- Nick Clegg made the cannabis call in a letter to the British Medical Journal
- He claimed the drug is ‘much safer’ than many other medicines in use
- Clegg described the continuing criminalisation of cannabis as ‘absurd’
- The Home Office said it has no plans to legalise the use of cannabis
Ben Spencer for the Daily Mail
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Cannabis should be legalised in recognition of its ‘medicinal value’, Nick Clegg said last night.
The drug is ‘much safer’ than many medicines already used in the UK – and continuing to criminalise the drug is ‘absurd’, he said.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, the former deputy prime minister said ministers should downgrade cannabis in the legal system from schedule one to schedule four – putting it below barbiturates, painkillers such as tramadol and sedatives such as temazepam.
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Former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, pictured, has called for the use of cannabis to be legalised for medicinal use in a letter to the British Medical Journal
Offences involving cannabis currently come with up to 14 years in prison – a schedule four offence would not involve a jail term at all.
The ‘analysis’ piece, co-authored by Baroness Molly Meacher, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform, said: ‘People have used the cannabis plant for its medicinal properties for centuries, if not millenniums.
‘Recent years have seen the discovery of the human endocannabinoid system and a growing literature on the medicinal value of cannabis for specific conditions.’
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Mr Clegg, one of eight Liberal Democrat MPs who retained their seats when their numbers were reduced from 57 at the last election, added: ‘Ministers urgently need to revisit the scheduling of cannabis and move the drug from schedule 1 to schedule 4 – which includes benzodiazepines, for example – in recognition of the limited risks and the medicinal value of the plant and its constituent parts.
‘This would facilitate research into the many conditions for which cannabis may be an inexpensive but effective treatment.
‘But above all it would enable patients with a wide range of conditions to obtain cannabis medicines to alleviate their symptoms.’
Experts think medical cannabis can help alleviate chronic pain, anxiety and muscle problems – particularly those linked to multiple sclerosis.
But there is a huge volume of evidence that the drug carries severe mental health risks.
Experts believe cannabis can assist with chronic pain but can lead to psychosis or depression
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is very cautious about the campaign to decriminalise the drug, warning that its use increases the risk of developing psychosis, depression and anxiety.
A major review led by King’s College London in 2014 concluded smoking cannabis is highly addictive, can cause mental health problems and opens the door to hard drugs.
That review, led by Professor Wayne Hall, expert drugs advisor to the World Health Organisation, found one in six teenagers who use cannabis become dependent on the drug, as do one in ten adults.
Two drugs already exist in the UK which are based on cannabis – but they are very tightly controlled.
Nabilone, a synthetic cannabis-type drug, has been available since 1982 as a hospital-only treatment for nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy.
And in 2010 Sativex became the first medicine based on herbal cannabis for use in the UK.
The Home Office has repeatedly stressed it has no plans to legalise cannabis.
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