8 in 10 Cannabis Users let off with Warning
Battle for territory is fuelled by the growing market for drugs and especially Cannabis. And how does our incompetent government react? By de-facto legalising cannabis. You could not make it up!
Nine in ten cannabis users and growers in some areas of England are being let off without a criminal charge, a Daily Mail investigation reveals. Despite a string of warnings over the drug’s harmful long-term effects, many are getting away with a simple telling-off.
Across England, an average of just 22 per cent of possession offences led to a criminal charge last year – down from 27 per cent in 2017.
But in Devon and Cornwall, only 14 per cent of cases led to a charge, while in Leicestershire it was 13 per cent and in Surrey just 12 per cent.
The remainder either escaped with a caution or a fine, an official ‘warning’ or ‘community resolution’ such as attending an educational workshop, or they had their case dropped altogether.
Separate figures for cannabis cultivation – a more serious crime than possession – show that some forces are also charging as few as one in ten offenders.
Last night, anti-drug campaigners said the figures showed the drug was being ‘unofficially legalised’ by police chiefs, and branded the approach as an ‘encouragement to break the law’.
Cannabis has been linked to depression, suicidal thoughts and psychosis, which causes hallucinations. Many fear it acts as a gateway to harder drugs, too.
Only last month the head of the NHS, Simon Stevens, said Britain risked making a ‘big mistake’ by relaxing the laws on cannabis.
But some police chiefs are actively calling for the drug to be legalised, while others have urged officers to be even more lenient with offenders.
In March, the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, Dave Thompson, revealed how officers were even avoiding issuing ‘warnings’ for cannabis offences, so as not to ‘criminalise’ young people.
David Green, director of the think-tank Civitas, said: ‘These figures provide even stronger evidence that the police have unofficially legalised cannabis in many parts of the country. Many police leaders want to legalise cannabis. Some are openly in favour of changing the law, while others turn a blind eye.
‘The tragedy is that they are doing so at a time when doctors are increasingly worried about the impact on the mental health of cannabis users, and especially our young people. Modern forms of cannabis, such as skunk, are at least twice as potent as varieties that were available in the 1970s.’
Mary Brett, of charity Cannabis Skunk Sense, said: ‘There’s a law there and it’s the police’s job to enforce it. It’s counter-productive and kids know they will be let off with a caution or a warning.’
David Raynes, of the National Drug Prevention Alliance, added: ‘It’s just stupid and irresponsible – an encouragement to break the law.’
The mind-numbing drug, a favourite of the lefties, has permeated our cities, towns and villages. The drug wars and the suicide rate among our young men can be laid directly at the feet of our feeble police and the politicians that refuse to crack-down on the Police's kid-glove approach.
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