Subsonic Chronic
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British police chiefs take soft line on hard drugs
Reuters News Agency
The Globe and Mail
London — Britain's police chiefs said on Thursday they would like to see heroin and cocaine users sent to treatment centres rather than prisons.
They made radical call to overhaul drugs policy because they believe current drug laws are not working.
"The whole drugs policy was reviewed and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has come up with these proposals, some of which would require legislative change," said an ACPO spokesman.
The policy review said treating addicts may be the way to cut down on hard drugs use and provide an opportunity to break the cycle of drug-related offending and deaths.
"The ACPO looks forward to when detainees appearing in court following misuse of Class A drugs are able to have the opportunity to immediately access treatment that is proven to work. In these circumstances diversion direct to treatment should be a real option rather than a caution or in some cases a conviction," the study said.
The review also suggests there needs to be a more relaxed attitude towards people caught with small amounts of cannabis which the government is considering re-classifying as a class C drug — the least serious category.
But the call for police officers to be encouraged to exercise their discretion when dealing with cases of cannabis possession does not mean the police chiefs support decriminalizing the drug. Such a move could make Britain a "magnet for drug tourists," and could increase crime, the report said.
The Metropolitan police have already pioneered a softer approach to cannabis in south London in an effort to concentrate on dealers of hard drugs.
The police chiefs said more should be done to make sure drug dealers' assets were seized and that the money taken should be used in the fight against drugs.
The review also said it was opposed to downgrading dance club drug Ecstasy to Class B from Class A or to creating "shooting galleries" — designated areas in which heroin users can inject the drug unimpeded.
The police review on drugs policy comes only a couple of weeks after a survey found that more than half of young people in Britain and 28 per cent of the whole population — about 13 million people — have taken illegal drugs.
Reuters News Agency
The Globe and Mail
London — Britain's police chiefs said on Thursday they would like to see heroin and cocaine users sent to treatment centres rather than prisons.
They made radical call to overhaul drugs policy because they believe current drug laws are not working.
"The whole drugs policy was reviewed and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has come up with these proposals, some of which would require legislative change," said an ACPO spokesman.
The policy review said treating addicts may be the way to cut down on hard drugs use and provide an opportunity to break the cycle of drug-related offending and deaths.
"The ACPO looks forward to when detainees appearing in court following misuse of Class A drugs are able to have the opportunity to immediately access treatment that is proven to work. In these circumstances diversion direct to treatment should be a real option rather than a caution or in some cases a conviction," the study said.
The review also suggests there needs to be a more relaxed attitude towards people caught with small amounts of cannabis which the government is considering re-classifying as a class C drug — the least serious category.
But the call for police officers to be encouraged to exercise their discretion when dealing with cases of cannabis possession does not mean the police chiefs support decriminalizing the drug. Such a move could make Britain a "magnet for drug tourists," and could increase crime, the report said.
The Metropolitan police have already pioneered a softer approach to cannabis in south London in an effort to concentrate on dealers of hard drugs.
The police chiefs said more should be done to make sure drug dealers' assets were seized and that the money taken should be used in the fight against drugs.
The review also said it was opposed to downgrading dance club drug Ecstasy to Class B from Class A or to creating "shooting galleries" — designated areas in which heroin users can inject the drug unimpeded.
The police review on drugs policy comes only a couple of weeks after a survey found that more than half of young people in Britain and 28 per cent of the whole population — about 13 million people — have taken illegal drugs.
