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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Clarke has doubts on legalisation of cannabis
Ananova
Friday 06 Jul 2001 Kenneth Clarke says he is "not persuaded" of the merits of legalisation of cannabis. The Tory leadership contender and former home secretary issued the statement after the former Conservative minister Peter Lilley claimed the drug should be legalised. Mr Clarke, deputy chairman of British American Tobacco and known for his penchant for ale and cigars, has questioned whether cannabis is more dangerous than alcohol or tobacco. He said: "There is a study out of Nottingham University which says it does have a depressant effect if taken in large doses and even queries whether it has any medical benefit. "Although obviously it makes sense for police not to waste their time arresting and prosecuting people for possession of small quantities, I think it is a bit of a leap to make it readily available at shops, which I think would lead to the very, very widespread use of it as a recreational drug. "I have been to Amsterdam, where that is the policy, and to Kingston, Jamaica, where it is used by a large section of the population, and it is visible and obvious that an alternative, slightly druggy lifestyle is being lived in parts of those cities which I am not at all sure I want to see introduced to the cities of this country." But Mr Lilley said the law is "indefensible" and compares it with prohibition in the United States. "More people actually try cannabis in this country than in states where it is legally available," he said. "The reason that it is unenforceable is that it is indefensible. The argument that it has serious health risks has been effectively demolished by the Lancet study which concluded that on the medical evidence available moderate indulgence in cannabis has little ill effect in health. Any ban on cannabis should be based on other considerations." The argument that cannabis was a "gateway" drug which led to harder drug use was the most serious consideration, Mr Lilley said. "I concluded, as did Lancet, that there is no way that taking cannabis encourages you chemically, or predisposes you to taking hard drugs," he added.
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