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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Clarke 'u-turn' on cannabis law
Sally Priestley ePolitix
Saturday 19 Mar 2005 The home secretary has indicated he is prepared to rethink the controversial decision to relax the rules on cannabis use. Charles Clarke has written to the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) seeking a review of the current classification of cannabis. In 2001, then home secretary David Blunkett accepted a recommendation that the drug should be reclassified from class B to class C. Reversal of the policy would be embarrassing both to Blunkett and the government. The Conservatives said the move would amount to a "U-turn" and called on Clarke reverse the "dreadful decision". But drugs charities said any new decision should be based on scientific evidence rather than the views of politicians. Under pressure The reclassification came into force in 2004, and the government has since been under pressure from opposition politicians and the media to reverse the decision. Clarke pointed out there is no indication from either the British crime survey or a more recent survey by the Department of Health that use of cannabis has increased. But he said several new studies produced over the last year have brought the issue back into question - in particular those linking cannabis use with the development of mental health problems. In a letter to the advisory council, Clark said: "I realise that ACMD keeps a close interest in these studies and continue to monitor all the relevant evidence on the effects of cannabis. "I want to be clear what influence the evidence presented within these studies has on the overall assessment of the classification of cannabis." Clarke called on the council to assess whether the position has changed as a result of the more recent studies. And he also welcomed advice on claims of increased availability of a variety of cannabis typically known as "skunk". "I am aware the Dutch government are taking a particular interest in very high strength strains and are considering whether cannabis above a certain strength should be a higher classification," the minister said. Responding to the letter, the ACMD said it had already been taking "a close and keen interest in recent studies". "The ACMD thanks the home secretary for his letter and welcomes the opportunity to provide him with their further advice at the earliest opportunity," added the brief statement. Got it wrong Shadow home secretary David Davis said ministers were recognising that "they got this wrong". "The downgrading of cannabis was a dreadful decision which sends out mixed messages about the dangers of drugs," he said. "The government will now have to clear up the mess of its hasty and ill-thought through declassification of cannabis which Charles Clarke himself has admitted could lead people on to harder drugs. "It is now time for the government to look at its entire drugs strategy - from its failure to deal with the bumper crop of Afghan opium, to its unmanned borders, and serial failure of its flagship drug treatment and testing orders." Obvious concerns Martin Barnes, chief executive of drugs charity DrugScope, said that while he backed the reclassification at the time, any new evidence "needs to be considered". "When the ACMD recommended reclassification it fully considered the evidence that cannabis can trigger mental health problems," Barnes added. "It is right that the classification of cannabis, as with all drugs, is closely monitored on an ongoing basis, but we must ensure that such monitoring takes place on a rigorously scientific basis and is not motivated by political factors. "It is surprising that the government is asking for a review... so soon after reclassification. "Available evidence suggests that cannabis usage amongst young people has remained stable since reclassification, and has even fallen amongst 11 to 15-year-olds." He added that reports of "soaring" use of more potent forms of cannabis in European countries were "exaggerated and not substantiated". "There are obvious concerns about the links between cannabis and mental health," said Barnes. "Cannabis is not a harmless drug, but classification reflects relative harms."
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