Coalition Against CANNABIS

10 medical reasons why cannabis should NOT be reclassified:

The adverse health effects of cannabis:

The Government is intending to reclassify cannabis from a schedule B to Aschedule C drug.

1. Cannabis today is, on average, 10 times stronger than in the 1960s. The concentration of THC - Tetrahydrocannabinol - the psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, has increased from 0.5% to over 5%. The early research was done on these low concentrations. (Jan Ranstrom, Adverse Health Consequences of Cannabis Use, 1998, Socialstyrelsen, Sweden.)

2. THC is fat-soluble, 50% persists for nearly one week, and 10% for one month in the brain. Even when smoking 'only' 1 or 2 joints a month, brain cells are never clear of cannabis. This contrast with alcohol, which is cleared relatively quickly from the body, (Nahas G, Latour C. The Human Toxicity of Marijuana, The Medical Journal of Australia, 1992.)

3. Addiction, both psychological and physical, can occur. Approximately 10% of all users and up to 90% of regular users become dependent. Of the 6 million drug addicts in the USA, 60% are dependent on marijuana. In the US, more young people are being treated now for cannabis dependence, than for alcohol. (Prof Colin Drummond, Professor of Addiction Psychiatry, House of Lords 28th November 2002; John Walters, USA Drug Tsar, in an interview, quoting data from American Drug Statistics, 17 Sept. 2002.)

4. Cannabis increases the risk of developing mental illness including schizophrenia, psychosis, depression, suicidal behaviour and anxiety.
   The risk of developing a psychotic disorder is almost tripled. Young male users are 5 times more likely to be violent. Using cannabis 50 times of more increased the risk of psychosis by a factor of 6.7. (Arsenault L et al: Arch: Arch Gen Psychiatry, vol 57 oct. 2000 and Zammit S et al.: British Med Journal 2002; 325, 1195ff.

5. Smoking cannabis during pregnancy harms unborn children. Babies are smaller, and in childhood, their cognitive functioning shows impairment up to the age of six. (Day NL et al. Neurotoxm Teratol 1994. Fried PA: Archives of Toxicology 1995 (suppl) 17: 233-60)

6. Educational opportunities are lost. Concentration, attention span, learning and memory are all severely affected. Cannabis can cause damage to brain cells. Few children, using cannabis even occasionally, will achieve their full potential. Loss of interest in hobbies, sports, school and inability to sustain attention are observed with cannabis use. (Nadia Solowij, Cannabis and Cognitive Functioning, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1998. American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatrics 1999; Baroness Susan Greenfield, the real danger of cannabis, The Observer 18.8.02).

7. Young Cannabis users risk cancer.
   Cannabis smoke contains 50% more of the same carcinogens as tobacco smoke. Three to four joints are as damaging as 20 cigarettes a day. As compared with smoking tobacco, smoking cannabis causes a threefold increase in tar inhaled. Lung, head and neck cancers in young cannabis users have been observed. These cancers usually occur in cigarette smokers in their 60s. (British Lung Foundation 2002 report on Cannabis: A smoking gun? Wengen DF, Laringorhinotologie, 1993; Hall W, Solowij N. Lancet 1998; 35: 1611-16.; Wu TC et al New England Journal of Medicine 1998; 318: 347-51.)

8. Cannabis increases the risk of heart attack by a factor of five.
   After smoking cannabis, blood pressure and pulse rates rise and middle-aged people are 5 times more likely to suffer a heart attack. (Mittleman M et al. Circulation 2001; 103 2805-9.)

9. Cannabis smoking can lead to the use of harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
   Weekly users are 60 times more likely to progress to harder drugs. Adolescents who use cannabis are 104 times as likely to use cocaine compared with those who never smoked cannabis. Almost 100% of heroin addicts started on cannabis. (Fergusson DM, Horwood, JL: Addiction 2002; 95: 505-20. American Academy of Pediatrics 1999)

10. Although 10 times as many people drink alcohol, cannabis is involved in a similar number of vehicle accidents.
    10% of drivers involved in fatal accidents tested positive for cannabis, 80% of which did not have alcohol above the legal limit. Twenty-four hours after one single joint, airline pilots on flight simulators were still making mistakes, however were unaware of their reduced performance. (Soderstrom CA, et al. Arch Surg June 1988. Prof CH Ashton in evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee April 1998)

Warning about the grave consequences of reclassification of cannabis, Lambeth GP Dr Clare Gerada speaking at Consultation 'Cannabis - A cause for concern', held in November 2002 in the House of Lords said: "I do not want to go headlong into another public health epidemic - have we not learnt from 60 years of tobacco?"

Published by the National Coalition Against Cannabis, 95-97 Railway Road, Leigh WN7 4AD.