CANNABIS IS WRECKING LIVES, SAYS PUBLIC SCHOOL HEAD

A leading public school head yesterday warned that the casual
acceptance of cannabis would result in an epidemic of children having
problems at school. Anthony Seldon, head of Wellington College, said
the drug was "wrecking lives".

The decision to reclassify cannabis from a class B to a class C drug
was a mistake and should be reviewed, Dr Seldon, author of a biography
of Tony Blair, said. He added: "The reclassification was unhelpful
because it sent the signal that it is OK."

The change "emboldened" thousands of young people to try the drug,
with many paying a high price, according to Dr Seldon. "What about all
the children whose lives have been wrecked because they have developed
psychoses or been unable to cope?" he said. "What about those who have
died or reside in mental hospitals? Or the teachers who have had to
endure apathetic or aggressive pupils high on dope? The message must
be total prohibition."

His call is part of a growing backlash against the former home
secretary David Blunkett's relaxation of the cannabis laws in 2003. A
senior police officer has broken ranks to demand a U-turn on the
"softly softly" approach. Bernard Hogan-Howe, Chief Constable of
Merseyside, said reclassification had "legitimised" cannabis use and
should be reviewed.

More than 22,000 people needed treatment for cannabis use in Britain
last year, the problem being exacerbated by the increased use of the
high-strength skunk form. The number of emergency hospital admissions
due to cannabis has virtually doubled in five years - from 581 in 2001
to nearly 1,000 last year.

Marjorie Wallace, of the mental health charity SANE, said most
children thought cannabis was harmless and legal. "We clearly need to
have a much stronger message that it can devastate the mind," she
said. "It is like giving children loaded guns."