Source: Daily Telegraph

Tom Peterkin

POLICE CHIEF CALLS FOR DEBATE ON CANNABIS

ONE of Scotland's most senior policemen yesterday called for politicians and health experts to have a public debate on cannabis use.

Paddy Tomkins, the new Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police, hinted that it was time for Scotland to review its existing drugs strategies.

Mr Tomkins made his comments a few weeks after plans to open an Amsterdam-style cafe in Edinburgh were announced by Kevin Williamson, a well-known publisher in the city.

Mr Williamson intends to launch an establishment where cannabis will be openly sold, when new laws that will reclassify the drug as Class C
come into force later this year.

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, is expected to introduce legislation in the spring, which would soften the stance on cannabis.
Those caught with a small amount of the drug will be cautioned rather than arrested.

Although Mr Tomkins declined to say whether a cannabis cafe would be tolerated by his force, he indicated that an open-minded approach was needed. "My broader view on cannabis and other drugs is that the situation requires a mature and more open debate than we have had to date - not just police but politicians and health advisers," he said.

Mr Tomkins, who became chief constable earlier this week, said that the police would enforce the law as it currently stands "with
discretion".

But he said: "We will work very hard to make sure we disrupt and arrest people who are supplying drugs to the community." - "The damage that drugs do can hardly be overstated, not just to individuals but to their families. Some surveys show that UKP 16,500 (a year) is spent by hard users and 80 per cent of that is acquired through crimes like robbery and so on. "We've got to ask why this is and be prepared to examine our existing policies."