MORE POLIITICIANS ON THE POT...YAWN!
July 19th 2007 22:48
WHO SMOKED WHAT WHEN
This English out break of UK politicians owning up to having smoked pot,follows the recent brouhaha in Australia of which politicians might or might not have smoked pot at some stage of their lives, plus the rather stupid so-called controversy over whether Peter Garrett smokes dope with some musoes.
This news agency report appeared in a wide variety of international newspapers:
A string of British government ministers today followed Home Secretary Jacqui Smith in admitting they used cannabis in their youth.
A total of seven cabinet ministers, including Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, confirmed they used the illegal drug as students. And two more ministers at the Home Office also said they tried it at university.
The admissions came after Prime Minister Gordon Brown's announcement yesterday of a review of the classification of cannabis, which may reverse the 2004 decision to downgrade it from a class B drug to the less serious class C.
Mr Brown's spokesman said the prime minister - who has denied ever using illicit substances - was "quite relaxed" about his cabinet colleagues' admissions of past indiscretions.
Ms Smith, who will have to decide whether to reverse her predecessor David Blunkett's decision on declassifying cannabis, made her admission in an early-morning interview on GMTV.
Asked if she had ever tried cannabis, she said: "I have. I did when I was at university. I haven't done for at least 25 years."
Shortly afterwards policing, security and community safety Minister Tony McNulty told BBC News 24: "At university I encountered it, I smoked it once or twice, and I don't think many people who were at university at the time didn't at least encounter it."
And the Home Office later confirmed another minister Vernon Coaker, who has responsibility for drugs policy, had also taken cannabis in the past.
Darling said he had tried the drug "occasionally in my youth". His deputy at the Treasury, Chief Secretary Andy Burnham said he had used it "once or twice at university and never since".
Spokespeople for Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly and Business Secretary John Hutton also confirmed they were former cannabis users.
A spokeswoman for Kelly said she smoked it "in her youth (but) realised it was foolish and gave up".
Hutton's spokesman said: "He smoked cannabis when he was at university over 30 years ago. He regrets doing it now, having seen the damage that cannabis can cause among some of the young people in his constituency."
Communities Secretary Hazel Blears and housing minister Yvette Cooper previously admitted taking cannabis in the past.
Brown's spokesman told reporters at a regular daily briefing: "The prime minister is quite relaxed about the situation.
"There is no No 10 edict on this one way or another. The prime minister thinks this is a matter for individual ministers to decide how to answer these questions.
He has no issue with how (Smith) dealt with this question."
Smith said she had "learnt her lesson" from youthful cannabis use and had never tried any other drug.
She told GMTV: "I think it was wrong that I smoked it when I did. I have not done for 25 years. I share other people's concerns about the effect that cannabis has on young people and mental health problems.
"So, actually I think in some ways I have learnt my lesson and I have a responsibility as Home Secretary now to make sure we put in place the laws and the support and information to make sure we carry on bringing cannabis use down, which we are doing."
Asked how she felt about people who thought her admission might make her unfit to be Home Secretary, she said: "On the whole I think people think human beings should do jobs like this. I am not proud about it, I did the wrong thing.
"One of the things about being a politician is that you are often criticised for not knowing what's going on. I hope that my experiences in my life have actually helped me understand that I do want crime tackled..."
The review launched by Brown yesterday will be the second rethink of the controversial decision to make cannabis possession a largely non-arrestable offence, signalling the possible reintroduction of tougher penalties for cannabis smokers.
The drug's downgrading placed it alongside certain prescription tranquillisers and body-building steroids.
Just two years after it last looked at the issue, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) will now review reports the danger from cannabis is increasing because stronger strains such as "skunk" are more widely available.
There are fears that more potent forms of cannabis have harsher side-effects, particularly on mental health.
PA
This English out break of UK politicians owning up to having smoked pot,follows the recent brouhaha in Australia of which politicians might or might not have smoked pot at some stage of their lives, plus the rather stupid so-called controversy over whether Peter Garrett smokes dope with some musoes.
This news agency report appeared in a wide variety of international newspapers:
A string of British government ministers today followed Home Secretary Jacqui Smith in admitting they used cannabis in their youth.
A total of seven cabinet ministers, including Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, confirmed they used the illegal drug as students. And two more ministers at the Home Office also said they tried it at university.
Mr Brown's spokesman said the prime minister - who has denied ever using illicit substances - was "quite relaxed" about his cabinet colleagues' admissions of past indiscretions.
Ms Smith, who will have to decide whether to reverse her predecessor David Blunkett's decision on declassifying cannabis, made her admission in an early-morning interview on GMTV.
Asked if she had ever tried cannabis, she said: "I have. I did when I was at university. I haven't done for at least 25 years."
Shortly afterwards policing, security and community safety Minister Tony McNulty told BBC News 24: "At university I encountered it, I smoked it once or twice, and I don't think many people who were at university at the time didn't at least encounter it."
Darling said he had tried the drug "occasionally in my youth". His deputy at the Treasury, Chief Secretary Andy Burnham said he had used it "once or twice at university and never since".
Spokespeople for Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly and Business Secretary John Hutton also confirmed they were former cannabis users.
A spokeswoman for Kelly said she smoked it "in her youth (but) realised it was foolish and gave up".
Hutton's spokesman said: "He smoked cannabis when he was at university over 30 years ago. He regrets doing it now, having seen the damage that cannabis can cause among some of the young people in his constituency."
Communities Secretary Hazel Blears and housing minister Yvette Cooper previously admitted taking cannabis in the past.
Brown's spokesman told reporters at a regular daily briefing: "The prime minister is quite relaxed about the situation.
"There is no No 10 edict on this one way or another. The prime minister thinks this is a matter for individual ministers to decide how to answer these questions.
He has no issue with how (Smith) dealt with this question."
Smith said she had "learnt her lesson" from youthful cannabis use and had never tried any other drug.
She told GMTV: "I think it was wrong that I smoked it when I did. I have not done for 25 years. I share other people's concerns about the effect that cannabis has on young people and mental health problems.
"So, actually I think in some ways I have learnt my lesson and I have a responsibility as Home Secretary now to make sure we put in place the laws and the support and information to make sure we carry on bringing cannabis use down, which we are doing."
Asked how she felt about people who thought her admission might make her unfit to be Home Secretary, she said: "On the whole I think people think human beings should do jobs like this. I am not proud about it, I did the wrong thing.
"One of the things about being a politician is that you are often criticised for not knowing what's going on. I hope that my experiences in my life have actually helped me understand that I do want crime tackled..."
The review launched by Brown yesterday will be the second rethink of the controversial decision to make cannabis possession a largely non-arrestable offence, signalling the possible reintroduction of tougher penalties for cannabis smokers.
The drug's downgrading placed it alongside certain prescription tranquillisers and body-building steroids.
Just two years after it last looked at the issue, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) will now review reports the danger from cannabis is increasing because stronger strains such as "skunk" are more widely available.
There are fears that more potent forms of cannabis have harsher side-effects, particularly on mental health.
PA
| 31 |
| Vote |
