Cannabis: A Case Study into “the Need to Decriminalize”
| Date | 01 January 1983 |
| Published date | 01 January 1983 |
| Author | B. A. Tarbun |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X8305600113 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
DET.
CHIEF
SUPT. B. A. TARBUN
City
of
London Police.
CANNABIS:
ACASE
STUDY
INTO
lITHE
NEED
TO
DECRIMINALIZEII
Introduction
In
our
society today more and more people are becoming dependent
on the use of drugs. Many drugs are harmless but nevertheless
worthwhile in removing aches and pains from the body, whereas
other drugs because of their serious harmful effects, if taken
errationally, are not so readily available. Parliament, in fear of
creatinga society of drugaddicts, brought in legislation to restrict the
use and issue of certain drugs and introduced heavy penalties against
those who disregarded the law.
The current Act which deals with drug abuse is the Misuse of
Drugs Act, 1971, and one of the drugs restricted by the Act is
cannabis (marihuana).
It
is this substance that the
author
will be
discussing and examining the arguments for and against the
question: "Is it not now the right time for cannabis to be removed
from the statute books?"
Certainly during the past two decades there has been increasing
pressure on the Government to legalize the use of cannabis. People
from all walks of life have been lobbying this motion,
not
just the so
called "drop outs" of
our
society, as one would expect, but many
professional people. Numerous supporters of the campaign to
legalize canabis argue vehemently that the drug is far less harmful
than alcohol and tobacco.
It
was because of the apparent growth in public opinion for the
decriminalization of cannabis that the Advisory Committee on Drug
Dependence seriously considered the question. Their report
published in 1968 stated that, "in the interests of public health it is
necessary to maintain restrictions on the availability and use of the.
drug", but it did recommend that sentences permitted by law should
be substantially reduced.
It
also recommended that because of the
contradictory evidence readily available on the effects of cannabis,
the matter should be kept under review but to date no other
committee has had to re-assess the evidence now available.
It
will
therefore be the writer's intention to cover most, if not all, of the
arguments for and against legalization:
What is Cannabis?
Cannabis drugs are obtained from the hemp plant, Cannabis Sativa
L. Many strains of the plant exist, differing in size, colour, small,
January
1983 81
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