UK dagga demand rising

2005-02-20 09:35

London - Demand for dagga in Britain has soared following the relaxation of drugs laws last year, a newspaper reported on Sunday, citing senior police officials.

Fears that gangs were trafficking large quantities of dagga because they thought the police no longer mind rose after a series of large seizures in southeast England over the past few weeks, The Observer said.

Dagga was reclassified as a less-serious Class C drug from Class B in January 2004 to enable the police to focus on tackling harder drugs such as heroin and cocaine, but some officers believe this sent out the wrong message.

"One of the biggest growth areas is the shifting of organised crime towards cannabis importation," a senior officer connected to the Metropolitan Police's organised crime unit was quoted as saying.

"The supply side has reacted to the liberalisation because they think law enforcement has taken its eye off the ball," the anonymous officer said.

"We are now recovering tons of the drug at one time and that is something we were never doing before. The decision to reclassify was wrong."

Reclassification is also blamed on a spike in the amount of home-grown weed available, the newspaper added.

- AFP