Pubdate: Wed, 10 Jul 2002
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2002 Guardian Newspapers Limited
Contact:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author: Nick Hopkins and Nicholas Watt

POLICE FEAR MUDDLE OVER CANNABIS LAWS

The country's most senior police officers are frantically drawing up 
national guidelines for a "seize and warn" cannabis policy because of fears 
that the home secretary's plans for reclassification - due to be unveiled 
today - are likely to cause widespread confusion.

Chief officers are concerned that forces are being left in limbo over how 
to deal with cannabis users, and that some will be tempted to introduce 
their own initiatives.

Mr Blunkett intends to push through his commitment to downgrade cannabis 
from class B to class C, a category that does not give police an automatic 
power of arrest for simple possession.

But to offset criticism that the government is soft on drugs, Mr Blunkett 
plans to give police the power of arrest when there are "aggravating 
factors", such as someone blowing smoke into an officer's face or being 
caught carrying the drug near a school.

This surprise move might require primary legislation that could delay 
reclassification for several months.

In the meantime, the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) has been 
asked to provide guidelines advising police when they can deal with 
cannabis users by seizing the drug and giving a formal warning, rather than 
by arresting them. Acpo is unlikely to report before October.

The Metropolitan police is known to be seriously considering a "seize and 
warn" option for the whole of London.

"The concern is that there is no clear guidance over when 'seize and warn' 
can be used," said one senior police source. "If officers are being told 
they can use their discretion, then they need to have firm guidelines to 
ensure that this is not abused.

"It is going to become an issue of leadership and supervision. Without 
proper guidelines, then there could be differences in interpretation. What 
is accepted in London might not be accepted in towns like Chelmsford."

The confusion over the reclassification of cannabis came as Iain Duncan 
Smith launched his strongest attack on the government's drugs policy during 
a tour of Brixton, the testing ground for the new initiative.

Mr Duncan Smith said: "It is quite wrong surely to hand over drug policy to 
criminals on the street. We are saying to the home secretary stop and think 
again because this is not the right way to go about it."

The Met is weighing up the fate of the controversial Lambeth cannabis 
experiment. Since July last year, officers in the south London borough have 
been cautioning rather than arresting people caught in possession of small 
amounts of cannabis so they can concentrate on arresting class A drug 
dealers and traffickers.

The Met commissioner, Sir John Stevens, is now preparing to reintroduce the 
power of arrest pending the change in the law, but wants to take advantage 
of the extra flexibility that reclassification was designed to bring by 
giving offi cers the opportunity to "seize and warn".

There has also been surprise that the home secretary is considering 
doubling the maximum sentence for cannabis dealing from five to 10 years in 
prison.

Police fear that by attempting to soothe critics of reclassification, he 
has come up with a fudge that will send mixed signals over the status of 
cannabis.

Danny Kushlick, of the drugs campaign group Transform, said it was "a 
classic case of mixing party political rhetoric with pragmatic reform.

"The government's own strategy makes it clear that the focus of enforcement 
ought to be on heroin and crack dealing. The UK has adopted the worst of 
both worlds, whereby use has not been completely decriminalised and 
suppliers are being increasingly pushed outside the law."
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