“There are numerous very compelling reasons for restoring cannabis to Class B”, says a group of leading medics, biologists and drugs campaigners in a letter to The Times.
The group has sent a dossier to Home Office drugs advisors pointing out the damage done by softening the law.
The law on cannabis was liberalised in 2004, when David Blunkett, then Home Secretary, moved the drug down to Class C. Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for a review of the move last year.
In advance of a report expected soon from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), the letter gives warning of “…the neuro-psychological damage suffered by the increasingly younger users among the 500 people per week seeking treatment for cannabis use.”
“Further impairment of the central nervous system is evidenced in the changed personality and declining academic performance, dependence, aggression, adversely affected driving and progression to other drugs…
“The regrading of cannabis would send strong signals, not only to the young people of Britain but all over the world, where other countries are watching our every move.”
Another scientist has also raised concerns. Cannabis users now make up 80 per cent of all diagnosed cases of psychiatric disorders, according to Psychiatrist Professor Peter Jones, of Cambridge University.