A City in the North of England Opens the Way towards Legalisation: Police Will Stop Persecuting Home Growing

Cannabis lovers in Durham, a city in England, will no longer be monitored by police should they grow marijuana for their own personal use. The security forces in the area have made the assessment that, despite the fact that the activity is still illegal, it should not take priority among their tasks.

The city’s security forces will only act against cannabis consumers if they receive complaints from third parties or if they discover activity that is out of the ordinary. However, activity linked to private use and growing will not be pursued actively.

Superintendent Ron Hogg said he was aware that the issue could lead to a national debate and would encourage the government to change their policy in relation to marijuana; both he and Mick Barton, head of his police force, support the depenalisation of the plant. On the other hand, he believes that it will be necessary to start up a program that treats those who possess small amounts of cannabis in a “fair and moderate” manner.

However, this issue has alarmed opponents of marijuana legalisation, as they believe that it sends out the “wrong message”. David Raynes, from the National Drug Prevention Alliance, has stated that it is unnecessary to make such a decision public as he believes that it will only encourage more people to consume. Hogg has explained that his only intention was to focus on greater problems.

Despite the fact that British activists see the initiative as a step towards depenalisation, authorities want to make it clear that they will be closely scrutinising places that sell the plant as well as any other matters relating to production that may equate to a crime.