CANNABIS LAW IS BOOSTING HARD DRUG USE

Cannabis use has soared since Labour relaxed the law on the drug, a
leaked Downing Street report has admitted.

The reclassification has also led to a surge in hard drug use - with
teenagers tempted into taking cannabis and moving on to heroin and
crack cocaine.

The findings by Tony Blair's strategy unit are devastating for the
Government.

Ministers insisted that downgrading cannabis from Class B to C in
January 2004 would not increase its use.

But the confidential report by Number 10 officials confirms that the
critics, led by the Daily Mail, were right all along.

It says: '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 document says
business is

booming for drug dealers, who use cannabis to increase their 'client
base', then try to turn customers to hard drugs.

Almost all heroin and crack addicts began by smoking cannabis, the
report adds.

There are an estimated 3.5million regular cannabis users - up 20 per
cent since Labour came to power.

The report, leaked to the News of the World, also admitted that
attempts to cut drug consumption have failed.

It says: 'Far more drugs are used now than in the past. The supply
market is highly sophisticated and attempts to intervene have not
resulted in sustainable disruption.'

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: 'This is a consequence of the
Government's chaotic and confused policy which has led many people to
think it is OK to take cannabis.

'We have consistently warned that cannabis is a major gateway to
harder drugs - their failure is condemning a whole generation to the

misery of drugs.' Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental
health charity SANE, said: 'It is sad that the Government did not
listen to the very clear warnings about the dangers of downgrading
cannabis.

'It is a substance which can devastate the minds of those vulnerable
to its toxic effects. They risk lifelong mental illness.'

Downing Street said it would not comment on a leaked document. The
Home Office said it investigated the case for putting cannabis back in
Class B, but this was ruled out by the Advisory Council on the Misuse
of Drugs in January.

A spokesman said: 'This decision is supported by the police and most
drug and mental health charities.'

?BEFORE it was downgraded, anybody caught possessing cannabis was
liable to be arrested. Punishments ranged from a caution through to a
fine or a maximum of five years imprisonment.

It is still illegal to possess cannabis, with a maximum sentence of
two years. But adults will almost always be let off with an instant
warning, which is recorded at the local police station but does not
count as a criminal record.

Under-18s should still be arrested and given an official warning, the
equivalent of a formal caution for an adult and counting on a criminal
record.