Drugs leader says cannabis warnings a 'sign of times'

[Lunar Loops]

I wonder if he would consider it just as sad if people were walking round with less than £15 worth of alcohol on their person? Anyway, this from The Evening News (Scotland):
Drugs leader says cannabis warnings a 'sign of times'

THE Capital's alcohol and drugs chief has described a new police policy of issuing warnings to adults found in possession of cannabis as a "sad reflection of society".
Lothian and Borders Police are issuing warnings to over-16s found in possession of cannabis worth £15 or less instead of charging them and handing them over for prosecution.
The force is trialling the pilot scheme in West Lothian in a bid to cut down on the amount of time small crimes take up in court.
Tom Wood, chairman of Action on Alcohol and Drugs in Edinburgh, said: "I recognise it as a pragmatic response to the amount of cannabis that is around at the moment. It is a sign of the times really and is a sad reflection of society."
So far, police have issued 23 warnings to people in West Lothian caught in possession of the drug. If they are caught in possession for a second time they would face charges and an appearance in court.
Drugs campaigners have said that the scheme is sending out the wrong message to young people and will add to the confusion that the reclassification of cannabis to a Grade-C drug has caused.
The scheme follows on from a decision by all of Scotland's police forces to introduce adult warnings for minor first-time offences such as urinating in public or low-level breaches of the peace, in a bid to lighten the load on courts and prosecutors.
The change in policy comes as new figures show a huge increase in the number of people detained in Lothian hospitals with mental and behavioural problems attributed to cannabis.

[Nature Boy]

Truth is, virtually no judicial and prison system can cope with the sheer amount of cannabis smokers out there, if in theory, they were all caught and trialled. It's far from a "sad reflection on society", it just is. I'm also confused about this "sending out the wrong message" notion that many anti-drugs campaigners and politicians often mention. This is an entirely overplayed factor and realistically, young people will smoke cannabis no matter what classification laws are in place. It's not like someone who's never smoked a joint before will read something about cannabis being dropped down to grade-C and suddenly decide to take up pot-smoking. It's ridiculous and impractical thought.

[Bajeda]

Its a sad reflection on society that valuable law enforcement resources are used to combat "crime" that wouldn't be illegal in a logical society when they could be used to fight the rising numbers of violent acts perpetrated, many as a result of drug prohibition.

Its an even sadder reflection on society that many intelligent people have been saying this for years and they are always ignored.