NEW CANNABIS LAW COMES INTO FORCE
(Source:Western Gazette)
Regional News

29 Jan 2004

United Kingdom
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Cannabis has now been downgraded to the same status as anabolic steroids and anti-depressants.

Home Secretary David Blunkett's move to reclassify cannabis - first set in motion more than two years ago - means possession of the drug will not lead to arrest in most cases.

In the biggest shake-up of Britain's drug laws for 30 years, cannabis has been moved from class B to class C.

Police will no longer arrest most of the 80,000 adults a year who are currently charged with possession offences.

Mr Blunkett admitted last week that he expected the move would lead him to "take a bit of stick over the next few weeks".

Because of reclassification, the law has been changed to allow officers to arrest for possession of class C drugs.

But the Association of Chief Police Officers ( ACPO ) has drawn up guidelines which say arrests should only be made in aggravated circumstances, such as smoking a joint outside schools.

Under the new law, cannabis possession will be illegal but will "ordinarily not be an arrestable offence". Instead, police will give an on-the-spot warning and the drug will be confiscated.

It remains unclear how closely forces will stick to the Acpo guidelines. A survey by The Guardian newspaper last week indicated that some forces - such as Gloucestershire, Derbyshire and Hertfordshire - will continue to arrest cannabis users even for possession of small amounts, while others had introduced the "softly, softly" approach ahead of the formal change. Under the ACPO rules, aggravating features leading to arrest are: Smoking the drug in public; repeat offending; possession of the drug inside or near places where there are children, including schools and youth clubs; where users are causing a "local policing problem" which is creating a "fear of public disorder".



Canada's citizens and even PM has recently called for deciminalization, and the US threatened to sanction trade between the two. Rather than respect a country's wishes and compensate for it on the US side, they would rather threaten their neighbors.


This has been your friendly www.norml.com update.

WOOHOO the US is next!

not while georgie's in office.

on that note though, my bf recently got popped with a 1/2 oz. It was a $200 fine. yay california.

haha CALI KICKS! and your right indeedy not while Dubbya is in office. But i think the next Liberal president we get will have a role to play in decriminalizing weed.. its fucking absurd that someone who gets caught with a half of pound of weed themand thier friends smoke will go to prison with rapists and murderers.

I couldn't agree more.

If you're REALLY interested in this sort of thing, www.Norml.com gives a "political pot profile" on each candidate running right now.


I think it rather biased to vote based solely on marijuana decriminalization though.

They're doing quite well with their Smoke the Vote campaign. I'll post the profiles when I find them.

i visit norml frequently.

I would like to say I'm a norml "activist" but I'm just going to say I'm an "advocate" because I don't push it everywhere, just on everyone I know......SO...heh...but..I am a member..complete withbuttons, bumper sticker, and shirts.

until that day comes i shall be hoping and praying that it will be so...

i decided from the first interview i read with al sharpton, he's the one i'm voting for...how nice to see his stance...

AL SHarpton is a bigot and a racist. Id prefer to see him shot in the street.

If you really want a pro-pot party, then vote Libertarian. :dope:

Interesting - obviously I've never heard of the Libertarian party since I'm from the UK, but I took a quick look at their website and did their "Are you a libertarian" quiz. The (unsurprising) results follow:
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According to your answers, your political philosophy is left-liberal.

Left-Liberal
Left-Liberals prefer self-government in personal matters and central decision-making on economics. They want government to serve the disadvantaged in the name of fairness. Leftists tolerate social diversity, but work for economic equality.

Your Personal Self-Government Score is 90%.
Your Economic Self-Government Score is 40%.
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(which apparently puts me one step away from being on the border line between Libertarian and Left-liberal).

I'm a sucker for these online political quizzes.

Interestingly enough, the Libertarian Party website has the following to say on the subject of Authoritarianism, and it helpfully describes their definition of a fascist as right-wing:

"Authoritarian
Authoritarians want government to advance society and individuals through expert central planning. They often doubt whether self-government is practical. Left-authoritarians are also called socialists, while fascists are right-authoritarians."

it would seem i'm democrat...by that test...i've honestly never thought about my political alignment, i just observe the candidates, and decide from their interviews, speeches and other information who i want to vote for...

agreed.

i've had time to review the libertarian views...may be something that i could agree with...i'll have to pay a bit more attention to...harry brown...i don't like how he looks however, a little to andy griffith...that concerns me...

hum... i really like that site. it's cool.

"Authoritarians want government to advance society and individuals through expert central planning. They often doubt whether self-government is practical"

This defines socialism. Both communism & fascism are collectivist ideologies.

You need not get so worked up about Al Sharpton. He is clown, a comedy relief to