Cannabis crackdown 'makes little difference'

RESTORING cannabis to its former class B status will make "very little difference" to levels of consumption, one of Scotland's leading drug experts has warned.

Tom Wood, the chairman of the Scottish Association of Alcohol and Drug Teams, said the move, announced yesterday by the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, would fail to have much impact on consumption among young people.

The decision to upgrade the drug to class B was largely a result of growing evidence about the damage it can cause to mental health.

Mr Wood, head of Action on Alcohol and Drugs in Edinburgh, said: "It's time we had a long and hard look at what we're doing. The issue of cannabis misuse should be addressed from a health perspective, not a justice perspective. I can see it (reclassification] will make very little difference either to the use or patterns of consumption."

Ms Smith said she was reclassifying the drug because the cannabis market was now dominated by skunk – which constitutes 81 per cent of sales – rather than less potent hash or marijuana.

The drug was downgraded in 2004 by the then home secretary, David Blunkett, on the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs – the same organisation whose findings Ms Smith rejected yesterday.

Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, had earlier made clear his concern about super-strength cannabis.

Ms Smith told the Commons: "I want it to be clearly understood that this powerful form of cannabis is an illegal and harmful drug.

"There is a compelling case for us to act now, rather than risk the future health of young people."

But Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said the move would cut neither cannabis use nor crime.

He added: "Will she save public money by disbanding the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, and establishing a new committee of tabloid newspaper editors, given that the biggest influence on her policy is the Daily Mail?"

The move, which will take effect early next year, increases from two to five years' jail the maximum punishment for possession, but leaves the penalty for supply at a fine or up to 14 years' jail.

In its report, the advisory council said that cannabis should remain in class C, because its harmfulness was closer to other drugs in that category, rather than those in class B.

It said there was a "probable, but weak, causal link between psychotic illness and cannabis use" and "only a minority" of young people using cannabis would develop a psychotic illness.

But the council said it was "still very concerned about the wide use of cannabis among young people" and added: "Although the number of users have decreased over the past few years, cannabis still poses a real threat to the health of those who use it."

Scotland's senior police officers said there would be "no change" to the way they tackle cannabis possession.

Willie McColl, the national drugs co-ordinator at the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA), said police would continue to report cases of possession to the procurator-fiscal. "Our approach to tackling drugs, including cannabis, has been consistent and this will continue," he said.

But he added the police would focus on tackling supply, in particular the growth of cannabis factories in recent years.