Subj: Dope figures don't add up

Date: Mar 1, 1998

Source: Independent on Sunday

Dope figures don't add up

By Graham Ball

Who smokes dope, or, more to the point, how many of us
smoke dope? The Government say it is less than half the
number who regularly tune into The Archers, but the IoS has
evidence which proves they are well short of the mark.

Last month, in a private meeting, Brian Iddon, Labour MP for
Bolton South East, put the question to Home Office minister
George Howarth.

"The minister told me that 1.5 million people in Britain use
cannabis, which surprised me," said Mr Iddon, who believes
cannabis should be decriminalised.

"I know that many believe the number to be more than twice
the Government estimate. However, I was assured that this
was the best and most up-to-date calculation. The Home
Office based this figure on a 1996 survey of 9,000 people from
a broad spectrum of social classes," he added.

But a careful review of the official statistics reveals the
implausibility of the Government's estimate. The most recent
figures for the amount of cannabis seized by both the police
and customs are 13,871kg (13.6 tons) of dry plant matter and
44,607kg (43.9 tons) of resin.

The total - 58,478kg - is accepted by customs and police
intelligence sources as representing, on average, 10 per cent
of the total amount that is in circulation.

The police calculate that it is possible to roll four joints from
each gram of cannabis. Therefore, over a full year, 526,302kg
of cannabis will be consumed or 2,105,208,000 (2.1 billion)
individual joints.

This, in turn, means that every day, throughout Britain, 5.7
million joints are lit and that for the Government's estimate to
be correct, each of the country's 1.5 million cannabis smokers
would have to puff their way through 27 joints a week, every
week of the year.

The correct appraisal of cannabis use is far more complicated
than the Government would have us believe. While it is true
that a minority of users smoke as many as 27 joints a week
and more, the vast majority use the drug intermittently. Many
only smoke at weekends, others once a month or less
frequently - no one can tell for certain.