UK Defence secretary has 'no idea' over cannabis find?

[Frazz]

Author:HAMISH MACDONELL AND SHAN ROSS

Date: Mon 1 May 2006

Source: http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=648742006

Copyright: The Scotsman

 

 

JOHN REID, the Defence Secretary, has insisted that he has no idea where the cannabis resin came from that was found by police at his Scottish home.

 

The amount found in a guest room was "minuscule," he said, and insisted there was no suggestion that he or any of his family were involved.

 

Police found less than one gram of the drug - with a street value of 85p - during a routine security sweep of his house last week.

 

Dr Reid was on ministerial business abroad when police specialists with sniffer dogs swept his house in the sort of security check that has become routine for senior government ministers in sensitive departments.

 

Afterwards, Dr Reid said: "I can confirm that a minuscule amount of cannabis resin was found in the guest room of my home in Scotland last week by police carrying out a security check. I am told that it weighed a fraction of a gram, was worth around 85 pence and could be years old.

 

"I have no idea where it came from, or when. There is absolutely no suggestion that this in any way involves me or members of my family and both I and the Strathclyde Police regard the matter as closed."

 

The police are not taking the matter any further and no-one has suggested that Dr Reid was involved in any way, but the discovery added to the government's problems during its worst week in office.

 

Dr Reid has been a vociferous critic of drugs and spoken out frequently against them.

 

As Defence Secretary, he is in charge of the Ministry of Defence which has to deal with a large number of drug-related cases every year. According to the latest figures, more than 110,000 service people were tested for drugs in 2004 and just under 1 per cent tested positive.

 

The incident at Dr Reid's Lanarkshire home also comes less than a month after a man was charged with trying to send cannabis to the Defence Secretary's London office.

 

Jeffrey Ditchfield, a pro-cannabis campaigner from North Wales, was charged with trying to supply a cannabis plant to Dr Reid at his Whitehall office last year.

 

This guy sounds guilty as hell to me.....just hasnt got the guts to own up to it

[WantDaChronic]

he is so guilty its not funny like they found it during a routine sweep of his house, so it must have been put in the house bewteen the last sweep and the one that found it on him

 

imo the second it was discovered, regardless of his denials, he should have been drug tested, not only that, the hash should have been tested for fibres and dna to see if he had any contact with the hash

 

seriously, what kind of person leaves a gram of hash around or in a non smokers case, who wouldnt be able to smell a gram of hash in a closed room

[RobbieGanjaSeed]

I agree completely. And not only that, they may well say that it was a % of a gram, but just when was the last time you ever saw the police value a bust of anything at any weight at 85p?

 

A gram, or half, even a 1/4 would be valued much higher than that if it was in your pocket or ine that's for damn sure! Our news print would read, "police seize high grade hash in a co-ordinated search of a man's house"

 

Reminds me of a drink driving case that was held before a magistrate in a Qld court. He didn't impose a fine, suspend her right to drive (I can't spell lisence) and no record was made of it.

 

Of course the fact the magistrate was looking at his own daughter in the defence chair didn't have a single thing to do with it. And for all the protesting, pamphlet bombing, talk back radio and Tv reports; nothing was ever done about it.

 

justice, the last cruel joke.

 

rob

[Stoney]

this dude was busted man if the cops came into my house and found a faction of a gram of hash they would tear the rest of the house apart and then would arrest me then i would turn around and say hey its not mine dont know how that got there i hate drugs.

now i dont think they would react by taking off the cuffs and saying well shit sorry about that how about we just forget about it hey!!!!

 

not gonna happen once again the upper class pollies get treated differant if this was anyone normal they would have had to defend themselves to the end and probably still get in the shit

 

sorry just sick of the rich and famous getting away with murder while Mr Jo Average get kicked in the guts

 

cheers