05/02/2008 00:00:00
UK: Police to urge cannabis regrading
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Senior police officers are to tell government advisers that cannabis
should be upgraded from a Class C to a more dangerous Class B drug.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is reviewing the
classification of cannabis because of concerns about a link with mental
illness.
The Association of Chief Police Officers said reclassification would end
confusion over the drug's status.
Cannabis use has fallen since it was defined as Class C four years ago.
Tougher penalties
Police said the reclassification would help them target organised crime
gangs who are profiting from the booming trade in herbal cannabis
cultivated in the UK.
The reclassification would be accompanied by stiffer penalties,
something that Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Home Secretary Jacqui
Smith are believed to support.
But David Blunkett, who downgraded the drug when he was home secretary,
said a reversal of his decision would create confusion.
Speaking at the weekend, he said: "Rather than affecting practice on the
ground, classifying cannabis back to class B now would simply cause
confusion."
And the mental health charity Rethink said cannabis use could be reduced
without reclassification, if warnings about the risks were placed on
packs of cigarette papers, which are used to roll joints.
Debra Bell, of the Talking About Cannabis Parental Action Group, said:
"Skunk cannabis is one of the evils of our time.
"I'm not talking about it just being a gateway drug. It is dangerous in
itself."
The mental health charity, Sane, will also give evidence to the review.
Its chief executive, Marjorie Wallace, said there was a significant risk
for people who smoke the drug who are under 15 years old.
She said: "Their chances of developing a later illness like
schizophrenia can be between two and four times higher - that means
there may be about 1,500 people who are developing schizophrenia who,
without taking cannabis, might not otherwise have had this long sentence
of mental illness."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7227651.stm
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=13247
Author:
BBC News via UKCIA
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