Clarity and the Criminal Law
| Author | Gary Slapper |
| DOI | 10.1350/jcla.2007.71.6.475 |
| Published date | 01 December 2007 |
| Date | 01 December 2007 |
| Subject Matter | Opinion |
OPINION
Clarity and the Criminal Law
Gary Slapper*
Professor of Law, and Director of the Centre for Law, The Open University
In 1873, Baron Martin stated that ‘The criminal law ought to be reason-
able and intelligible’ (R vMiddleton (1873) LR 2 Crown Ca Res 57). That
proposition is just as potent today as when it was made. As the branch of
law incorporating the ultimate powers of control which the State exer-
cises over citizens, criminal law should be consonant with common
sense and be perfectly clear to the public. It is difficult to argue that
current law on drugs is clear, coherent and understood by the public.
News reports indicate that many teenagers seem to be confused about
the precise legal status of cannabis, and some adults have been reported
as using of the drug in medical contexts. A defendant was recently
shown leniency after explaining that the cannabis he had been caught
growing was for him to use to soothe a chronic genital itch. Gregor
Spalding, 30, admitted cultivating the drug at his home in Blairgowrie,
Scotland. In a letter to Perth Sheriff Court, his doctor said: ‘He has penile
pain associated with pruritus. The diagnosis is penodynia and scroto-
dynia. I can confirm he has had a chronic pain problem since 2004. It is
quite reasonable he thought cannabis might help his condition as there
have been reports in the press of cannabis relieving pain in multiple
sclerosis and other conditions’. Sentence was deferred for six months
for him to be of good behaviour. He was told that if he kept within the
law for the duration he would be treated leniently. (Daily Record,
11 August 2007)
Earlier this year, as part of a review of the entire UK drugs strategy,
the Prime Minister asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
(ACMD) to reconsider the decision in 2004 to downgrade cannabis from
a Class B to a Class C drug. This reconsideration is in the light of evidence
that some current strains of cannabis can cause mental illness in some
users. It is to be hoped that any new drug classification scheme recom-
mended in the review’s report will bring the type of consistency and
clarity needed in any code in order for it to command respect and social
support.
This is not a call for any drug to be classified more seriously or less
seriously than it is today, but it is the expression of hope that whatever
decision is made will be posited on clear scientific evidence, and pre-
sented in a way that is convincing to the general public. The rationale of
any new drugs taxonomy will need to be clearly articulated. Historically,
such desiderata were not entirely met at earlier stages of the criminalisa-
tion of drugs in the UK and other jurisdictions.
* The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the Open University or The Journal of Criminal Law.
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