Buzzby

Cannabis Possession Limit To Be 500 Joints
Richard Ford and Stewart Tendler | The Times | 12/01/2005

DRUG users caught with enough cannabis to make more than 500 joints will be able to claim that it is for personal use under Home Office plans published yesterday.

Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, is planning to set a threshold for the amount of drugs a person can possess without being charged for dealing.

The move was announced as police in Brixton, South London, were preparing to take a tougher approach on cannabis because drug dealing has increased since the area was used to test a more liberal attitude towards people caught with cannabis. Anyone caught with any amount of the drug will face arrest under the new strategy.

Threshold limits proposed by the Home Secretary will provide guidance to police and the Crown Prosecution Service on whether to prosecute for dealing or possession. A letter from the Home Office said that it was minded to set the thresholds at levels already being operated in Nottingham. The personal use threshold for cannabis would be 4 ounces, enough to roll more than 500 joints.

(BuzzNote: This seemed odd to me at first. You can't roll a joint from 0.2 grams of weed. Then I realized that hash is the dominant form of cannabis in the UK. A fifth of a gram of hash mixed with tobacco will make a joint.)

The letter said: “Being in possession of a lower-than-prescribed amount of a controlled drug will not prevent prosecution for the offence of intent to supply if other evidence demonstrates that the defendant had the necessary intent, for example the possession of dealing paraphernalia.”

The Association of Chief Police Officers has avoided setting a threshold because it said that it could lead to dealers carrying amounts just below the threshold. A Home Office spokesman said: “This is to clarify the point at which the quantity of drugs in a person’s possession becomes above and beyond that reasonably held for personal use, and so help the courts to differentiate between possession and intent to supply.”

Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: “The Government was given ample warning during the passage of the Drugs Bill that this idea would backfire. Set the limit too low, and you treat all users as dealers. Set it too high, and many dealers will argue that the drugs were for personal use”.

Cheryl Gillan, the Conservative home affairs spokesman, said that setting out thresholds would help dealers to know what they could get away with.

The move was announced before the introduction of powers today under which there will be more drug testing of people arrested for offences such as burglary, robbery and theft. An estimated 250,000 people each year will be tested for drugs when they are arrested.

Anyone who tests positive will be forced to attend a drug assessment to help them into treatment, even if they are not eventually charged. A person who fails to undergo a drug assessment faces a fine of up to £2,500 or up to three months in prison.

Another power coming into force today will allow courts to refuse bail to an alleged offender unless he or she agrees to a drug assessment. Paul Goggins, a Home Office Minister, said: “Testing on arrest and compulsory assessment will help to identify more drug misusing offenders within the criminal justice system . . . and so make communities safer.”

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Tolerance4all

Why can't they see that with legalization there would be no debate concenring these new laws!

Who will conduct the drug assessment? Will they be compelled to place people into treatment for monetary reasons? What will determine if you are assessed a user or abuser? Will alcohol be tested for? There will be ample opportunities for the goverment to abuse this system! Perhaps thats why they have passed these new laws!

imported_Peace_Frog

There's no debate concerning these new laws. Crime statistics in the UK show that two thirds of all theft is drug-motivated, and the same 280,000 "high-risk addicts" commit 87% of all drug-motivated theft.

By passing a law that allows them to drug test people that commit theft, this will allow them to get those "high-risk addicts" into treatment. Cannabis smokers really have nothing to worry about because those 280,000 "high-risk addicts" are addicted to heroin and/or crack cocaine.

The UK is taking a realistic approach to reduce crime associated with people who have serious drug abuse problems.

It's obvious some people here have a bias against drug-testing. But don't let that bias blind you to the fact that cannabis has the potential to be abused like any other drug.

These laws are put in place to make the UK a safer place for cannabis USERS like you and I. If someones cannabis ABUSE is leading them to steal, I'd say it's ok to have some legislation that allows for them to be drug tested.

Tolerance4all

They were debating about the amount that would seperate the dealers from the users. Legalization would end the debate.

The new laws concerning testing look good on paper. If they are used wisely, I have no problem with them. Time and time again laws like these are abused by the establishment. People in the UK should be asking the questions I have in my previous post.

There was nothing in the article suggesting that they will test for hard drugs only. If you think that they passed these laws to protect Cannabis users then pass me the joint your smoking some good S***.

teufelfisch

What if you just make 500 28 g joints?

[edit]Oh, nevermind.[/edit]

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killer12382

Thats a good question.....500 joints made by one person may contain alot more marijuana than 500 joints made by someone else.