"DANGEROUS DRUGS" - HOUSE OF COMMONS DEBATES RECLASSIFICATION

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
(CAROLINE FLINT) I beg to move,

That the draft Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) (No. 2) Order 2003,
which was laid before this House on 11th September, be approved.

[Relevant documents The Third Report from the Home Affairs Committee,
Session 2001 02, on The Government's Drugs Policy Is it Working?, HC 318-I,
and the Government response thereto, Cm 5573, together with the Home Office
Departmental Report 2003, Cm 5908, and the Sixth Report from the Northern
Ireland Affairs Committee, Session 2002 03, on The Illegal Drugs Trade and
Drug Culture in Northern Ireland Interim Report on Cannabis, HC 353, and
the Government response thereto, Sixth Special Report from the Committee,
HC 935.]

The order will reclassify cannabis as a class C drug on 29 January 2004.
The use of illegal drugs and class A drugs in particular is one of the
greatest scourges of our times. Drug misuse impacts on the well-being of
individuals and families, as well as striking at the very fabric of our
communities. Most hon. Members see too many cases in their constituencies
where drugs have destroyed lives and fed the cycle of crime, violence and
decay. Having been in this job for some months now, I can say that drugs
and the crime connected to them are most prevalent in some of the poorest
and most disadvantaged communities in the country.

When some 250,000 people are hooked on heroin or crack, a group responsible
for 60 per cent. of acquisitive crime; where many street robberies are
driven by the urge for money for the next fix; where the presence of one
addict can create a neighbourhood crime spree that leaves dozens of victims
and consumes many hours of police time, this Labour Government are
absolutely right to focus on the most dangerous drugs, to intervene most
vigorously in the most damaged communities, to seek to break the link
between addiction and the crime that feeds it and to reduce the harm that
drugs cause by addressing the chaotic lifestyle of those users who are
harming themselves and others.

MR. BRIAN H. DONOHOE (CUNNINGHAME, SOUTH) Is the Minister aware, in respect
of what she presents as statistics, that she is using surveys relating to
16 to 19-year-olds, when it is 14-year-olds who are most at risk? In taking
cannabis, those young people are 60 per cent. more likely to damage their
brain. Have the Government taken that into account in making these
proposals to the House?

CAROLINE FLINT I can assure my hon. Friend that the Government are
considering and have considered all the relevant evidence. More
importantly, we have taken into account the work of the statutory advisory
committee, which provides the scientific evidence on which to base our
decisions. I tell my hon. Friend that I am acutely aware of the conditions
that lead young people to start using drugs, misuse alcohol and cigarettes,
end up with teenage pregnancies or a life of crime. The Government are
taking steps to deal with those problems, whether it be through sure start;
getting money through to the poorest income families or trying to raise the
opportunities and aspirations of those who feel that the education system
does not offer them enough. Those are all part and parcel of trying to give
our children and young people the skills and confidence to assert
themselves and not end up abusing themselves through drugs and,
unfortunately, becoming involved in crime. Educating young people about the
dangers of drugs, preventing drug misuse, combating the dealers and
treating addicts are the key elements of the Government's drugs strategy.
Our programmes of intervention bring those arrested into treatment so that
we can begin to break the cycle of committing crime to fuel a drug habit.

MR. MARTIN SALTER (READING, WEST) Does the Minister recognise that there
are three essential components to any credible drugs policy enforcement,
education and treatment? If our education policy is not credible and we
tell young people-whether they are 14, 15, 16, 17 or 18-that all drugs are
the same and that there is no difference between cannabis and heroin or
between cannabis and the evil of crack cocaine, we are doing young people
of this country a grave disservice.

CAROLINE FLINT I thank my hon. Friend for that contribution. We have long
had a system of classification for class A, B and C drugs and our proposals
are about having a more informed view today, in the 21st century, of the
comparative harms that various drugs can do. On that basis, we can have a
better dialogue with those who may be tempted to take drugs and protect
them from the worst abuses.

MR. DAVID MARSHALL (GLASGOW, SHETTLESTON) The order applies to the whole of
the UK, but is the Minister aware of the great concern about it in many
parts of Scotland? Has she consulted Ministers in the Scottish Parliament
and, if so, what was their response? Can she understand why some Labour
Members cannot support the order here today?

CAROLINE FLINT I totally understand the passionate views on all sides of
the debate. It is a complex issue and a complex area. I assure my hon.
Friend that in talking to my predecessor, consultation was held with
Ministers in Scotland and there was support for the reclassification.
Discussions were also held about Northern Ireland. I appreciate that
passionate views are held on both sides of the House-

Several hon. Members rose-

CAROLINE FLINT I hope that if I am allowed to continue my speech, I can
elaborate more fully on why this strategy is the right way forward.

MR. GRAHAM BRADY (ALTRINCHAM AND SALE, WEST) The Minister has called for an
informed debate. In that spirit, does she agree and accept that the
cannabis that is freely available today is between 10 and 15 times stronger
than that available 20 or 30 years ago? Is it not therefore perverse to be
downgrading its classification in legislation?

CAROLINE FLINT I am afraid to tell the hon. Gentleman that the scientific
evidence does not fit his analysis. The evidence of our forensic science
unit is that the cannabis that it has sampled is not stronger than it was
some years ago. Many of the statements made about the strength of cannabis
do not fit the facts in respect of the largest supplies of cannabis that
come into this country.

