POLICE CHIEF SAYS CANNABIS PROPOSALS FAR TOO LENIENT

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner rekindled the row over cannabis
policy yesterday when he said the amount that the Government had
suggested as the level to determine personal use or dealing was much
too high. Sir Ian Blair said his force had made clear to the Home
Office - which last week published proposed guidelines for the
"threshold" levels for possession of drugs, above which someone would
be assumed to be dealing - that it was surprised by the suggested
level for cannabis.

The figure for cannabis was 4oz (113g) for resin or 17.6oz (500g) for
leaf. Four ounces of resin would be enough to roll about 500 "light"
joints or about 250 strong ones, according to the drugs education
charity DrugScope.

Sir Ian, speaking at a meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority
in London, was asked his view on the cannabis threshold. He said: "We
have already made clear to the Home Office we are surprised by the
amount being discussed for what would not be for personal use. It's a
great deal higher than we would have expected. Our view is we would
need to negotiate that figure a long way down."

His comments came as the Home Office released figures showing that
offences involving cocaine - from possession to trafficking - rose by
16 per cent last year to record levels in England and Wales.

The number of Class A "hard drugs" offences dealt with by police
reached a new peak of 36,350, up two per cent on 2003. There were
8,070 cocaine offences, compared with 6,970 the previous year, while
the number of crack cocaine offences rose eight per cent to 2,440.
Overall drug offences fell 21 per cent to 105,570, due to the
Government's "downwards" reclassification of cannabis from Class B to
Class C early last year. Only 49,840 people were found guilty or
cautioned by police for drug offences compared with 82,060 in 2003, a
fall of 39 per cent.

Critics argue that dealers in cannabis and other drugs will carry
just under the threshold to avoid being charged with intent to
supply. However, the Home Office made clear last week that threshold
amounts, to be provided for the guidance of courts under the 2005
Drugs Act, would be the trigger limit above which a suspect, or
defendant, would be required to prove that the intent was not to supply.

The Home Office and police chiefs stressed that people with lower
amounts might still be charged with supply if there was other
evidence - such as possession of scales, or sales to undercover
officers - to prove intent to supply. Sir Ian also said that a rise
in gun crime was causing "considerable concern". Latest police
figures showed gun crime in London was up 11.4 per cent.

The shadow home affairs minister, Cheryl Gillan, said the drugs
figures underlined "the Government's failure to get a grip on Class A
drug abuse".