> Gordon Brown's decision to overturn the advice of his own group of drug
> experts by pressing ahead with a tougher policy on cannabis could face a
> high court challenge from campaigners.
>
> As the report from the 23-strong Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
> (ACMD) recommending that cannabis should remain a class C drug was
> delivered yesterday to the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, it was widely
> reported that Gordon Brown would ignore its findings.
>
> "Whitehall sources" were reported as indicating that the prime minister
> would formally respond to their report after the local elections next
> week.
>
> "Mr Brown has made clear that, notwithstanding the scientific evidence,
> there are other considerations," a Whitehall source was quoted as saying.
>
> "These include expressing concern about the involvement of serious crime
> in the cannabis trade and sending a signal, as a government and as a
> society, that this drug is a danger to health." ...

> *From:* Dr John Watson NOSPAM.hotpotmail.com>
> *Date:* Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:46:25 +0100
>
> Gordon Brown's decision to overturn the advice of his own group of
> drug
> experts by pressing ahead...

> Imagine if you could not taste, smell or see the
> difference between beer and whisky- drinking would be incredibly
> dangerous as the drinker wouldn't know how much alcohol there were
> consuming. The high THC-varieties of cannabis can render the unaware
> user in a state where they are a danger to themselves or others.

>Ministers and Parliament make the law and there is a very clear
>majority in the House of Commons for re classification. It is actually overwhelming
>now, with even some prominent LibDems having second...

> Interesting conversation with my former GP over this....
>
> He's personally seen a lot of mental illness amongst cannabis smokers.
> However he's yet to meet such a patient with no previous history of such
> diseases. His conclusion seemed to be that schizophrenics like smoking
> pot- they find it relaxing. A kind of itch-scratch relationship.

> My personal experience would go along with this. It can certainly make
> mental problems worse, but does it cause them where they don't exist in
> the first place? I think the answer is no. In the few...

> With Cannabis you reach a saturation point where taking any more in is
> meaningless. It simply wont have any more effect. This is why it is so
> safe with respect to really dangerous drugs like alcohol.

> Noticed at Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:35:53 -0700: Andy informed us:
>

>> Interesting conversation with my former GP over this....
>>
>> He's personally seen a lot of mental illness amongst cannabis smokers.
>> However he's yet to meet such a patient with no previous history of such
>> diseases. His conclusion seemed to be that schizophrenics like smoking
>> pot- they find it relaxing. A kind of itch-scratch relationship.

>
> One of the ingredients in cannabis - cannabidiol (CBD) is an
> anti-psychotic. It seems likely that schizophrenics will get temporary
> relief from their symptoms, which is why they self-medicate. However, the
> THC may worsen their condition.
>

>> My personal experience would go along with this. It can certainly make
>> mental problems worse, but does it cause them where they don't exist in
>> the first place? I think the answer is no. In the few cases where this
>> is claimed, it is difficult, maybe impossible to accurately diagnose any ...

> I wonder if the current explosion in cocaine
> use is related to the crack scares of the 90s ?

> On 29 Apr, 15:11, "Jethro" hotmail.com> wrote:

>> I wonder if the current explosion in cocaine
>> use is related to the crack scares of the 90s ?

>
> Several ex-member of the GMP swear they actually CREATED the crack
> epidemic in Manchester - fact-finding tours to the US in the 80's got
> them all a-quiver at the crack menace in the US, the US officers told
> them it was only a matter of time before it reached Britain's shores,
> so the undercover units started trying to buy it off UK dealers.. UK
> dealers had never heard of it but responded to the (artificial)
> demand. As the story goes.