Herb Fellow
New Member
The number of cannabis dealers brought to justice has slumped since the Government relaxed the law on possession of the drug. Justice Ministry figures show a 29 per cent decline in the number of suspects brought to court on dealing charges and a 60 per cent fall in the number jailed.
The Conservatives said that the figures, which were released in response to parliamentary questions, clearly demonstrated that ministers were taking a "lax approach" to the issue.
Gordon Brown has ordered a review of the decision to relax the law on cannabis and a report from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is expected to be submitted to the Government soon.
When cannabis was downgraded from class B to class C in January 2004, police stopped routinely arresting users of the drug but insisted that they would continue to take a tough approach towards dealers.
The maximum prison sentence for those convicted of supplying cannabis has remained at 14 years. Yet the number of suspects brought to court on dealing charges has fallen from 2,790 in 2003 to 1,994 in 2006, the latest available figure.
The number given a prison sentence fell from 697 to only 279.
The figure for prosecutions is tiny compared with the scale of cannabis use. More than a million people use the drug each year in the 16-to-24 age group alone, according to British Crime Survey findings, although it is thought the number of users has fallen by about 20 per cent since the law was relaxed.
David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "The decision to de-classify cannabis has sent mixed messages. The decline in drugs offenders being jailed can only weaken efforts to deter its sale and use.
"We need a zero-tolerance approach to drugs, from our shores to our streets. That means establishing a dedicated border police force, re-classifying cannabis, prosecuting drug dealers, as well as rolling out abstinence-based rehabilitation and proper drug programmes in our prisons."
A spokesman for the Home Office said: "The Government's message on cannabis is consistent and clear - cannabis is an illegal and harmful drug.
"The Government takes the dealing of illegal drugs very seriously and has toughened the penalties for drug dealers. Since 2006, longer sentences have been imposed on those caught dealing in the vicinity of schools or using children as couriers.
"The Government creates the legislative framework but decisions on whether or not to prosecute are a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, and decisions on sentencing are a matter for the courts."
There has been a long-term decline in prosecutions of alleged cannabis dealers over the past decade.
In 1997, the year Labour came to power, a total of 5,063 were brought to court and 1,779 were sentenced to prison.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk
Copyright: 2008, Telegraph.co.uk
Contact: Ben Leapman, Home Affairs Correspondent
Website: Decline in cannabis dealers brought to justice - Telegraph
The Conservatives said that the figures, which were released in response to parliamentary questions, clearly demonstrated that ministers were taking a "lax approach" to the issue.
Gordon Brown has ordered a review of the decision to relax the law on cannabis and a report from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is expected to be submitted to the Government soon.
When cannabis was downgraded from class B to class C in January 2004, police stopped routinely arresting users of the drug but insisted that they would continue to take a tough approach towards dealers.
The maximum prison sentence for those convicted of supplying cannabis has remained at 14 years. Yet the number of suspects brought to court on dealing charges has fallen from 2,790 in 2003 to 1,994 in 2006, the latest available figure.
The number given a prison sentence fell from 697 to only 279.
The figure for prosecutions is tiny compared with the scale of cannabis use. More than a million people use the drug each year in the 16-to-24 age group alone, according to British Crime Survey findings, although it is thought the number of users has fallen by about 20 per cent since the law was relaxed.
David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "The decision to de-classify cannabis has sent mixed messages. The decline in drugs offenders being jailed can only weaken efforts to deter its sale and use.
"We need a zero-tolerance approach to drugs, from our shores to our streets. That means establishing a dedicated border police force, re-classifying cannabis, prosecuting drug dealers, as well as rolling out abstinence-based rehabilitation and proper drug programmes in our prisons."
A spokesman for the Home Office said: "The Government's message on cannabis is consistent and clear - cannabis is an illegal and harmful drug.
"The Government takes the dealing of illegal drugs very seriously and has toughened the penalties for drug dealers. Since 2006, longer sentences have been imposed on those caught dealing in the vicinity of schools or using children as couriers.
"The Government creates the legislative framework but decisions on whether or not to prosecute are a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, and decisions on sentencing are a matter for the courts."
There has been a long-term decline in prosecutions of alleged cannabis dealers over the past decade.
In 1997, the year Labour came to power, a total of 5,063 were brought to court and 1,779 were sentenced to prison.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk
Copyright: 2008, Telegraph.co.uk
Contact: Ben Leapman, Home Affairs Correspondent
Website: Decline in cannabis dealers brought to justice - Telegraph
