Police chief says cannabis proposals

[Mushaman]

From telegraph.co.uk

 

 

Police chief says cannabis proposals far too lenient

By John Steele, Crime Correspondent

(Filed: 07/12/2005)

 

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner rekindled the row over cannabis policy yesterday when he said the amount that the Government had suggested as the level to determine personal use or dealing was much too high.

 

Sir Ian Blair said his force had made clear to the Home Office - which last week published proposed guidelines for the "threshold" levels for possession of drugs, above which someone would be assumed to be dealing - that it was surprised by the suggested level for cannabis.

 

Sir Ian Blair

Sir Ian Blair: unhappy at ‘threshold’ levels for possession of drugs

 

The figure for cannabis was 4oz (113g) for resin or 17.6oz (500g) for leaf. Four ounces of resin would be enough to roll about 500 "light" joints or about 250 strong ones, according to the drugs education charity DrugScope.

 

Sir Ian, speaking at a meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority in London, was asked his view on the cannabis threshold.

 

He said: "We have already made clear to the Home Office we are surprised by the amount being discussed for what would not be for personal use.

 

It's a great deal higher than we would have expected. Our view is we would need to negotiate that figure a long way down."

 

His comments came as the Home Office released figures showing that offences involving cocaine - from possession to trafficking - rose by 16 per cent last year to record levels in England and Wales.

 

The number of Class A "hard drugs" offences dealt with by police reached a new peak of 36,350, up two per cent on 2003.

 

There were 8,070 cocaine offences, compared with 6,970 the previous year, while the number of crack cocaine offences rose eight per cent to 2,440.

 

Overall drug offences fell 21 per cent to 105,570, due to the Government's "downwards" reclassification of cannabis from Class B to Class C early last year. Only 49,840 people were found guilty or cautioned by police for drug offences compared with 82,060 in 2003, a fall of 39 per cent.

 

Critics argue that dealers in cannabis and other drugs will carry just under the threshold to avoid being charged with intent to supply.

 

However, the Home Office made clear last week that threshold amounts, to be provided for the guidance of courts under the 2005 Drugs Act, would be the trigger limit above which a suspect, or defendant, would be required to prove that the intent was not to supply.

 

The Home Office and police chiefs stressed that people with lower amounts might still be charged with supply if there was other evidence - such as possession of scales, or sales to undercover officers - to prove intent to supply.

 

Sir Ian also said that a rise in gun crime was causing "considerable concern". Latest police figures showed gun crime in London was up 11.4 per cent.

 

The shadow home affairs minister, Cheryl Gillan, said the drugs figures underlined "the Government's failure to get a grip on Class A drug abuse".

 

I must say I have to agree with 4 ounces being a pretty high amont to delineate between personal supply and intent to supply ... I've smoked for over 30 yrs and its rare I've ever had more than an ounce or 2 ...tops ... way too much money to tie up in weed .... so I think that Sir Ian is right ... I may fail the test at the moment .. but not for long devilred.gif

[HighRising]

Yeah, four ounces is a heap for personal supply.

I wouldn't complain if they brought laws like that in over here though!

[raverspec]

What about growing? Transporting seedlings/cuttings etc? I think it's a fair law.

[Frazz]

In south aust. you can have up to 100g and its only personal, and that works fine (no pun)

you have to consider people who grow are going to have up to and over 4 ozs, which will be for personal use only

 

so that blair dude is simply wrong

 

 

[everest]

4 ounce aint enough , shit soapbar over there anyways , when i was in the uk 5 years ago i used to buy all my pot in 9 bars ..... 9 ounce bars ... then it was 450 pounds .... since had my mate over here and he says his pot is costing him 35 pound an ounce .... so yea 4 ounce aint nowhere near enough :smoke Edited December 7, 2005 by everest

[WantDaChronic]

what about heavy users or medicinal patients that grow their own? a 3 month period of supplying a single heavy user or medicinal patient could take like 20 ounces so i think the personal limit should be like 20kg OR if they can prove you were dealing, then you get charged :smoke

[jabez]

aren't they saying that your allowed 17 onces of plant marterial. Thats alot of dope, on one hand alot of smokers like to grow a yearly supply and would need at least that much on the other hand you can make a decent weekly wage picking up a pound (16 onces) and getting rid of it quick I know people who clear 1 to 2 grand a week doing this, but then I surpose if your allowed that much prices would be very low and it would be alot harder to make that sort of money.

[Mushaman]

agree .. but ... if the laws got changed to a lenient approach like that .. surely you'd just adjust your growing pattern to make sure you didnt go over limits ... :scratchin

 

and yeh jabez, it was 4oz (113g) for resin or 17.6oz (500g) for leaf - you gotta sssume they mean resin=hash and leaf is leafy material including buds ... so ... a pound for personal is what ... 448 grams .... be pretty easy to plan a grow cycle to accomodate that ... dunno, still 500g of plant material sounds pretty generous to me .. wish they'd follow suit in OZ :thumbsup

[raverspec]

That's right. And if you had a family/household of, say, 5 people, you could grow 5 x limit and alocate it 'person1', 'person2' etc.

[Mushaman]

alocate it 'person1', 'person2' etc. biggrin.gif

 

i like where your head is at :thumbsup