Pubdate: Fri, 27 Jul 2007
Source: Daily Telegraph (UK)
Copyright: 2007 Telegraph Group Limited
Contact:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/114
Author: Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor
Cited: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs 
http://www.drugs.gov.uk/drugs-laws/acmd/
Referenced: The Lancet article 'Cannabis Use and Risk of Psychosis in 
Later Life'
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2007/07/27/cannabis_new.pdf
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/psychosis (psychosis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Advisory+Council+on+the+Misuse+of+Drugs
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Gordon+Brown

RESEARCH BOLSTERS THE CASE FOR RECLASSIFICATION

The study on the links between cannabis and psychotic illness 
published today will be grist to the mill of those who want the drug 
reclassified.

Gordon Brown has announced a review of the decision to downgrade it 
from Class B to Class C. Critics say the reclassification sent out 
the wrong signal and was based on a outmoded view that a puff of 
grass never did anyone any harm.

Many of the ministers who "outed" themselves last week as student 
drug users believe the practice today is far more risky than when 
they were young. They believed the cannabis that they smoked, albeit 
in moderation, in their late teens was far less potent than the 
modern varieties. But even if so-called "skunk" is stronger, it has 
never been shown with any scientific certainty that it causes mental illness.

The Lancet research may shift this debate. It appears to show that 
smoking cannabis increases the risk of developing a psychotic 
illness, such as schizophrenia, later in life.

The study found that the most frequent users were more than twice as 
likely to have a psychotic outcome. However, this is not conclusive 
proof of cause and effect.

As Prof Glyn Lewis from Bristol University, and the senior author on 
the paper, said: "It is possible that the people who use cannabis 
might have other characteristics that themselves increase risk of 
psychotic illness."

This was, essentially, the conclusion that the Advisory Council on 
the Misuse of Drugs reached when it was last asked to review the 
cannabis classification. Its findings published last year said 
regular cannabis use could have "real and significant" mental health 
effects but its link to schizophrenia was not clear. It estimated 
that the drug was likely to raise the chances of developing 
schizophrenia by only one per cent.

However, with one in five youngsters claiming to be regular users, 
this is a sizeable number. The council did not recommend moving 
cannabis back to Class B. But the Lancet study gives ammunition to 
those such as Marjorie Wallace of Sane, the mental health charity, 
who has argued that anything that encourages cannabis use is wrong-headed.

It is unlikely that the ACMD will have any more evidence before it 
for Mr Brown's review. There is no reason to suppose it would, 
therefore, reach a different conclusion. Then again, the council, as 
its name suggests, is "advisory".

With studies such as that in The Lancet to hand, ministers may well 
choose to reclassify cannabis yet again, whatever its conclusions. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake