CANNABIS CAMPAIGN 'IS A RED HERRING'

The Government's "drug tsar" Keith Hellawell yesterday insisted that
cannabis should remain illegal and branded campaigns for its legalisation
"a red herring."

Speaking after 11,000 people marched through London for the Independent on
Sunday's campaign to decriminalise cannabis, Mr Hellawell said the health
and social effects of cannabis consumption ruled out liberalisation of
Britain's drug laws. "Many people who are against it [cannabis law]
sometimes feel, well, because there seems to be this weight of argument, or
weight of numbers as I would put it, it must be all right - and of course
it is not all right and it doesn't help," he said

Mr Hellawell dismissed the Independent on Sunday's campaign as "a
hindrance." "Campaigns tend to give one side of the story and of course
they appear often to have weight of numbers because it is only people who
are interested in doing what the campaign is pushing that respond to it.
But what we get on the ground from workers, from addicts and from parents
and lots of people who are saying 'we don't want it legalised,' - so I
think it (the campaign) is less than helpful frankly."

He said smoking cannabis had harmful side-effects. "We do not yet know how
many people have driving abilities affected, what examination results are
affected, how industry is affected by cannabis, therefore from my own point
of view there is a risk factor which is as yet to be quantified."