CANNABIS GOES FOR ECSTASY

Britain Home-Grown 'Superweed' Exchanged for Dutch Tablets

Britain's drug barons are exporting home grown, high grade cannabis to
Holland in exchange for Dutch manufactured ecstasy tablets, American
intelligence officers have warned the home office.

The US drug enforcement agency has told Paul Boateng, the home office
minister, that Britain is now one of the top centres for growing
"nederweed" - a superior grade of cannabis which is 30% stronger than
the standard drug on the market. It is grown in illegal laboratories
using strong lights and water to aid its growth.

Details are revealed in a previously secret report given to Mr Boateng
last summer when he held talks in Washington with Donnie Marshall, the
deputy US drug tsar. They were released to the Guardian under the US
freedom of information act. The equivalent British documents for the
meeting will remain secret until 2030.

The report - prepared by US intelligence officers who monitor Europe's
illegal drug trade - says the export trade is a recent development
which builds on Britain's growing reputation in the drugs world for
growing superior weed. It says that customs officers are already
worried that Britain is being flooded with nederweed grown in Holland
- - but now Britain seems to have a big enough home grown market to
export it back to the Netherlands.

"Cannabis is the most abused drug in the United Kingdom. Customs and
Excise reports seizing an all-time record 82.5 metric tonnes of
cannabis in the United Kingdom in 1997," says the report.

The trade was often carried out by air rather than through the ports.
And Colombia - traditionally one of Britain's top suppliers of cocaine
- - has recently become a big supplier for traditional strength marijuana.

"In a relatively short period of time Colombia has become an important
marijuna source country for the UK." Most of the cannabis was imported
by ship rather than by air.

Yesterday customs and excise made it clear that cannabis was still a
top target. "I think the figures speak for themselves," said a
spokeswoman.

Stuart Crookshank, deputy head of anti-smuggling operations at customs
and excise, said: "We are aware and alert to the risk posed by
nederweed and all cannabis derivatives."