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Cheers!! Britain to legalize possession of marijuana.
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woohooo! its a long time coming but britain like most of the rest of europe is legalizing the personal use of cannabis. finally they have come to their senses and realized marijuana is not a hard drug to be feared. here's the article from the NY Times..
Britain to Relax Marijuana Laws
By WARREN HOGE
LONDON, July 10 — Britain said today that it would relax its laws on marijuana smoking, keeping the use of the drug theoretically illegal but no longer arresting people using it in discreet amounts in private.
At the same time, Britain said it would increase the punishment for marijuana dealing and promised stepped-up drug education and more treatment for abusers. An estimated five million people in Britain regularly use marijuana, and government data show its use has risen sharply over the last 20 years.
The decision, announced by Home Secretary David Blunkett in the House of Commons, provoked criticism from the opposition Conservative Party, and it prompted the resignation of a Labor government official who previously headed Britain's fight against drugs.
The government action followed recommendations of a parliamentary committee that in May said a more-tolerant drug policy would gain greater credibility among young people and help the police direct their resources towards cracking down on heroin and cocaine. Britain has the most drug-related deaths of any country in the European Union, with heroin cited as the principal cause.
The parliamentary committee also suggested relaxing law enforcement involving the dance-club drug ecstacy, but Mr. Blunkett said he had rejected that advice.
The reclassification of marijuana puts it on a legal par with antidepressants and steroids. Possession of the drug would not necessarily be considered an offense subject to arrest. Though the new policy will not be official for a year, any police action from now on will be limited to issuing a warning and seizing the marijuana.
Mr. Blunkett countered suggestions that Britain was going "soft on drugs" by saying police would retain the right to arrest users in "aggravated" cases, like smoking outside schools or in the presence of children. The Home Office emphasized that marijuana cafes where the drug is sold and used openly remained illegal and would be closed down by police.
"It is critical that police can maintain public order," Mr. Blunkett said. "Where cannabis possession is linked to aggravated behavior that threatens public order, the police will retain the power of arrest."
Scotland Yard said it welcomed the reclassification of marijuana combined with the maintaining of discretionary police power to make some arrests. "The retention of police power of arrest will enable the police to have greater flexibility in dealing with incidents on the street," said Andy Hayman, a spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers.
Mr. Blunkett insisted that today's move did not constitute legalization of marijuana. "All controlled drugs are harmful and will remain illegal," he said. "We must concentrate our efforts on the drugs that cause the most harm, while sending a credible message to young people."
But Keith Hellawell, an adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair's government who had served as the chief of Britain's drug war, said the new policy "would virtually be decriminalization of cannabis, and this is, quite frankly, giving out the wrong message."
He coupled his resignation announcement with a strong attack on the policy, saying it would damage communities and lead to more, not less, drug use.
"It's actually a technical adjustment, which in the reality of the law doesn't make a great deal of difference," he said, "but it's being bandied about by people as a softening of the law."
Mr. Hellawell said that there had been an increase in marijuana smoking among young people and that more people were seeking treatment for its effects. "Why on earth, when there are these problems, we change our message and give a softer message, I don't know," he said.
The former chief constable of West Yorkshire, Mr. Hellawell had been named the government's first antidrug coordinator or drug czar as the job was widely known, by Mr. Blair in 1997. But last year he was sidelined by Mr. Blunkett from the $160,000 post to part-time adviser on international drug trade control.
The new police tolerance of marijuana has been in effect on an experimental basis in two London neighborhoods, Lambeth and Brixton. The Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith visited the Brixton project on Tuesday and told the House of Commons today that residents had told him that the marijuana policy had led to rampant dealing on their streets. He said Mr. Blunkett's plan amounted to "handing over drugs policy to criminals on the street."
Oliver Letwin, the Conservatives' spokesman on law enforcement, complained that "the middle ground of calling it illegal — leaving it in the hands of dealers rather than in legitimate tobacconists or whatever, then turning a blind eye to it — is the worst of all worlds."
Kate Hoey, a Labor Party member of Parliament who represents one of the affected London areas, said the government could live to regret today's decision because of the increasing strength of marijuana being peddled on the street.
"It is a very strong type of cannabis, it's genetically modified, it is not perhaps like people tried 20 years ago," she said. "And we have no idea of the long-term effects of constant hard smoking that some kids are doing now."
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my personal reply to the last paragraph.
cannabis is stronger today because of advanced growing methods and breeding but all that means is you have to smoke LESS to get a BETTER high. if anything thats good for your health not bad!
and as far as long term effects go cannabis has been smoked by billions of people throughout the world since ancient times. if there were any seriously harmful effects then we would have known about them by now! |
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| Blue. |
| Now when Canada legalizes it hehehehehehehe :D |
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| fastmp3 |
| as far as i know u can smoke marijuana here in montreal (if u have less than 4g on u no one will bitch at u) |
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| Excite |
| when i was in london last week i noticed how much people smoked..when i was walking around the streets near picadilly circus i smelled it on more than a few folks. everytime i would just smile and walk on.. |
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| Blue. |
| legal in amsterdam, u can buy it in cafe's but i really want it to be legal here and i wanna be able to buy it in convenience stores hehehe and for like 2 bucks hehehe :d instead of 10 for a D |
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| kid nyce |
| looks like im moving |
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| butterfly |
| quote: | Originally posted by kid nyce
looks like im moving |
yeah really. i'd like to see the US do this, lol. |
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| DevanteS |
| quote: | Originally posted by trance_n_dance
Now when Canada legalizes it hehehehehehehe :D |
Vancouver BC = the North American Amsterdam
strong hydro!
the laws there are so lax, that grow-ops pop up everywhere and the cops can't do anything about it
Pork! |
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| goldenarmZ |
hehehehe :D my faith in this little island is growing :stongue:
now they just need to do the same thing for ecstasy - realise that it's pointless to arress personal users and concentrate on other stuff. |
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| djshorts |
yeah they need to stop the dealers selling crack and heroin and just realise puff is just like fags !
puff is a 4 billion pound industry and will be taxed by the uk.
if it helps the hospitals and roads and im all for it !
im also and avid puff smoker too!:tongue2 |
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| igottaknow |
this calls for a celebration!
*lights up a blunt and takes a drag* |
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| Vitryss |
*clap* *clap* Very nice, :D
Will be a few years more until we're even close to this sort of thing in my own little backwater country...
But, oh well, like I care, *lights up* :crazy: |
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