UK: Home Office wrongly allowed import of medicinal cannabis

Mary O'Hara

The Guardian

Friday 29 Oct 2010

Email incorrectly said EU law allowed certain people to bring small
quantities of cannabis into UK for personal use

The Home Office sent emails to members of the public wrongly stating
that some people were legally permitted to import medicinal cannabis
to Britain, potentially putting anyone who acted on the flawed advice
at risk of arrest or prosecution.

Earlier this year officials in the drugs strategy unit incorrectly
advised that under EU law individuals could bring small quantities of
medicinal cannabis into the UK for personal use if they had valid
documentation, including a prescription from a doctor in an EU country
where the drug was legal.

The advice, which appeared to fly in the face of UK drugs laws that
ban possession of the drug under any circumstances, was later posted
online and rapidly went viral, sparking heated debate about the legal
status of the drug.

Some cannabis forums predicted that on the back of the official
guidance thousands of chronically ill British people would travel to
the Netherlands and Belgium, the two EU states where the drug is legal
for medical use, to obtain prescriptions. According to drugs
charities, enquiries about the legality of importing the drug for
medical use jumped after the online speculation. Release said it
received numerous requests for clarification of the law, including
from the government's own drugs advice helpline, Frank.

A Home Office spokesman initially denied the department had given out
inaccurate information about medicinal use of cannabis, saying the
UK's position was clear. It issued a statement saying: "Cannabis is
dangerous and has no medicinal benefits in herbal form. It remains
illegal for UK residents to possess cannabis in any form."

However the spokesman later confirmed that emails containing incorrect
advice had been sent. He suggested the error was due to a
misinterpretation by department officials of a 15-year-old piece of
European law known as the Schengen agreement.

Clause 75 of the agreement regulates travel within the EU with
prescribed controlled drugs. However it only permits people who are
officially resident in countries where the drug being carried is legal
to move between countries while in possession of it. Conditions also
apply meaning individuals must have the appropriate permits and a
doctor's prescription from the relevant country. This means British
residents cannot travel to the UK in possession of medicinal cannabis
even if they managed to acquire a prescription in a country where it
is legal.

The chief executive of Release, Sebastian Saville, said it was a pity
the clause did not apply to UK residents. "What is more worrying
though is how Home Office advice could have led to people being
prosecuted and potentially imprisoned," he said.

Campaigners for the legalisation of medicinal cannabis are often
people with chronic illnesses who claim it is especially effective as
a pain reliever. They point to countries like Holland where the drug
can be prescribed for medical reasons as evidence that British drugs
laws are draconian. Some argue that denial of the drug to people in
pain is tantamount to discrimination.

Saville says Britain should be looking to California where regulated
medical cannabis is widely available and where a referendum on whether
to legalise it for general use is scheduled for 2 November.

A spokesman for the Home Office said: "We apologise if inaccurate
information was given in good faith during correspondence with the
department." He said staff dealing with the subject of drugs and EU
law had received clarification on the issue.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/oct/29/home-office-import-medicinal-
cannabis


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