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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Parli to review drugs strategy
Sebastion Lander The Sun
Wednesday 18 Jul 2007 THE Government will consider moving cannabis from a Class C back to a Class B drug. At Prime Minister's Question Time today, Gordon Brown said Home Secretary Jacqui Smith would publish a consultation document next week to review drugs strategy. He said: “She will be asking the public to comment on new ways in which we can improve drugs education in the country, give support to people undergoing treatment ... and give support for communities who want to chase out drug dealers from their communities. “As part of the consultation - and the Cabinet discussed this yesterday - the Home Secretary will also consult on whether it is now right that cannabis should be moved from Class C to Class B.” Cannabis was a class B drug until it was downgraded in January 2004 by former home secretary David Blunkett, placing it alongside certain prescription tranquillisers and body-building steroids. The controversial decision made possession of cannabis a largely non-arrestable offence. A Home Office spokesman said the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) will be asked to review reports that danger from cannabis is increasing due to wider availability of stronger strains such as “skunk”. There are fears that more potent forms of cannabis have harsher side-effects, particularly on mental health. The Home Office’s own drugs advice website, Frank, admits that there is a recent trend towards stronger varieties of the drug. It will be the second time the ACMD has reviewed the cannabis downgrading decision. The Home Office spokesman said today: “We will be asking the ACMD to review the classification of cannabis, given the increase in strength of some cannabis strains and their potential harms." Comment on this story: http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007330214,00.html
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