USE OF EXTRA STRONG 'SKUNK' CANNABIS SOARS

The use of super-strength "skunk" cannabis has soared five-fold over
the past six years, a Home Office study has found.

The powerful strain of cannabis now accounts for 80 per cent of all
street seizures of the drug by police.

The news came as health experts issued fresh warnings about the
dangers of cannabis. One expert said it would account for a quarter of
all new schizophrenia cases within two years.

A senior Government mental health official also attacked the
"complacency" that had built up around the health risks of smoking
cannabis.

The findings were disclosed at a meeting of Government advisers on
drugs policy which is considering whether cannabis should be returned
to Class B status.

A change from its current Class C status would mean that the maximum
offence for possession would increase from two to five years in jail.

Initial results of a Home Office survey held in the past five weeks
has found that skunk cannabis accounted for 15 per cent of the drug's
usage in England and Wales in 2002. That figure is now 75 per cent to
80 per cent. About 300 cannabis samples seized on the streets since
the start of this year showed levels of skunk, or sinsemilla, had rocketed.

In contrast the prevalence of milder cannabis resin fell from 60 to 70
per cent of the market in 2002 to 20 per cent.

Herbal cannabis accounted for just five per cent of seizures, compared
with 15 per cent six years ago.

Les King, an adviser to the Home Office scientific development branch,
told the Government's advisory council on the misuse of drugs that
sinsemilla was now the "dominant product".

"It coincides with the rise of large organised criminal concerns run
by the Vietnamese," he said. "Traditional herbal cannabis has almost
been squeezed out of the market."

The study will eventually test 1,000 samples and report to the council
next month.

Mike White, an expert from the Forensic Science Service, which
analyses seized drug samples, said the potency of skunk had increased
from six per cent THC content in 1995 to 14 per cent in 2005, falling
to around 10 per cent to 11 per cent since then.

The council heard a series of warnings about the health risks
associated with smoking cannabis. Matthew Hickman, from the Centre for
Research on Drugs and Health Behaviour at Bristol University, warned
that within two years cannabis use could account for one quarter of
all new schizophrenia cases.

Five million people were identified as cannabis smokers in 2002, he
said.

Prof Louis Appleby, the national director for health at the Department
of Health, attacked a "complacency" surrounding cannabis use among
health professionals.

He said: "We have become complacent on cannabis, based on concern
about how widespread it is and some scepticism if it is generally
harmful. That complacency has to come to an end."

[sidebar]

"Skunk" cannabis is a super-strength form of the drug, which contains
higher levels of the active ingredient THC and lower levels of CBD, an
anti-psychotic substance that may moderate the effects of THC on
users' minds.

The balance is set by the grower. In recent years cannabis "farmers"
have increased the potency of the drug by breeding cannabis plants
selectively to increase the THC count and negate the CBD quota.