Cannabis review is welcome

8:30am Monday 7th January 2008

Anyone who thinks that the drug cannabis is harmless should read the comments of Giles Brown's grieving parents in today's paper. They firmly believe that their gifted and talented son would still be with them today if he had not begun experimenting with the drug.

The 22-year-old was found frozen to death in an outhouse in Keighley. He had been living rough after suffering mental health problems his parents believe were caused by cannabis use in his mid-teens. They say he had realised the drug was making him ill but the problems persisted even after he stopped using it.

This tragic account may come as a surprise to some, as it was only in 2004 that cannabis was downgraded from Class B to Class C, a move which could be interpreted as a sign that it is relatively harmless.

Since then, however, there have been a growing number of cases similar to Giles's which, together with new scientific evidence, make a compelling argument that the opposite is true.

It is not just on health grounds that cannabis causes problems. Any regular reader of the T&A cannot have failed to notice the number of police raids on cannabis farms. If left unchecked, this trade not only puts a dangerously strong drug out on to our streets but also cash in the pockets of dangerous criminals.

In hindsight, some previous attitudes towards the drug now look misguided at best and dangerous at worst. Slowly, the balance is being redressed and we are returning to a more realistic stance where cannabis is again deemed unacceptable. For the sake of society at large and our teenagers, that is very welcome indeed.