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Most Britons Want Jail for Marijuana Possession
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Roughly one-in-four of people in Britain think there should be no penalty attached to cannabis possession for personal use, according to a poll by Ipsos-MORI. 27 per cent of respondents share this opinion, while 41 per cent believe the action should carry a penalty of up to two years in prison or an unlimited fine, or both.
An additional 13 per cent of respondents think possessing marijuana for personal use should be punished with up to five years in prison, while 11 per cent believe a seven-year sentence is in order.
In Britain, drugs are placed into alphabetical categories, in accordance with the level of penalties that can be administered for possession and dealing. Heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and magic mushrooms are included in Class A, speed and barbiturates are part of Class B, and marijuana and some tranquilizers are featured in Class C.
In July 2007, British prime minister and Labour party leader Gordon Brown said he was considering a revision on the classification of cannabis as a soft drug. Changing the status of cannabis to a Class B drug would result in increased penalties for possession, supply and use of the drug. Marijuana had been classified as Class C three years ago, during the government of Tony Blair.
On Feb. 5, a group of chief police officers urged the government to increase penalties for the possession of cannabis, arguing that more people are cultivating the product in their homes. Simon Byrne, assistant chief constable of the Merseyside Police, declared: "We are worried about the rise in the number of cannabis farms we’re discovering, which is fuelling a home-grown market in the more potent strains of cannabis. There’s confusion on the streets about whether this drug is legal."
Conservative shadow home secretary David Davis sided with such calls, saying, "The government should stop dithering and take immediate action to reclassify cannabis as a Class B drug."
Polling Data
What do you think the legal penalty for cannabis possession, for personal use, should be?
|
Up to seven years in prison or an unlimited fine, or both |
11% |
|
Up to five years in prison or an unlimited fine, or both |
13% |
|
Up to two years in prison or an unlimited fine, or both |
41% |
|
No Penalty |
27% |
|
Don’t know |
9% |
Source: Ipsos-MORI
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,003 British adults, conducted from Jan. 11 to Jan. 13, 2008. No margin of error was provided.