drug by drug

amphetamines

CLASS	B
AMOUNT CONSIDERED 'SUPPLY'	2 grams
MAX PUNISHMENT (supply)	14 years or a fine (or both)
MAX PUNISHMENT (possession)	5 years or a fine (or both)
AVERAGE PUNISHMENT (in reality)	10 months with £93 fine
CAUTIONED	3,647
FOUND GUILTY	9,221
IMPRISONED	1,290

(source: UK Home Office, 1998)

our comments: Amphetamines are used medically as an appetite suppressant and are available on prescription only.

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cannabis

our comments the most popular recreational drug in the UK gets over 40,000 more arrests than all the other drugs put together. This is because it is so widely used and a lot of people think it should be legalised. "People are cheeky about it," said one police officer. "It's a much more open drug."

The police are ambivalent about bringing someone in for a first-time possession offence for cannabis: on one hand, it's regarded as a waste of time; on the other hand, it can be constructive: either as a leverage for information or a deterrent for a repeat offence.

Recently, the Metropolitan police have been testing a policy of "on the spot warnings" and confiscating rather than cautioning or prosecution. "It takes two officers five hours to process a single caution," said a Scotland Yard police spokesperson. "What's the point...when magistrates only fine users £10 to £20?"

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cocaine

our comments the police are hard on cocaine. One drugs unit police officer we spoke to told us that a quantity in the region of one gram would be sufficient grounds to suspect possession with intent to supply.

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ecstasy

CLASS	A
AMOUNT CONSIDERED 'SUPPLY'	3 pills
MAX PUNISHMENT (supply)	life and an unlimited fine
MAX PUNISHMENT (possession)	7 years and an unlimited fine
AVERAGE PUNISHMENT (in reality)	2 years 2 months and £173 fine
CAUTIONED	911
FOUND GUILTY	1,461
IMPRISONED	238

(source: UK Home Office, 1998)

our comments whether you are charged with intent to supply or possession depends largely on whether the police believe you to be a dealer or not. Luck plays a large part: if you are arrested carrying two or three pills, it's unlikely you'd be charged with intent to supply, unless there was other evidence or previous convictions

In two recent cases, a young man was caught with 10 E pills and 20 tabs of acid, and received a sentence of three and a half years for intent to supply. Another man was stopped with 50 E pills, and walked free on possession charges.

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heroin

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ketamine
Ketamine is not a controlled substance, but can only be obtained by prescription. However, you could be prosecuted under the Medicines Act for supply without a licence.

There are no figures available.

our comments: there have been calls to make Ketamine a controlled substance under the Misuse Of Drugs Act but there is a lack of enthusiasm, partly down to political disinterest and partly Ketamine's broad use in hospitals and animal surgeries.

Also, there is yet to be a Ketamine death (and probably won't be thanks to the drug's wide safety margin). See our guide to Ketamine for more details.

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magic mushrooms
Mushrooms are legal as long as they are fresh and unprocessed. You cannot be arrested or prosecuted for possessing freshly picked or cultivated mushrooms. However, drying or powdering or preparing them in any way for consumption turns them into a Class A drug (with the usual penalties).

our comments: We spoke to a detective sergeant on a local district drugs unit in the north of England, who said, "I don't think we'd really bother," if they caught someone in possession of a gram of magic mushrooms powder.
(source: UK Home Office, 1998)

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LSD

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