The SNJ (4/01/04) reports that cannabis has been downgraded to class C, but remains illegal. It would have also been worth noting that while cannabis causes less problems than alcohol, there are still very real and serious health risks from taking cannabis. The governments' reclassification of cannabis is completely counterproductive. Cannabis, like cigarettes, has been entrenched in the public psyche as an 'acceptable' drug for a long time. Nine percent of the population smoke it. People know it is a drug and the police acknowledge 'anyone who wants it can get it." The criminalisation of this drug has meant there has been very little government research into a substance that millions of people are using, including many who find it is helpful for certain medical conditions. There is now a £5bn per annum black market cannabis industry in the UK free from government regulation and free from taxation. Addicts are treated as criminals, rather than patients in need of treatment. Every year, thousands of people have been put through the criminal justice system, needlessly paralysing the resources of the police, courts, and prisons. We are failing bitterly to minimise the harm caused by drug use. Logic suggests that if the government wants to educate the public, cut crime, and reduce the net number of users, then it should learn from countries where those objectives have been successfully completed. Holland has decriminalised the sale of cannabis, reducing the myriad 'points of sale ' arising from black market. Consequently, only 6% of their population use cannabis and they are ahead on research. Drug related law enforcement per capita spending is just $27 per head, compared to $81 in the 'zero tolerance' US. Like it or not, cannabis is a reality in our society nowadays. We need drug laws that reflect the reality before we can start to deal with the problems.

Philip Booth, Press Officer, Gloucestershire Green Party.