Joint statement

With cannabis confusion seemingly sweeping the nation, Jackie Annett attempts to clear the air on its legality.

In the biggest shake up to drugs laws in decades, cannabis has been downgraded from a Class B to a Class C drug. It's a controversial decision from a government which has already experienced a tough start to the year narrowly winning battles on university fees and the Hutton Inquiry.

While reclassifying cannabis may score brownie points with certain parts of the community, it's unlikely to win any friends in the pub trade.

The change to the law will mean that people will no longer be arrested for smoking the drug in private. However, police will retain the power to arrest users in certain situations, such as when the drug is smoked outside schools. Where pubs stand under this new legislation is uncertain. Licensees have been advised not to allow cannabis smoking in their venues under any circumstances, but many fear this will be impossible to enforce, especially when the police have admitted that most people think lighting up a joint in public and in private is now legal.

The Publican asked licensees up and down the country what they thought about the controversial move - and how it would affect them in their day-to-day running of pubs.

The response was overwhelmingly against the government's decision - the majority of publicans said it would make their life hell. Those in cities where drugs are rife were angry that their hard work to drive drug use out of their pubs could now be ruined.

Oliver Eltringham took over as licensee of the Bricklayers Arms in Leeds six years ago. When he arrived, drug-users were rife and after ridding his premises of unsavoury customers the last thing he wants is a softly-softly approach on cannabis.

"I'm definitely against it," Mr Eltringham said. "Too many people are unsure of the rules. I've overheard my customers talking - they think they can smoke it anywhere. When I moved here there was a problem and I've ejected all these people. The government needs to clarify the situation."

Doug Lais, who runs the Mason's Arms in the crime-ridden Lawrence Weston area of Bristol, is also angry about the changes in the law. "I've had an awful lot of problems with drug use in this pub," he said. "I've installed CCTV cameras, made the customers aware that they are being watched, been on a number of drugs awareness courses and taken a heavy-handed approach to drive drugs out of this pub. This is the last thing I need."

Andrew Shanshing, licensee of the Dogstar in Brixton, South London, said that although he had nothing against the use of cannabis on a personal level, it was bad news for publicans.

"I agree in principal with the government's decision as there are more important things to tackle such as the use of harder drugs and crime," Mr Shanshing said.

"But running a pub in the middle of Brixton is hard. It's difficult to tell people that the drug is still illegal when they think they can smoke it anywhere now."

It's much the same story in central Birmingham. James Lagneau has been at the Figure Of Eight pub for nearly a year. "I hear my customers talking about whether it's legal or not - they are confused," he said.

"We shouldn't be encouraging people to smoke it. Drugs are not condoned in my pub - but it's going to be harder to enforce this now. It's only a matter of time before people are trying to smoke it in my pub."

But not everyone was against the decision to downgrade cannabis - a move that is hoped will free up the police to focus on tackling more serious crimes. Some licensees were all for the change. But unsurprisingly those who favoured this approach were licensees of pubs in areas of cities that didn't have a particular problem with drug use in the first place.

Belinda Blackwell, licensee of the Adam and Eve pub in Bristol, said: "I've never had a problem with customers trying to take drugs in here. It's not that kind of pub and customers wouldn't dare try and smoke cannabis."

Lorraine Foster, licensee of the Great Western in Birmingham, agreed. "It doesn't really affect me so I suppose I'm indifferent to the change in the law," she said. "If customers did try and smoke drugs in here I'd throw them straight out."

Adele Holmes, licensee of the Lord Nelson Inn in Leeds, said: "I get a much older clientele in here so luckily I don't have those problems. The changes don't worry me."

We also asked users of this site what they thought about the reclassification of cannabis and how they'd react if customers tried to light up a joint on their premises. An overwhelming 81 per cent said they would ask them to leave while 13 per cent would leave them to it and only seven per cent would call the police.

The Association of Chief Police Officers hasn't issued any guidance to its forces on how to deal with pubs now that this new legislation has been brought in. So with licensees unsure of how the police will respond in situations where their customers are caught smoking cannabis, they must continue to take a hard line on drug use.

This is certainly the advice given by pub companies and the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, which insist licensees continue with their no-nonsense approach. It also mirrors the advice given by The Publican's legal team Joelson Wilson & Co, which has urged publicans to be extra vigilant and to remain clear about the fact that cannabis use in public is still a crime.

Last month the government launched a £1m advertising campaign to educate people about the new law.

Hopefully this will do something to clear up the confusion in the public's mind. Licensees however should be under no doubt. It is still illegal to smoke cannabis in pubs despite the changes to the law and you could still lose your licence if you fail to keep drugs out of your premises. Be warned.