judged to "go too far". For people who want to obtain it there were two alternatives, he said: "You can grow it yourself or most people in Belgium know where you can buy it in the Netherlands". There will, he said, be no formal limit placed on the amount that people can possess for their own use because to do so "implies that there is not a problem; we want to help people avoid drugs". The new regulations treat cannabis on a par with alcohol and nicotine in terms of the health risks it poses. Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt said a royal decree would be issued instructing prosecutors not to pursue people for possession. "This is a policy that is being followed in many of the countries in the European Union," he said. "We are not penalising individual users of cannabis, but we are concentrating on production, distribution or problematic use." Some other EU members take a tougher line on drugs, however. France, in particular, has attacked Dutch laws for promoting drug trafficking. The Health Minister, Magda Alvoet, said the new measure was a recognition that the judiciary should no longer intervene in the personal use of cannabis. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart