Police chief in UK urges new strategy on cannabis

| 19/09/2010

(Observer): One of Britain’s most senior police officers has proposed decriminalising the personal use of drugs such as cannabis to allow more resources to be dedicated to tackling high-level dealers. Tim Hollis, chief constable of Humberside police, said the criminal justice system could offer only a "limited" solution to the UK’s drug problem, a tacit admission that prohibition has failed. Hollis’s dramatic intervention comes as the government is reviewing its 10-year drug strategy amid growing warnings from experts that prohibition does not deter drug use and that decriminalisation would liberate precious police resources and cut crime.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    We need to make our own minds up as a country and stop following the G-8 policies of the New World Order! See the big picture… This is why Cayman is all screwed up with our youth, morals and values. We keep seeing and doing what the bigger countries adapt instead of thinking as a country that we may be small , but can still be great!

  2. West Bayer says:

    Needless to say – the UK cop must have read my comments about this same thing last week!!! (smile)

    Nut yah know wha? Instead of RCIP chasing down people in their back yard hammock –  they need to go look for them drug dealers selling to the kids!

    Do like Amsterdam, Only $5 allowed to be bought per day with ID showing 21 years old and Gov’t controls the selling, farming, etc… and recieve the tax. And make it ILLEGAL to be smoked in public places. If caught in public then make it a $500 fine first offense, $600 second etc…maximum offenses before jail time: 5 offences.

    It doesn’t take a genius to see that this so called war on drugs is really a war on ganja smokers – because if RCIP were catching the big boys who pushing the killer drugs, there would be a higher precentage of confiscated hard drugs than what gov’t accounts for.

    Betcha they can account for alot more half burnt spliffs than the pounds and pounds and POUNDS of coke that they claim to have recovered through the year and when it come time to burn the crap it down to half the amount they said they found. Hmmmmm….now how does that work?

    And hey, who knows maybe by legalizing this, PPM and UDP might finally have something they can agree on!!!

     

     

     

  3. Anonymous says:

    Many people come to your beautiful Island for vacation!  Vacation!  It would be so nice to be able to smoke a little weed and relax.  Lord knows the price of alcohol is expensive.  I know many people who smoke but do not drink.  If they drink, they don’t smoke. It doesn’t make a good mix. 

    I understand that it has been said that cannabis is a "gateway" drug.  Prove it!  Just because most people that are into heavy drug use HAVE smoked pot, it doesnt mean it made them do it.  Someone who smokes pot likes the relaxed feel.  Someone who does cocaine likes the awake feeling. Two different sides.  Just because I may smoke some cannabis does NOT mean I am going to do cocaine.

    There are many productive people that smoke.  Not ALL of smokers will sit around and do nothing.  There are many professional people, who have a stressful job, a busy home life and extensive extracurricular activities and they smoke.  Does this make them lazy, NO! 

    The article indeed is not saying it would be legal, it would be decriminalised.  Meaning that they are not going to prosecute a half burnt "joint".  A lot of time is wasted on a miniscule amount of cannabis.  Most of the time there is not even enough to get in trouble for.  In the states, there law is under 50(?) grams, not punishable.  If you get caught with it in your car, there are more severe consequences. 

    There will never be a law that is passed that won’t get someone angry.  No one is ever happy and there are always different views on different policies.  This is one I don’t think they shoudl waste time on. They should decriminalize it.  Make it OK to come home from work and take a little puff puff.

    Have a great day Cayman!  Can’t wait to come and visit. 

  4. The Crown says:

    Good point 16:31 on it being a UK consideration. Which renews a thought i’ve had for sometime,concerning a posture by government which put in place limits as to the way parents are allowed to discipline their kids,which caused a mountain of problems for Caymanian families. Is this another tactic by the UK in their long way round farcicalness to present yet another problem? It must be noted that schizophernia developing in young adults often is directly linked to exposure to cannabis at a young age. Which is enough fact for me,but here’s another one,i know individuals who have resorted to serious criminal activity involving harder drugs for the sole purpose of providing for their cannabis habit.Which speaks volumes. Personnally if it’s only cannabis people are after,i say go head,just dont cause problems for others by your habit. & your lucky if you have a sports background,which should never be abondoned,cannabis smokers often are content that there’s nothing more to life.Be sure if you are one, you know cannabis is a accessory,but life governs all.

    • Sir Caustic says:

      "Isthis another tactic by the UK in their long way round farcicalness to present yet another problem?"  Yes, the UK’s drug policy is being used as an indirect means of destabilising the Cayman Islands.  I would worry less about others’ schizophrenia (note spelling) and talk to someone about your own delusional paranoia.

      • The Crown says:

        I’m glad you agree. You know nothing concerning the UK. & even less about the UK’s long practice of Machiavellianism. So i dont expect you have a clue.Which is obvious. Thank’s for the spell check & do let me know how you pronounce ” others’.

  5. Anonymous says:

    People need to take note that this article is NOT talking about the legalisation of marijuana but rather the decriminalisation. They are two very different things. And for those of you that believe that marijuana is addictive, you are greatly mistaken. Studies show that there are absolutely no addictive qualities in cannabis. As for the people who believe that it leads to apathy and slowed train of thought, I’m here to tell you once again, you are greatly mistaken. A person that is lazy/slow and blames marijuana for this was lazy/slow even before they started taking this “drug”. Countless brilliant, successful, wealthy people smoke ganja worldwide.
    Another thing that truly baffles me is that this is a god fearing island that allows gratuitous use of alcohol (addictive and leads to many health complications) and tobacco (addictive and is the leading cause of many forms of cancer) yet when the topic of decriminalisation of marijuana (non-addictive, has saved lives and is GOD’S GREEN EARTH) arises everyone gets up in arms! Please be aware that marijuana was once Americans number 1 cash crop. It gave jobs to thousands, could be used to make clothes, food, paper and at one point nearly illuminated the need for cutting down trees. But a very sneaky president came into office and saw that the lumber trade was suffering. And decided that couldn’t happen! Needless to say, he had millions of his own dollars invested in the success of the lumber trade. Lo and behold, marijuana was given a bad name due to greed!!!
    Another very interesting FACT is that marijuana is not directly linked to ANY deaths in medical history! But alcohol and cigarettes are two of the leading causes of death. So, my advice is that, before ignorantly commenting about a subject that most people are obviously not educated on, please do your research and then let’s see how many arguments you can come up with against this plant that was given to us as a gift from our lord, to heal, cloth and feed! Talk about going GREEN!!!

  6. Anonymous says:

    Sometimes IGNORANCE is what makes people make bad decisions.  For example, there is no proof that cannabis is physically addictive.  The medical drugs that are openly prescribed are more habit forming than Marijuana!  The police should not be wasting years on a half burnt marijuana cigarette.  The legal fees cost much more to prosecute than the half burnt "joint".  Alcohol, while legal, makes people insane and do things that they would not have done on marijuana or straight!  There are no cannabis smokers that kill, maim, rape, etc.  The drug does not do that mentally to people.  People are more relaxed.  It does not make them not work, abuse their families, steal to get their next fix.  It is a shame that people are so quick to judge what a drug does.  Drugs are illegal….if you raise your kids well enough, they will know not to smoke crack, snort coke, take pain killers etc.  cannabis is a NATURALLY grown plant!  There is no special way to grow it or process it.  Other drugs, need to be manufactured, and processed, most of the time with additives!  Above posters are correct about Amsterdam.  They have a great amount of tourists who go just so they can smoke the cannabis from ALL OVER THE WORLD!  It is a huge business.  Believe it or not the governments are making money on it.  They make busts, brag about the bust, and then turn half of it back out onto the streets.  The government makes out with fines, the people of the Island get to sell it.  It’s a fact!  Cannabis is a war that should not be taken.  It is here naturally.  No one had to chemically enhance it.  It has been here since before us and should stay.  The fight on drugs should be on the heavier drugs, the ones that make addicts, the ones that make addicts steal, the ones that make addicts violent, etc.  I would much rather go to a place with people smoking some cannabis than a place with a bunch of uncontrollable alcoholics.  Alcohol is much worse than the all natural cannabis.  Thumbs down are OK…..it just proves that research on your part has not been done. 

