Kings College report rubbishes wild dope potency claims
Source: London.net
Date: September 17 2007
New Survey: Cannabis Strength scare stories claiming the cannabis sold on London’s streets is 20 times as strong as its equivalents ten years ago have been rubbished by an authoritative new study.
Researchers at King College London checked samples of cannabis seized by the police and discovered that the strength was the same as when similar checks were conducted a decade ago.
Lurid tales of high sales of super-strength skunk cannabis being responsible for, among other things, a sharp rise in cases of mental illness, dominated headlines a few months ago and calls were made by politicians to upgrade cannabis from a Class C to Class B drug. The latter caries more severe legal penalties for users caught by the authorities.
It is the case that high-dose skunk is much more potent than other forms of cannabis, but the Kings College researchers found only four per cent of the samples had super-skunk levels of strength and that even then, they were not as powerful as previously reported.
The new survey is likely to be used as evidence by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which is due to report to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith on the possible regarding of cannabis next year.
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