BROWN SIGNALS AN ABOUT-TURN AS GOVERNMENT PREPARES TO TOUGHEN UP THE
LAW ON CANNABIS

The Prime Minister said he wanted to give teenagers a clear message
that smoking the drug is not only illegal but also dangerous.

At his monthly press conference, Mr Brown said he was waiting for a
report from scientific advisers on whether to return the drug to its
Class B category.

He expects the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs this month to
recommend tightening the law, he added.

A crackdown would follow three years of dithering by the Government
after the downgrading of the drug in 2004 was followed rapidly by
clear evidence of a negative impact.

Mr Brown has made it obvious that he is in favour of reversing the
decision to downgrade the drug, made under his predecessor Tony Blair.

"I believe that if we are sending out a signal particularly to
teenagers, and particularly those at the most vulnerable age, young
teenagers, that we in any way find cannabis acceptable, given all
that we now know about the changes in the way cannabis is being sold
in this country, that is not the right thing to do.

"My personal view has been pretty well known for some time.

"Given the changing nature of the stock of cannabis that is coming
into the country and greater damage that that appears to be doing to
people who use it, there is a stronger case for sending out a signal
that cannabis is not only illegal but it is unacceptable."

For some time, the Government has been signalling that a rethink was
forced by new scientific evidence on the dangers of extra-strength
"skunk" cannabis.

Senior police officers, magistrates and medical experts have
supported the move.

Last month a Home Office U-turn paved the way for teenagers to be
given stronger warnings on the dangers of the drug.

Guidance that had recommended those with mental health problems
should avoid cannabis was scrapped and replaced with blanket advice
against use.

Now the Government's drugs advice website FRANK says "anyone who uses
cannabis could be doing so at a risk to their mental health".

It tells of "increasing evidence of a link between cannabis and
mental health problems such as schizophrenia".

"If you've a history of mental health problems, depression, or are
experiencing paranoia, then taking this drug is not a good idea," it says.

Cannabis was downgraded to a Class C drug in January 2004.

As a result it became unlikely that someone caught with the drug
would be arrested.

The Home Office's Advisory Council will tell the Government if it
believes the downgrade should be reversed.

Medical experts have already told the Council that the official
attitude to the dangers of cannabis has been "complacent".

In February, Professor Louis Appleby, national director for mental
health, said that "the evidence is pointing towards cannabis as a
cause of severe mental illness".

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "People want action, not
words. We need a zero-tolerance approach to drugs, from our shores to
our streets.