{"id":44983,"date":"2019-04-08T18:13:54","date_gmt":"2019-04-08T18:13:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/merryjane.com\/uk-cops-will-stop-arresting-people-for-weed\/"},"modified":"2019-04-08T18:13:54","modified_gmt":"2019-04-08T18:13:54","slug":"uk-cops-will-stop-arresting-people-for-weed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/merryjane.com\/news\/uk-cops-will-stop-arresting-people-for-weed\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Cops Will Stop Arresting People for Weed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The UK\u2019s police forces now wield greater discretion when charging suspects with weed crimes, which includes looking the other way entirely.<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday, the National Police Chiefs\u2019 Council made an announcement that UK police may choose whether to enforce British law or to simply let the accused go free, without warning. In the UK, weed possession without medical approval can net a prison sentence of up to five years with no limit on fines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is strong evidence to suggest that recommending minor offenders for early intervention treatment instead of pursuing convictions can prevent re-offending and result in the best outcome for both the user and the criminal justice system,\u201d said Jason Harwin, the council\u2019s Lead on Drug Crime, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-6897013\/Police-UK-given-green-light-let-cannabis-users-scot-free.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><u><em>The Daily Mail<\/em><\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Police are wary to even issue warnings for minor pot offenses, since \u201cofficial warnings\u201d can still negatively impact an individual\u2019s record, hurting one\u2019s chances to get a job, enter university, or find a place to live.<\/p>\n<p>The UK\u2019s anti-weed warriors, unsurprisingly, took issue with the announcement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is astonishing in view of the cumulative relationship between cannabis and violence,\u201d said Kathy Gyngell, an editor at <em>Conservative Women<\/em>, as reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-6897013\/Police-UK-given-green-light-let-cannabis-users-scot-free.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><u><em>The Daily Mail<\/em><\/u><\/a>. \u201cThis is symptomatic of the politically influenced easier-to-say-yes-than-no culture of present-day policing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The UK has, in many respects, essentially decriminalized cannabis for personal use, although prohibition remains on the books. Between 2015 and 2018, weed prosecutions in England and Wales fell by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/2018\/jul\/14\/police-decriminalising-cannabis-prosecutions-fall-norman-lamb-mp\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><u>19 percent<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, the UK legalized medical marijuana for some debilitating conditions. However, many patients have complained about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.co.uk\/article\/medical-cannabis-nhs-prescription\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><u>lack of access<\/u><\/a> and product shortages. Over the weekend, UK customs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/2019\/apr\/06\/mother-of-epileptic-girl-teagan-emma-appleby-has-supply-of-medical-cannabis-confiscated\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><u>confiscated<\/u><\/a> a 9-year-old epileptic patient\u2019s medical cannabis.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow Randy Robinson on <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/randieseljay?lang=en\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><u><em>Twitter<\/em><\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UK police can now choose whether to enforce British law or simply let the accused go free when it comes to low-level cannabis crimes, like possession and public consumption.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3036],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - 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