Question to londoners

[bongobaba]

I have some question about soft drugs policy in london. For example can someone bother you because of marijuana in your pocket ? Are you often controlled when you come from Netherlands at stansted airport ? :)
Thanks for your answers :P

[Uganja]

Depends what you look like. I wouldn't bother risking it at the airport. If you get caught there, your basically fucked.

You can get good weed over here easily & posses it freely in Lambeth (a borough of London) as they've relaxed the marijuana laws in Brixton.

[bongobaba]

Ok thx ! I will not try it. I can even try to stop smoking for some days :P
When you live in Netherlands, you get used to have weed in your pocket without watching on your back if there are the cops. I really don't know why there are not coffee shops everywhere :)

[Uganja]

I really don't know why there are not coffee shops everywhere :)

Me either fella (Y)

[Buckledmac]

im glad we dont have coffee shops here, cause id be a fucking stoner :|

[Kat]

I thought it was pretty dodgy to bring it over, but someone told me that they accidently took some to the airport, and they were chucking it before they went through security when a Dutch official came over and told him to stop because it'd be fine (it had gone by then though :( ). That's on the Dutch side though - the UK side like to give the impression that it's a very dodgy thing to do, but I haven't tried it so I don't know. I definitely wouldn't bring too much if you do risk it though.

Once you're over here you won't get bothered as long as you maintain a certain level of discretion (I wouldn't smoke it crowded areas, or blatently skin up in public, but smoking while walking along the street is normally fine), and you don't make a nusience (can't seem to be able to work out how to spell that...) of yourself in any other ways. That said, I haven't spent that much time in London.

Have fun :)

[nfc]

I would like to hear the Forum coppers views on this too.


The law may seem relaxed when it comes to cannabis, as in a lot of places (home) the Police will not arrest you for possesion of minor quantities, but they will confiscate it if you are on the street and arrest you if you are a dick about it.

My tips are, don't smoke it on the street. If you want to look big in front of your mates then don't do it in public areas and definately don't blow smoke in the bizzies face or you'll probably end up gassed with an extendable baton up your arse.

As for posession in the home: I think if the Police are called to your house where you are not in any breach of the law they will say nothing. But...

if they need an excuse or want to remove you from the premises they will use the possesion of C class drugs to fascilitate your removal.

That's what a friend said anyways and Drugs are bad mmmkay

[Grendel]

I can't speak for anywhere else in the UK, but people in South Wales Police, 'A' Division area (Rhondda Cynon Taff & Merthyr) still get arrested and charged for possession of cannabis. Particularly in conjunction with other crimes.

[Kat]

I can't speak for anywhere else in the UK, but people in South Wales Police, 'A' Division area (Rhondda Cynon Taff & Merthyr) still get arrested and charged for possession of cannabis. Particularly in conjunction with other crimes.
Different area, but I've been caught by police in Cardiff and they didn't do anything. It was in our own house though, and we weren't doing anything else wrong.

[Buckledmac]

I thought it was pretty dodgy to bring it over, but someone told me that they accidently took some to the airport, and they were chucking it before they went through security when a Dutch official came over and told him to stop because it'd be fine (it had gone by then though :( ). That's on the Dutch side though - the UK side like to give the impression that it's a very dodgy thing to do, but I haven't tried it so I don't know. I definitely wouldn't bring too much if you do risk it though.

Once you're over here you won't get bothered as long as you maintain a certain level of discretion (I wouldn't smoke it crowded areas, or blatently skin up in public, but smoking while walking along the street is normally fine), and you don't make a nusience (can't seem to be able to work out how to spell that...) of yourself in any other ways. That said, I haven't spent that much time in London.

Have fun :)


dutch airport security wont do you for cannabis possession because its legal there lol their viewpoint is thats its a problem for the destination security to worry about, however, all other illegal drugs they dont approve of in holland......having recently been searched there myself :S

[Deadwood]

Dont bring it through the airport because you never know when random stop and searches r going down etc.

In the UK you are fine having small amounts on you as long as its out of the sight of the public. Don't smoke where others can see or you are asking for trouble. Keep it private and you'll be fine.

[bongobaba]

Thanks for all of your answers, I think I will stop smoking a few days while I'll be in london. It can't be so bad for me :) I'm not sure I would have much trouble as a foreigner though. The law seems to be a bit like in France. In France the law says you can have years of jails even for few grams of cannabis. But it's never really applied, and the cops use it to arrest you if you do something they dislike.

I have been caught with one gram and my only punition was listening to the cops telling me that drugs was destroying my social life and that I was giving my money to terrorists. A friend of mine for the same amount got 24h in jail. Anyway now I live in the Netherlands and laws are really much balanced. It's not really legal though, you have the 5 gram limit, and in theory it is only "tolerated". But in my rental contract it is written that I can grow marijuana in my appartment :P

[kizkiz]

the coppers view:

cannabis is illegal, end of story.
You CAN be arrested for possessing even a tiny amount.

in reality, a small amount and you get a cannabis warning form. (we record the fact that you had it and confiscate it. you sign a form. that's it)
You can only get one form in a 12 month period...caught again and you're arrested and charged.
under 18 and you HAVE to be arrested, parents informed etc

smoking in public is just stupid...i catch people all the time. it fucking stinks you idiots! lmao
we do random visits to train stations, pubs etc with drugs dogs on a regular basis and they will always smell it on you.

Smoking in your own home is still illegal, and we can theoretically put the door in to arrest you ;)...as said earlier, it would be an excuse.
Just remeber, we are driven by figures, and a cannabis detection is an easy one to get ;)
so, realistically, smoke in your own home and you're fine..outside and you're fair game.

[Mikey:)]

Generally UK customs & excise officials will fine you on the spot for any amount of cannabis under 10g if its a 1st offence and there is no other reason to detain you. This saves any court proceedings but you are likely to get hassled at customs whenever you travel in the future. The UK is pretty dry right now after Kiz and Co busted a vietnemese cannabis farming/people smuggling ring, something along the lines of 10,000 plants were seized... at a 5oz yeild per plant thats well over 1000 kilos going unsmoked! That was back around August and now the drought seems to be slowly lifting as other crops mature. Recently this sandy weed has been reported all over the country, some cheeky growers have been pouring silica sand all over the plants when the flowers get really resinous... this can increase the weight by up to 17%! Indeed it has not been a good time for UK smokers recently!

[kizkiz]

yeah, the met have had some serious seizures recently

lets face it, a cannabis factory is easy to find ;)

couple the fact that they tend to be run by vietnamese illegals, which ties in with illegal DVD copies and people trafficking (2 big hot potatoes right now) and you can see why the met keep finding them