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UK: Cannabis should remain Class C, says Advisory Council

Subhajit Banerjee

The Telegraph

Thursday 03 Apr 2008

The Government's drug advisory body is set to recommend that cannabis
should remain a Class C drug, creating a dilemma for Gordon Brown who
has indicated he wants to clamp down on use of the drug.

The Prime Minister give his backing for cannabis to be reclassified as a
more serious drug - Class B - at a press conference earlier this week.

Mr Brown insists it is important to send out a message to young people
that experimenting with cannabis is wrong.

"Given the changing nature of the stock of cannabis that is coming into
the country and greater damage that that appears to be doing to people
who use it, there is a stronger case for sending out a signal that
cannabis is not only illegal but it is unacceptable," he said

But the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs appears to go against
this view.

Though the council refused to confirm its conclusions, the BBC reports
that the decision was taken at a private meeting of the council where
new research from Keele University about links between cannabis and
mental illness was discussed.

The study reportedly found no evidence that rising cannabis use in the
1970s, 1980s and early 1990s led to more cases of schizophrenia later on.

Mr Brown's predecessor, Tony Blair, had controversially downgraded
cannabis to Class C in a move which is thought to have encouraged
greater use among the young.

Class C drugs include steroids and some prescription anti-depressants
and though possession of them can lead to a two-year sentence, charges
are rarely brought against those found in possession of small quantities
of the drug.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/03/ncannabis103.xml

 

 

 

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