CANNABIS: A MENACE OR MEDICAL MARVEL?

Cannabis has been in use for about 10,000 years. It is claimed that in
that time, there has never been a single overdose and some say it is
safer than aspirin.

So why has it not been decriminalised, as in Holland and
Russia?

It could be because some mental health experts say it can bring on
problems such as depression and schizophrenia.

And it could be that other people worry about the temptation for users
to move on to harder drugs once they get used to the 'high' which
cannabis brings on.

Yesterday experts also claimed that a single cannabis joint damages
the lungs as much as smoking up to five cigarettes in one go, by
forcing the lungs to work harder.

While the debate goes on, police are still carrying out their
work.

In Plymouth, in the past two weeks, one underground cannabis
manufacturer has been sent to jail for 14 months and a haul of
cannabis plants seized at another property in the city.

A total of 50 plants were found by police at the home of Robert Cush,
in Sydney Street, in June last year, after he spent about six months
growing them.

Cush started a 14-month sentence at the beginning of this month for
cultivating the 'cannabis factory' worth more than UKP19,000.

Police in the city say they are 'fighting' drugs and they are pleased
with their recent successes on 'cannabis factories' - but the debate
still rages as to whether to legalise weed or to do just the opposite
and make it more illegal - again.

The drug was classified Class B until last year, when it was changed
to Class C - thus reducing the penalties for possession and creating
some confusion about its legality.

Some campaigners are calling for it to be reclassified as Class B
again, while others are still calling on the government to
decriminalise or legalise the drug altogether.

One of Plymouth's main campaigners for the legalisation of cannabis is
former musician Stuart Wyatt.

The Stonehouse resident is convinced of the medicinal benefits of
cannabis, so much so he has launched www.humedi.org.uk, which calls
for a public debate on the use of the drug.

Mr Wyatt suffers from crippling pain from an undiagnosed illness, and
he says it is relieved only by taking cannabis, which he eats, smokes
or inhales through a vaporiser.

But he says that the drug should be legalised for everyone.

He said: "The Government is now looking at taking cannabis back to
Class B, but it is not looking at making beer, caffeine or tobacco
illegal.

"That seems crazy to me. Those drugs cause death, whereas there is no
evidence which suggest cannabis does.

"Throughout the history of mankind there is no documented evidence of
any deaths attributed to cannabis use.

"It should be made legal. If police are cracking down on those who
grow good-quality, clean cannabis, then they are opening the avenues
for gangsters to flood the markets with dangerous, laced herbal cannabis."

Mr Wyatt, 35, rejects the claimed link between cannabis and mental
illness, and says it has been used as a medicine for 5,000 years.

He claims cannabis is the only drug which relieves his
symptoms.

He said: "The only side-effects I have ever experienced are feelings
of pleasure."

Professor John Zajicek is carrying out a UKP2million, three-year trial
at Plymouth's Peninsula Medical School and at Derriford Hospital into
the effects of cannabis on the progression of multiple sclerosis.

The Cannabinoid Use in Progressive Inflammatory Brain Disease study -
known as CUPID - began last year in a bid to evaluate whether THC, one
of many chemical compounds found in cannabis, might slow the
development of disability in multiple sclerosis patients.

Prof Zajicek has already recruited 300 people out of 500 to take part
in the study, which gives some MS sufferers courses of active cannabis
treatment and some placebos - inactive substances - to assess what
difference the cannabis makes.

Prof Zajicek said: "The study is going well and we are actively
recruiting more people to take part.

"We will see what results the study yields. I am purely interested in
the use of this drug for medicinal purposes.

"There is evidence that it can be harmful. I wouldn't recommend anyone
taking it recreationally."

Detective Chief Inspector Iain Grafton, head of Plymouth CID, said the
police were 'fighting' drugs in the city.

He said: "We are fighting drug supply and production in
Plymouth.

"It's business as usual; we're continuing to tackle the supply and
production.

"Cannabis is a Class C drug - and research shows there have been
mental health potentials connected with its use."

Jeremy Prichard, chief executive of Plymouth's Harbour Centre drugs
and alcohol treatment service, wouldn't say whether he thought
cannabis should be made legal.

However, he did say that the centre saw people come in for treatment
for the effects of cannabis use.

He said: "The evidence is out there. There is enough evidence for a
decision to be made as to whether cannabis should be reclassified or
legalised."

The debate continues.