12/09/2007 00:00:00
UK: Boris Johnson says police are wasting their time chasing cannabis
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Boris Johnson has made another high-profile gaffe by suggesting police
are wasting their time by chasing cannabis smokers.
The Henley MP put himself at odds with the Tories' zero-tolerance stance
on drugs when he was asked whether he supported diverting police away
from tackling cannabis possession.
The front runner in the race to become the Conservative candidate for
London mayor made it clear he did not favour decriminalisation, but said
that he wanted the police to focus on more serious crimes.
He said: "I don't want the police wasting their time rifling through the
sock drawers of every student in London in the hope of find a little
rabbit dropping of cannabis.
"You know, I think it's a waste of their time."
The official Conservative position on cannabis is that it should be
restored to the Class B drug category and that users should be routinely
prosecuted.
In 2004 it was downgraded from a class B to a class C drug.
The maximum penalty for possession is two years. But users caught with a
small amount of the drug have it confiscated and normally escape with a
ticking off.
Mr Johnson's rivals to become mayor lost little time in seeking to
exploit his deviation party policy after a television interview.
Victoria Borwick, who is campaigning on a pledge to introduce
zero-tolerance policing to London, said: "I want the law enforced,
without fear or favour."
Mr Johnson's admission is unlikely to damage his chances to become
London mayor.
His popularity has continued to rise despite colourful personal life and
number of controversial outbursts.
In 2004, he was ordered to visit Liverpool by former Conservative leader
Michael Howard to apologise in person for a magazine article that
criticised the city's grief following the murder of Ken Bigley in Iraq.
He said afterwards the humiliating experience had left him feeling like
a "squeezed lemon".
Yesterday he defended his right to make blunders in public.
He said: "I reserve the right to make gaffes. I really do, I think it is
a key thin in politics that people should be able to say what they think
and to get into slight trouble from time to time."
But Mr Johnson's latest remarks on cannabis will be unwelcome in the
office of party leader David Cameron, who narrowly avoided being
expelled from Eton for smoking the drug.
The Prime Minister this year asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of
Drugs (ACMD) to reconsider the decision in 2004 to downgrade the drug
from class B to class C.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=481315&in_page_id=1770
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12829
Author:
Daily Mail via UKCIA
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