Reclassifying Skunk Cannabis

[Pure]

United Kingsom -- Drug experts will begin debating today whether stronger "skunk" varieties of cannabis should carry higher penalties for possession.

 

The Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs, which meets in London, has been asked by the home secretary, Charles Clarke, for its advice on varieties of cannabis containing high levels of THC, the active ingredient.

 

In his letter to the committee, Mr Clarke pointed it to these forms of the plant, known as skunk, which are often grown in nutrient-rich water.

 

"I am aware the Dutch government are taking a particular interest in very high strength strains and are considering whether cannabis above a certain strength should be a higher classification," the home secretary said.

 

The council is reviewing whether the recent relaxation of the penalties for cannabis possession should be reversed.

 

Tony Blair told the Commons on Tuesday that he hoped the experts would produce their report within weeks, but those hopes are likely to be dashed.

 

The council, which is chaired by a clinical pharmacologist, Sir Michael Rawlins, is expected to agree a timetable and terms of reference today for its review of the cannabis laws, which means that a final report is unlikely to be produced before December.

 

The review was announced just before the general election campaign got under way following fresh claims of mental health problems caused by regular cannabis use and by the growing use in Britain of skunk.

 

Mr Blair hinted strongly in the Commons that he could reverse the relaxation in the laws on cannabis: "If it advises us to change that decision, we will do so. If it does not, we will obviously have to consider that," he told MPs.

 

The drug experts are likely to set up a committee to examine evidence from a New Zealand study which claims that regular use of cannabis can increase the risk of mental health problems later in life for those with a family history of mental illness.

 

The council recommended the decision taken by the former home secretary, David Blunkett, to downgrade cannabis possession from class B to class C in January last year. In making that recommendation the experts took into account claims that regular cannabis smoking could exacerbate existing mental health problems but not the more recent academic evidence that it could trigger new problems.

 

The reclassification meant that most adults caught in possession face a police policy of "confiscate and warn," while those under 18 are arrested and taken to a police station and given a formal reprimand.

 

The proposal to introduce different penalties for different strengths of cannabis could cause practical problems for the police, who would have to distinguish between cannabis that they could arrest adults for possessing and weaker strains for which they could only issue an informal warning.

 

Martin Barnes, the chief executive of DrugScope, a drugs information charity, said: "We are seeing stronger cannabis generally but the bigger problem is that cannabis is being used regularly by a younger age group, rather than it being stronger than in the past."

 

Research in the US has reported that cannabis 10 times more potent than traditional strains has been appearing there. The average potency of cannabis consumed in Holland, where there has been an explosion in the homegrown market, has doubled, to about 16% THC. Research by the EU's drug agency last year suggested that the effective strength of cannabis consumed in Britain has remained unchanged at about 6% THC for 30 years.

 

The study acknowledged that there has been an unknown increase in home-grown cannabis, which can be two to three times more potent, but more than 70% of the British market was taken by imported Moroccan hashish.

 

Source: Guardian Unlimited, The (UK)

Author: Alan Travis, Home Affairs Editor

Published: Thursday, May 19, 2005

Copyright: 2005 Guardian Newspapers Limited

Contact: letters@guardian.co.uk

Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/

[quizywig]

it'll be interesting to se how they work that silly idea, are they going to test every single bust of pot in the lab to see the THC value or take my word that im growing hemp rope under them lights,

love there percentages and facts, i doubt any of them know what an average thc of pot is, a lot of the comercial street stuff is crap,

[fsagertyaef]

bullshit bullshit thats fucking bullshit thats all i can say is thats bullshit fuck them all to hell

[everest]

hha yea bull shite to the max .

 

and that rocky pot is shite soapbar anyways ...... why should folks have to smoke that crap that has been inter -feared with :scratchin

up the skunk i say uk ....... sow ya skunk now lads , the pricks may take it off ya's

[Infinitee]

i hate all these claims of "cannabis is so much stronger" all the time.

 

half the time the figures are wayyyyyy exaggerated, but they don't seem to understand, that if it's twice as strong, you have half as much as you would the other stuff to get you high. Most people have a desired "high" and will smoke whatever shit (or skunk) they have until they reach that level.

 

bah. humbug.

[WantDaChronic]

half the time the figures are wayyyyyy exaggerated, but they don't seem to understand, that if it's twice as strong, you have half as much as you would the other stuff to get you high. Most people have a desired "high" and will smoke whatever shit (or skunk) they have until they reach that level.

 

i so agree....i smoke untill im stoned, usually enough to knock me on my arse for 15 mins or so then start packing again....if i buy shitty pot, i wont stop packing untill its all gone as i cannot get as stoned as i want....but if i have really good pot, few cones and im fine for ages

[Infinitee]

Yeah, but try telling that toStoney Blair!! :thumbdown

[XPATSEEDS]

I think this is just a case of the various state trying to "look busy" on the issue of dope.

skunk is just a name after all... and as we know, it's not the name of the weed that's makes it's quality. It's breeding... So what are they going to do shut down the seed companies that supply the best seeds!!!..... not going to happen!

 

 

...Xpt..

[instink]

The article seems to suggest at the end that homegrown "which can be two to three times more potent" is more dangerous... that what? buying on the street? Are they encouraging the dealer/user cycle?

 

People this weed you are growing at home is too strong... please do everyone a favour and just stick to buying from your dealer, it is less dangerous, you will thank us in the long run! honest!

[FlowerPower]

If anything they should be targeting those fuck knuckles, that lace pot with other shit. In the past five years I've seen some really nice smoke that has been molested with every thing from Kedamine too God Only Knows... :smoke :angry: