KIRKLEES DRUGS COUNSELLOR: NO EVIDENCE TO LINK CANNABIS AND MENTAL ILLNESS

Last month, cannabis was re-graded from a Class C drug to a Class B.

Since the drug's 'demotion' in 2004 in the opposite direction, from
Class B to Class C, there has been a campaign to suggest that
cannabis is a much more dangerous drug than its users and advocates
care to imagine.

This is the view held by former West Yorkshire Chief Constable and
Huddersfield man Keith Hellawell, appointed by the Labour Government
as a 'drugs czar', a top level adviser.

Some of his advice was taken -- a lot wasn't. In exasperation over
Home Secretary Davids Blunkett's insistence the drug be declassified,
downgraded, he resigned.

Most medical authorities back him. They say it is a serious mistake
to label cannabis 'soft', especially now that the much stronger range
of cannabis known as 'skunk' is widely available.

Doctors have noted that adolescent dependence on cannabis appears to
lead in some cases to permanent cognitive impairment.

Frequent use often precipitates psychosis, schizophrenia, they say.

It is marked by a steady deterioration of social skills, memory,
concentration, and can lead to depression, paranoia and suicide.

But Mike Linnell, of Lifeline Kirklees, a voluntary organisation that
deals with the effects of drug dependence, says the evidence for all
these horrors is minimal.

He described reclassification as 'awful'.

"We believe the Drugs Advisory Council's advice was wrong for a whole
number of reasons," he said.

"Reclassification is not 'fit for purpose,' it is no deterrent. There
are no precise figures, but every survey shows that the use of
cannabis has been coming down since 2002 and continues to drop.

"However, the number of incidents recorded by the police involving
cannabis have rocketed, largely because of the use of sniffer dogs
and the police's policy of stopping people in the street."

"There has been no rise in recorded figures for psychotic symptoms,
or specifically, schizophrenia."

But there is no firm evidence that cannabis triggers mental illness
on its own."

Much has been made of the fact that 'skunk' cannabis is stronger. it
has been bred to have higher levels of THC, which is likely to
pro-psychotic. But it also contains levels of two other chemicals -
CBD and CBN - which are anti-psychotic, and which probably cancel the
effect of the THC.

"There is no evidence that cannabis kills anyone. On the other hand,
it's estimated that 40,000 youngsters die each year directly or
indirectly from alcohol abuse," said Mike.

"In terms of all the drugs available to young people, cannabis is the
least dangerous. I'm not lobbying for the legalisation of cannabis.
But I do want us to keep the drug's dangers in perspective."