Rethink: Listen up Gordon – it’s the right decision to keep cannabis at class C

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Thursday, 03, Apr 2008 12:00

Mental health charity Rethink has today urged Prime Minister Gordon Brown to listen to the experts and keep cannabis at class C.

Paul Corry, the charity’s director of public affairs, says:

“If the experts recommend that cannabis should stay at class C, then what further evidence does the government need? To go ahead and reclassify cannabis as class B in spite of strong views to the contrary would make a farce of the classification review process.

“Gordon Brown should put aside his personal views on cannabis and accept the fact that it does not make sense to reclassify – use of the drug has gone down since it was downgraded in 2004 and research by Rethink shows that only 3 per cent of users would consider stopping on the grounds of illegality. The decision on classification must not become a battle of political wills but must be taken in light of the evidence available.

“It would be a mistake to reclassify cannabis. Instead, the government should commit to a widespread public education campaign warning people of the risks to their mental health. The first step they should take is to require rolling paper manufacturers to print health warnings on their packaging. The government should also fund some long-awaited primary research into cannabis use and mental illness.”

How Rethink can help:

Rethink has a range of spokespeople and case studies available for comment and is widely considered to be expert on the link between cannabis use and mental illness. Many of our members – including people with mental health problems and their carers –shared their experiences with us and we gave our evidence to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to help with the review process.

Our case studies include:

· a mother who attributes her son’s mental health problems to his cannabis use

· a father who says his son’s schizophrenia is due to cannabis

· a sister who is in no doubt that her brother’s mental illness is exacerbated by cannabis

Key facts:

· studies indicate a link between cannabis use and mental illnesses such as schizophrenia

· cannabis use has dropped since it became a class C drug

· only 3% of people said they would stop smoking cannabis because of illegality http://www.rethink.org/how_we_can_help/news_and_media/press_releases/keep_cannabis_class.html

· young people who use cannabis under the age of 18 double their chances of developing a severe mental illness

· 60% of people say that knowing about the adverse risks to their mental health would make them consider giving up cannabis

For comment or case studies please contact 020 7330 9129.