The British people are known for many things and politeness is one of them. Seemingly, the same goes for some police departments in the United Kingdom as well.
On July 7, police in Oxford, about two hours outside of London, found a field of cannabis plants growing in the forest.
Instead of launching an investigation, officers with the Thames Valley Police decided to leave a note for the cultivators. The message read, “Oops! Sorry we missed each other. But feel free to call me on 101 so we can discuss a deal.” The police then signed off “Lots of love, TVP xx.”
The officers then posted a picture on Twitter of the note and plants, before they were dug up and destroyed. On the Tweet, the cops added the hashtag #WeveGotManners:
“It’s interesting to see such a jovial response to what’s still technically a crime in the UK,” said Jason Reed, Spokesperson for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) in an interview with Marijuana.com. “This goes to show how low in priority cannabis has now become.” Reed added that “It’s unlikely we’d have such a relaxed approach to other crimes, so to have a bit of a joke is an indicator that there are indeed bigger priorities to British police forces.”
All jokes aside, Reed provided a reminder that there is still a significant amount of work to do in order to change the years of “reefer madness” that has affected the United Kingdom, just like everywhere else.
“We have to bear in mind there are many people in the U.K. who do receive criminal reprisal for their cannabis possession and low-level cultivation, including many who have serious and debilitating illnesses and conditions. To these people, cannabis laws are no laughing matter.”
As cannabis reform takes hold in Europe one country at a time, hopefully, the de-escalation of law enforcement will continue and amusing notes will eventually turn into no action at all.
credit:marijuana.com
