Posted on 01/28/2005 11:40:52 PM PST by Quick1
Arrests for possession of cannabis fell by a third in the first year since it was downgraded to a Class C drug, official Home Office figures show.
An estimated 199,000 police hours were saved, according to data from 26 of the 42 English and Welsh police forces.
Cannabis was reclassified so that officers could target hard drugs.
Minister Caroline Flint said new crime survey figures also showed that fears for a rise in cannabis use among young people were "wholly unfounded." (emph. mine)
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Thought you might be insterested in this.
In the US, that would be bad news, since it cuts down on the justification for the up-arming of police departments and swat team.
Every swat team in the US needs an APC with a battering ram to do no-knock raids on drug houses!
Sometimes i really wonder about drug legalization. I'm not for it (for personal moral reasons), but there are solid points for certain drugs getting legalized. When one delves into the years of prohibition, for example, it is noticed that crime rose with its institution and dropped with its termination. And i do think that the manpower spent on marijuana could be better spent elsewhere (eg heroin, cocaine, border control, anti-terrorism etc).
You're darn right. That money would be far better spent elsewhere.
L
~snip~
On Friday, police charged Noel's husband, Charles, 51, with two counts of possession of black powder - possessing any amount over five pounds is illegal in Baltimore County, according to Vinson - and single counts of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia."
In related news, the sales of Twinkies, Oreos and Doritoes are up 50%.
Every pothead busted takes a thousand dollars of annual convenience store and video rental revenue away.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Don't forget to factor in the ratings drop for the Cartoon Network.
I do not favour legislation of it but think it should be something that you get fined for rather than sent to jail.
I am glad that people I know will not get criminal records for doing something that does not affect others.
I am all for medical marijuana though.
Thanks for the ping. But you realize, of course, the mere fact that arrests are falling is proof of failure as far as the Drug Warriors are concerned. At any rate, England hasn't done anything that several U.S. States haven't done decades ago. If I ever get busted for possession here in Ohio, I'll just pay a $100 fine.
I actually thought the most interesting part was the statement that youth drug use hadn't risen after the reclassification. Maybe because anyone who wanted to smoke pot before, already had access to it.
The "other side" in the UK has numbers that tell a different story.
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