    • Anonymous says:

      Sometimes IGNORANCE is what makes people make bad decisions.  For example, there is no proof that cannabis is physically addictive. 

      It may not be physically addictive, but it is very much so mentally addictive. 

      The medical drugs that are openly prescribed are more habit forming than Marijuana! 

      Agreed, but that argument does not make it right to make it freely available.

      The police should not be wasting years on a half burnt marijuana cigarette.  The legal fees cost much more to prosecute than the half burnt "joint".  Alcohol, while legal, makes people insane and do things that they would not have done on marijuana or straight! 

      Agreed, however marijuana adds to an impairment of judgment.  So think of someone drinking and using marijuana.

      There are no cannabis smokers that kill, maim, rape, etc. 

      Marijuana adds to an impairment of judgment.  You may find that the local murderers are also cannabis smokers.  It may be a correlation, but it is also a societal problem.  Cannabis smokers on average tend not to amount to much, if engaging in the behaviour at an early age.  Generally it is used as a coping mechanism or a means to ‘fit in’ with the crowd.  Thereby leading to…killing, maiming, raping…

      There may be many respectable individuals who use marijuana and other harder substances and they don’t kill etc. But how does this make it right?  While there are many that are respectable, there are even more that are not! 

      The drug does not do that mentally to people.  People are more relaxed.  It does not make them not work, abuse their families, steal to get their next fix. 

      People are more relaxed, lose their ambition and stay home.  On average, which means I don’t mean everyone, people who do engage in this activity do not amount to much (see above about the respectable people).  They may not physically/mentally abuse their families, but they could use that time and energy on better things to improve their life. 

      I don’t agree that users don’t steal…I believe that it may not be with the same urgency, but not working and getting money from somewhere (hopefully not govt please) is stealing.  I say stealing because the person could have gotten off their own behind and gotten a job.  Even a job that has been defined culturally as embarrassing and beneath them such as *gasp* a service job!

      It is a shame that people are so quick to judge what a drug does.  Drugs are illegal….if you raise your kids well enough, they will know not to smoke crack, snort coke, take pain killers etc. 

      Children when they get to a certain age will experiment no matter how well you raise them.  Children will make their own decisions. 

      cannabis is a NATURALLY grown plant!  There is no special way to grow it or process it.  Other drugs, need to be manufactured, and processed, most of the time with additives! 

      Naturally grown does not mean that it does not have detrimental side effects. 

      Above posters are correct about Amsterdam.  They have a great amount of tourists who go just so they can smoke the cannabis from ALL OVER THE WORLD!  It is a huge business.  Believe it or not the governments are making money on it.  They make busts, brag about the bust, and then turn half of it back out onto the streets.  The government makes out with fines, the people of the Island get to sell it.  It’s a fact! 

      It is regulated in Amsterdam.  However they have a better organized police force and understand how to deal with social issues.  They have a very high level of literacy and very well organized systems.  That cannot be said of here.  If this is the way we wish to go, then we have to improve our societal problems, without providing an influx of issues.

      Cannabis is a war that should not be taken.  It is here naturally.  No one had to chemically enhance it.  It has been here since before us and should stay. 

      Would you rather this?

      http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/16/ohio.toking.toddler/index.html?hpt=Sbin

       

      The fight on drugs should be on the heavier drugs, the ones that make addicts, the ones that make addicts steal, the ones that make addicts violent, etc.  I would much rather go to a place with people smoking some cannabis than a place with a bunch of uncontrollable alcoholics.  Alcohol is much worse than the all natural cannabis.  Thumbs down are OK…..it just proves that research on your part has not been done. 

      I don’t think that you have done enough research yourself.  It is unfortunate that you have failed to look at the impact of legalizing this on such a small island.  Legalizing cannabis will have many societal impacts, both good and bad. 

       

      My main problem are the users that end up on welfare and are a waste to society by becoming society’s ills.  The rich who can confine themselves and have their little parties and still contribute to society in a meaningful way, I say do what you want.  Unfortunately, everyone will have to suffer from the bad apples.  Keep cannabis a criminal offence.  Tie the offence to the effect of usage on their contribution to society. 

       

      • Anonymous says:

        Thank you so much for your response!  I have to tell you that putting an article up about a stupid mother having her 2 year old smoke pot is ridiculous!!!!  Do you really think if it was decriminalized that would have happened….NOT!  It is not legal and look, she had it in her possession and thought it "cute" to abuse her child.  I am sure that child is being abused in more ways than we would want to know.  That is not a good argument for this case.  Now if it was legal and that happened you could turn around and say "See what happens when we legalize it"

        I know many smokers and not one would smoke in front of their children, around their children, in the presence of their children, etc.  They will take a walk, wait until the children are tucked away in their beds, or go out with some friends away from kids. 

        I understand that there are bad in every group but I have to disagree with some of your comments. If you have a dedicated cannabis smoker who all of a sudden runs out, he/she will not go out and rob to get the next bag.  While they may be moody, emotional, not hungry, they will not go out and hurt someone to buy some ganja.  It doesnt happen.  They will steal and hurt to get money for the PHYSICALLY addicting drugs like Cocaine, Heroine, etc.

        when you say people are more relaxed and stay home – what does that mean exactly?  You are telling me because someone smokes pot they aren’t going to work? They are not going to amount to anything?  Let me tell you, that is false!  You may have your occasional loser who does that but I would have to say there is something else going on, alcohol, some other drug, etc.  This is not common practice for a ganja smoker.

        I, my friend, am a cannabis smoker.  I am very successful, with a beautiful family and a great job I go to everyday.  I don’t smoke before work, I get my children ready for school, I dont smoke when I get home from work, I make my family a delicious homemade dinner, I smoke when my children are sound asleep and have no idea.  That is my unwinding time.  I don’t drink alcohol because it totally impairs ones thoughts.  Why would I do that when I have a beautiful family and a successful life?  I believe that I am the majority when it comes to cannabis smokers.  Yes you will have thugs that smoke and act stupid, but you know what? The cannabis didnt make them that way.  They would have been like that regardless.

        In short, I work, I love my life, I work hard, I save my money so I can come to your beautiful Island for a vacation.  I live life to the fullest!

        See ya in April!

      • Jenna Jameson says:

        I loved your movie by the way. Reefer Madness was HILARIOUS!

  7. Jenna Jameson says:

    Legalise it! I have to agree with Dirk on this. Alcohol and tabacco are both addictive drugs that have been legalised and taxed. Legalise ganja and tax the hell out of it. Think of all the money that will be taken out of drug dealers hands. The government could build three new government admin buildings with that kind of money.
     

  8. Blood Shot Eyes says:

    Boy this is one Caymanian who is happy to have a UK passport……. London Town here i come!!

  9. Right ya so says:

    Let’s just put it this way – prohibition never works!

  10. Rafaelle says:

     We got to have Kaya now for the rain is falling. Get up a turn i loose. All you self righteous dreamers the war on drugs is a myth. They ain’t going to legalize drugs either too much money involved in the whole corrupt process and legal system. The poor have to be imprisoned for and by something.

  11. The Crown says:

    This subject has a long history,with many advocating herbs for medical problems. In that sense i think it is totally a right if it can save someones life or cure an ailment. But i feel it is accurate to say,for that to happen in Cayman it is far from becoming legal. Many parents have strong reservations & justly so,that second hand cannabis smoke is a danger to kids of all ages. I totally agree with that as a parent & it deserves the utmost attention & avoidance. One notable reason why cannabis isn’t legal is it’s addictive element. Some people get to the point where they cant function without it,have little interest in work which equals crime. So legalizing cannabis that anyone can use it isn’t the answer. Lastly many who smoke have no etiquette & believe because they smoke cannabis,everyone must & be subjected to it,something i truly despise in this regard. I’ve been told by many from Jamaica,where cannabis plants are as common as any other,people there & they are expected to,excuse themselves from the company of certain people when they smoke. That is great manners,but try telling that to the many youths who smoke here. As for “drugs tourism” somehow not a good back drop for the 5th largest financial center in the world. There would still be a need for rules & a exhaustive check of ALL the possibilities of the social impact to even entertain the thought of legalizing cannabis in Cayman or anywhere.

