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Written question asked by John Robertson (Labour) on Tuesday, 28 November 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 6 December 2006. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Tuesday, 19 December 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

Cannabis Prosecutions

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions relating to the use, distribution, supply or possession of cannabis there were in each year since 2002.
Answer

Available information relates to the number of persons found guilty or cautioned under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, of unlawful production, unlawful supply, possession with intent to supply unlawfully, unlawful possession, and unlawful import and export of cannabis from 2002 up to and including 2004.Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, police forces and other agencies. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Persons¹ found guilty or cautioned for drug offences involving cannabis by type of offence, England and Wales, 2002 to 2004
Type of offence 2002 2003 2004
Unlawful production 1,940 2,640 2,480
Unlawful supply 1,450 1,060 880
Possession with intent to supply unlawfully 2,460 2,500 2,200
Unlawful possession 78,230 77,500 45,490
Unlawful import or export 600 340 320
¹ A person who is found guilty of more than one different type of offence is counted against each type of offence under the most severe sentence or order.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
454 c1947W;454 c1951W; 106924
Session
2006-07
Subjects
Cannabis Prosecutions
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk