U.K. - Cannabis laws to be eased LONDON (Reuters) - The government will respond this week to a dramatic surge in cannabis use by easing laws and allowing millions of dope fans to smoke without fear of arrest. Pressure from police, medical experts and politicians for a less punitive approach has swayed Home Secretary David Blunkett, who is expected on Wednesday to downgrade it to a low risk category C drug. The downgrade -- making cannabis a Class C rather than Class B drug -- will put the drug in the same category as anabolic steroids and growth hormones and make possessing small amounts of it or smoking it in private a non-arrestable offence. A report published late last year showed cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in the European Union, with at least one in 10 adults in the 15-nation group having used it. click for complete article ================ in the U.S.A.
