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UK: UN agency criticises Blunkett on cannabis
Philip Johnston The Telegraph
Wednesday 26 Feb 2003 A United Nations drugs control agency yesterday accused David Blunkett of "sending the wrong signal" to the world by relaxing Britain's cannabis laws. The International Narcotics Control Board said it was "concerned" about the Home Secretary's decision to downgrade the drug from class B to class C so that possession would not usually be an arrestable offence. The board, a United Nations agency based in Vienna, predicted that the policy would damage health and increase cannabis supplies. Philip Emafo, the board's president, said international consensus was important. "No government should take unilateral measures without considering the impact of its actions and ultimately the consequences for an entire system that took governments almost a century to establish." In a 90-page report on the international drug situation, the board said Britain's reclassification of cannabis "could lead to increased cultivation of cannabis destined for the UK and other European countries". It emphasised that cannabis was "not a harmless drug as advocates of its legalisation tend to portray", but could affect brain functions and was linked to heart attacks, lung disease and cancer. Hamid Ghodse, professor of addictive behaviour at St George's Hospital, London, and a member of the board, said that in 10 to 20 years Britain's psychiatric hospitals could be "filled with people who have problems with cannabis". He added: "Recreational use of cannabis is something that any government and any community should think very seriously about." Developing nations were concerned because their young people followed trends in the West and were influenced by statements in Britain. Prof Ghodse conceded that the Government was not legalising, or decriminalising cannabis - its possession remains an offence - but said many people were confused about its status. "The Government is doing their best to clarify things, but it is very difficult because if a drug is reclassified it's giving signals that it is more liberal." The reclassification was announced in Oct 2001. Guidance issued to the police in London last autumn will be extended across the country by this summer. Cannabis users with small amounts of the drug for personal use will not usually be arrested, but police will retain the power to do so in exceptional circumstances. Britain is not the first country criticised by the board for relaxing its drugs laws. Last year it criticised Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain for decriminalising the cultivation and possession of cannabis for personal use. The Home Office disagreed with the board. "Reclassification, based on scientific evidence from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, does not legalise cannabis, but does make clearer the distinction between cannabis and class A drugs like heroin, crack and cocaine," said a spokesman. He added that the move had enabled the Home Office to send a more credible message on the "harmfulness of different drugs and allows the police to focus its resources on tackling the drugs that cause the most harm". Roger Howard, chief executive of the charity DrugScope, said the board's report was based on "dubious science and misleading conclusions".
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