CANNABIS AS BAD AS HEROIN, WARNS UN DRUGS WATCHDOG

THE drugs watchdog of the United Nations has rebuked the UK
government's policy change on cannabis, saying it sent a confusing
message to young people.

UN experts also warned that a major increase in the potency of
cannabis means it now poses health risks similar to those of heroin.

The decision to reclassify cannabis as a Class C drug - made by the
Home Secretary in 2004 - was implicitly criticised by Antonio Maria
Costa, the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, who
warned of the growth in its use.

Cannabis had become more potent in the past few decades and
governments that maintained inadequate policies got the "drug problem
they deserve", Mr Costa said in the 2006 World Drug Report.

"Policy reversals leave young people confused as to just how dangerous
cannabis is," he added. "

The cannabis pandemic, like other challenges to public health,
requires consensus, a consistent commitment across the political
spectrum and by society at large."

He warned governments against playing party politics with the
classification of cannabis as its harmful effects were "no longer that
different" to the damage caused by cocaine and heroin.

His remarks were made on UN Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit
Trafficking.

But the Home Office stood by its decision to maintain cannabis as
Class C.

A spokesman said: "Cannabis is controlled as a Class C drug. It is
harmful and illegal and no-one should take it. In January 2006 the
Home Secretary accepted the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
recommendation that cannabis remain a Class C drug. This decision to
retain its classification is supported by the police and by most drug
and mental health charities."

The Home Office said that consumption of cannabis had fallen from more
than 28 per cent to 24 per cent in 16-24 year olds.

Scotland has one of the worst drug problems in Europe, with an
estimated 50,000 addicts. At least half a million Scots are believed
to have smoked cannabis and 200,000 are believed to have taken cocaine.

Last week, Tom Wood, Scotland's drug tsar, sparked controversy by
suggesting the nation had "lost the war on drugs".

The European Commission has admitted that drug abuse in the bloc and
the deaths it causes have reached "unprecedented" levels and that in
any given month, 1.5 million Europeans take cocaine and 12 million use
cannabis.

Since David Blunkett, the former home secretary, downgraded cannabis
to a class C, ministers have proposed much lower limits for possession
of the drug before an individual is prosecuted as a dealer. In
contrast, the Dutch parliament is considering allowing the controlled
cultivation of cannabis while Italy has also taken a softer stance.

The European Commission is asking for input into its drugs policy
review from July to September.