Britain to review drugs downgrading for cannabis

THE British Government is to review the controversial decision which made possession of cannabis a largely non-arrestable offence, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.

He told MPs that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith will consider moving the drug from class C back to class B.

Cannabis was class B until it was downgraded in January 2004 by former home secretary David Blunkett, placing it alongside certain prescription tranquillisers and body-building steroids.

A Home Office spokesman said the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs will be asked to review reports that the danger from cannabis is increasing due to wider availability of stronger strains such as “skunk”.

Meanwhile, the number of people attending A&Es at night with alcohol-related problems has trebled since the introduction of 24-hour drinking laws, experts said.

A study compared the number of A&E visits at one major London hospital before and after the laws were introduced in November 2005.