'Don't jail drug users', says Branson

[kiwi_farmer]

The UK should resist jailing drug users and treat the issue as a health problem, Richard Branson says as judges are given new sentencing guidelines.

The Virgin boss told Sky News he believed drugs should come under the remit of the Department of Health, not the Home Office.

Mr Branson, who sits on the Global Commission on Drug Policy, made the remarks as details emerged of the legal advice set to come into force on February 27.

Friends socially sharing drugs and those using cannabis for medicinal purposes may escape jail under the revised rules.

Drug runners and small-time dealers caught with heroin, cocaine or thousands of pounds worth of cannabis could also avoid prison.

Instead, low-level operatives caught with 6kg of cannabis, 20 ecstasy tablets, or five grams of heroin or cocaine could instead receive a community sentence.

Entrepreneur Mr Branson told Boulton and Co the Government should consider going further still.

'Our message is that drugs should be treated as a health problem not a criminal problem and that actually the DoH should be overseeing drugs and not the Home Office and that has proven very successful in other countries,' he said.

'Portugal 10 years ago decided they weren't going to send anybody to prison for taking drugs and as a result the amount of drug usage has dropped dramatically.'

He said prison terms and hefty fines prevented drug users from getting ahead in society and more emphasis should be placed on weaning them off the harmful substances.

The new document marks the first time all courts in England and Wales have been given a comprehensive guideline setting out how the role of the offender and the quantity of drugs should influence sentencing.

A prison sentence may not be necessary for people who supply small amounts of narcotics to share with their friends for no personal gain, they explain.

They also urge judges to reduce sentences for cannabis possession if it is being used 'to help with a diagnosed medical condition'.

So-called drug 'mules', often women forced or tricked into the crime, could face a starting point of six years if deemed to be playing a 'lesser role' in bringing up to 1kg of heroin or cocaine into the country.

This is compared to the 11-year starting point if the offender is one of the leading figures.

But the Sentencing Council said offenders who were employed by someone else to import or export drugs regularly for profit would still face tough sentences of up to life in prison.

It said tougher sentences could also be handed down to key players guilty of producing drugs on a large scale.

Offenders in a leading role in the production or cultivation of 11lb (5kg) of heroin or cocaine or tens of thousands of ecstasy tablets could face up to 16 years in prison.

Those producing industrial quantities of cannabis for commercial purposes could also face up to 10 years in jail.

Anyone dealing to those aged under 18 would also face tougher penalties.

Under the guidelines, street dealers will still face jail, with those playing a key role in selling class A drugs facing a starting point of four and a half years, with up to 16 years for a single incident, depending on the quantity of drugs involved.

Professor David Nutt, the former government drugs adviser sacked in 2009, told Sky News he supports reform.

'The drug laws are not based on any kind of sense or evidence so any sentencing for drugs is questionable,' he said.

'What we should be doing is properly revising the drug laws so that the sentencing is proportional to the harm of drugs,' he added.

 

 

 

Updated: 09:34, Wednesday January 25, 2012

http://www.skynews.c...x?id=711183=

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[everest]

aye its all happening , dem poms don't give a rats arse about laws ...

 

ev