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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Advisers consider U-turn on Blunkett's softer cannabis law
The Telegraph
Sunday 25 Sep 2005 The decision to downgrade cannabis taken last year by David Blunkett could be reversed, and the drug reclassified as dangerous, with its possession even for personal use made an arrestable offence. The Government's drugs advisory panel met yesterday to consider the reclassification after renewed fears over its side-effects, including serious mental illness. Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, asked the panel for guidance on the dangers of cannabis, with emphasis on its high-strength version, skunk, after recent studies linked it with psychotic symptoms, including the hearing of voices. If the drug is reclassified it will be a significant U-turn. Last year Mr Blunkett, then the Home Secretary, downgraded cannabis to Class C - placing it in the same bracket as steroids and some anti-depressants. The move meant that possession of cannabis for personal use was no longer an arrestable offence. Since then a New Zealand study has shown that regular cannabis use increases the risk of developing psychotic symptoms. The advisory panel is expected to report by the end of the year.
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