HALF OF ALL YOUNG PEOPLE ARRESTED ARE REVEALED TO HAVE SMOKED CANNABIS

Half of all crime suspects arrested by police admit to recently
smoking cannabis, astonishing Government research reveals.

For younger offenders, the figures are even more stark. Some 57 per
cent say they have smoked the drug - which Labour controversially
downgraded - in the past month.

It proves for the first time a firm link between cannabis and serious
offending. It is used by more suspects than any other drug -
including heroin and crack cocaine.

The startling findings emerged from the first ever Home Office survey
of crime suspects who have just been arrested by the police.

Last night, opponents said it raised grave new doubts over Labour's
wisdom in re-classifying cannabis from Class B to Class C in January 2004.

The decision means there is less deterrent for trying a drug which,
research has now proved, is a significant factor in the life of half
of all criminals.

The offences they were picked up for by police ranged from burglary
and robbery to assault.

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: 'These alarming statistics
raise serious questions about the consequences of the Government's
chaotic and confused policy on drugs.

'We have long said that drugs fuel all sorts of crime. This is
because they both undermine a person's sense of responsibility but
also because takers and addicts need money to feed their habit.

'People on drugs are far more likely to commit crime, especially
violent crime. Until the Government get a grip on the drugs problem
they will never make an impact on the causes of crime.'

The Government repeatedly focuses on heroin and crack as the main
factors behind crime, making no mention of the role played by cannabis.

But the survey of more than 7,500 suspected criminals reached a
dramatically different conclusion.

Some 46 per cent said they had taken cannabis in the past month. For
younger criminals, aged 17-24, it rose to 57 per cent.

Only 18 per cent said they had taken heroin in the past month, 15 per
cent crack and 10 per cent cocaine. Some 57 per cent, after tests,
were identified as problem drinkers.

Labour has also relaxed the laws on drinking, making alcohol
available round-the-clock.

But this is less stark than the findings for cannabis, as at least
alcohol is sold legally.

The main reasons for all the arrests were assault (16 per cent),
shoplifting (12 per cent), criminal damage (9 per cent) and burglary
(8 per cent).

Mary Brett, spokesman for Europe Against Drugs, said the findings
backed research showing a link between cannabis and violent offences,
such as assault.

She added: 'Cannabis is by far the most common drug involved. Many
people will be surprised by the number of cannabis users who have
been arrested.

'Cannabis has been implicated in violence. A paper in 2002 found
alcohol dependent individuals almost twice but cannabis dependents
almost four times more likely to be violent than controls (people who
did not abuse the substances).'

Last October, a senior church figure and police adviser warned
Labour's decision to downgrade cannabis had filled youths with a
'lawless bravado' which turns them into criminals and even potential killers.

The Reverend George Hargreaves said that youths, smoking the drug
with impunity since the law was changed, are being transformed into
dangerous ' schizophrenics'.

He blamed the decision for the London murder of a father-of-two who
asked them to be quiet because he had to get up early the next day.

Mr Hargreaves, who is the pastor of the Hephzibah Christian Centre in
Hackney and sits on two Metropolitan Police committees, said: 'We are
talking about a brand of cannabis that sends young people schizophrenic.

When they use it, there is a lawless bravado. Combine that lawless
bravado with a knife, with an altered state of mind, and you get murder.'

Critics point out that - while it is the first time cannabis has been
firmly linked to other crimes - it has already been blamed for
turning users on to harder drugs.

A secret report by the Downing Street strategy unit said cannabis use
had soared since it was downgraded.

The decision also led to a surge in hard drug use with teenagers
tempted into taking cannabis and moving on to heroin and crack
cocaine, it said.

The leaked document conceded: 'Recent changes to the law have
increased the number of people taking cannabis. The amount of hard
drug abuse has also increased. It appears the two rises are connected.'

The effect of downgrading cannabis is that being caught with the drug
no longer carries the automatic threat of arrest.

Instead, a user is likely to be let-off with a simple formal warning,
which does not count as a criminal record.

Charities say it has sent out the message to a generation of young
people that smoking the drug is acceptable.

Other factors identified by the Home Office study, which was placed
on a research website at the end of last year, were that more than
half of those arrested were out of work.

Some 36 percent had jobs. The rest were either in school or college,
or were bringing up a family. A fifth of suspects had spent some time
in a foster or children's home.

The suspected criminals were surveyed throughout 2004, within hours
of being arrested.

The decision to downgrade cannabis from Class B to C, was implemented
in January of that year. The Home Office then spent two years
analysing the results, which were published on the departmental
website in November 2006.