CANNABIS: TOUGH PENALTIES ON WAY AFTER ANOTHER CHANGE OF MIND

Gordon Brown is preparing to overrule the advice of the Government's
drug advisory body and upgrade cannabis to a Class B drug, carrying
tougher penalties for its possession.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs made a recommendation in
private that cannabis should remain a Class C drug. Its decision came
after the presentation of evidence this week showing a huge increase
in the potency of cannabis seized by police but no consistent evidence
to support theories that this is causing an increase in
schizophrenia.

Of particular concern is the prevalence of skunk, a strain of cannabis
which is typically two to three times more powerful than other forms
of the drug, although some types can be even stronger. The drug's
potency comes from the high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that
it contains.

While normal cannabis contains about five per cent of THC, skunk's
concentration is about 10 to 15 per cent.

Ministers have made clear that they are not bound by recommendations
from the council and that in the end any decision on classification is
a matter of political judgment. It will be only the second time since
the council was set up under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to advise
ministers that a government has rejected a recommendation on
reclassification.

A senior Whitehall official made clear yesterday that Mr Brown was
prepared to reclassify cannabis even if the advisory body recommended
leaving the drug in the C class. "Whatever the scientific evaluation
is, it is the Government's duty to decide what signal classification
sends," the official said.

The Times disclosed in January that Mr Brown and Jacqui Smith, the
Home Secretary, were determined to reverse the decision to downgrade
cannabis taken by David Blunkett. Mr Brown asked the committee to
carry out a review of the 2004 decision to downgrade cannabis shortly
after he became Prime Minister. At the time he appeared to want to
distance himself from policies linked with Tony Blair and had already
dropped plans for a supercasino.

The council's decision came after a discussion of research from Keele
University on trends in schizophrenia. The study found nothing to
support a theory that rising cannabis use over the past three decades
had led to increases in the incidence of schizophrenia in later years.
Instead, the research by Martin Frisher, of the school of pharmacy,
and Ilana Crone, of the academic psychiatry unit, said that between
1996 and 2005 there were significant reductions in the prevalence of
schizophrenia and from 2000 onwards in the prevalence of psychoses.

"The data are not consistent with the hypothesis that increasing
cannabis use in earlier decades is associated with increasing
schizophrenia or psychoses from the mid1990s onwards," the report said.

Mr Brown signalled his views on cannabis at his press conference this
week. He said: "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."

The Prime Minister has the backing of senior police officers who have
changed their view on reclassification since the original decision.

David Cameron called on the Prime Minister to make a decision on
reclassification. He said: "People have had enough of reviews and the
Prime Minister should stop dithering and get on and make a decision."