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UK: Scientists say smoking cannabis DOESN'T lead to taking harder
Bob Roberts The Mirror
Thursday 02 Mar 2006 CLAIMS that cannabis use leads to harder drugs were yesterday dismissed as nonsense. A report to MPs said most scientists rejected the idea that smoking dope encouraged people to try out Class A drugs like heroin and cocaine. It said: "The gateway theory that the use of drugs like cannabis leads on to the use of harder drugs has little evidence to support it despite copious research." The report to the Commons Science Committee also questioned the whole system used to classify illegal drugs. It said ministers' decisions to put drugs into Class A, B or C categories with different penalties were not based on scientific evidence. The report said: "Drugs are not classified on the basis of a set of standards for the harm they cause. The criteria used have varied depending on the drug in question." The report said magic mushrooms were classified as a Class A drug despite little evidence they did much harm. It said ecstasy was also a Class A drug for "unclear" reasons and despite evidence it was "several thousand times less dangerous than heroin". Committee chairman Phil Willis said there were real questions about whether the classification system worked. He said: "We want to see whether the system as it stands has a sound basis of evidence. "We want to see whether it is evidence rather than political expediency that is driving decisions." The Home Office is also growing increasingly concerned the system does not work. In January Home Secretary Charles Clarke announced plans for a complete overhaul of the way drugs are categorised and prohibited. Class A drugs which carry a seven-year penalty for possession include heroin, LSD, ecstasy, cocaine, crack and magic mushrooms. Class B drugs are amphetamines and barbiturates carrying five years for possession. Class C drugs include cannabis, steroids, and the tranquillizer ketamine which carry two years for possession. The report comes after a UN drugs agency warned this week of the rise of dance and sex drug methamphetamine, or crystal meth. It warned it is more addictive than crack cocaine and is becoming a global problem. The International Narcotics Control Board called on governments across the world to introduce tougher restrictions on chemicals used in the manufacture of the drug, which allows users to stay awake for days and increases sexual arousal. London-based INCB president, Professor Hamid Ghodse said: "If I want to pick on one major drug problem pandemic today, it is methamphetamine."
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