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There is no evidence to suggest cannabis use has increased in Northern Ireland a year after it was reclassified, the Government has said.

And while police figures show there has been no reduction in prosecutions against young people for possession of the drug, there has been some decrease overall in Class C drug-related arrests.

The figures have been unveiled by the Secretary of State Paul Murphy just over a year after the Government downgraded cannabis from Class B to Class C, ranking it alongside bodybuilding steroids and some anti-depressants.

The reclassification sparked concerns at the time that it would encourage drug use.

The Government conducted a survey of statutory organisations, including the police, the community and voluntary sector, in April and May of last year to assess the impact of the law change.

According to the Secretary of State, the level of response was disappointing, but the general view was that reclassification had little impact on overall attitudes towards cannabis, both among young people and adults.

There was no evidence to suggest that consumption had increased or that people were more open about the use of cannabis.

However, there was a view that young people did not fully understand all the various terminology such as "reclassification", "decriminalisation" and "legalisation".

PSNI figures indicated that the number of prosecutions against younger people for possession of cannabis - both actual and pending - had not reduced since reclassification.

There are no separate figures kept in relation to adults, but there was a small reduction in the number of arrests for possession of Class C drugs, in the three months after reclassification when compared to the three months prior to the law change.

The Government is currently preparing to carry out a further survey to assess the impact one year on.

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