Cannabis ‘should remain Class C

By: skamikaze

The official body which advises the government on drugs policy has decided that cannabis should remain a Class C drug, the BBC understands.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs’ decision would appear to go against the view of Gordon Brown, who favours returning the drug to Class B.

The government asked the council to review cannabis’s legal status, amid concerns over stronger forms of it.

The council refused to confirm or deny a decision.

Chairman Professor Sir Michael Rawlins said a report would be sent to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith this month.

University study

BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said the decision was taken at a private meeting of the council, which discussed some significant new research from Keele University about links between cannabis and mental illness.

The study found nothing to support a theory that rising cannabis use in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s led to increases in the incidence of schizophrenia later on.

The Advisory Council’s decision leaves the government in an awkward position, our correspondent adds.

Gordon Brown has indicated he favours transferring cannabis back to Class B to send a message about the dangers of the drug.

If the government does reclassify, it would be rejecting the findings of the Advisory Council’s panel of 23 drug experts, which has never happened before on a decision about drug classification.

Source: BBC online

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