UK SCIENTISTS DECRY MOVES TO TOUGHEN CANNABIS LAWS

LONDON - A group of senior British scientists has condemned the
government's push to toughen the penalties for possessing marijuana,
saying in a letter published Tuesday the move ignores scientific evidence.

Britain's House of Lords voted to reclassifying the drug Tuesday, and
the House of Commons, Britain's powerful lower house, already approved
the measure earlier this month and the Lords' vote is seen as a formality.

The Home Office said it expected the change to come into effect in
January.

In Britain, drugs are classified into three different categories with
"Class A" the most dangerous. Marijuana is currently classified as a
"Class C" drug and the change will upgrade it to "Class B" - something
the government argues is necessary in part because of the increasing
potency of some cannabis varieties.

The change would reverse the relaxation of British cannabis laws in
2004 and ignore the recommendations of a government drug advisory
council.

In a letter published in The Guardian newspaper, 10 scientists said
the reclassification could be "very damaging" because it sends a
confusing message to the public about the true dangers of other "Class
B" drugs.

The letter's signatories include Michael Rawlins, former head of the
advisory council, and two former chief scientific advisers to the
government, David King and Robert May.

"Cannabis use has fallen in recent years, especially following the
downgrading to Class C in 2004, and its obviously unwise to risk
reversing that trend," the letter said. It said reclassification
"would send out an ambiguous message about the dangers of current
Class B drugs."

Marijuana would join amphetamines, Ritalin and pholcodine as "Class B"
drugs whose unlawful possession could result in up to five years in
prison.

Marijuana possession is currently punishable by up to two years in
prison, although users aren't typically arrested or prosecuted until
after their third offense.

The Home Office has said it wants to send a message to marijuana users
that possessing the drug is a serious crime. It said the evidence
about the risks of marijuana use was more uncertain now than it had
been in the past.