“The Government considers that cannabis is a controlled, illicit drug for good reasons. It has a number of acute and chronic health effects and prolonged use can induce dependence. Most cannabis is smoked and smoking, in any form, is dangerous. Even the occasional use of cannabis can pose significant dangers for people with mental health problems, such as schizophrenia, and particular efforts need to be made to encourage abstinence in such individuals.

The Government seeks to balance the rights of individuals on the one hand and the greater public health and welfare considerations on the other. In so doing it considers that it makes sense, on health grounds, for cannabis to remain a controlled drug whose unauthorised production (including cultivation), supply and possession are and will remain illegal.

There is therefore no prospect of the Government legalising cannabis to enable cannabis users to grow the plant for personal use.

Legalising cannabis (to whatever extent and for whatever purpose) would run counter to the Government's health and education messages. The message to all - and to young people in particular - is that all controlled drugs, including cannabis, are harmful and no one should take them. To legalise the possession of cannabis for personal consumption would send the wrong message to the majority of young people who do not take drugs on a regular basis, if at all, with the potential risk of increased drug use and abuse.

The Government's objective is to reduce the use of all illegal drugs - including cannabis - substantially, not to encourage use that would result from increased consumption due to more ready access to increased supply. While our drugs laws cannot be expected to eliminate drug use, there is no doubt that they do help to limit use and deter experimentation.

There is real public concern about the potential mental health effects of cannabis use and, in particular, the use and availability of increased strengths of the drug, commonly known as skunk. That is why the Government asked the independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to review cannabis classification in July 2007.

The Government will consider carefully the findings of the Advisory Council when it submits its advice in April 2008. It will then make a decision about whether or not to bring a proposal to Parliament to reclassify the drug from Class C back to Class B under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. This would toughen the penalties relating to cannabis possession, if approved.”

BAN PEOPLE FROM DRIVING THEN, IT KILLS MORE PEOPLE EVERY YEAR!

Anyway, you don’t have too smoke it you can eat it, much healthier!