NEW CANNABIS DANGER LEADS TO NEW LAW

A change of Government policy on drugs comes into force today. Alastair
Gilmour reports on the reclassification of cannabis.

What was previously regarded as a strong message on drugs use has become
law. Gordon Brown has reversed a decision on the classification of
cannabis made five years ago by his predecessor Tony Blair, despite advice
from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) that it should
remain a class C substance.

From today, cannabis is reclassified as a class B drug, the same category
as amphetamines such as speed and barbiturates. This means enforcement of
the law will be tougher -- those caught in possession of cannabis could
still get a warning on a first offence, but on a second offence they are
likely face a fine of #80. If caught a third time they could be arrested.
The ACMD has repeatedly called for cannabis to remain as a class C drug
but home secretary Jacqui Smith announced in May last year that she was
not willing to "wait and see" while risking the "future health of young
people".

The decision, influenced by the Prime Minister's determined stance,
reflects the fact that skunk, a much stronger version of the drug, now
dominates the UK's cannabis market. Skunk has swept other less potent
forms of cannabis off the market and now accounts for 81% of the drug
available on our streets, compared to just 30% in 2002.

There will also be a new targeted approach to tackling cannabis farms and
the organised criminals who run them, plus the introduction of additional
aggravating sentencing factors for those caught supplying cannabis near
educational establishments, mental health institutions and prisons.
Changes to legislation and powers used to curtail the sale and promotion
of cannabis paraphernalia are also under consideration.

The reclassification, which runs counter to many expert opinions, is what
Jacqui Smith calls "part of a relentless drive to tackle drugs and the
harm they bring to families and communities".

The Prime Minister had previously expressed concern at the stronger forms
of the drug becoming available.

He said: "Given the changing nature of the stock of cannabis that is
coming into the country and greater damage that appears to be doing to
people who use it, there is a stronger case for sending out a signal that
cannabis is not only illegal but it is unacceptable."

Destroyer of families

We sometimes fool ourselves into thinking that while heroin and cocaine
are dangerous, cannabis is safe. For those who are still oblivious to its
dangers we have reproduced an article by former Journal associate editor
Huw Lewis.

He wrote four years ago – following the downgrading of cannabis from Class
B to Class C – on the devastating effects the drug has had on his family.
His view is exactly the same today.

"I always declined – without saying why – the 'joints' I was offered at
student parties. This may have made me look square and uncool.

But then explaining: "My brother's life has been destroyed by
schizophrenia because of the dope he smoked as a teenager,' does tend to
dampen the mood.

"Research linking cannabis to mental illness – particularly in the young,
whose brains are still developing – has been available for years. My
family read plenty about the link as we struggled to understand what
reduced an intelligent, athletic young man to a crippled, haunted shell,
bloated by the prescription pills he must take to suppress his moods,
dependent on alcohol and constant deafening music to drown out the demons
in his head. You imagine such wiped-out wraiths to be paying the price for
decades of abuse. But the time my brother took drugs is measured in
months, not years – 18."

Penalties

The maximum penalty for supply, dealing, production and trafficking in
cannabis is 14 years imprisonment. This has increased from five years.

The maximum penalty for possession was reduced from five years to two
years imprisonment in 2004, but returns to five years with
reclassification to Class B.

A young person found to be in possession of cannabis will be arrested and
taken to a police station where they can receive a reprimand, final
warning or charge, depending on the seriousness of the offence.

Following one reprimand, any further offence will lead to a final warning
or charge. Any further offence following a warning will normally result in
criminal charges. After a final warning, the young offender must be
referred to a Youth Offending Team to arrange a rehabilitation programme.

This police enforcement is consistent with the structured framework for
early juvenile offending established under the Crime and Disorder Act
1998.

It is unlikely that adults caught in possession of cannabis will be
arrested. Most offences of possession result in a warning and confiscation
of the drug.

Classification

Illegal drugs are put into three different classes in the UK: A, B and C.

* Class A drugs are considered to be the most harmful and attract the most
serious punishments and fines. These include heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and
LSD.

* Class B drugs include amphetamines such as speed and barbiturates – and,
from today, cannabis.

* Class C drugs include tranquillisers, valium and anabolic steroids.