New cannabis law to 'make no difference'

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has your safety in mind, you know. And that's why she has spearheaded a bold move against the greatest social evil facing Britain today - the legions of people rolling a bit of plant residue into a cigarette, smoking it and giggling to themselves all the way through their Futurama boxsets. 14 years maximum punishment for weed possession? See ya later, Mr. Sensible Priorities ...

Yes - Jacqui's gone and upgraded cannabis from a Class C drug to a Class B. Why? Because the 'market' - love that term, by the way, like drug dealers are a bunch of city stockbrokers or loveable cockney fruit-stall types - is apparently dominated by 'skunk', a much more potent version of the drug than plain old 'hash'. And while the Daily Mail is rather predictably applauding this move, the general consensus is that it won't make much difference whatsoever. Just listen to what Tom Wood - chairman of the Scottish Association of Alcohol and Drug Teams - has to say.

Reacting to the reclassification, Wood fumed:

"It's time we had a long and hard look at what we're doing. The issue of cannabis misuse should be addressed from a health perspective, not a justice perspective. I can see it (reclassification] will make very little difference either to the use or patterns of consumption."

He's not alone in his disdain. Chris Huhne - Lib Dem Home Affairs chap - couldn't help but raise a mocking eyebrow:

"Will she save public money by disbanding the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, and establishing a new committee of tabloid newspaper editors, given that the biggest influence on her policy is the Daily Mail?"

It's also interesting that no-one is mentioning the possible effect on the economy. Let's face it - with a clampdown on stoners everywhere, sales of Salt And Vinegar Space Raiders from all-night corner shops are likely to plummet.

Those poor, poor potheads. It's not even as if they can drink away their sorrows on the way home from work anymore ...

Written by C J Davies on 8 May 2008 2:54 AM. There are 0 comments so far. Permalink