Cannabis Reclassification
Jamaica Observer
The political argument about legalising cannabis in Britain goes backward and forward. There is a generation of politicians sitting in the British Parliament who, if they did not smoke spliff themselves as youngsters, certainly knew people who did. And the youthful cannabis smokers even include (by her own admission) the Home Secretary Jackie Smith. And it was she who made the recent announcement of a change in Government policy on cannabis. Even now, most politicians under fifty know people for whom smoking cannabis is as normal as chewing gum. So in 2004 the Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair "downgraded" cannabis. This did not make it legal, but it lessened the penalties for being caught with it. The maximum sentence went down to two years. And, in practise, the police became reluctant to arrest people for merely having on their person small amounts for their own use. This softening of the line on cannabis was seen by some as the first step on the road towards full legalisation.
Now the government has changed its mind on the safety of cannabis and performed a U turn. This week it has re -graded it and increased the prison sentence for possession. The signal has been sent to the police that the government wants a "crack-down". This decision is the more remarkable because it goes against the advice of the government's own Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. The council advised against a crack-down, although it did call for a campaign to reduce the use of cannabis – particularly amongst young people. It also voiced concern over the prevalence of domestic cannabis farms supplying the market and the involvement of organised criminal networks. The reason that the government gave for ignoring its own council advice was that cannabis (particularly skunk) was stronger than it used to be and posed a health risk. Yet its own report said that the evidence suggested a "probable, but weak, causal link between psychotic illness, including schizophrenia, and cannabis use". However, the report went on, "in the population as a whole, it (cannabis) played only a "modest role" in the development of these conditions"
The most likely reason for the government's newly cautious approach to cannabis is pressure from tabloid newspapers like the Daily Mail. They have waged a vehement campaign about what they see as the governments "soft" approach on cannabis and the government has given into them. It must surely have affected things also that Prime Minister Gordon Brown had just led his party to a comprehensive defeat in the local elections. He desperately needed some good headlines. And a "crack-down" on cannabis story provided them.
In a generation cannabis in Britain has gone, from being the drug of choice only for certain West Indian immigrants and jazz musicians, to being part of the coming of age rituals of a generation of middle class students. But the British political class cannot have a sensible debate about cannabis because of fear of newspaper columnists and talk-show hosts. And this is a drug which is actually safer than alcohol (far fewer violent crimes are committed under the influence of cannabis than are committed by people who are drunk). The Conservative leader David Cameron was alleged to have smoked cannabis at school. So maybe, if he ever becomes prime minister, he will be the one to able to nudge the debate around cannabis back in the direction of legalisation.
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