Cannabis reclassification is in the news once again as Prime Minister Gordon Brown discusses his plans to move cannabis to class B, which includes amphetamines and barbiturates. The drug is currently a class C, with a reputation for particularly lenient charges. Brown justifies this approach by saying that he wants to make cannabis 'more of a drug that people worry about'.
The Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has made her stance on the drug clear, with an intention to reverse the decision of downgrading it. She claims that the reclassification of cannabis sent out a message that the drug was harmless, and fears the effects of new, stronger strains of the drug. Surely people would just smoke less? No one likes getting too baked.
There is an ongoing concern about mental health issues being connected with long term use of the drug, and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs are set to report their findings on whether or not cannabis should be downgraded within the next few months.
Perhaps the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary should be concerned with the more widespread problem of long term alcohol and tobacco use, and their effect on people's lives. Is anyone else sick of this hypocrisy?
