Police turn a blind eye to cannabis growers
A police force has said cannabis users who grow a few plants for their own use will only be prosecuted if they are being “blatant”. Ron Hogg, the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Durham Constabulary, said the force did not regard targeting those who smoked the Class B narcotic as a priority.
CANNABIS users in County Durham who grow the drug for their own consumption will no longer be targeted by the police after the force declared the illegal activity was not a priority.
In a move, which will be seen as a further step towards decriminalisation, Durham Constabulary declared it would only go after people using the drug if there was a complaint or if they were being “blatant”.
While the force insisted it would continue to tackle commercial cannabis farms and other areas of criminality associated with the production of the drug, those who grow and use at home will not be actively targeted and pursued.
Details of the policy were outlined by Ron Hogg, a former police officer and now the £70,000-a-year Police and Crime Commissioner, who said he hoped by setting out the position, it would spark a national debate around drug laws.
Mr Hogg said: “We are not prioritising people who have a small number of cannabis plants for their own use. In low level cases we say it is better to work with them and put them in a position where they can recover.
“In these cases the most likely way of dealing with them would be with a caution and by taking the plants away and disposing of them. It is unlikely that a case like that would be brought fore a court.
“Of course it is up to the Government to change the law but I am trying to open up a debate about drugs and drugs policy.”
Both Mr Hogg and his Chief Constable, Mick Barton, are outspoken advocates of the decriminalisation of all narcotics, but the softening of the position around cannabis has alarmed some anti-drugs campaigners.
Mr Hogg said anyone caught with the Class B drug, would be given the opportunity to avoid prosecution by signing up to a crime reduction initiative.
However anti-drug campaigners said it was not up to an individual force to “lead the debate around the law” and insisted the policy sent the wrong message to users.
David Raynes of the National Drug Prevention Alliance, said: “Durham Constabulary are out on their own with this and are trying to lead the law on this issue.
“If the Chief Constable and Police Crime Commissioner want to indulge in that policy then it is not necessary to make it public, because clearly making this sort of announcement will serve to encourage anyone who so minded.”
Setting out the force’s position on drugs, Mr Hogg said: “By and large we are saying it is not the top of our list to go out and try to pick up people smoking joints on street corners but if it’s blatant or we get complaints, officers will act.” He added: “Those who grow or deal in drugs, no matter on what scale, are responsible for causing massive harm to our communities, and will be tackled.” Last year Mr Barton argued that investigating drug addicts was a “waste of police time”.
He has called for the decriminalisation of hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine, arguing that if they were supplied on the NHS, addicts would not need to go out and commit crime in order to buy illegal narcotics.