BRITISH NEWSPAPER REVERSES POSITION ON MARIJUANA

Cites Growing Risk Of Mental Health Problems

A decade ago, Britain's The Independent on Sunday newspaper launched
a bold campaign to decriminalize marijuana, part of a movement that
eventually led Britain to downgrade the drug's legal status.

Earlier this week, the tabloid issued an unusual front-page
"apology," saying it has reversed its stance in light of research
showing the drug's harmful effects and figures reflecting an increase
in those undergoing drug treatment.

In a story and editorial, the newspaper said growing evidence showing
a more potent cannabis strain, known as skunk, is associated with a
risk of mental health problems.

Studies have shown that young users of marijuana predisposed to
psychosis and schizophrenia may be susceptible to mental health problems.

The editorial also cited the number of cannabis users doubling
13-fold to 22,000 since 1997 -- half of them younger than 18 years old.

"Time has changed and information has come to light ... that simply
wasn't there before. So, we thought it was prudent to reassess our
own position in light of that information," said Jonathan Owen, an
Independent on Sunday reporter who wrote the story on the drug's
harmful effects.

The editorial about-face comes at a time when a new independent drug
policy commission is set to begin a debate on the British
government's approach to the issue, while several drug experts and
politicians have reassessed their own positions, according to the newspaper.

A raft of new studies and experts have questioned the decriminalizing
of marijuana.

"The fact that cannabis consumption is so widespread amongst young
people in the U.K. means the number of young people who are
experiencing mental health problems is actually quite large," said
Neil McKeganey, a professor at the University of Glasgow's Centre for
Drug Misuse Research.

"I would say it's a dangerous drug," he said, adding that the large
numbers of youth receiving treatment for cannabis health-related
problems seems to be "an indication of opportunity of a much greater
problem which will unfold in due course."

Although many Canadian experts agree that studies show an association
between psychosis and marijuana use for those susceptible to mental
illness, some said nothing dramatically new has been gleaned from
recent studies.

A few even say the issue is being politicized in Britain.

"The psychosis or mental illness has probably been a claim that has
been repeatedly made since the 1950s," said Alan Young, a criminal
law expert at York University.

"The political question is: Does the state have the right to deprive
95 per cent of the population of an activity that is harmless to them?"

Neil Boyd, a criminology professor at Simon Fraser University, said
although he doesn't dispute there could be health consequences for a
small minority smoking marijuana, "those consequences are trivial
compared with the health consequences of alcohol and tobacco."

The Independent on Sunday said it doesn't believe the newspaper was
wrong in calling for decriminalization in the late 1990s, because
marijuana potency was weaker then.

Eugene Oscapella, an Ottawa lawyer and founding member of the
Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy, said although marijuana could
bring out schizophrenia in susceptible people, criminalizing
marijuana doesn't solve anything.

"I don't understand what the fuss is all about," he said. "It's all a
panic response on the part of the newspaper."