Cannabis users gather at London ‘420 picnic’

(Guardian) More than 1,000 cannabis users have gathered in Hyde Park to smoke weed and eat dope-infused picnics in a mass act of civil disobedience in protest at criminalisation of the drug.

The 420 picnic, held each year on or around 20 April, defied expectations by attracting relatively large numbers by the early afternoon, hours before its climax at 4.20pm.

Self-confined to a corner of grass bordered by public paths, picnickers – most of them young – were watched by police liaison officers, while regular officers with sniffer dogs congregated near the Marble Arch entrance to the park stopping some would-be protesters on their way in.

Stuart Harper, of Norml UK, the British branch of the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, who had been involved in negotiations with police, said: “Obviously police officers have what’s called judicial discretion, which means when they carry out their duties they have a certain amount of discretion.

“Because of the number of people infracting the law and the nature of the infractions being minor, it’s not in the public interest for them to prosecute.”

Cannabis arrests down 46% since 2010 - police figures

(BBC) Arrests for cannabis possession in England and Wales have dropped by 46% since 2010, figures obtained by BBC Breakfast suggest.

Cautions fell by 48% and the number of people charged fell by 33%, according to data from police forces released under the Freedom of Information Act.

Crime survey data suggests cannabis use remained roughly level from 2010-15.

One force which no longer targets cannabis users said officers had been “freed up” for “more important” work.

The Home Office said all crimes reported to the police should be taken seriously, investigated and, where appropriate, taken through the courts.

“Decisions on individual investigations are an operational matter for Chief Constables based on the evidence available to them,” a spokesperson said.

Of the 43 police forces contacted by BBC Breakfast, 32 responded with full data.

The figures showed that, from 2010-15, the number of:

• arrests for cannabis possession fell from 35,367 to 19,115
• cautions for possession fell from 9,633 to 5,036
• people charged for possession dropped from 15,366 to 10,220

Arrests for possession with intent to supply remained about the same - 4,934 in 2010 and 5,012 in 2015.

Reefer madness debunked as major UK study finds marijuana does not reduce IQ in teens

(RawStory) A large study conducted in the United Kingdom failed to find evidence of a robust link between cannabis use and lowered intelligence among teenagers.

The study, published online January 6 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, found a statistical association between cannabis use and decreased intellectual performance. However, this association vanished when the researchers took other variables into account. “The notion that cannabis use itself is causally related to lower IQ and poorer educational performance was not supported in this large teenage sample,” wrote Claire Mokrysz of the University College London and her colleagues.

The findings are based on 2,235 teenagers who participated in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a long-term study following children born in the Bristol area in 1991 and 1992. The children had their IQ tested at the age of 8, and again at the age of 15. Nearly a quarter of the participants reported having tried cannabis at least once, and 3.3 percent had used the drug at least 50 times.

The teenage cannabis users had lower IQ scores and worse educational performance. But the researchers found no evidence that cannabis itself was to blame for the correlation. Teenage cannabis users were also more likely to have had problems in childhood and to have used other drugs, such as cigarettes and alcohol.

“After adjustment to account for these group differences, cannabis use by the age of 15 did not predict either lower teenage IQ scores or poorer educational performance,” the researchers explained. “These findings therefore suggest that cannabis use at the modest levels used by this sample of teenagers is not by itself causally related to cognitive impairment. Instead, our findings imply that previously reported associations between adolescent cannabis use and poorer intellectual and educational outcomes may be confounded to a significant degree by related factors.”

Steep fall in cannabis offences points to silent relaxation of drugs policy

(UK) The number of cannabis possession offences in England and Wales has plummeted since 2011 as forces divert shrinking budgets into tackling more serious crime and officers rein in stop and search.

Figures released to the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act reveal offences recorded by English and Welsh police forces – including penalty notices, cautions, charges and summons – fell by almost a third from a peak of 145,400 in 2011-12 to 101,905 in 2014-15.

Crucially, the figures include all cannabis possession offences, not just those that led to arrests or prosecutions. The fall in offences cannot therefore be explained by police opting for quick cautions over lengthy prosecutions.

What the figures reveal is a silent relaxation of drugs policy in the last five years – and will spark fresh debate about whether there is a case to decriminalise cannabis possession.

‘Cannabis forest’ discovered in London

(BBC) Police found the cannabis patch, covering an area the size of a football pitch, after a call from a member of the public in Kingston.

They found more than 150 plants, some more than 5ft (1.5m) tall. The plants are to be destroyed.

PC Sarah Henderson said it looked like “a small forest of Christmas trees and was complete with a gazebo”.

The plants were found near Lower Marsh Lane.

“Whoever set this up used a really remote spot - the only way to get there was a 20-minute walk through wasteland.

"But all their time, trouble and gardening skills will go unrewarded, as the whole lot will now be destroyed by police,” she said.

There have been no arrests and inquiries continue, the police said.

MPs to debate cannabis legalisation after petition reaches 200,000 signatures

(TheGuardian) MPs will debate whether to legalise the production, sale and use of cannabis after a petition calling for a change in the law reached more than 200,000 signatures.

Paul Flynn, Labour MP for Newport West, who has worked with cannabis law reform campaigners, will lead the debate in Westminster Hall on 12 October.

The government has already insisted in reply that it has no plans to legalise cannabis since a change in the law “would not address the harm to individuals and communities”.

James Owen, who started the petition, said that despite public backing – it reached more than 125,000 signatures in just five days after it was posted in August – he was not hopeful that the debate could change the government’s position.

Police arrest 53 people as pro-cannabis protestors gather to get high and call for the drug to be legalised in London’s Hyde Park