Cannabis law change ‘illogical’

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Title – Cannabis law change ‘illogical’Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 26th January 2009

The day has come and gone without great fanfare; cannabis has been upgraded to a class B drug again and now carries a penalty of up to 5 years imprisonment and unlimited fine for possession and up to 14 years imprisonment and unlimited fine for dealing.

But in reality special rules have been introduced for cannabis, so although it remains a class B drug, the way it will be policed is through a system of warnings, fines and a ‘three-strike’ rule for possession of small amounts.

The confusion this will cause is well documented in previous blog entries and clearly this is a politically motivated change to make a government look tough on drugs and yet not have too much of an effect on the status-quo with regard to how the drug is treated by the police and through the courts. The arguments and political wrangling can continue but those tasked with enforcing the rules will have to grasp the realities. There is a problem with ever increasing strength of ‘skunk’ and the more common availability of it, but the classification system is a little pointless if it does not reflect the harmfulness of the drugs accurately. There are not too many for example who would argue that ‘skunk’ should be a class B drug while the alarming increase in Ketamine use as a recreational drug and the potential harm this drug causes, hardly justifies it remaining a class C drug; then there is ecstasy and the talk of reclassification from class A to B… confused?

For those working in sectors where drug use and drug dealing cause serious problems with disorder,

Workplace Violence and dangers of infection from drug litter, the real change is that if there is anyone ‘turning a blind eye’ to drug use in their premises, the threat from cannabis users just got substantially greater.

If you are the proprietor, owner or in control of a premises where drug use or drug dealing occurs and you are aware of it but fail to resolve it or report it, you can be held as liable for the activity as those taking part. There is no defence of not being directly involved. For those working in the Licensed Retail Sector, the added threat of a premises licence review also looms and is much more likely with class B drug activity than class C drugs; not that any illegal drug activity is likely to be overlooked…

Maybe it will get easier to send a strong message out now that cannabis is a class B drug again and easier to enforce zero tolerance policies, but the question will be how much confusion this muddled message causes and if that is not actually more counterproductive than the reclassification itself.

At Beyond The Blue we run a number of courses for those working in the Licensed Retail Sector including The National Certificate for Licensees Drug Awareness (NCLDA). Our bespoke Drug Awareness (DA) courses, which examine illegal drugs, their effects and the drug litter synonymous with their use are designed to reflect the nature of our clients working environment. Our Conflict Management and Resolution (CMR) course compliments these courses to help employees deal with Workplace Violence and drug related behaviour.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Get another round in, lads – we’ve got some pubs to save

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Title – Get another round in, lads – we’ve got some pubs to save
Source – The Sunday Times
Date – 25th January 2009

I’m not sure that Mr Clarkson has advanced our cause much with this latest article. Much as I welcome the rally cry to get people back into their local pub and support local business, his methods and reason for the current decline seem somewhat disjointed.

Firstly let us address the issue of smoking, I think whichever side of the fence you were on the war has been won and there will be no turning back. Maybe one day there will be a case won to have some kind of specialist smoking clubs or something similar if someone ever sees value in what would be an expensive legal battle; but the status-quo of no smoking is not something that is going to change, much as the fight to allow smoking back on planes or on the underground is hardly a cause celebre.

Much as people complained and the pub sector did lose business over it, the majority of people have accepted it and even most smokers grudgingly accept that their habit means they will be forced outside at regular intervals.

But his argument I am more at odds with is this notion that

Responsible Alcohol Retailing is somehow what is killing the sector. Two things are happening here, the first is that this is just Mr Clarkson being Mr Clarkson and sticking one finger up at the establishment, but I suspect like many people it is just a misunderstanding of the concept itself.
Responsible Alcohol Retailing is not as he makes out the ‘nanny state’ poking its nose in, well not yet anyway. People like me promoting ‘responsible alcohol retailing’ precisely because we don’t want more unworkable and expensive legislation. If we as an industry can work together to enforce voluntary codes of practice that are workable and flexible, it will provide the best solution for the Licensed Retail Sector and our customers.

As far as I can tell Mr Clarkson generally hates pubs, so maybe he is not an authority on them, but then again maybe his perception is also a valid one, because if the responsible alcohol retailing message is coming across as a patronising one, then it is the wrong message which is being sent. I firmly believe that those that are getting the message right, are giving themselves a competitive advantage. After all by his own admission one of the reasons he hates pubs so much is the ‘fighting’, responsible alcohol retailing goes a long way to reducing the incidence of violence. I guarantee that if he did go into a pub, had to push past a couple of drunks to get to the bar, compete with a 17 year old to be served and constantly look over his shoulder wondering where the next argument / fight was going to start; he would be the first out of the door.

