At about the same time that Britain lumped all drugs together, the Dutch were embarking on a more enlightened path. Their legislation drew a distinction between “soft” and “hard” drugs. Soft drugs such as cannabis were decriminalised, hard drugs such as heroin were not.In Holland, licensed “Coffee Houses” serve cannabis but no alcohol to customers over 16. Each Coffee House is regulated and inspected by the local town council. No advertising other than at point of sale is allowed, and cannabis is offered in edible form, in cakes, as well as for smoking.A recent Dutch government report says: “Evidence of the success of the separation of the markets is to be found in the fact that only a very few of the young people in the Netherlands who use soft drugs take to using hard drugs. Last week Mr Straw peddled rhetoric that has changed little down the years, that decriminalisation would increase drugs use and make the drugs barons richer.But that is to miss the point, that is to fail to distinguish cannabis, a non-harmful, non-addictive drug, from the dangerously addictive other banned substances such as heroin and cocaine. Her report recommended the creation of clear legal distinctions between cannabis and dangerous drugs.

The committee felt that long-term consumption of cannabis in moderate amounts had no harmful effects. However, James Callaghan, then Home Secretary, distanced himself from the report’s findings.Drugs law reform faded from the political arena and did not return until 1971, when the Conservative Heath government, in a sweeping crackdown, updated the Misuse of Drugs Act. Cannabis was bracketed as a Class B drug, along with amphetamine and barbiturate, and penalties for its possession were increased.Apart from an amendment in 1985, that 26-year-old law remains the main weapon for combating Britain’s escalating drugs trade. And then, as now, a Labour home secretary tried to sweep the issue under the carpet.In response to public concern about the way the drugs laws were operating, Harold Wilson set up an inquiry under Baroness Wootton. But in that year it was linked with the harmful heroin and opium, and outlawed.Cannabis did not become an issue until 1967 when the “summer of love” saw the first demonstration in support of legalisation Then, as now, Labour was in power. Still another indicated that if the police came out in favour of relaxation, then Mr Straw might bend.
Not for the first time, on cannabis, ministers are saying one thing in public and something quite different in private.Until 1928 and the Dangerous Drugs Act, cannabis could be freely bought in Britain. He, personally, had no objection but he was fearful of the reaction from middle England Another said she was sure decriminalisation would come.

One very senior minister spoke of the need to overcome the “prejudice of the British people”. Despite the very public scornful opposition from the Home Secretary, Jack Straw, in his main platform speech, behind the scenes senior members of his party applauded the Independent on Sunday campaign. That was the message from senior ministers in private at the party’s conference last week. Labour would like to decriminalise cannabis for personal use but does not dare. Martin Bodenham was caught up in a buffet- car raid on his last trip to Tyneside and it seemed that the Cornish referee had been party to a robbery of the daylight variety yesterday, an apparent injustice evened out midway through the second half when Jose Dominguez was felled by Steve Howey.There were initial signs that Tottenham were in the mood for a smash and grab of their own. The haunted look on Francis’s face at the end of last season’s fixture, a 7-1 slaughter of his cockerels, was the determining factor Kevin Keegan cited for deciding to escape the football management game.Asprilla was not the only notable absentee from the home ranks.

Ferdinand tested Shay Given with a header after 45 seconds and Ginola fired narrowly wide in the second minute It was to be Tottenham’s most threatening spell. For the fifth time in six Premiership matches they failed to score. Kenny Dalglish has had a hard time of it this week, what with Faustino Asprilla joining Alan Shearer on the long-term injured list and both Tottenham and the Premier League ignoring his plea to delay yesterday’s match by 24 hours

Gerry Francis can only dream of such hardship. They were beaten in the final minute when Ian Walker was unable to hold on to David Batty’s long-range howitzer. The ball was spilled to Warren Barton who tapped what the travelling White Hart Laners hope will prove to be another nail into the managerial coffin of Francis. “We want Francis out,” was the chanted message they left loud and clear on Tyneside.In the circumstances, it was a worse day for the Tottenham manager than his last at St James’. When the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896, the organisers decided on the following track events – 100, 400, 800, 1500 and 110m hurdles.

It seems to me there might have been a compromise because the 400 and 800 are almost exact equivalents of the 440 and 880 yards run by the British and Americans at the time, yet the 1500 was a “European race” – three laps of a 500m circuit,
The lengths of the tracks at the early Olympics were variable; the one in London for the 1908 Games was one-third of a mile. The first Games to be held on the now standard 400m was Stockholm in 1912. By then the 1500m was an established event.Wilfred Morgan, BirminghamQ. Q. In athletics, why do they have a 1500 metres race on a 400m track? Would it not be more sensible to make it 1600m – four laps of the track?

A. I think it came about because a lot of the tracks on the Continent a hundred years ago were 500m. The English Cup holders at least the minor satisfaction of finishing with a small flourish, scoring their two tries in the last 10 minutes.