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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: .AND RETHINK ON ALL DRUGS, But Clarke refuses to upgrade
The Miror
Friday 20 Jan 2006 HOME Secretary Charles Clarke yesterday announced a radical rethink of the way drugs are classified. At the moment they get an A, B or C rating based on how harmful they are to the taker. But Mr Clarke wants a new system that also takes into account the damage they inflict on society. The move could lead to the reclassification of ecstasy - but he insisted that cannabis would not be upgraded. He told MPs: "The more I have considered these matters, the more concerned I have become about the limitations of our current system. "Decisions on classification send strong but confused signals to users and others about a particular drug." His refusal to upgrade cannabis from Class C - despite new claims of links to mental illness - angered the Tories. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis accused Mr Clarke of failing to "grasp the nettle". He said: "The ongoing confused message will lead some, as it has already, to continue thinking cannabis is a soft, safe drug." Labour downgraded cannabis two years ago. And Mr Clarke told the Commons that the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs believed its current classification was correct But he announced he will launch a public information campaign to stress cannabis was "anything but harmless". Mr Clarke also said draft guidelines published in November, which would have allowed people to carry up to half a kilogram of leaf cannabis for personal use, will be watered down. He added: "Everyone needs to understand that cannabis is harmful and it is illegal. "Our education and health campaigns will clearly transmit that message." Jan Berry, chairwoman of the Police Federation, last night criticised the decision not to reclassify cannabis. She said: "We remain convinced it was wrong to change the classification of cannabis from Class B to Class C in the first instance. "Changing it back would have been a much stronger message than any advertising campaign could ever deliver." But Martin Barnes, chief executive of drugs information charity DrugScope, backed Mr Clarke. He said: "This has been a difficult decision, but he has made the right decision. "Cannabis is harmful but less so than Class B drugs. "And there is no evidence that a move back to Class B would reduce levels of use." http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16605791&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=--and-rethink-on-all-drugs--name_page.html
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