Ganja, marijuana, weed, puff, smoke, pot, herb, dope, resin, grass; these are just a few of the various names used to describe the drug cannabis. Everyone is familiar with it in some form or another; you’ve either done it, or know someone who has. However, the downgrading of its classification from a class C to a class B drug was aimed at combating this. Did this really work?
In 2004, Tony Blair downgraded the drug to class C because of “uncertainty” over its impact on mental health. The drug will now been reclassified as class B, following the concern that increased use of cannabis has led to a proliferation of the use of other cannabis varieties such as ‘skunk’, a type that is 3 times stronger than other forms of the drug. In order to try and deter users, the reclassification of the drug will mean that the maximum prison sentence for cannabis possession rises from two years to five years. This news comes despite government ministers recommending that the drug remains classified as class C.
Jacqui Smith, the Home Office Secretary, has said that this reclassification has come alongside a “relentless drive” to try and decrease the amount of young Cannabis users. Her policy is particularly aimed at new users. However, it is difficult to know whether this will have any effect.
For consistent users the reclassification, in my view, is not going to have any effect on the amount of usage. Regular users will, in some cases, have been smoking it since before its downgrading to class C, and so will be fully aware of the consequences of their drug use.
At the end of the day, if they want to smoke it, the reclassification is not likely to prevent them from doing so. If older users have been smoking consistently for a prolonged period they will most probably know how to avoid being caught with the drug, will know where to buy it and will understand the risks involved. In such cases I doubt that the reclassification will have any effect on the practices of more experienced users.
In the case of young, or new users, I think that the reclassification may have a limited effect. For the more unsure users, the heavy penalty for possession of cannabis may be enough to deter them.
For those who are determined to use cannabis, however, I believe that the fact that the drug wills soon be class B (the same category as substances such as amphetamines) will not really have a great impact on encouraging young adults not to use it.
Despite Jacqui Smith’s decision to “err on the side of caution and protect the public” by reclassifying the drug, Martin Barnes, chief executive of DrugScope, said: “There is no evidence that reclassifying cannabis to Class B will reduce levels of use, levels of harm or the availability of the drug.”
For what it’s worth, I do agree with him. However, I do think that the reclassification is a good thing. Even though it may only have a very limited effect, it may be the type of deterrent needed to help some younger users to stop using the drug, or to refrain from starting in the first place.
I doubt that it will have the effects that the Home Office Secretary is hoping for, but it might make some people think twice before lighting up. Or perhaps not!
1. Ted
I’M SCREWED.