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MEDIA SAVVY
WHO’S BEEN SAYINGWHAT..?
Drug dealers are getting dogs hooked on heroin so they will attack police.
Injections of the class A narcotic make the animal junkies extra fierce and
aggressive as they are forced to go through detox.
Mirror
news story, 8 October
Britain on drugs is where China is on hanging, Saudi Arabia on beating,
Russia on censorship and the Taliban on girls’ education. Drugs policy is
the last legislative wilderness where ‘here be dragons’, a hangover from
days when abortion and homosexuality were illegal and divorce
expensive. It petrified home secretaries of left and right alike, Jack Straw
and Jacqui Smith as much as Kenneth Clarke and Theresa May… The mere
word drugs gives every politician the heebie-jeebies and turns
libertarians into control freaks.
Simon Jenkins,
Guardian
, 16 October
Outside of Parliament, the drugs debate merely exists as a mildly
titillating red herring for the public, the media, academics and politicians
to feast on, while the damage continues. In respected arenas of debate
such as
Newsnight
, in revered academic institutions and in the
broadsheet media, the same talking heads – the celebrity legalisers and
the zero-tolerance brigade – are wheeled out to lock horns in an often ill-
informed, and ultimately pointless, war of words.
Max Daly,
Guardian
, 8 October
When I wrote a pamphlet advocating legalisation of cannabis in 2001, I
was congratulated by friend and foe alike for my ‘courage’. But it required
no courage. On the contrary, for the first time in my career I felt the warm
embrace of the liberal establishment. Interviewers asked me what
questions I would like, confided that they had lined up a reactionary
nutter to argue for prohibition, and quizzed me with almost
embarrassing bias in my favour.
Peter Lilley,
Prospect
, 17 October
For all [the UKDPC’s] careful analysis – their report is the result of six
years’ research – their conclusions remain somewhat theoretical. The fact
remains that legalising or decriminalising drugs would still be a giant leap
into the unknown. Yes, we can draw on lessons from the likes of Portugal,
Holland and Switzerland, all of which have experimented with drug
decriminalisation programmes, often successfully. But what works for
one country does not necessarily work for another. Especially when it
comes to our different national predilections for getting out of our heads.
Colin Freeman,
Telegraph
, 22 October
I've seen enough young people taking drugs to know that the ‘illegal’
label acts as come-on rather than turn-off. And I’ve seen enough mothers
at the school gates on legal drugs to realise that ‘legal’ is often lethal.
Cristina Odone,
Telegraph
, 15 October
Last year three-quarters of admissions to hospital where alcohol was the
main cause were the result of chronic problems rather than one-off
binges. Stephen Dorrell, who heads Parliament’s health select
committee, suggests the government’s alcohol strategy should now
place more emphasis on public health. The party was fun. The hangover
will be long, and painful.
Economist
editorial, 6 October
READER’S QUESTION:
I am a landlord of a flat that I own and rent out, and I think the
tenants may be growing cannabis. I live in a different city so I’m
not there often, but the last few times I have visited recently one
of the rooms has always been locked. I have also noticed quite an
increase in the electricity usage – the tenants pay for this but the
bill is still in my name. They’re good tenants – I don’t want to
make them leave. Could I get in trouble if they are doing this?
KIRSTIE SAYS:
There is potential for someone involved in the
management of premises (eg a landlord) to be
charged and prosecuted with an offence under
section 8 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
, if they
knowingly permit or suffer that property to be
used for the production of a controlled drug.
Just being suspicious that production is
occurring is not enough to be an offence, but
being wilfully blind or ignorant of what is
happening is likely to be. In your case, you have
your suspicions and if you choose to ignore them
without question there is a risk of prosecution.
If the police do investigate production of cannabis at your property, and
consider your involvement or knowledge of this, they will look at the particular
facts of the case. It will be relevant that you live far away and don’t attend the
property much, as this would indicate little opportunity to have knowledge of
the tenant’s actions. However, they will also take into account whether in the
circumstances you should have known what was going on and just ignored it.
The electricity bill being in your name and the increase in energy use would
probably be used to indicate that you should have at least queried what was
going on and in not doing so you were being intentionally ignorant.
Any action a landlord has taken to stop the illegal activity will be very
important. Managers of properties often try to avoid prosecution for this offence
by recording any warnings where they suspect a tenant is engaged in illegal
activity. Although this tends to be used more in hostels/supported
accommodation, it is something you can consider. Many tenancy agreements
have clauses relating to criminal activity, and state that a breach of this can be
grounds for possession and eviction. Taking these steps is likely to go in a
landlord’s favour, if not to avoid prosecution then to reduce any possible sentence.
Depending on the seriousness of the offence, considering the level of
knowledge or involvement, there is a risk of a prison sentence for this offence.
However, a community order is the most likely sentence, depending on any
aggravating/mitigating factors including previous convictions for the same or
similar offence.
Will you share your issue with other readers? Kirstie will answer your
legal questions relating to any aspect of drugs, the law and your rights
through this column. Please email your queries to claire@cjwellings.com
and we will pass them on.
For more information about this issue please contact the Release legal
helpline on 0845 4500 215.
Media savvy |
Legal line
November 2012 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 7
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
Release solicitor
Kirstie Douse
answers
your legal questions in her regular column
LEGAL LINE
WILL I GET INTO TROUBLE FOR
TURNING A BLIND EYE TO MY
TENANTS’ CANNABIS PRODUCTION?