UK: No prosecution after cannabis cafe arrest The News & Star, Carlisle Wednesday 17 Apr 2002 --- CANNABIS crusader Lezley Gibson will not be prosecuted for possessing the drug despite being caught red-handed in an illegal Dutch-style cafe. Multiple sclerosis sufferer Ms Gibson was locked up for four hours after being caught in a raid at the Dutch Experience in Stockport last January. She has waited 14 weeks to hear if she would be hauled before the courts. The Criminal Prosecution Service (CPS) has decided not to press ahead with charges, the News & Star can reveal. Ms Gibson, from Alston, said: "I hope this will make things easier for other medicinal users." The move comes less than two years after a jury refused to convict 38-year-old Ms Gibson of possession of cannabis on the grounds that it was the only drug that could ease her MS symptoms
UK: Public believe 'tobacco is more dangerous than ecstasy' Ananova Sunday 21 Apr 2002 --- More people now believe tobacco is a more dangerous drug than Ecstasy, according to a new survey. The poll conducted by The Observer and ICM shows more than half of Britain's 16 to 24-year-olds have taken illegal drugs. Further, more than five million people regularly use cannabis, 2.4 million Ecstasy and two million amphetamines and cocaine. And two in five people between 25 and 34 and more than a third of 35 to 44-year-olds said they have taken illegal drugs. The Observer claims the survey is one of the most extensive conducted into the growing drug culture in Britain and shows that drug use is more prevalent than thought. As many as 28% of those aged over 16 have taken illegal drugs and men are twice as likely as women to have taken them, according to the survey. Four out of five illegal drugs users have taken cannabis, 27% Ecstasy, 25% amphetamines and more than one in five LSD and cocaine. The survey also found that 35% thought cannabis should be decriminalised, 7% said Ecstasy should be made legal, but only 4% thought all drugs should be freely available. A total of 1,075 people over the age of 16 were polled in February and March and the results weighted to reflect the profile of all adults.