Under-18s are given a licence to smoke dope

January 22, 2007

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=430447 & in_page_id=1770 & in_a_source=

Under-18s are given a licence to smoke dopeBy JAMES SLACK - More by this author » Last updated at 11:00am on 22nd January 2007

Labour downgraded cannabis from Class B to C three years ago

Police have been told they should no longer automatically arrest children caught smoking cannabis, it has been revealed. The new guidelines - another dramatic softening in Labour's attitude to the drug - provoked anger from experts. They demolish a promise, made when cannabis was downgraded in January 2004, that under-18s would still face the full might of the law. Sign up for the latest news alerts

Ministers said it was 'particularly important' that youngsters understood they would face automatic arrest. It was meant to deter any child considering trying cannabis, which has been strongly linked to mental illness, violence and progress to deadly hard drugs. But new guidelines, quietly issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers six days ago, scrap this policy. They say: 'There is no longer a recommendation that such young people must be arrested. You will have to justify that arrest is necessary.' Police are even told to find 'less intrusive' ways of dealing with people caught smoking the drug than taking them to the station. It is suggested they should simply be taken home. This allows them to receive an official warning - the initial punishment for most young offenders - without the shock of arrest or the humiliation of being hauled to the police station. Critics said this will destroy any deterrent effect. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said cannabis use was effectively being ignored and accused ministers of betraying a generation of youngsters who ought to be scared away from the drug. He said: 'The Government should get a grip on this chaotic policy that is leading young people to think it is OK to take drugs.' Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said: 'While we do not want to see young people being put into police cells unnecessarily, this goes against the mounting scientific evidence. 'Cannabis, particularly in the more potent form of skunk, can increase a young person's chances of developing schizophrenia or a similar illness by four times. The only way to prevent the risk is to give out a clear message that cannabis is still illegal.' Labour downgraded cannabis from Class B to C three years ago, amid a storm of protests. The change meant that adults caught with the drug no longer faced automatic arrest. Instead, they receive a formal warning on the street which carries no criminal record. At the time, ministers insisted that under-18s would continue to be treated differently. The original guidelines from Acpo, which implements Government policy, said they should be dealt with at a police station, effectively meaning an arrest. This would also help identify any underlying problems. The then Home Office Minister Caroline Flint said: 'It is particularly important that we get the message across to young people that cannabis remains illegal and that under-18s will still be arrested for possession.' Last year, Acpo announced a review of its guidelines, which campaigners hoped would lead to a tougher policy. But the revised advice, now on Acpo's website, does the opposite. The change comes despite a dire warning from Tony Blair's own staff that cannabis use has soared since it was downgraded. A leaked report from the Downing Street strategy unit said the decision had also led to a surge in hard drug use, with teenagers tempted by dealers into trying heroin and crack cocaine. A report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, published yesterday, found that almost half of police officers want to give juvenile offenders a formal warning on the street, the same way they deal with adults. One officer said: 'It just seems a bit unfair for a 16-year-old to get nicked and an 18-year-old in the same group to get a slap on the wrist.' The study, by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research at King's College London, found that almost all the officers had met people who thought cannabis had been legalised as a result of the reclassification. Over half the officers thought the move had been wrong. The Home Office said last night: 'Young offenders will still be dealt under the terms of the Crime and Disorder Act, using the options of a reprimand, final warning and charge, depending on the seriousness of the offence. Arrest is also an option, but based on whether it is necessary.' This story first appeared in the . For more stories like this, buy the Daily Mail every day. Plus, to get the paper delivered to your home

February 9, 2007

Perhaps they're worried that, whatever the consequences, real or imagined or contrived by its opponents, associated with cannibis smoking, if too much attention is brought to bear on this situation, cigarettes will also come under fire, since cigarette use is rampant among our "children." The list of horrors that are supposed to come from pot use, is easily equalled by a list of horrors that can be revealed about cigarette smoking; not the least of these, is the fact that not a single case has been confirmed, of a pot overdose, leading to death. Whereas, cigarette use, is associated with the deaths of 1/2 million people annualy in the U.S. alone.

jp

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Misty

Health and Healing

Monday, January 22, 2007 4:26 AM

Under-18s are given a licence to smoke dope

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=430447 & in_page_id=1770 & in_a_source=

Under-18s are given a licence to smoke dopeBy JAMES SLACK - More by this author » Last updated at 11:00am on 22nd January 2007

Labour downgraded cannabis from Class B to C three years ago

Police have been told they should no longer automatically arrest children caught smoking cannabis, it has been revealed. The new guidelines - another dramatic softening in Labour's attitude to the drug - provoked anger from experts. They demolish a promise, made when cannabis was downgraded in January 2004, that under-18s would still face the full might of the law. Sign up for the latest news alerts

Ministers said it was 'particularly important' that youngsters understood they would face automatic arrest. It was meant to deter any child considering trying cannabis, which has been strongly linked to mental illness, violence and progress to deadly hard drugs. But new guidelines, quietly issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers six days ago, scrap this policy. They say: 'There is no longer a recommendation that such young people must be arrested. You will have to justify that arrest is necessary.' Police are even told to find 'less intrusive' ways of dealing with people caught smoking the drug than taking them to the station. It is suggested they should simply be taken home. This allows them to receive an official warning - the initial punishment for most young offenders - without the shock of arrest or the humiliation of being hauled to the police station. Critics said this will destroy any deterrent effect. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said cannabis use was effectively being ignored and accused ministers of betraying a generation of youngsters who ought to be scared away from the drug. He said: 'The Government should get a grip on this chaotic policy that is leading young people to think it is OK to take drugs.' Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said: 'While we do not want to see young people being put into police cells unnecessarily, this goes against the mounting scientific evidence. 'Cannabis, particularly in the more potent form of skunk, can increase a young person's chances of developing schizophrenia or a similar illness by four times. The only way to prevent the risk is to give out a clear message that cannabis is still illegal.' Labour downgraded cannabis from Class B to C three years ago, amid a storm of protests. The change meant that adults caught with the drug no longer faced automatic arrest. Instead, they receive a formal warning on the street which carries no criminal record. At the time, ministers insisted that under-18s would continue to be treated differently. The original guidelines from Acpo, which implements Government policy, said they should be dealt with at a police station, effectively meaning an arrest. This would also help identify any underlying problems. The then Home Office Minister Caroline Flint said: 'It is particularly important that we get the message across to young people that cannabis remains illegal and that under-18s will still be arrested for possession.' Last year, Acpo announced a review of its guidelines, which campaigners hoped would lead to a tougher policy. But the revised advice, now on Acpo's website, does the opposite. The change comes despite a dire warning from Tony Blair's own staff that cannabis use has soared since it was downgraded. A leaked report from the Downing Street strategy unit said the decision had also led to a surge in hard drug use, with teenagers tempted by dealers into trying heroin and crack cocaine. A report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, published yesterday, found that almost half of police officers want to give juvenile offenders a formal warning on the street, the same way they deal with adults. One officer said: 'It just seems a bit unfair for a 16-year-old to get nicked and an 18-year-old in the same group to get a slap on the wrist.' The study, by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research at King's College London, found that almost all the officers had met people who thought cannabis had been legalised as a result of the reclassification. Over half the officers thought the move had been wrong. The Home Office said last night: 'Young offenders will still be dealt under the terms of the Crime and Disorder Act, using the options of a reprimand, final warning and charge, depending on the seriousness of the offence. Arrest is also an option, but based on whether it is necessary.' This story first appeared in the . For more stories like this, buy the Daily Mail every day. Plus, to get the paper delivered to your home

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