Jail terms for hard drug users should be slashed and scrapped altogether for softer drugs including ecstasy, LSD and cannabis, a major report recommended yesterday.
The independent review of Britain's drugs laws called for a shift in emphasis from prosecuting users to tackling dealers and treating addicts.
Prison terms for those caught using class A drugs, including heroin and cocaine, should be cut from seven years to one, and then only if treatment had failed, said the Police Foundation Report.
Ecstasy and LSD should be downgraded from class A to class B drugs and penalties for possession cut from five years jail to a £1,000 fine. Prosecutions for having cannabis should be only in exceptional cases, with a maximum £500 fine.
Most people caught with the most commonly used illegal drug in Britain should get a warning, formal caution or a fixed penalty fine.
The Government rejected the calls to reclassify ecstasy, LSD or cannabis. The Home Office said it would be studying the report's other recommendations carefully.