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10/02/2004
Council backs MP’s call for rethink on cannabis law
Belfast City Council today backed an English MP’s call for the Government urgently to rethink its policy on the reclassification of cannabis.
Speaking at an adjournment debate in Westminster this morning, Nigel Evans, Conservative MP for Ribble Valley, said that the change in law had resulted in “confusion and turmoil”, with many people thinking cannabis was now legal.
“The government’s policy, strong on words when they were elected, has degenerated into complete confusion,” Mr Evans added.
The MPs comments were echoed by the Chairman of Belfast City Council’s All Party Working Group on Drugs Misuse, Councillor Eric Smyth, who backed Mr Evans’ call for the government to rethink its policy as a matter of urgency.
“Cannabis remains a dangerous drug and the government is sending out completely the wrong message, especially to the young people in our society," Mr Smyth said. "Many young people think it is now all right to take cannabis, and that they are not breaking the law. This is wrong, and the government has now had to waste more than £1 million of taxpayers money to tell people that it is still illegal. The whole thing defies logic."
On March 4, Keith Hellawell, the former UK ‘drugs tsar’, who resigned his position in June 2002 in protest at the government’s stance on changes in drugs legislation, will be the keynote speaker at a Belfast City Council hosted seminar, examining the impact of changes in the legislation relating to the classification of drugs will provide the timely focal point of a forthcoming seminar being hosted by Belfast City Council.
Mr Hellawell’s will draw on his own experiences of working in government to provide a unique insight on the current debate about drugs, their legal status and how changes in legislation may impact on the fight against drugs misuse in Belfast.
A number of key-note speakers who work within the drugs field in Belfast also have been invited to outline the problem as it exists and highlight the measures needed to be taken to address the situation properly.
The day also will include an open session during which agencies working to tackle the drugs problem in Belfast will be on hand to advise schoolchildren and members of the public who may have concerns in relation to substance abuse issues.
The Drugs Information Seminar and Open Day will be held at the City Hall on Thursday March 4.
(MB)
Speaking at an adjournment debate in Westminster this morning, Nigel Evans, Conservative MP for Ribble Valley, said that the change in law had resulted in “confusion and turmoil”, with many people thinking cannabis was now legal.
“The government’s policy, strong on words when they were elected, has degenerated into complete confusion,” Mr Evans added.
The MPs comments were echoed by the Chairman of Belfast City Council’s All Party Working Group on Drugs Misuse, Councillor Eric Smyth, who backed Mr Evans’ call for the government to rethink its policy as a matter of urgency.
“Cannabis remains a dangerous drug and the government is sending out completely the wrong message, especially to the young people in our society," Mr Smyth said. "Many young people think it is now all right to take cannabis, and that they are not breaking the law. This is wrong, and the government has now had to waste more than £1 million of taxpayers money to tell people that it is still illegal. The whole thing defies logic."
On March 4, Keith Hellawell, the former UK ‘drugs tsar’, who resigned his position in June 2002 in protest at the government’s stance on changes in drugs legislation, will be the keynote speaker at a Belfast City Council hosted seminar, examining the impact of changes in the legislation relating to the classification of drugs will provide the timely focal point of a forthcoming seminar being hosted by Belfast City Council.
Mr Hellawell’s will draw on his own experiences of working in government to provide a unique insight on the current debate about drugs, their legal status and how changes in legislation may impact on the fight against drugs misuse in Belfast.
A number of key-note speakers who work within the drugs field in Belfast also have been invited to outline the problem as it exists and highlight the measures needed to be taken to address the situation properly.
The day also will include an open session during which agencies working to tackle the drugs problem in Belfast will be on hand to advise schoolchildren and members of the public who may have concerns in relation to substance abuse issues.
The Drugs Information Seminar and Open Day will be held at the City Hall on Thursday March 4.
(MB)
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