Drugs Tsar rejects law reforms

Government drugs tsar Keith Hellawell today ruled out any change in the law on ecstasy and cannabis.

Speaking at a conference in Brighton, Mr Hellawell said changes recommended in a report on drugs and the law by the Police Foundation would not be adopted.

He said: "There will be no change in the categorisation of cannabis and ecstasy. We see no justification for it. It would not improve the situation, it would make it worse.

Earlier Mr Hellawell also rejected suggestions that the police should draw a distinction between dealers and users.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "What you get is a lot of street-level dealers with very small amounts.

"The problem in actually saying 'Well, this is dealing and this is personal possession' is where do you draw the line at what is personal possession."

But Lady Runciman said: "We have concluded that the most dangerous message of all is the message that all drugs are equally dangerous.

"When young people know that the advice they are being given is either exaggerated or untrue in relation to less harmful drugs, there is a real risk they will discount everything else they are told about the most hazardous drugs, including heroin and cocaine."

The inquiry recommends prison sentences should be abolished for possession of Class B and C drugs.

It says the maximum prison sentences for possession of Class A drugs should be reduced and only imposed when community sentences and treatment have failed or been rejected.

The report suggests police powers of arrest following 'stop and search' should remain when Class A and B drugs are found but not in the case of Class C drugs, although one member of the inquiry, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Denis O'Connor, expressed reservations about the implication of this recommendation.

The report also proposes that cautioning should be enshrined in the law with guidelines so treatments and other conditions can be imposed. But a caution would not go on a criminal record.

The inquiry team, which included senior police officers, lawyers, drug treatment specialists and other experts, also proposes the ban on the therapeutic use of cannabis for specified medical purposes should be lifted.

Despite the rise in seizures of drugs, the inquiry found there was no evidence drugs had become more expensive or harder to obtain.

Its report calls for a new offence to allow the courts to sentence for persistent dealing in drugs rather than single acts of supply.

And it proposes guidelines to ensure courts take account of aggravating factors in drug cases such as involvement in organised crime, use of violence or firearms, supplying drugs to minors or the involvement of children in dealing.

Drug treatment facilities receive 13% of the national drugs budget compared with the 62% allocated to law enforcement and the inquiry suggests a substantial shift of resources towards treatment services.

The report was welcomed by the national drugs and legal advice charity Release as an enormously significant document.

Release director Mike Goodman said: "Since the Dangerous Drugs Act was introduced in 1967, almost one million people have been prosecuted and punished for cannabis-related offences alone.

"Most of these have been for possession of small amounts for personal use. The proposal to downgrade possession of cannabis and remove the ludicrous threat of imprisonment for personal use is pragmatic and sensible and will properly reflect the relative risks associated with these drugs."

John Hamilton, Chief Constable of Fife Constabulary, and a member of the committee which reviewed the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, visited Amsterdam last year and was taken by his Dutch police hosts to one of the cafes where cannabis is sold openly over the counter. "This proved to be a real eye-opener. It is nearly 30 years since the main legislation controlling the misuse of drugs in the United Kingdom was enacted and a lot of water has gone under the bridge since those days.

"Personally speaking I felt that such an opportunity as this has afforded for open and frank debate was indeed long overdue," he said.

The Police Foundation report also came under fire today from the mother of ecstasy victim Leah Betts.

Janet Betts, whose daughter Leah died after taking an ecstasy tablet at her 18th birthday party, said: "My thoughts are that I hope to God that the Government does not implement these recommendations. If they do it will be the last nail in the coffin.

"We will lose it with the drug dealers and the children. God alone knows what would happen.

"I'm not saying the issues should be stuck under the carpet and not debated - I just hope that what will come out will be that the dangers of these drugs will be highlighted."

Leah's father, Paul, said that if the Police Foundation's recommendations were accepted Britain could end up like Amsterdam.

"In Amsterdam they turned a blind eye and now they have over 20,000 heroin addicts and they don't know what to do about them."

He added: "We have all the laws in place. We don't need to change anything."