|
Europe:
British
Home
Office
Proposes
Tough
Presumed
Drug
Dealing
Thresholds
6/9/06
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/439/homeoffice.shtml
The British Home Office has
produced a draft document of regulations that would make people carrying
more than small quantities of drugs subject to prosecution as drug dealers,
according to the British newspaper the Guardian, which obtained a copy
of that document. Under the proposed draft, someone caught with a
quarter-ounce (seven grams) of marijuana could face up to 14 years in prison.
Someone caught with more than a couple of grams of heroin or cocaine could
face up to life in prison.
Such a move would be a de
facto reversal of then Home Secretary David Blunkett's decision to downgrade
marijuana possession to a ticketable offense in most cases. In would
likely also lead to a possibly crisis in policing, drug experts warned.
The draft was sent to the
government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), which, according
to the Guardian, recommends that the cannabis threshold be set at one ounce
(28 grams). The ACMD warned the Home Office the low thresholds would
create policing problems.
The proposed drug thresholds
are:
-
Cannabis: 5 grams
-
Ecstasy: 5 tablets (1.5
grams)
-
Amphetamines 14 grams
-
Heroin: 2 grams
-
Cocaine: 2 grams (crack
or powder)
While the ACMD was restrained
in its criticism of the proposed thresholds, which are much lower than
provisional figures discussed in the spring, Labor MP Paul Flynn was less
so. He told the Guardian he hoped the ACMD would "give the proposals
the attention they deserve, given that they come from a department in chaos.
Let's hope they throw them out. I am sure that many people will throw
up their hands in horror at this."
Martin Barnes, chairman of
the drug reform group Drugscope was more politic. "We are concerned
at the amounts being considered. The rationale for some thresholds
remains unclear, and it is uncertain how many more people may be prosecuted
with the more serious charge of intent to supply."
-- END --
|
Issue #439
-- 6/9/06
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