CANNABIS REGRADE CALLS MISPLACED

CALLS from a top Sheffield police officer to reverse a decision to
downgrade cannabis are "misplaced", Sheffield MP Nick Clegg said. The
Liberal Democrat leader said he has "not seen any evidence" that the
increased number of cannabis factories discovered across the region
is linked to the drug being downgraded four years ago from Class B to Class C.

And he said the explosion in the use of stronger strains of "skunk"
cannabis would have happened irrespective of its classification.

The Sheffield Hallam MP's comments comes after Chief Superintendent
Jon House said he believed the downgrading of cannabis has led to a
huge growth in the criminal production of the drug in South Yorkshire.

Chief Supt House wants ministers to now reverse the decision to
reclassify the drug, made by Sheffield Brightside MP David Blunkett
when he was Home Secretary.

To prove his point he revealed that a total of 64 separate cannabis
factories were discovered by South Yorkshire Police across in 2007 -
compared to just seven in 2004.

But speaking to The Star, Mr Clegg said: "I have not seen any
concrete evidence.

"In fact, all the evidence I have seen - and there have been
extensive studies on this - have not demonstrated any direct link
between the downgrading from B to C of cannabis and increased take up
of cannabis.

"There is a problem with the increased take up of skunk and there has
been thankfully a real crackdown on what are in effect cannabis
growing mini factories in residential properties in parts of Sheffield.

"They found attics with great ultraviolet lights being used by criminal gangs

"I have not seen any evidence that that is because of the
recategorisation of that drug."

He said people had become "obsessed" by the idea that drug
recategorisation will change the behaviour of people who use drugs.

"The police and the government need to get out of this view, which I
think is a misplaced one," he added.

He welcomed a debate about recategorisation but stressed that the
final decisions should be taken out of the hands of politicians.

Instead the government's drug advisors - the Advisory Council on the
Misuse of Drugs - should be given a beefed up role.

And turning to the growing use of more powerful strains of cannabis,
he said: "I think the advent of skunk is something that would have
hit the estates of Sheffield irrespective of whether it was categorised B or C."