Britain's Liberal Democrats urge legalisation of marijuana

Britain's third-largest political party, the Liberal Democrats, has voted to adopt legalisation of marijuana as official party policy.

Delegates at the party conference also voted to abolish prison sentences for possession of any drug, including heroin and cocaine, and said doctors should be able to prescribe heroin to addicts.

The Labour Government announced last October that it planned to reclassify marijuana as a "Class C" drug - putting it in the same category as anabolic steroids.

It would still be illegal to possess or smoke the drug, but violators would receive a warning or a court summons rather than face arrest.