Several hon. Members rose-

CAROLINE FLINT I give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, North
(David Winnick).

DAVID WINNICK (WALSALL, NORTH) Although I would rather people did not take
cannabis, it is a fact that many do so without going on to hard drugs. Is
not it also a fact that the last survey undertaken showed that more than
120,000 deaths in a single year were caused by smoking, in addition to the
deaths caused through alcohol abuse? Should not the people who are
condemning what the Minister is suggesting also take that into account?

CAROLINE FLINT People take all sorts of substances either in moderation or
in excess, which can create different levels of harm. We are trying to
debate the different levels of harm produced by controlled drugs. As I was
telling the hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale, West (Mr. Brady), the
Forensic Science Service suggests that new growing techniques in the late
1980s and 1990s have led to some new products coming on to the market with
average tetrahydrocannabinol levels two or three times greater than for
other cannabis products. However, in general, the THC content-the
particular content that affects the strength of cannabis-varies widely, but
much of it does not differ significantly from the cannabis used years ago.

KATE HOEY (VAUXHALL) I thought the Minister might get round to the Lambeth
experiment at some point. In fact, were not more people attracted to hard
drugs because of a feeling that there was no policing in relation to drugs
generally? People who were not normally likely to be in contact with
hard-drug criminals were put in contact with them because of their easy
access to cannabis.

CAROLINE FLINT Many issues arose during the Lambeth experiment. As I hope
my hon. Friend recognises, it led to a lot of joined-up discussion among a
number of people and agencies-MPs, local authorities, the drug action
teams, police and others-about how to tackle drug misuse in communities.
The ACPO guidance has given us a clearer understanding of how cannabis use
in particular can be better policed and dealt with.

Dealing in any illegal drug remains a serious crime. I have already
mentioned an increase in the maximum penalty for dealing in a class C drug
from five to 14 years' imprisonment. The penalty for dealing in cannabis
will remain at its current level following reclassification.

There are many different views in the House on the correct response to the
cannabis issue. Some Members advocate complete legalisation, arguing that
it would cut the link between young users and criminal dealers. As I said
earlier, the Government believe that that would inevitably lead to a
massive increase in the use of cannabis and in health problems. Others
believe that cannabis should remain a class B drug, arguing that it is a
gateway to class A drugs, that it is smoked in higher concentrations than
it was 20 or so years ago, and that it may be linked to mental illness and
lung cancer. There has been a huge debate on those issues.

The issue of whether cannabis is a gateway to class A drugs has been
debated for many years. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs looked
at that and concluded that no causal link had been established, since many
other factors act as gateways. I said a bit about that earlier in my
speech. As for the suggestion that cannabis smoked today is up to 20 times
as strong as that smoked 20 years ago, I have already pointed out that that
does not match the evidence that the Forensic Science Service has analysed
from cannabis seizures.

Research on a possible link between cannabis use and the development of
mental illness, particular schizophrenia, was published in the British
Medical Journal as recently as last November. The advisory council
considered the issue in depth, but concluded that no clear causal links had
been demonstrated. On the other hand, the council believed that cannabis
use could unquestionably worsen existing schizophrenia. It will continue to
monitor any research developments, but it is important to distinguish
between worsening and causing mental illness.

MR. GORDON PRENTICE (PENDLE) Will my hon. Friend give way?

CAROLINE FLINT I want to continue my speech, as I am conscious of the time
that I have already taken up. [Hon. Members "He is on your side."] In that
case, I may change my mind.

As for the possible link between cannabis use and the development of lung
diseases, clearly the smoking of any substance is potentially dangerous and
a real health risk. However, those who seek to draw inferences from the
number of premature deaths caused by tobacco smoking need to be very
cautious. While the smoking of cannabis is undoubtedly harmful, it should
be borne in mind that in general cannabis users smoke fewer cigarettes per
day than tobacco smokers and that most give up in their thirties, thus
limiting the long-term exposure that we know to be the critical factor in
cigarette-induced lung cancer.

PAUL FLYNN (NEWPORT, WEST) Will my hon. Friend give way?

CAROLINE FLINT No, I will give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle
(Mr. Prentice).

MR. PRENTICE I am grateful to my hon. Friend.

I am interested in the therapeutic use of cannabis. It was available to
doctors-in the medicine chest-before 1973. Many people out there take it
because conventional medicines do not relieve their pain. What advice will
the police be given when they find someone taking therapeutic cannabis?

CAROLINE FLINT My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary agrees that we need
to work on that. We are currently awaiting the outcome of scientific
research into whether cannabis can be used medicinally to alleviate pain.
We shall have to deal with the issues as they arise, certainly in the
context of policing.

No approach to the drugs problem is simple or problem-free, but I hope that
the strategy I have outlined will provide the best possible opportunity to
introduce credibility to our drugs education, sharpen our messages about
cannabis and give priority to law enforcement and treatment directed at
class A drugs. The strategy has widespread support, not just from the
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and the Home Affairs Committee but
from the police and all major organisations that work with drug misusers.

I commend the changes proposed in the order, and hope that the House will
support it.