Pubdate: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 Source: Scotland On Sunday (UK) Copyright: 2002 The Scotsman Publications Ltd. Contact: http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/405 HIGH TIME FOR CHANGE ROLL up, roll up... get your hash here! Every ounce comes with a government-produced guide on what to buy and where to buy it. Classes available so you too can learn to roll your own... which would you prefer, sir, Moroccan Black, Lebanese Red or Blunkett Blue? Britain held its breath and took, if not a giant leap, then a tentative hop forward last week with the announcement by David Blunkett that cannabis is to be downgraded from a Class B to a Class C drug. While possession will still officially be an offence, the Home Secretary's decision means that a year from now, when his policy change comes into effect, possession of the drug for personal use will no longer lead to automatic arrest, in England and Wales at least. If stopped by the police users will instead be cautioned and have their cannabis confiscated. By doing this Blunkett has adopted a liberal principle: indulge your vice as long as you are not harming anyone else. The separate Scottish legal system means that someone caught with cannabis north of the Border could still be arrested and reported to the procurator fiscal, something which requires the attention of the Scottish Executive. Predictably, there has been a lot of hot air expelled over the rights and wrongs of relaxing the existing laws but, in truth, Blunkett's step is long overdue. It is, for example, an open secret that a number of progressive police forces, including Lothian and Borders, have been turning a blind eye to small-scale cannabis use for some time. The politicians have long been running behind the electorate on this issue. Opinion polls have shown the public would rather the police spent their time chasing down the dealers of hard drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine - the true menaces that threaten the fabric of society - than lifting teenagers caught with a joint. There is no longer any social stigma attached to soft drug use, and the statistics bear this out. One third of people aged 16-59 have tried drugs. Half of those aged 16-29 have tried cannabis. While there is evidence that drug addicts begin with marijuana, their addiction should not be blamed on that one experience but on individual foible, and those who become hooked on heroin are likely to end up that way whether cannabis is decriminalised or not. It is also worth noting that the percentage of cannabis users who end up as junkies is minute, and that most people flirt with use only briefly. In fact, a far more damaging drug is already legal and readily available - alcohol. Alcohol wrecks lives and families and too often transforms people into violent thugs. Cannabis turns them into droning, lethargic bores. With its announcement last week the government went as far as it believed the British people are prepared to go at this stage, and a situation where small scale users go unpunished, but dealers do not, is probably the right one for the present climate. But Blunkett's move raises anomalies that will have to be addressed. If people can use cannabis without fear of arrest, why does the supply of this drug remain punishable by a lengthy jail term? And why allow the lucrative profits from what can be a less harmful pastime than drinking to pour into the pockets of dealers who also offer more destructive drugs for sale? There is a need to put a firewall between cannabis and harder drugs and the most effective way of doing this would be to legalise both its use and supply. Such a step would allow supply to be carefully controlled, and would mean fewer users would come into contact with heroin and crack. We have taken a little hop - it is time to prepare for a giant leap. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth