---<br /> THE Government is to review its decision to downgrade cannabis after <br /> mounting scientific evidence that the drug could be more harmful than thought.<br /> <br /> Charles Clarke ordered the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs last <br /> night to review its conclusion that high cannabis use was not associated <br /> with health problems.<br /> <br /> The council's findings were the basis for a Home Office decision to <br /> downgrade cannabis from a Class B drug to Class C from January 2004, which <br /> meant that possession was no longer an arrestable offence.<br /> <br /> In a letter to Professor Sir Michael Rawlins, the council chairman, the <br /> Home Secretary noted that two recent studies had linked cannabis with <br /> increased mental health problems.<br /> <br /> One, by Professor Jim van Os, of Maastricht University, in 2004, concluded: <br /> "Cannabis use moderately increases the risk of psychotic symptoms in young <br /> people but has a much stronger effect in those with...predisposition for <br /> psychosis."<br /> <br /> The study of 2,437 people aged between 14 and 24 found that half of those <br /> who were psychologically vulnerable and smoked cannabis developed psychotic <br /> symptoms over a four-year period. This was twice the rate among those who <br /> did not use cannabis.<br /> <br /> In his letter, Mr Clarke implies that the findings have emerged since <br /> cannabis was reclassified. The two studies that he refers to are new, but <br /> both authors have been publishing similar findings for several years.<br /> <br /> The second study is by Professor David Fergusson, of the University of <br /> Otago, who collected data over 25 years on a group of 1,055 people born in <br /> 1977. At the ages of 18, 21 and 25 they were questioned about their use of <br /> cannabis.<br /> <br /> He concluded that, even when all possible confounding factors were taken <br /> into account, "there was a clear increase in rates of psychotic symptoms <br /> after the start of regular use, with daily users of cannabis having rates <br /> over 150 per cent those of non-users".<br /> <br /> In the journal Addiction, Professor Fergusson wrote: "These findings add to <br /> a growing body of evidence from different sources, all of which suggest <br /> that heavy use of cannabis may lead to increased risk of psychotic symptoms."<br /> <br /> The advisory council has resisted pleas from the medical profession to <br /> reconsider its opinion in the light of such research. But Mr Clarke said <br /> that he could no longer ignore the evidence.<br /> <br /> He also asked the council to examine Dutch proposals for a higher <br /> classification of strong variants of cannabis, known as "skunk". The Home <br /> Office said that the council would be expected to start a review at its <br /> meeting on May 19 and to report by early 2006.<br /> <br /> Mr Clarke's decision was broadly welcomed last night, although some <br /> commentators questioned the timing in the run-up to a general <br /> election.Professor Robin Murray, a consultant psychiatrist at the Institute <br /> of Psychiatry at King's College London, said: "Anybody who knows anything <br /> about this subject will be pleased.<br /> <br /> "The council's original decision was based on research conducted in 2001, <br /> but there have been six studies since then showing a clear link between <br /> prolonged cannabis use and psychosis. The problem with the earlier report <br /> was that the council took evidence from psychiatrists who knew about <br /> addiction, but not psychiatrists, who know about psychosis."<br /> <br /> David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, described the review as "a <br /> humiliating recognition of the failure of a central plank of Labour's drugs <br /> policy".<br /> <br /> He added: "The latest psychological evidence shows that cannabis is a <br /> serious threat to the health of young people and a gateway to harder drugs."<br /> <br /> But Brian Paddick, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metroplitan Police, <br /> architect of the experiment that led to reclassification, was sceptical <br /> about giving stronger cannabis a higher classification.<br /> <br /> "It would be difficult to ask operational police officers to make a <br /> decision on the street as to what sort of cannabis a person had on them," <br /> he said.<br />Aurora Indica |  B52 |  Big Bud |  California Orange Bud |  Citral |  Four Way |  Haze |  Hindu Kush |  Indoor Mix |  Jock Horror |  K2 |  Maroc x Afghan |  Northern Light x Big Bud |  Northern Light x Haze |  Northern Light x Shiva |  Shiva |  Skunk #1 |  Skunk Red Hair |  Skunk Special |  Papaya |  White Rhino |  Haze 19 x Skunk |  Afghan |  Master Kush |  Northern Light |  Super Skunk |  Top 44 |  Durban Poison |  Early Bud |  Early Girl |  Early Misty |  Early Special |  Hawaii x Maui Waui |  Hawaii x Skunk #1 |  Hollands Hope |  KC 33 x Master Kush |  Mixed Sativa |  New Purple Power |  Swazi |  Swiss Miss |  Northern Bright |  Snow White (fem.) |  Supergirl |  Venus |  Wonder Woman |  Kaya |  PPP (fem.) |  Medusa |  Blue Mystic |  Chrystal |  Ice |  Misty |  PPP |  White Widow |  Nirvana Special |  White Rhino |  Snow White |  AK-48 |  Bubblelicious |  Silver Pearl |  Haze |  Jock Horror |  Northern Light x Haze |  White Rhino |  Haze 19 x Skunk |