    • Dirk says:

      All of your comments could be said about alcohol and/or cigarettes, but those addictive drugs are both legal, regulated and taxed.

  12. Anonymous says:

    When marijuana is quality controlled and factory produced, like alcohol and tobacco, then it could be considered for legalization in the UK or elsewhere. Until then, there is no protection for the consumer that it will not have unwanted or unidentified additives.  The same holds true for " medical marijuana ".  Until there are clinical trials and FDA approval for certain conditions, there is no such thing.  The term is simply an excuse for permission to supply and use an illicit substance.

    • Dirk says:

      It is legal to make your own alcohol (I know people who brew their own beer and ferment their own wine, and while I don’t know any enterprising alcoholics personally, "bathtub gin" can be homemade) or grow your own tobacco…

  13. Anonymous says:

    The facts are, the proof of the pudden is in the tasting.  If you have not smoked ganja, then you cannot talk about it.

    It is better than alcohol,  because alcohol turns people into a real idiot.

    No one who smokes ganja will get into an argument or a fight.   People who smoke ganja medidates better.   Ganja does not cause one to speed or rob or shoot.   Cocaine and alcohol and other drugs does that.    Not saying legalize it, but I am saying alcohol is the more dangerous drug.

  14. Anonymous says:

    Some people are not in touch with reality.  Police commanders can make any offence and investigation a priority, it has nothing to do with whether it is an offence or not.  UK police already have little regard to cannabis use, only supply – and it links in with other drugs regardless of what the pro-drugs campaigners will say.  You keep it on the statute books and target the more serious offences – unless of course you want to grab a few headlines with sensational press releases!!

  15. Anonymous says:

     THANK YOU!!! I knew the day would finally come that some sense would come to those policing our country. The island should be able to benefit from ‘drug-tourism’. Yes, i am saying that people will choose to travel somewhere specifically because of the country’s standpoint on cannabis…

    • Anonymous says:

      Exactly!!  Just look at the BOOMING tourism in places like Amsterdam!!!  Farm it!  Sell it!  Make some much needed money from it!

    • Anonymous says:

      You are a prime example of why we can’t give in and make drugs legal. Obiviously you have smoked so much that you can no longer interprit what you read. The article was about a UK police officer’s statement not anything to do with Caymanian police leadership.

      We have enough problems with the uneducated youth in our comunity with out promoting the use of drugs to further destroy their brains.

      • Anonymous says:

        De-criminalizing is hardly promoting…

      • Anonymous says:

         And how exactly does marijuana use destroy the brain or prevent the youth in our country from taking advantage of our stellar education system? You’re obviously highly educated, please enlighten us with your reefer madness propaganda. I guess i should keep my young white daughter from those devilish pot smoking jazz musicians. 

        Is marijuana harmless? of course not. is anything? If people were properly educated on the effects, long and short term, you would have less idiots running around making ignorant claims contributing to a culture of distrust. The fact of the matter is humans have been using cannabis for different reasons for thousands of years and in the last 70 years some financially motivated policy changes in america led to the stigmatization of what was once a revered and protected plant.

        go do your research about anslinger and dupont and tell me why ganja is really illegal while alcohol and tobacco were legalized bringing prohibition to an end but allowing organized crime to take advantage of the situation and flourish. 

        And before commenting on an individuals ability to interpret what they read and making some lame association with drug use, maybe you should make sure you know how to spell interpret. 

    • Anonymous says:

       it happens in amsterdam where the crime rate is way lower than ours.