Focus on cannabis

Those of you who were hoping to make a “Lambeth Walk” a little more interesting by openly smoking cannabis in the London borough had better think again. As of 1 August 2002, cannabis users once again face being arrested for openly smoking the drug in public.

The “Lambeth experiment” was launched by the police commander of the borough, Brian Paddick, last July, although, contrary to what many believed, smoking cannabis was never made legal. The pilot scheme meant that police did not have the right to arrest anyone carrying a small amount of the drug, even if they blew smoke into a police officer's face. Cannabis smokers faced nothing worse than confiscation of their supply and a verbal warning for public consumption. It was hoped that the scheme would allow overworked officers to concentrate on tackling people in possession of harder drugs such as crack and heroin.

From the start of August 2002, however, police officers have been able to use their discretion to arrest anyone under the age of 17 who is in possession of the drug or if aggravating factors are present, such as public disorder in association with cannabis smoking and openly smoking cannabis in a public place.

“The pilot scheme on the whole was successful, but we need to change a few things,” a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police explained. “We will on the whole seize and warn as before, but if there …