"I'm buggered if I know" why we prosecute adults for Cannabis says ex-Top Cop

A recently retired senior police officer who once headed the National Drug Intelligence Bureau says police have made a "tactical mistake" in the way they deal with cannabis offences.

Detective Inspector Harry Quinn, who retired in 2008 after 37 years in the police, is calling on senior police to lead a debate on the cannabis issue, saying he is "disappointed" that no one in the organisation is prepared to speak out. He says this is because police see cannabis as a "political time bomb".

Quinn, who also helped set up the national organised crime unit and was involved in numerous cannabis eradication operations, says he took flak within police for writing a report recommending a relaxation of cannabis enforcement, which would have involved issuing warnings to adult social users.

A similar model has been suggested by the Law Commission, but the government has indicated it will not be changing drug laws.

Quinn's comments come after a recent hardline approach to cannabis, including the nationwide raids in April on hydroponic gardening stores.

In the latest edition of Norml News, the magazine of the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, member Stephen McIntyre says the April raids signal a "war on cannabis" by police and that previously there had been a degree of tolerance towards home cultivation for personal use. Law reformists say there is a perception from police that because the National government is tough on crime, they should clamp down on all areas of drug enforcement.