> The home secretary has said cannabis is to be reclassified as a class B drug.
Obviously this won’t improve anything at all. But what most caught my eye is the handy table at the bottom of the article, reproduced here for your perusal (content unchanged but HTML vastly improved):
| Drug class | Type of drug | Possession | Dealing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class A | Ecstasy, LSD, heroin, cocaine, crack, magic mushrooms, amphetamines (if prepared for injection). | Up to seven years in prison or an unlimited fine or both. | Up to life in prison or an unlimited fine or both. |
| Class B | Amphetamines, Methylphenidate (Ritalin), Pholcodine. | Up to five years in prison or an unlimited fine or both. | Up to 14 years in prison or an unlimited fine or both. |
| Class C | Cannabis, tranquilisers, some painkillers, Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), Ketamine. | Up to two years in prison or an unlimited fine or both. | Up to 14 years in prison or an unlimited fine or both. |
(I wonder why they used words (seven, five, two) in the third column and numerals in the fourth)
In the interests of making the punishment proportional to the severity of the crime, here’s my proposal for new drug laws. Does anyone have a problem with this? If anything, I think they might still be a little on the harsh side.
| Drug class | Possession | Dealing |
|---|---|---|
| Class A | Confiscation | Up to 10 years in prison or an unlimited fine. |
| Class B | Confiscation | Up to 7 years in prison or an unlimited fine. |
| Class C | Confiscation | Up to 5 years in prison or an unlimited fine. |
Disclaimer: I don’t do any of the above drugs.