It seems the government has decided that cannabis should be reclassified as a class B drug, ignoring the advice of its expert committee.
There can't be any question that this decision is politically motivated and is part of an attempt to reclaim the centre-right ground and please the Daily Mail - but is it the right decision?
What do drug and mental health charities say?
Some scientific studies have linked cannabis use with psychosis but the serious mental health charity Rethink suggests the government has made the wrong decision. It points out that the number of users has gone down since it was made class C and very few people would base their decision on whether to use it on its criminal classification. They call for a public health rather than criminal justice approach.
I'm not totally sure what Sane's position is but it makes this comment:
“We believe there are too many casualties to await the results of further education and research. We would welcome a review of the whole drug classification system, and we do not wish to increase penalties, but while we live within the present system we need to give out an uncompromising signal about the specific links between cannabis and mental illness.”
The Mental Health Nurses Association and union Unite are firmly behind the government. Unite/MHNA Chair, Andy Lauder said: ‘It has been proved time and time again by well-respected medical studies that there are strong links between significant cannabis use and those suffering from mental health problems, or have a disposition to mental illness.’
Drug treatment charity Addaction don't seem too happy about the decision saying it will have "little impact on the use of a drug which is firmly rooted in the lifestyles of many young people." In a press release, it says:
For too long, politicians have been distracted by the legal status of the drug, argued the charity, urging a clearer focus on tackling the harms caused by cannabis use.
So, what to make of all that? In my humble opinion, cannabis probably is more harmful than a lot of people are prepared to accept due to its traditionally countercultural associations. We probably do need more research into its links with psychosis. However, I don't think the criminal justice system is a good way to deal with drugs - it is an approach that has failed dismally over the past four decades. The focus must be on health, education and "deglamourisation". (I think I just invented a word).
But I'd be interested to hear what you think - there's a good debate going on on CareSpace.
Elsewhere, it seems that rapid transcranial magnetic stimulation may not be that effective in treating depression.