Herb Fellow
New Member
A leading Cumbrian drugs expert believes the Government's decision to toughen cannabis laws is "pointless". Paul Brown, director of Cumbria Alcohol and Drug Advisory Service (Cadas), said that reclassifying the drug from Class C to B was "like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic".
Mr Brown agreed there are mental health problems associated with cannabis, but the Government's response failed to take any account of the harm done by other drugs, particularly alcohol, which remains legal. He said: "It's true that the use of cannabis — particularly skunk — has certain dangers, like every other drug, but compared to alcohol it's in a different street and always has been. You only have to read the newspapers to see what a problem we have with young people causing themselves and others harm by excess drinking. Drug laws have no real basis in the harm that the various drugs do. If they were classified in that way, you'd find that alcohol would come well above cannabis."
Mr Brown said that cannabis use had decreased since it was downgraded to class C, while the drug that had seen a rapid expansion in its use in Cumbria was cocaine. He believes it makes more sense to educate people about the dangers posed by various drugs.
West Cumbria's two Labour MPs welcomed the reclassification of cannabis. Copeland's Jamie Reed said cannabis was not harmless but was a gateway drug leading users to harder drugs. Workington MP Tony Cunningham agreed, saying: "There have been arguments for some time that people start on cannabis and go on to other things and ultimately lives are ruined."
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said that the availability of some increasingly potent strains of cannabis prompted a decision to reverse Tony Blair's downgrading of the drug to Class C. The Government's decision to reclassify cannabis has defied the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs who said that the drug should continue to be a class C drug.
Source: The Cumberland News
Copyright: 2008, The Cumberland News
Contact: Phil Coleman, Chief reporter
Website: The Cumberland News
Mr Brown agreed there are mental health problems associated with cannabis, but the Government's response failed to take any account of the harm done by other drugs, particularly alcohol, which remains legal. He said: "It's true that the use of cannabis — particularly skunk — has certain dangers, like every other drug, but compared to alcohol it's in a different street and always has been. You only have to read the newspapers to see what a problem we have with young people causing themselves and others harm by excess drinking. Drug laws have no real basis in the harm that the various drugs do. If they were classified in that way, you'd find that alcohol would come well above cannabis."
Mr Brown said that cannabis use had decreased since it was downgraded to class C, while the drug that had seen a rapid expansion in its use in Cumbria was cocaine. He believes it makes more sense to educate people about the dangers posed by various drugs.
West Cumbria's two Labour MPs welcomed the reclassification of cannabis. Copeland's Jamie Reed said cannabis was not harmless but was a gateway drug leading users to harder drugs. Workington MP Tony Cunningham agreed, saying: "There have been arguments for some time that people start on cannabis and go on to other things and ultimately lives are ruined."
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said that the availability of some increasingly potent strains of cannabis prompted a decision to reverse Tony Blair's downgrading of the drug to Class C. The Government's decision to reclassify cannabis has defied the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs who said that the drug should continue to be a class C drug.
Source: The Cumberland News
Copyright: 2008, The Cumberland News
Contact: Phil Coleman, Chief reporter
Website: The Cumberland News
