REPORT BOOST FOR CANNABIS

Research has established that decriminalising marijuana does not lead to
the use of harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin, and that teenagers and
children are more likely to experiment with alcohol and tobacco.

Long-running surveys carried out in the Netherlands, where marijuana was
decriminalised in 1967, have found that even in the age group where
cannabis use is highest - those between 20 and 35, of whom 12.5 per cent
are "regular" users - only 1.3 per cent had used cocaine in the previous
month, with the majority of those being aged over 30.

The latest sample of more than 2,000 people in 1994 found that nobody under
20 had ever used heroin, and there were just four people who "regularly"
used heroin, all aged between 25 and 50. Cocaine and heroin use are not
legal in the Netherlands.

The findings, from ongoing surveys carried out over the past 10 years by
the Centre for Drug Research at the University of Amsterdam among the
city's residents, provide more ammunition for the Independent on Sunday's
campaign to decriminalise cannabis in Britain.

It also shows that the Government's insistence that decriminalising the
drug would be a catastrophe does not stand up to close examination.

A leading scientific magazine is expected tomorrow to publish further
research which indicates that cannabis has fewer health effects than other
legal drugs such as tobacco.