Charles Clarke said today that cannabis would not be reclassified as a Class B drug again, despite conceding a link with mental illness and labelling the substance “anything but harmless”.
While pledging to launch a public information campaign on the dangers of cannabis use, Mr Clarke said that reclassification had not led to an increase in use.
David Blunkett, his predecessor as Home Secretary, downgraded cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug in 2001.
Mr Clarke told MPs that he had been guided by a report by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). “I have decided to accept the Advisory Council’s recommendation, which is supported by the police and by most drugs and mental health charities, to keep the current classification of cannabis,” he said.
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David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, said that he was “frankly disappointed” by the decision.
“I am frankly disappointed that, in the light of all the new evidence available, he has not decided to grasp the nettle and reclassify cannabis back to a B class drug.
“This ongoing confused message will lead some to continue thinking cannabis is a safe, ‘soft’, drug. It will mean that many more young lives will be damaged by the pernicious trade in this dangerous drug,” he said.
Mr Clarke said that he accepted that cannabis could trigger or exacerbate serious mental health problems including schizophrenia.
He said that he means to overhaul the way drugs are classified and prohibited, after concern that the existing system - of Class A, B and C substances - had caused some people to misinterpret the downgrading of cannabis.
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He also announced that the ACMD will carry out a new inquiry into the classification of “date-rape” drugs, including GHB and Rohypnol.
Concerns about a link between super-strength cannabis varieties and mental illness have mounted since the down-grading of the drug took effect in January 2004, making cannabis possession a non-arrestable offence in most cases.
Mr Clarke said that he will launch a major public information campaign to stress that cannabis was “anything but harmless”.
He also said that draft guidelines published in November which would have allowed people to carry up to half a kilogram of leaf cannabis for “personal use” will be altered.
“I would like to inform the House that my final decision will be at a considerably lower threshold than the 500g suggested in the current consultation,” he said.
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He announced a new initiative to arrest cannabis producers and dealers. “The police and I agree that in recent years, the production and dealing of cannabis have not always been targeted sufficiently vigorously and we have agreed that this needs to change,” Mr Clarke said.
Insisting that growing and selling the drug was “not harmless or idealistic”, he pledged to target “sophisticated and violent criminals” who distribute the drug.
David Cameron, the new Tory leader, was a member of the Commons committee which recommended down-grading it and his party is no longer calling for reclassification.
Andy Hayman, the drugs spokesman for Association of Chief Police Officers, said that Acpo backed Mr Clarke’s decision, and promised vigorous action against cannabis growers and dealers.
“The statement made today acknowledges the need to ensure the robust enforcement of the commercial and large scale production of cannabis,” said Mr Hayman, an Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
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“Dealing at a serious and organised crime level will be targeted in an attempt to cut supply and ultimately the consumption that we now know from the ACMD’s findings pose a serious risk of harm.”
He added that Acpo would review the guidelines on drugs enforcement that it issued to police forces.
But Jan Berry, chairwoman of the Police Federation which represents frontline officers, criticised the decision. She said: “We remain convinced that it was wrong to change the classification of cannabis from a Class B to Class C drug in the first instance.
“Changing it back would have been a much stronger message than any advertising campaign could ever deliver. Possession of cannabis and possession with intent to supply remain offences and will be policed as such.”
A leading drugs information charity praised Mr Clarke for making the right decision. Martin Barnes, the DrugScope chief executive, said: “Cannabis is harmful but less so than Class B drugs, and there is no evidence that a move back to B would reduce levels of use.
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“Since reclassification there had been a small decrease in cannabis use, particularly among young people, and the police are better able to focus on tackling even more harmful drugs.
“There was some initial confusion following reclassification but the vast majority of people now realise that cannabis is illegal and not harmless.”