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UK: CANNABIS SHOULD BE SOLD IN SHOPS SAYS EXPERT

Gary Nicks

The Star

Wednesday 15 Sep 2010

A TOP drug expert has called for cannabis to be sold in shops like cigarettes and alcohol.

Professor Roger Pertwee wants private firms regulated so they could bring out their own "brands, just like fags, sold in packs of 20".

He claims it would remove drug dealers and reduce crime.

And he says decriminalisation would stop casual smokers being lured into taking harder drugs.

The University of Aberdeen professor told the British Festival of Science in Birmingham: "You'd need to have a minimum age of 21, and I would suggest you might even have to have a licence. You have a car licence and a dog licence, why not a cannabis licence?

"We need to explore all the options.

"At the moment, cannabis is in the hands of the criminals, and I think it’s crazy.

"We're allowed to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. Cannabis, if it’s handled properly, is no more dangerous than that.

"In my view, we don't have an ideal solution yet to deal with recreational cannabis."

Users would be tested to stop vulnerable people from suffering mental illness.

Research says some smokers are prone to developing schizophrenia and risk psychosis.

The call was welcomed by Professor David Nutt, the former Government adviser who quit when cannabis was
upgraded to a class B drug.

He said: "We need a new regulatory approach to cannabis. The Dutch coffee-shop model is one that has been
proven to work but some of Professor Pertwee’s new suggestions may well have extra benefits and should be
actively debated."

But another expert said the plan was "naive".

Professor Neil McKeganey, director of the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow, said: "In
this area of drugs policy I am not sure that what he is saying is credible. The aim should be to decrease the levels of cannabis use."

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/153848/Cannabis-should-be-sold-in-shops-says-expert/

 

 

 

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