DOPE SMOKERS' DEATH WARNING

MORE than 30,000 British cannabis smokers could die every year, doctors
have warned.

Medical experts blame Home Secretary David Blunkett for creating confusion
about the risks posed by the drug - leading young people to believe wrongly
it is harmless.

They say Mr Blunkett's decision to relassify cannabis as a Class C drug -
putting it on a level with anabolic steroids and prescription painkillers -
sent out the wrong message and played down the devastating health effects
of its regular use.

Professor John Henry, a leading authority on the drug, said the change, to
take place this summer, had undermined doctors' efforts to highlight the risks.

He said: "Cannabis is as dangerous as cigarette smoking - in fact, it may
be even worse - and downgrading its legal status has simply confused people.

"We have a clear public message about cigarette smoking. Every year, the
number of smokers gets smaller and the message on packets about the dangers
gets bigger.

"At present, there is no battle against cannabis and no clear public health
message."

In the British Medical Journal, Professor Henry and other doctors from
Imperial College and St Mary's Hospital, both in London, said cannabis
could be a major contributor to UK deaths.

Researchers calculate that if 120,000 deaths are caused among 13 million
smokers, the corresponding figure among 3.2 million cannabis smokers would
be 30,000.

The drug can cause cancer, lung disease and abnormalities associated with
serious mental illness.

Users are up to six times more likely to develop schizophrenia.

Dr William Oldfield, from St Mary's Hospital and one of the authors of the
article, said: "Cannabis and nicotine cigarettes have a different mode of
inhalation. The puff taken by cannabis smokers is two-thirds larger, they
inhale a third more and hold down the smoke four times longer.

"All these factors could contribute to illnesses of the heart and
respiratory system, particularly as the chemicals in cannabis smoke are
retained in the body to a much higher degree."

Dr Oldfield said the cannabis used today - especially that bought in the
Netherlands - was up to 40 times stronger than that used by Flower Power
hippies in the 1960s.