England plan to upgrade cannabis

LONDON, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Proposals to return marijuana to a Class B drug in England have caused a clash between the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and the British government.

Council member Les Iversen, a pharmacologist at Oxford University, said he was unhappy with "what appears to be a deliberate leak about the government's alleged intention to reclassify" marijuana, or cannabis, regardless of the panel's advice.

Iversen said if the change is made without the council's recommendation it would be unprecedented "and it would call into question the whole function and future of this group."

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith reportedly were determined to upgrade the drug from Class C to Class B, a status it held prior to 2004, The Independent reported Sunday.

"There is no significantly new evidence to suggest that cannabis is any more harmful than in the last review we did 18 months ago," said the Rev. Martin Blakeborough, who runs Kaleidoscope, a drug abuse charity.

"The only reason that the ACMD is being forced to discuss this matter is because every new home secretary seems to want to show how tough they are."