No one is suggesting that alcohol retailers police the total consumption of individuals and the number of units they consume through their life and any attempt in the future to do such an impossible thing is something to be resisted. The question is; should we be told what we are consuming and a recommended daily allowance? I say yes, because without that information how can we make an informed choice, be that choice to moderate consumption or in Mr Clarkson’s case to ignore it. I believe that freedom of choice is important, but to choose we have to be informed.

It’s a fine line between informing and dictating. Don’t confuse your ability to retail alcohol responsibly and create an environment that increases customer numbers and decreases the costs associated with alcohol related disorder and the ‘nanny state’ or a patronising message. They are not the same.

Mr Clarkson you spend your life test driving cars, telling us how they handle and what speed they go and how safe they are. You give us the information to choose and your recommendations make a real difference to car sales. Is your message on car safety when you perform a crash test, the ‘nanny state’ telling us how fast we can drive a certain model of car or a useful source of information to allow us to choose the car for ourselves based on a number of factors, but keeping us informed of its limitations?

At Beyond The Blue we run a number of courses for those working in the Licensed Retail Sector including The National Certificate for Licensees Drug Awareness (NCLDA). Our bespoke Drug Awareness (DA) courses, which examine illegal drugs, their effects and the drug litter synonymous with their use are designed to reflect the nature of our clients working environment. Our Conflict Management and Resolution (CMR) course compliments these courses to help employees deal with Workplace Violence and drug related behaviour.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Beer’s drug theme angers watchdog

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Title – Beer’s drug theme angers watchdog
Source – www.ft.com
Date – 20th January 2009

I find this story unbelievable considering the current climate, both legislative and economic.

Firstly to name a drink ‘speed-ball’ with its direct link to such a destructive drug habit and the connotation of the highly addictive and destructive nature of this practice (of mixing crack cocaine and heroin), seems to me to be not just irresponsible but also plain stupid.

Secondly to do this not for any misjudged commercial reason, but for the purpose of getting ‘one over’ on the Portman Group and to “…give them something worthwhile complaining about…” seems petulant. Why they felt the need to ‘make their point’ when they had won their recent panel hearing against a previous complaint, is difficult to understand.

It is a pity that what on the surface seems to be a successful start-up in such difficult economic times chooses to market a product named after an addictive drug habit with slogans like ‘ class A ale’ and ‘a vicious cocktail of active ingredients’. I can understand the frustration at the previous complaint made against the company and the time and distraction it must have caused, but this must be considered a grossly miscalculated mistake and bizarre response.

The Portman Group is after all, the industry body which defends the whole Licensed Retail Sector from further legislation through its voluntary codes of practice. At a time when government bodies are pushing for this voluntary code to become legally compulsory, which will lead to additional cost for the entire industry, this type of incident provides a strong hand for those calling for further regulation.

The Licensed Retail Sector is in the grip of a very serious economic downturn, which is recession in all but the details and with nearly 40 pubs going out of business every week, the very people that this company supplies are being squeezed more than ever. The whole sector needs to work together to promote Responsible Alcohol Retailing through effective Training, not to splinter and display petulance that plays straight into the hands of the sectors detractors.

When irresponsible promotion of alcohol can lead to a premises licence review, it is a brave licensee who puts a product on their shelf which clearly promotes any form of drug use or excessive consumption of alcohol.

The defence that only some 1200 bottles have been sold in the UK does not really wash; ask the pub in Newcastle that recently got into trouble with their local licensing authority by selling off 36 bottles of beer cheaply (see ‘Bar’s 10p beers ‘irresponsible’).

At Beyond The Blue we run a number of courses for those working in the licensed retail sector to help them sell alcohol more responsibly. These include; The Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing (ARAR) designed for front-line staff to help them meet their statutory requirements; The National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) which qualifies candidates to apply for their personal licence; The National Certificate for Licensees Drug Awareness (NCLDA) and our bespoke Drug Awareness (DA) courses, which examine illegal drugs, their effects and the drug litter synonymous with their use.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Fireworks blamed as 60 killed at nightclub

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Title – Fireworks blamed as 60 killed at nightclubSource – The Times
Date – 1st & 3rd December 2008

Many might argue what place a fire in a nightclub in Bangkok has in this section of our blog, but I argue it has a very important role.

