ARTICLE FROM 'THE GUARDIAN', LONDON  MONDAY AUGUST 1, 1994


HOME OFFICE REPORT BACKS RAVE

by Duncan Campbell, Crime Correspondent

Rave parties should be encouraged and granted licences by local
authorities, according to an unpublished Home Office report on drugs
that has been passed to the Guardian.  Elimination of drug misuse
should be reagrded as an unobtainable goal, says the report.

Many of the report's findings fly in the face of government
strategy  of criminalising raves, imposing heavier drug sentences
and increasing stop and search powers.

A Home Office spokeswoman said that it was intended that the
report, by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, would
be published shortly, although no date has been set.

The report, entitled Police, Drugs Misusers and the Community,
represents the latest research in drug policing policies.  The
Council, set up in 1971, is the main body advising the Home
Office on drugs policy, and its recommendations carry great
weight.

The conclusions are likely to embarrass Michael Howard, the Home
Secretary, as he and the new Home Office minister with
responsibility for drugs, Michael Forsyth, seek to put their
stamp on the Government's drugs policy.  It is understood
they are planning an anti-drugs initiative in the autumn.

One of the main planks of the Criminal Justice Bill, which
will be enacted in October, would give the police powers
to break up raves and seize sound equipment.  But the report
recommends that "the organisation of more legal raves be
encouraged by local authorities exercising maximum discretion
in the granting of licences and by involving responsible organisers
of raves in the process."

It says that resorting to criminal law against raves may
well lead to a conflict between the police and young people.

Cautioning for possession of drugs should be encouraged and
regularised, says the report, which recommends that guidelines
be drawn up because police forces differ in their approach.
Mr Howard has already indicated his opposition to repeated
cautions.

The report also recommends that drugs that do the most harm
should be the principal target, and notes that nearly
nine out of ten drug arrests involve cannabis.  This would
seem to contradict Mr Howard's position as he recently
announced a five-fold increase in the maximum fine for
cannabis possession, from (UKP) 500 to (UKP) 2,500.

The report's overview says that the whole philosophy
of dealing with drug abuse has to be rethought and
should not be seen as a simple law enforcement issue.
It concludes that "elimination of drug misuse is generally
regarded an an unobtainable goal."

The report backs a multi-agency approach, involving police,
health and social services and local authorities.

The report's findings were welcomed by civil liberties
groups and rave organisations.

"Driving underground rave parties just increased the risks
for young people," said a Liberty spokeswoman.  "They are at
much greater risk where there are no controls and no
advice on drugs."

"It's a vindication of what we have been saying," said
Glenn Jenkins of Luton-based organisation Exodus,
which runs some of the largest raves in the country.
"What they're saying is complete common sense."


END

Reproduced without permission.




--
Stewart Parkinson

    "I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when
     looked at in the right way, did not become still more complicated."
                                                -  Poul Anderson

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