Pubdate: Thu, 31 Jan 2008
Source: Derry Journal (UK)
Copyright: 2008 Johnston Press PLC
Contact:  http://www.derryjournal.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4557
Author: Steve Barker

CRIME AND CANNABIS

Sirs:

The sole intent of the government's public consultation on drugs seems to 
be to put cannabis back into class B. If the government goes ahead with a 
recriminalisation of the cannabis community, they will discover why they 
put cannabis into class C originally.

The report by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research into aEPolicing 
cannabis as a class C drug' shows that not much has changed as a result of 
cannabis being in class C. The main difference is that the number of of 
arrests for small amounts of cannabis has dropped.

The Legalise Cannabis Alliance (LCA) predicted that cannabis use would fall 
if it was downgraded into class C. According to the government's own 
figures, use has dropped by 25%. We based our prediction on the fact that 
in Holland the use among the Dutch Nationals is half what it is in Britain 
where it is prohibited.

ve used class A drugs have found that cannabis is the most effective way to 
break a Class A addiction.

Increased addiction to pharmaceutical drugs; More distrust of the police.

The views of self-confessed cannabis users are once again being ignored by 
the government despite the fact that figures suggest as many as 25% of 
people have used the plant and so few have suffered from that use.

Yours etc.,

Steve Barker

Legalise Cannabis Alliance

http://www.lca-uk.org
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