We are always hearing cries of ‘nanny state’ here in the UK, people complain of regulation, regulation and more regulation. In the area of

Fire Safety there are very good reasons why the authorities go on about it; the consequences of getting it wrong can be devastating.

We are fortunate not to have had a fire disaster here in the UK of this magnitude for some years now, but complacency is our most serious threat. With the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 the emphasis was placed on the business to conduct a Fire Risk Assessment and not on the fire service. Every business must have a Fire Risk Assessment in place and it must be effective and meet all the statutory requirements. It must also be regularly reviewed and any actions highlighted must be taken.

All employees should receive Fire Safety Training and understand prevention and evacuation measures in place.

What we can learn from the Bangkok disaster is that those things we take for granted are always the ones which cause high death tolls in these tragedies. It is not just that fireworks and sparklers were allowed in the club, they may have started the fire; but what leads to high death tolls tends to be in the design and management of the premises. Even at this early stage there seems only to have been one exit, bars on the windows, no emergency lighting, no co-ordinated evacuation procedure, doors blocked or welded shut, overcrowding, no fire proofing of building materials, no separation or suitable fire fighting equipment and no regulation.

Anyone of these factors could lead to disaster, additional injury or casualties; combined they are a recipe for disaster. Sadly that is exactly what happened.

We should really look at these events and be grateful for the strict regulation we have in the UK, but having said that, go now and look round your premises and check: Is the Fire Risk Assessment up-to-date? Are the fire exits blocked or locked? Does the emergency lighting, fire alarm and fire fighting equipment work and is it serviced regularly? Is the fire signage in place? Are all employees Trained in Fire Safety and evacuation? Is the capacity of the premises strictly observed? Are fire safety procedures strictly observed?

Where any of these questions can not be answered or procedures, facilities and systems are either not in place or being observed, resolve them as a matter of urgency, call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us at Beyond The Blue. We can help you to meet your statutory requirements and more importantly meet fire safety standards that protect you, your employees and your business.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Weatherspoon’s cuts likely to kick off price war

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Title – Weatherspoon’s cuts likely to kick off price war
Source – The Times
Date – 3rd January 2009

There is a reason that Weatherspoon’s is still such a successful brand, they seem to have the knack of gaining a march on their competitors, without really doing too much themselves.

This latest flurry into starting a ‘price war’ when you look at it is not just a master stroke but also a relatively cheap one. They have been given nationwide coverage on television, newspapers and the internet, not because of the generosity of the price reduction, but because of a subtle dig at ‘minimum pricing’ and the ‘binge drinking’ backlash.

The 99p pint of IPA at Weatherspoon’s has already led to the inevitable calls for curbs on binge drinking and the implementation of legislation on

Responsible Alcohol Retailing. The publicity and comment has served only to do one thing, promote their 99p pint!

There really is no credible argument against this discount while supermarkets are selling cans at 30p on the very same high streets. Will this add to violence and disturbance on the streets? The argument has to be that IPA does not really constitute a significant part of the binge drinker’s repertoire. Weatherspoon’s are well respected and well run, they even found themselves in some hot water in 2008 for their overly cautious approach to parent drinking when they were accompanied by children (see ‘Pub chain limits parents’ drinks’). They would supervise a customer who has consumed 10 pints (at a cost of £9.90); the same can not be said about the person who bought a crate of 24 cans (at a cost of £7.20) from the supermarket.

How competitors react to this clever promotion of the Weatherspoon’s brand (rather than the IPA brand) will be interesting; you can’t help but feel they have already missed the boat.

The key to longer term success especially with this type of promotion, is promoting it alongside Responsible Alcohol Retailing; the two must go hand in hand. Price reductions can be very effective, but if they are accompanied by increased levels of binge drinking rather than increased numbers of customers they will be counter productive to the promotion of the licensing objectives.

At Beyond the Blue we run a number of industry specific courses to promote responsible alcohol retailing and to up-skill the sector. The National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) qualifies candidates to sell and authorise the sale of alcohol by providing candidates with the qualification required to apply for a personal licence; The Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing (ARAR) provides front-line employees with the knowledge they require to promote the licensing objectives and their business in a responsible manner.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.