Opinions - Cannabis is no big deal, says Johnson

[Lunar Loops]

Good old Boris, not a man to ever consider the right to remain silent. This from The Times (UK):

Cannabis is no big deal, says Johnson

Francis Elliott, Chief Political Correspondent


Boris Johnson reserved — and then exercised — the “right to make gaffes” yesterday as he suggested that the police were wasting their time by chasing cannabis smokers.
The Henley MP put himself at odds with the Tories’ zero-tolerance stance on drugs when he was asked whether he supported diverting police away from tackling cannabis possession.
The front-runner in the race to become the Conservative candidate for the London mayoralty made clear that he did not favour decriminalisation, but said that he wanted the police to focus on more serious crimes.
“I don’t want the police wasting their time rifling through the sock drawers of every student in London in the hope of finding a little rabbit dropping of cannabis. You know, I just think it’s a waste of their time,” he said during a television interview.
The official Tory position on cannabis is that it should be restored to the Class B drug category and that users should be routinely prosecuted.
Mr Johnson’s rivals lost little time in seeking to exploit his deviation. Victoria Borwick, who is campaigning on a pledge to introduce zero-tolerance policing to London, said: “I want the law enforced, without fear or favour.”
Although Mr Johnson’s remarks on cannabis will be unwelcome in the office of David Cameron — who narrowly avoided being expelled from Eton for smoking the drug — it is unlikely that they will do his bid serious damage. In the same interview Mr Johnson said: “I reserve the right to make gaffes, I really do. I think it is a key thing in politics that people should be able to say what they think and to get themselves into slight trouble from time to time.”

[D.U.M.B]

It would be interesting to see him get into power.

[Pondlife]

Boris is a very interesting person. He tries to appear bumbling and slightly stupid, but if you scratch below the surface it quickly becomes clear that he's anything but and is a very smart person.

Boris is like the the Victorian and Edwardian English gentlemen who would play sport at a high level but always ensured that they achieved success without the appearance of trying too hard. So Boris writes the odd book "in his spare time", appears on celebrity shows, and also manages to hold down a job as an MP.

I'd say that he has a good chance of winning the London Mayor position if he gets nominated as the Conservative candidate, because people are starting to get a bit fed up with Ken. However I'm not sure if this would be a good or a bad thing, as it's difficult to tell what his policies would actually be.

[Nature Boy]

"I don’t want the police wasting their time rifling through the sock drawers of every student in London in the hope of finding a little rabbit dropping of cannabis."

That's gold.

[Joe Duffy]

Yes good old Boris, I have always enjoyed his appearances on

shows like “Have I Got News for You”.

[geezaman]

Boris is great, but SWIM thinks his bufoon act (?) will be too much of a risk for many voters... Would his term as mayor cover the period of the olympic games held in london?

"Have i got news for you" has shown a different light to many celebrity/political figures, anyone remember william hague hosting it?
The fact Boris is happy to present it knowing full well he will have fun poked at him at every opertunity, has given SWIM an admiration for him, at times not taking yourself too seriously and being able to laugh at yourself are great assets, SWIM couldnt see figures like John Prescott being quite so glad to partake.

[Pondlife]

I see that Boris has just been chosen as the Conservative candidate for the London mayor.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/conse...178000,00.html

He should give Ken a run for his money.

[Heretic.Ape.]

[top] London Mayor Boris Johnson Supports Medical Marijuana

The newly-elected mayor of London, Conservative politician and celebrity Boris Johnson, has expressed his support for medicalization of marijuana.
The Daily Telegraph reported on April 25, 2008 ("Boris Johnson Calls for Cannabis Legalisation") that "Boris Johnson has become one of the first senior Conservative Party politicians to call for the legalisation of cannabis for medicinal use. In an interview for Telegraph TV, the candidate for London mayor responded to a question from a reader about his personal views on the use of marijuana by sufferers of chronic conditions such as arthritis."
The Telegraph noted that "Mr Johnson said: "I have thought about this for a little bit, but I haven't looked at all the evidence and talked to the police about it in a way I would before giving more than an extempore answer. "However, I do think there is a case when cannabis is being used to alleviate severe and chronic pain that the law should be flexible.""

http://www.csdp.org/news/news/ukjohnson_050508.htm