January 24, 2004
British reclassify cannabis as Class C drug.
Great Britain is about to reclassify marijuana (they call it cannabis but who else does?) as a "Class C" drug, putting it on a level with prescription drugs. And "discouraging" police from making arrests for it. The Guardian has a
Q and A on it explaining what this means in general terms.
What will it mean in practice?
Arrest for smoking cannabis will be discouraged and most people caught in possession of the drug will face no legal action - although there will be possibility of a custodial sentence of up to two years if the police choose to proceed through the courts and obtain a summons. The maximum penalty will be reduced from five years in jail to two.
Is this decriminalisation?
No, cannabis use will still be a criminal offence. The penalty for possession with intent to supply - dealing - is to be cut from 14 years in jail to five, but - unlike straightforward possession - police will still make arrests.
Arrest is also likely for those who smoke the drug in "public view" or near playgrounds, schools, youth clubs and other places where children are likely to be.
A great step for civil liberties. But it's nonsense about it not being "decriminalized." Of course it's being "decriminalized." But that's nonsense too. There's no such thing. Something is either legal or it's illegal. There's no middle ground. You're either in jail or you're not. You either get arrested or you don't.
The idea that it's OK to "have" something, but not OK to "get" it is patently absurd. Surrealistic even. How can you "have" something without having "gotten" it??? Only a lawyer would come up with this insanity, and it's only lawyers who profit from such a situation.
This type of practice breeds great disrespect for the law. It tells people, especially kids, that the law is a game, and that you can play with technicalities and such, and that that's OK. But it's not. The law is a serious thing, such games are disgusting and show a deep and abiding contempt for the very principle of a law-abiding society.
And keeping it somewhat illegal like this gives the police a tool that they can use against poor people, or other socially disadvantaged groups, if they find it convenient.
The Guardian also has a
special section on Drugs in Britain which contains numerous articles on the subject.
