A Government Senator spoke out in favour of a degree of leniency for possession of small amounts of marijuana after a top lawyer wasn't disciplined by the Bar Council for having the drug.

Sen. Walton Brown said simple possession of cannabis should not result in a criminal conviction, but stressed no one should be "smoking anything".

This comes after defence lawyer Charles Richardson was not reprimanded by the Bar Council for a conviction of cannabis possession.

Richardson, 39, first admitted the offence when he appeared at Magistrates' Court on March 31 and Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo gave him a three year conditional discharge.

However, the court changed the punishment after he asked for the conditional discharge to be revoked.

Asked if the conviction would cause any disciplinary action to be taken against him, President of the Bar Council Kiernan Bell said: "The conviction has not caused the Bar Council to file a misconduct complaint against Mr Richardson under the Barristers' Code of Professional Conduct.

"A barrister must report to the Bar Council if he is convicted of a criminal offence which involves dishonesty or which may bring the profession into disrepute.

"The Bar Council is aware of Mr. Richardson's conviction and while the Bar Council does not condone such conduct, it is the Bar Council's view that this type of offence is not a matter for the Bar's disciplinary body and the matter has been addressed by the court."

Sen. Brown yesterday said: "It's not something that should lead to someone having a criminal conviction. I do think that no one should be smoking anything.

"Smoking is a health issue and I think what we probably should be doing is enhancing a campaign to reduce smoking. It was done very successfully with cigarettes and we should be focusing on the glamorisation of the use of marijuana.

He continued: "I think the firm hand of the law is too severe for these type of offences. I would want to see people not charged with simple possession.

"I think if someone gets caught, it should be taken from them. If you're selling, its an altogether different issue.

"Possession of small amounts shouldn't lead to people getting criminal records. We should put our energy into a campaign of the negative health effects of smoking marijuana like we did with cigarettes."

Asked if he agreed with the Bar Council's decision not to punish Richardson, Sen. Brown said: "The bar have their own code of conduct so their role is to protect the profession and if people are meant to be disreputed for acts of dishonesty, that's fine with me. It's a matter for the profession."

A total of 8.2 grams of cannabis and 0.71 grams of cannabis resin was found at Richardson's home in Club Road, Hamilton Parish, during a Police raid on the evening of August 11 last year.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of drug possession on March 31, admitting he knew the cannabis was in his house, but saying it belonged to a houseguest.