Populist move to reclassify cannabis not enough, says Addaction

Press release

The government’s reclassification of cannabis as class ‘B’ today (Wednesday 7th May) will have little impact on the use of a drug which is firmly rooted in the lifestyles of many young people, said Addaction, Britain’s biggest drug and alcohol treatment charity. For too long, politicians have been distracted by the legal status of the drug, argued the charity, urging a clearer focus on tackling the harms caused by cannabis use.

The Home Secretary announced no new plans to reach out to young people, pledging instead to continue with the current public information campaign. Deborah Cameron, Chief Executive of Addaction, said:

“If the government is to show it is serious about the widespread use of cannabis among young people it should reform the way drugs education is delivered in schools.

“Drugs education in this country is inconsistent, unimaginative and squeezed out in a busy curriculum. Young people are more likely to be influenced by hearing from other young people who have suffered from using cannabis. We should be making use of this inside and outside of school through peer support programmes.

“And desperate parents must be taken seriously when they ask for help. We must support the whole family to deal with these often very difficult and painful problems.”

As the government upgrades cannabis, cannabis users are actually being squeezed out of the drug treatment system. Because of a new funding system for drug treatment, many services are coming under pressure not to treat cannabis users, as well as other non-class A drug users (1).

Addaction questioned whether the renewed concern about cannabis will be reflected in the support offered to cannabis users. Deborah Cameron continued:

“We are increasingly finding that unless you have a crack or heroin problem you don’t count. You may have a six gram-a-day cannabis habit and spend between £300-500 a week on the drug - as much as you would expect a class A user to get through - but when it comes to getting support you are just not a priority.

“If the government is truly concerned about cannabis use, it should look again at the formula to ensure those who are most affected by cannabis are given the support they need”.

ENDS

For further information please contact Clare McNeil on 0207 017 2866 or 07899 068151

Notes to editors

(1) Because of new funding arrangements for drug treatment introduced earlier this year, resources are more tightly focused around ‘problematic drug users’. This means that services are monitored on the number of Class A drug users they can treat and some have targets to increase this number. The more problematic drug users they treat, the more funding the local area will be awarded. This has led to some services facing pressure not to treat cannabis users, as well as other non Class A drug users.

· Addaction is Britain’s biggest specialist drug and alcohol treatment charity, supporting over 26,000 people with drug and alcohol problems. We have over 70 services in England and Scotland for individuals and their families, including nine dedicated services supporting young people and their families affected by problem drug and alcohol use

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