Pc faces sack over cannabis

A Brixton police officer faces the sack after being prosecuted for possessing four grammes of cannabis.

Pc Ross Callaghan, 34, was fined £75 at the Old Bailey for possessing £20-worth of the drug. Under current police practice on his home beat, most civilians caught with that amount would have escaped with a warning.

He has been suspended since late last year and his future now hangs in the balance despite Home Secretary David Blunkett's decision this week to extend the Lambeth regime on cannabis nationwide next spring.

Pc Callaghan, who has two police commendations for bravery during 13 years' service, claimed he used the drug to relieve the pain of a bad back.

A friend said today: "Ross has used cannabis very occasionally. He would rather smoke a joint than drink 10 pints of strong lager and become an alcoholic. He is convinced he will lose his job but feels this investigation has been a waste of time."

It emerged today that investigating the case cost Scotland Yard more than £100,000.

Senior officers were reported to be split over whether to prosecute. It is understood Brixton police commander Brian Paddick has hinted that Pc Callaghan may keep his job, but a panel of senior officers are likely to ask him to leave.

He was investigated by the Yard's anti-corruption unit, the Directorate of Professional Standards. He was accused of pocketing a lump of cannabis during a police "integrity test" in December last year, when anti-corruption officers abandoned a car in Brixton stuffed with drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Pc Callaghan said he took the cannabis because he thought it was plastic and wanted to show colleagues dealers were ripping off buyers. He said he threw it away.

His home in Essex was raided and the officer produced the small amount, which was not the same as the drug in the test. At the court case last month he admitted possession, but was cleared of theft, illegal conduct and possessing the marked drugs. One juror was so incensed he was prosecuted she wrote to Commander Paddick saying London needed more officers like him.

A Met police spokesman said Pc Callaghan faced disciplinary action, adding: "This pre-dates the Lambeth cannabis initiative. There is an ethical standard for all police officers that is higher than other standards."