Hashishi

Cannabis - a menace or medical marvel?
31-7-'07 | The Plymouth Herald

Cannabis has been in use for about 10,000 years.It is claimed that in that time, there has never been a single overdose and some say it is safer than aspirin.

So why has it not been decriminalised, as in Holland and Russia?

It could be because some mental health experts say it can bring on problems such as depression and schizophrenia.

And it could be that other people worry about the temptation for users to move on to harder drugs once they get used to the 'high' which cannabis brings on.

Yesterday experts also claimed that a single cannabis joint damages the lungs as much as smoking up to five cigarettes in one go, by forcing the lungs to work harder.

While the debate goes on, police are still carrying out their work.

In Plymouth, in the past two weeks, one underground cannabis manufacturer has been sent to jail for 14 months and a haul of cannabis plants seized at another property in the city.

A total of 50 plants were found by police at the home of Robert Cush, in Sydney Street, in June last year, after he spent about six months growing them.

Cush started a 14-month sentence at the beginning of this month for cultivating the 'cannabis factory' worth more than £19,000.

Police in the city say they are 'fighting' drugs and they are pleased with their recent successes on 'cannabis factories' - but the debate still rages as to whether to legalise weed or to do just the opposite and make it more illegal - again.

The drug was classified Class B until last year, when it was changed to Class C - thus reducing the penalties for possession and creating some confusion about its legality.

Some campaigners are calling for it to be reclassified as Class B again, while others are still calling on the government to decriminalise or legalise the drug altogether.

One of Plymouth's main campaigners for the legalisation of cannabis is former musician Stuart Wyatt.

The Stonehouse resident is convinced of the medicinal benefits of cannabis, so much so he has launched www.humedi.org.uk, which calls for a public debate on the use of the drug.

Mr Wyatt suffers from crippling pain from an undiagnosed illness, and he says it is relieved only by taking cannabis, which he eats, smokes or inhales through a vaporiser.

But he says that the drug should be legalised for everyone.

He said: "The Government is now looking at taking cannabis back to Class B, but it is not looking at making beer, caffeine or tobacco illegal.

"That seems crazy to me. Those drugs cause death, whereas there is no evidence which suggest cannabis does.

"Throughout the history of mankind there is no documented evidence of any deaths attributed to cannabis use.

"It should be made legal. If police are cracking down on those who grow good-quality, clean cannabis, then they are opening the avenues for gangsters to flood the markets with dangerous, laced herbal cannabis."

Mr Wyatt, 35, rejects the claimed link between cannabis and mental illness, and says it has been used as a medicine for 5,000 years.

He claims cannabis is the only drug which relieves his symptoms.

He said: "The only side-effects I have ever experienced are feelings of pleasure."

Professor John Zajicek is carrying out a £2million, three-year trial at Plymouth's Peninsula Medical School and at Derriford Hospital into the effects of cannabis on the progression of multiple sclerosis.

The Cannabinoid Use in Progressive Inflammatory Brain Disease study - known as CUPID - began last year in a bid to evaluate whether THC, one of many chemical compounds found in cannabis, might slow the development of disability in multiple sclerosis patients.

Prof Zajicek has already recruited 300 people out of 500 to take part in the study, which gives some MS sufferers courses of active cannabis treatment and some placebos - inactive substances - to assess what difference the cannabis makes.

Prof Zajicek said: "The study is going well and we are actively recruiting more people to take part.

"We will see what results the study yields. I am purely interested in the use of this drug for medicinal purposes.

"There is evidence that it can be harmful. I wouldn't recommend anyone taking it recreationally."

Detective Chief Inspector Iain Grafton, head of Plymouth CID, said the police were 'fighting' drugs in the city.

He said: "We are fighting drug supply and production in Plymouth.

"It's business as usual; we're continuing to tackle the supply and production.

"Cannabis is a Class C drug - and research shows there have been mental health potentials connected with its use."

Jeremy Prichard, chief executive of Plymouth's Harbour Centre drugs and alcohol treatment service, wouldn't say whether he thought cannabis should be made legal.

However, he did say that the centre saw people come in for treatment for the effects of cannabis use.

He said: "The evidence is out there. There is enough evidence for a decision to be made as to whether cannabis should be reclassified or legalised."

The debate continues.

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