[420 Girl]

Cannabis users will not face fines when the drug is reclassified from class C to class B next week, it emerged today.

The change will come in to effect on Monday, but parliamentary delays mean police will not be able to issue fines.

The new classification means officers will issue a warning to anyone caught with cannabis for a first offence.

A second offence should result in an £80 fine and penalty notice, with a third "strike" leading to arrest.

However, the order to make cannabis use an offence punishable with a penalty notice and fine was withdrawn from parliament earlier this week, and is not due to be debated until Wednesday at the earliest.

The Ministry of Justice said the order was dropped when ministers decided to consult on a range of new offences to be punishable with penalty notices.

"Penalty notices for disorder for possession of cannabis will go ahead as soon as possible, subject to the agreement of parliament, a spokesman said.

"The home secretary [Jacqui Smith] has made clear that PNDs [penalty notice for disorder] are necessary for possession of cannabis to allow police to operate an escalated enforcement regime.

"The police are currently able to deal with the offence of cannabis possession by warning or by prosecution."

Smith, who has admitted smoking cannabis at university, decided to reclassify the drug in May last year amid fears over its impact on the mental health of young people.

Cannabis was moved to Class C, the same class as bodybuilding steroids and some tranquillisers, by the then home secretary David Blunkett in 2004.

Concerns over increased use of stronger strains, and the effect that was having, prompted the change.

The class B classification means cannabis users who are successfully prosecuted can face an unlimited fine and up to five years in prison.

A report out yesterday revealed that record numbers of young people are being given help for drug and alcohol abuse following an increase in treatment places.

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