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Concern over cannabis reclassification

DrugScope, the national membership organisation for individuals and agencies working across the drug sector, has expressed concern and disappointment at the government's decision to return cannabis to a class B drug.

Chief executive of DrugScope, Martin Barnes, said:
"Much has been made of the need to ‘send out a message’ on cannabis use. Unfortunately, the message given by this decision is that drugs policy can be driven as much by political considerations, media headlines and scare stories as by the evidence.

“There is no evidence that reclassifying cannabis to Class B will reduce levels of use, levels of harm or the availability of the drug. Nor is there evidence that the public want to see tougher penalties for cannabis possession, particularly for young people. The opinion poll survey quoted by the Home Secretary found that 68% of the public wanted the penalty for cannabis possession to be either two years, equivalent to Class C, or that there should be no penalty whatsoever.

“Using the law to ‘send out a message’ ignores the evidence on the relative harms of different drugs and the important fact that cannabis use has consistently been falling across all age groups, since before the original reclassification to class C in 2004.The ACMD is right to say that cannabis is primarily a public health problem - the emphasis should be on reducing demand for the drug and improving the public’s understanding of cannabis-related harms.

“We are extremely disappointed by the decision on classification but welcome the Home Secretary’s commitment to adopt all the other recommendations made by the Advisory Council. We will be following the implementation of the recommendations closely.

“We welcome the Home Secretary’s recognition that reclassification alone is not a sufficient response to public health concerns and hope that the government will ensure that the planned real term reduction in funding for drug treatment and drug education and prevention work with young people is reversed.”

Article originally published on 23/05/2008 by DryOutNow.com, the alcohol specific website for Addiction Advisor

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