Articles

29 January 2004

The Government’s mixed message on drugs is a dangerous signal

Printed in the Newmarket Journal - 29/01/04

The reclassification of cannabis from Class B to Class C takes effect today, meaning that from now on, anyone found in possession of the drug will be cautioned rather than arrested. At the same time, anyone caught dealing cannabis will face stiffer penalties of up to ten years in jail. 

Increasing the penalty for supply, while decreasing the penalty for use, sends out an extremely muddled message on a most important issue. It has certainly led to a great deal of confusion over the exact status of cannabis. Indeed, recent research reveals that nine out of ten children believe cannabis is legal, which presumably explains why the Government is currently spending over a million pounds to remind people that it is not. What would have been far more cost effective is for the confusion not to have been created in the first place.

I firmly believe, along with the United Nations drugs watchdog and the British Medical Association among others, that downgrading cannabis transmits a dangerous signal that use of the drug is legal and harmless. 

Harmless cannabis is certainly not. Many mental health experts warn that psychosis – delusional episodes, schizophrenia and manic depression – is common among regular users, while smoking cannabis, with its greater concentrations of carcinogens than tobacco, increases the risk of heart disease, lung cancer, bronchitis and emphysema. Furthermore, there is a great deal of anecdotal evidence that cannabis acts as a gateway to drugs with a much higher level of dependency such as heroine and cocaine. 

By effectively removing the fear of prosecution from cannabis users, my worry is that declassification will simply stimulate demand for cannabis, increasing its use and the harmful side-effects associated with this. Increasing the penalties for supply of cannabis are destined to have little effect when the drug dealers are operating in a market which is now likely to expand, as the people who use the drug do so from today with relative impunity. 

Yes, serious arguments can be made for the legalisation of cannabis, with the substance treated like tobacco or alcohol and its sale taken out of the hands of the drug dealers who are also pushing more dangerous drugs. But, as I prefer, a sensible case can be made for serious efforts to lead young people away from cannabis use and the dependency on harder drugs that often follows. 

Unfortunately, the Government has arrived at neither position, and is pursuing a confused policy that claims cannabis is illegal, but that those caught using it will be let off without prosecution. On an issue as important as drugs, we need clarity, not confusion. Long sentences for those dealing cannabis must remain. But if we are to really tackle the problem of drug abuse in this country, the threat of prison must also extend to those who are found in possession.