Pubdate: Mon, 16 Jul 2001
Source: Lincoln Journal Star (NE)
Copyright: 2001 Lincoln Journal Star
Contact:  http://www.journalstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/561
Author: Laurel Rosen, Los Angeles Times

IN PARTS OF LONDON, MARIJUANA LAWS GO UP IN SMOKE

LONDON - Marijuana is illegal here, but police in south London have decided 
to stop wasting time on pot-smokers and focus their resources on combating 
hard drugs and violent crimes.

In a six-month trial that began recently, police in the London borough of 
Lambeth are issuing warnings to people caught with small amounts of 
cannabis. They're confiscating the drug, but they're not prosecuting.

The new policy, initiated by the Lambeth Division but approved by the 
central Metropolitan Police office, amounts to a de facto decriminalization 
of marijuana in one part of the capital and has sparked a national debate 
about Britain's drug laws.

Against warnings that south London could become "the next Amsterdam," some 
of the proponents of legalization have come from unlikely places. Peter 
Lilley, a former deputy leader of the Conservative Party, urged that the 
current drug laws be scrapped because they aren't working.

"When laws on the statute book are not enforced on the street, that brings 
the law, the police and Parliament into disrepute. We need to bring the two 
into line," Lilley wrote in The Daily Telegraph. "The reason that the law 
on cannabis is unenforceable is that it is indefensible."

Home Secretary David Blunkett of the Labor Party responded that the 
government should undertake "an adult, intelligent debate. Let's think, 
let's consider, let's not be pushed by articles in newspapers or hysteria."

Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, marijuana possession carries a maximum 
sentence of five years in jail and/or a $7,000 fine. Police in Lambeth, one 
of 32 boroughs in sprawling London, say that, in practice, few people 
caught with pot for personal use have ever faced the maximum punishment. 
After their arrest and bureaucratic processing - a routine that could take 
two officers off the street for up to five hours - most offenders end up 
with a caution or a fine of less than $70.

Now, instead of going through the costly and time-consuming process of 
booking each marijuana offender, police are issuing warnings on the spot. 
The new procedure takes just 10 minutes and keeps police on the beat.

"This is not a message that you can smoke cannabis in Lambeth," said Paul 
Halford, a spokesman for the Lambeth Division. "In fact, we're hoping this 
will lead to greater police presence on the streets."

Police will continue to pursue dealers of marijuana, along with heroin and 
crack cocaine traffickers who prey on the low-income area.

Residents have mixed reactions to the new policy. Jennifer Douglas, who 
works with a Lambeth community group that monitors police issues, called 
the move an "appropriate prioritization of police resources. Cannabis has 
very little negative impact on our community. Hard drugs and violence have 
a much bigger influence."

At the Brixton neighborhood's outdoor market, many vendors and shoppers 
were unaware of the new policy on cannabis possession. Others were 
disapproving.

"One thing leads to another. If you legalize cannabis, what's next?" said a 
28-year-old lawyer shopping for produce with her toddler son.

Lambeth resident Tom Utley, a columnist for the Daily Telegraph, said he 
supports legalization but not the local experiment in decriminalization.

"It is not for a local police chief to say that the law is (silly). It is 
his job to enforce it, however silly it may seem," Utley wrote last week. 
"Nor is it any good to say that the law is so widely disregarded as to be 
not worth the trouble of trying to enforce it. The laws against burglary 
and mugging are widely disregarded too."

Furthermore, he argued that it isn't right to enforce a law differently in 
different zip codes: "It is simply unfair that somebody caught in 
possession of cannabis in Brixton should escape with a warning, while if he 
had been caught a few hundred yards away in Camberwell - or a few hundred 
miles away in Yorkshire - he would find himself with a criminal record, and 
perhaps in prison."

Metropolitan Police officials said it's too soon to predict whether the 
program will succeed and be expanded to other boroughs of London. 
Spokeswoman Lisa Carroll said the program will be evaluated after six 
months. "If we decide to go further with this, we'll probably need a change 
in legislation first," she said.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair said the government has no 
intention of legalizing marijuana. As for de facto decriminalization, he 
was less adamant.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens