---<br /> <br /> Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, has given the clearest signal yet that <br /> he plans to reclassify cannabis as a class B drug.<br /> <br /> Senior Home Office sources have told this paper that he has major concerns <br /> that the decision to downgrade cannabis has led to more people using the drug.<br /> <br /> They say that he is determined to reverse the decision of his predecessor <br /> David Blunkett to relax the laws on cannabis, which mean police could once <br /> again prosecute people found with the drug.<br /> <br /> Cannabis was downgraded from class B to class C in January 2004, but in <br /> March of this year Mr Clarke asked the Government's drugs advisers - the <br /> Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) - to investigate reports of <br /> a link between cannabis use and mental health problems.<br /> <br /> This followed the publication of several studies which have suggested <br /> people who use the drug heavily may develop a paranoid reaction. The ACMD <br /> is expected to complete its review by the end of the year but it is <br /> understood that Mr Clarke is still minded to raise the classification of <br /> cannabis even if the advisers find there is no evidence of a health risk.<br /> <br /> The Home Office source said: "The Home Secretary's decision will not just <br /> be based on the ACMD's response but also on any indications that there has <br /> been an increase in cannabis use."<br /> <br /> A Panorama programme broadcast tonight will show that the brains of rats <br /> undergo specific physical changes when they are given cannabis regularly.<br /> <br /> This new research will also reignite the controversy surrounding whether <br /> cannabis is a "gateway" drug to harder substances such as heroin. The study <br /> at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden claims that rats exposed to cannabis <br /> in adolescence were more likely to want heroin.<br /> <br /> However, mental health charities said that changing the classification of <br /> cannabis for a second time would not stop people using the drug but instead <br /> put more of them in jail.<br /> <br /> Turning Point, which provides support for people with drug and alcohol <br /> problems, said it supported the original change in classification because <br /> it would free up police to focus on harder drugs.<br /> <br /> "A lot of the evidence suggests that usage has not risen among young <br /> people," said a spokesman.<br /> <br /> <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 |