Cannabis reclassification

Created: 2008-05-07 14:54:17

Today Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity SANE, commented on the announcement by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith that cannabis is to be reclassified as a Class B drug:

“We are glad that the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has recommended an education campaign and further research. However, those of us on the front line, including psychiatrists, police and families, know that cannabis, particularly in its stronger form of skunk, can be dangerous for the significant minority of people vulnerable to mental illness.

“Whether or not scientists have yet proved that cannabis alone causes psychiatric illness, we have daily evidence that it can trigger frightening psychotic episodes, relapse, and in some cases a life-long mental condition such as schizophrenia. It can also rob developing young minds of their potential and wreck their families’ and their own futures.

“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.”

Notes for Editors:

SANE gave evidence to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) at its cannabis review hearing on February 5, 2008. The ACMD conducted a review of the classification of cannabis following a request by the Home Secretary in July 2007.

To donate to SANE, or for more information on the work we do, please visit our new website at www.sane.org.uk.

Celebrating its 21st anniversary this year, SANE is a leading national mental health charity with the three aims of:

· Raising awareness and respect for people with mental illness and their families and securing better services

· Undertaking research into the causes of serious mental illness through The Prince of Wales International Centre for SANE Research

· Providing help and information to those experiencing mental health problems, their families and carers through SANEline and SANEmail.

SANEline is a national out-of-hours telephone helpline offering emotional support and information for people affected by mental health problems. It is open from 6pm to 11pm every day of the year, including the Christmas and New Year period, on 0845 767 8000. SANEmail, SANE’s new email support service, runs alongside our national helpline to provide an additional channel of support to those affected by mental health issues. It can be contacted at sanemail@sane.org.uk.