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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Q and A: Cannabis
Channel 4 News
Friday 27 Jul 2007 A new piece of scientific research on the impact of cannabis on mental health has reignited the debate on the drug's classification. What is cannabis? The cannabis plant contains a drug - delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - which, when absorbed into the bloodstream, accumulates in the brain and other major organs, producing an effect or "high". It can be smoked or eaten and an estimated 500,000 individuals in the UK are believed to be dependent on it. The drug can affect people in different ways - often dependent on how and in what form the user has taken the drug; it can act as a mild sedative, causing the user to feel relaxed or even sleepy, and it can also act as a mild hallucinogen. Why is there such debate over what class of drug it is? Drugs are put into categories depending on how harmful they are. Class A - including Heroin and Cocaine - is considered the most harmful, Class B includes amphetamines and barbiturates; and Class C is considered the least harmful, for example anabolic steroids. Cannabis was recently declassified from a Class B drug to a Class C. Pressure has since been put on the home office to reclassify the drug to Class B again. Why was cannabis downgraded? Former home secretary David Blunkett downgraded cannabis from a Class B drug to a Class C drug in 2004 as part of a strategy to focus on increased usage of Class Adrugs like heroin and cocaine. This meant that rather than arrest for possession for personal use, an informal on-the-spot warning from police and confiscation of the drug would be more likely. This change was based on advice from scientific and medical experts from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), which argued cannabis was less harmful than other Class B drugs, such as amphetamine. Who was against this change in the law? The British Medical Association (BMA) warned of the health risks around chronic cannabis smoking (heart disease, lung cancer, bronchitis and emphysema); psychiatrists were concerned about the drug's link to psychosis; and the Tories denounced the decision as absurd. Who was for it? Drug support charities argued it would lead to more consistent policing, although Addaction did warn the downgrading could lead people to wrongly believe the drug was being decriminalised. Why was the situation reviewed just a year later? Fresh concern arose after a series of studies linking super-strength cannabis varieties - like skunk - and mental illness and behavioural problems. In March 2005, Mr Clarke asked the ACMD to review the dangers of cannabis and to examine the Dutch government's plans to introduce a higher classification for more potent types of dope. Although the ACMD apparently recognised the impact of smoking cannabis on mental health was more serious than previously thought it did not recommend reclassifying cannabis. But pressure has been maintained to reclassify the drug from many quarters. Since then the head of the United Nations anti-drugs department, Antonio Maria Costa, has criticised the downgrading of the drug, as have magistrates who voted to lobby the government to reverse the reclassification believing the Class C decision given out the wrong messages to young people. And now? The research published in the Lancet journal today has once again caused concern over the link between psychosis and cannabis use. Figures obtained by the Tories last month showed that mental health hospital admissions due to cannabis have risen by 85 per cent under Labour, with a 63 per cent increase in the last five years. The Lancet research, meanwhile, says that even taking the drug once was associated with a 41 per cent greater risk of developing psychosis. For frequent users, the research said, the risk rose to between 50 per cent and 200 per cent. However critics have warned the risks of accepting such research at face value. Indeed, even one of the research scientists who worked on the report said on today's Channel 4 News at Noon that the report is an extremely conditional piece of analysis - and that scientists would need to have a detailed analysis of every individual's psychological make-up to get a fully comprehensive idea of whether cannabis had in fact triggered any significant psychological alteration. A spokesperson from Drugsscope also said out on the show that if a user had a propensity towards or existing mental illness they would be more likely to develop psychosis - but pointed out that this has been known for quite some time. He also said that reclassifying the drug would not change the problem of the drug's impact on mental health, because "people respond to what they actually experience themselves", not the government's latest drug policy. http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/society/law_order/qa+cannabis/631447
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