ABUSE OF CANNABIS PUTS 500 A WEEK IN HOSPITAL

The public health impact of the Government's decision to downgrade
cannabis is disclosed today in official figures showing a 50 per cent
rise in the number of people requiring medical treatment after using the drug.

Since cannabis was downgraded from a Class B to a Class C drug, the
number of adults being treated in hospitals and clinics in England
for its effects has risen to more than 16,500 a year. In addition,
the number of children needing medical attention after smoking the
drug has risen to more than 9,200.

Doctors say cannabis abuse can contribute to a series of mental health problems

Almost 500 adults and children are treated in hospitals and clinics
every week for the effects of cannabis.

Its health toll is revealed in official data compiled by health
authorities and obtained by The Daily Telegraph.

Drug campaigners last night said the figures proved Labour's decision
to reclassify cannabis in January 2004, which made the penalties for
its possession less severe, was badly mistaken and had sent out the
wrong signals about it being a "soft" drug.

Doctors say cannabis abuse can contribute to mental health problems
including forms of psychosis, paranoia and schizophrenia. There can
be harmful physical side-effects, disrupting blood pressure and
exacerbating heart and circulation disorders.

The data will add to the pressure on Gordon Brown to reverse its
reclassification when a review of the decision by Home Office
scientific advisers concludes in the Spring.

Elizabeth Burton-Phillips, a leading campaigner on drug issues since
her son, Nick Mills, killed himself in despair at his addiction four
years ago, said: "These results are shocking and dreadful. What more
evidence do you need? You cannot sweep this under the carpet any
longer. Children have to be told of the dangers of this what is
wrongly called a soft-drug. It is extremely dangerous and it is
destroying healthy, young minds."

James Clappison, a Conservative member of the Commons home affairs
committee, said: "The reclassification of cannabis sent the wrong
message and was clearly the wrong decision. These figures show the
evident dangers of cannabis abuse and support the case for the drug
being restored to Category B."

The health authority figures show that 16,685 adults were treated by
English hospital trusts after abusing cannabis in 2006-07. The
previous year, it was 14,828 - up from 11,057 in 2004-05.

The data also shows that the number of children treated for using
cannabis has risen from 8,014 in 2005-06 to 9,259 last year. In
total, 25,944 people were treated for cannabis use last year - around
498 a week. In addition, around 70,000 people are treated for mental
disorder as outpatients each year.

The figures suggest health authorities are treating more people for
cannabis abuse than there are patients who have heart bypass
operations or treatment for colon cancer. Some 21,000 people a year
have a bypass operation and colon cancer is contracted by some 22,000
people a year.

Downgrading cannabis to a Class C drug placed it alongside steroids
and some prescription anti-depressants. Possession of them can lead
to a two-year prison sentence, but charges are rarely brought against
people found with small quantities of such drugs.

Class B drugs however, include more dangerous substances such as
amphetamines. People found in possession of Class B drugs can face a
five-year jail term and an unlimited fine.

There is no "substitute medication" available to treat cannabis
problems, so the majority of National Health Service treatment is
carried out by psychiatrists, therapists and counsellors.

The independent review into its reclassification, by the Advisory
Council on the Misuse of Drugs, was prompted by growing concern about
the increasing prevalence of new high-strength forms of cannabis.
So-called "super-skunk" leaves can be twice as potent as more
traditional cannabis resin.

Advocates of downgrading or legalising cannabis say the risks are low
compared to those of alcohol and tobacco. Some sufferers of chronic
conditions like multiple sclerosis say the drug provides vital pain relief.

Many doctors say the risks outweigh the benefits, and the British
Medical Association yesterday said the latest treatment figures
strengthened its opposition to the decision to downgrade the drug.

A BMA spokesman said: "This is drug that is mostly smoked, so that
can cause lung damage and cancer. There are also concerns about the
potential negative effect cannabis has on users' psychiatric state."

Addaction, a charity that treats people with drug problems, warned
that children suffered particularly from cannabis abuse. "Young
people often use cannabis at crucial development stages in their
lives, and it does have serious impacts on mental health and physical
development," a spokesman said.

Last night, the Department of Health insisted that the rising numbers
of treatments reflect improvements in drug treatment and not rising
cannabis use.

However, the department also announced yesterday that the budget for
the National Treatment Agency, which co-ordinates drug treatment,
will be frozen at 2007 levels for the next three years. The agency
will also be expected to find "efficiency savings" of UKP50 million a
year from its UKP398 million annual budget.

Despite the freeze in his budget, Paul Hayes, the head of the agency,
insisted that the number of drug treatments it can fund will rise.

"By becoming more efficient at delivering the best outcomes for
individuals we will be able to continue to increase the number of
people into treatment, while increasing treatment effectiveness," he said.

Andrew Lansley, the Conservative health spokesman, said Labour was
wasting vast amounts of money. "The Government is ignoring the fact
that its drug treatment policy is fundamentally misguided.
Conservatives have promised to introduce abstinence-based treatment
for drug addicts to help them get off drugs for good," he said.