RESEARCH BOLSTERS THE CASE FOR RECLASSIFICATION

The study on the links between cannabis and psychotic illness
published today will be grist to the mill of those who want the drug
reclassified.

Gordon Brown has announced a review of the decision to downgrade it
from Class B to Class C. Critics say the reclassification sent out
the wrong signal and was based on a outmoded view that a puff of
grass never did anyone any harm.

Many of the ministers who "outed" themselves last week as student
drug users believe the practice today is far more risky than when
they were young. They believed the cannabis that they smoked, albeit
in moderation, in their late teens was far less potent than the
modern varieties. But even if so-called "skunk" is stronger, it has
never been shown with any scientific certainty that it causes mental illness.

The Lancet research may shift this debate. It appears to show that
smoking cannabis increases the risk of developing a psychotic
illness, such as schizophrenia, later in life.

The study found that the most frequent users were more than twice as
likely to have a psychotic outcome. However, this is not conclusive
proof of cause and effect.

As Prof Glyn Lewis from Bristol University, and the senior author on
the paper, said: "It is possible that the people who use cannabis
might have other characteristics that themselves increase risk of
psychotic illness."

This was, essentially, the conclusion that the Advisory Council on
the Misuse of Drugs reached when it was last asked to review the
cannabis classification. Its findings published last year said
regular cannabis use could have "real and significant" mental health
effects but its link to schizophrenia was not clear. It estimated
that the drug was likely to raise the chances of developing
schizophrenia by only one per cent.

However, with one in five youngsters claiming to be regular users,
this is a sizeable number. The council did not recommend moving
cannabis back to Class B. But the Lancet study gives ammunition to
those such as Marjorie Wallace of Sane, the mental health charity,
who has argued that anything that encourages cannabis use is wrong-headed.

It is unlikely that the ACMD will have any more evidence before it
for Mr Brown's review. There is no reason to suppose it would,
therefore, reach a different conclusion. Then again, the council, as
its name suggests, is "advisory".

With studies such as that in The Lancet to hand, ministers may well
choose to reclassify cannabis yet again, whatever its conclusions.