editorial comment Politicians: Helping the children by classifying them as criminals......

Young drug users could be accused of more serious offences under Government plans to standardise charges, a leading drugs charity has warned.
At present cases are dealt with individually, but the Home Office has written to stakeholders asking for views on the minimum quantity of drugs that a person can have if a court is to charge them with intent to supply, rather than the less serious offence of possession.

A spokeswoman for Drugscope said: “The thing that a lot of young people don’t appreciate is that if they buy an amount to share among friends, in the eye of the law that could be intent to supply.”

The Home Office letter suggests a limit of 500g of leaf cannabis, or 113g of resin, 10 wraps of amphetamine or tablets of ecstasy, and 7g of cocaine, crack or heroine. Drugscope said that the thresholds were “fairly high” but the number of people that could be supplied varied between drugs.

In Brixton the Metropolitan Police has decided to reverse a decision not to prosecute people for the possession of small amounts of cannabis, after it found that dealers were only carrying small amounts of the drug to avoid being charged.

This week it will launch a three-month scheme, ‘No Deal’, which it describes as a “positive arrest policy” for possession of all quantities and types of illegal drug.


The Met denied this would confuse young people, who may believe they will not be arrested. In a statement it said: “The possession of any amount of cannabis is an offence and will be dealt with appropriately within the positive arrest policy.”

www.drugs.gov.uk

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