EDITOR'S CHOICE HAVE YOUR SAY Fury at PlayStations plan for prisoners NEWS Widow's delight as husband 'comes home' ‘It’s time to get behind the team’ Man tried to smuggle £70m in fake cheques out of UK NEWS IN VIDEO Undercover van to help catch benefit fraudsters Dogs do their bit for charity One man band School garden opens 'Great Escape' veteran visits region RACING PODCAST Racing tips and reports with Graham Orange of Go Racing FORMULA 1 News and Race Reports F1 Blog Circuit Guide Predictions THE HEADLINE GAME * Pit your wits against The Northern Echo and TFM in The Headline Game GET OUR NEWS BY E-MAIL Just register

Most read Comments 1 Gunners ready to compete for Dunne 2 Drunk father abandoned baby daughter in sweet shop 3 Post Offices face cull as cuts to service revealed 4 McClaren impresses Miller with brief Darlington stint 5 Fury at PlayStations plan for prisoners 6 Boateng won't be rushed into decision on his future 7 Police name man found dead 8 Man tried to smuggle £70m in fake cheques out of UK 9 Concern grows over two missing boys 10 Cannabis farm catches fire Today | 7 Days 1 Thieves and knaves beset The Shakespeare Tavern 2 Celebrations as Laura wins Miss Durham competition 3 Fury at PlayStations plan for prisoners 4 Post Offices face cull as cuts to service revealed 5 Election aftermath 6 Miss Durham - The Finalists 7 Motorists see red over speed camera confusion 8 Wigan keen on Cattermole 9 Big demand for squirrel meat 10 Councillors line up for leadership challenge

Comment

IT is hard to know where to stand in the debate over the classification of cannabis.

With all the expertise at its disposal, the Government can't make up its mind, so how can the rest of us be expected to know which way to jump?

Tony Blair downgraded cannabis to a class C drug, but that decision has now been reversed in a mere four years by Gordon Brown. And that is despite the fact that the experts on the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs believe that it should remain class C.

Given the difficulties facing Mr Brown's administration, it is natural to wonder whether this is no more than an attempt to appear tough on drugs because that is what the public wants to see.

And that cynicism goes deeper in view of the fact that cannabis smokers are likely to go on escaping prosecution until the third time they are caught.

The theory is that people can go to jail for five years for possessing cannabis, but the reality is much different because the Government's "tougher" approach to drugs is not backed up by meaningful changes to the system of punishments.

We support any moves aimed at steering young people away from drugs. It is far better to be safe than sorry.

But the message has to be strong - not lost in a fog of confusion.

9:59am Thursday 8th May 2008

Print

Email this

Comment

Add your comment

Name:
Email: *
Location:
**
	e.g. 123-123
Comment: Please note: All HTML tags will be ignored. Format Text:
By posting a comment, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms of use. Comments are not moderated but we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention and we may delete inappropriate postings. Please treat other people with respect. You must not post anything that is abusive, indecent, unlawful or defamatory. Remember, you are personally liable for what you post on this site. If you wish to complain about a comment, contact us here.
* Your email address will not be displayed ** To avoid register now or login