Cannabis users targeted despite change in law

Police are still catching more than 400 cannabis users a week in London despite a move to relax the law, new figures show today.

The Metropolitan Police data, released to the Evening Standard, dispels the public impression that officers would turn a blind eye once the drug was downgraded to class C.

In the first three months after the law changed in January, police recorded 5,643 offences a week in London, down only nine per cent from the same period a year earlier.

Adults caught in possession are now issued with a formal warning and have the drug confiscated, saving thousands of hours of police time.

But community leaders in Brixton said there had been little improvement in relations between the police and local people because officers were carrying out as many drugs searches as ever. Shane Collins, organiser of Lambeth's annual cannabis festival, said: "If they don't like the look of someone, they'll give drugs as the reason for the search."

Supporters of the law reform claimed it would allow police to spend more time fighting hard drugs.

But the figures show arrests for class A drugs up only five per cent year on year.

The Standard uncovered widespread public confusion in the run-up to the change in the law, with many wrongly thinking the drug was being legalised or decriminalised rather than staying banned.

Under-18s caught in possession of cannabis are still routinely arrested under the new reforms, as are adults caught with the drug near schools or smoking it in public view.

The Government last week launched a fresh effort to warn teenagers of the dangers of smoking cannabis. Ministers endorsed a leaflet from drugs charity Mentor UK aimed at schools and youth clubs. It points out the mental health problems caused by cannabis, which include anxiety, paranoia and schizophrenia.