The MPs acknowledged that there were “some attractive arguments” in favour of legalisation but that it would be “a step into the unknown”.Supplying to friends Committee: “We recommend that a new offence is created of ’supply for gain’, which would be used to prosecute large-scale commercial suppliers. We are not persuaded that an intent to supply should be presumed on the basis of amounts of drugs found; we therefore recommend that the offences of simple possession and possession with intent to supply should be retained.”The MPs took a more hardline approach than an earlier Police Foundation report to those who supply drugs to friends. The foundation had said such people should only be charged with possession. The committee said social dealers should “not escape prosecution for this offence” but that an even harsher penalty should be introduced for major drugs criminals operating on a commercial basis.ReclassificationCommittee: “We believe that drugs policy should primarily be addressed to dealing with the 250,000 problematic drug users We support … the Home Secretary’s proposal to reclassify cannabis from class B to class C We … recommend that ecstasy is reclassified as a class B drug.”The recommendation to reclassify cannabis is the final vote of approval sought by Mr Blunkett after his earlier proposal to make possession of the drug a non-arrestable offence A change to the law is now imminent.

But he is fiercely opposed to any softening of the law on ecstasy.CocaineCommittee: “We recommend that the number of treatment places for cocaine users is substantially increased. We recommend that resources are channelled into researching and piloting innovative treatment interventions. We consider that the risks posed by cocaine to the user and to other people merit it remaining a class A drug. We recommend that more treatment places are created for crack users and that resources be channelled into researching and piloting more effective treatments. We further recommend that in the meantime efforts are redoubled to extinguish supply of crack cocaine.”MPs were alarmed by the growing prevalence of cocaine and particularly crack, the high-purity crystalline form of the drug. The Home Office minister Robert Ainsworth told the MPs of the “massive damage [crack] is doing to certain communities and inner-city areas”. The committee said: “Where crack is concerned we see no prospect for compromise.”Heroin Committee: “We recommend that the Government substantially increases the funding for treatment for heroin addicts and ensure that methadone treatments and complementary therapies are universally available to those who need them.

We recommend that appropriate treatment forms a mandatory part of custodial sentences and that offenders have access to consistent treatment approaches within the prison estate as well as outside it. This should include strictly supervised methadone treatment in the first instance. We recommend that a proper evaluation is conducted of diamorphine prescribing for heroin addiction in the UK .. as compared with methadone prescribing regimes. We recommend that the guidance and training provided to practitioners prescribing diamorphine to heroin addicts is strengthened.”In the UK there has been a long-established tradition of limited prescribing of diamorphine (clinical heroin) by a small number of licensed doctors. The Home Secretary has already said that he would be prepared for the number of such doctors to increase from 300 to 1,500.Shooting galleriesCommittee: “We recommend that an evaluated pilot programme of safe injecting houses for heroin users is established without delay and that if …

this is successful, the programme is extended across the country. We conclude that the Dutch and Swiss evidence provides a strong basis on which to conduct a pilot here in Britain of highly structured heroin prescribing to addicts.”The Home Office was quick to point out yesterday that the Government had no plans to open shooting galleries.Education and doctorsCommittee: “We believe that all drugs education material should be based on the premise that any drug use can be harmful, and should be discouraged. We conclude that general practitioners are, for the most part, inadequately trained to deal with drug misuse. We recommend that training in substance misuse is embedded in the undergraduate medical curriculum and postgraduate general practice curriculum.”The MPs were shocked that medical students received only 30 minutes of drug training in a five-year course. The committee applauded the Government’s Safer Clubbing guide but called for education of young people by “credible” people such as recovered addicts.Treatment agencies and the law Committee: “We recommend that the Government reviews Section 9A of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, with a view to repealing it, to allow for the provision of drugs paraphernalia which reduces the harm caused by drugs.