Old Clichés from the Young

I came across a recent post full of the same old cannabis clichés. I was surprised to find it was by an 18-year old (who you'd think would know better about these matters); and saddened, but not too surprised to find it was by a budding politician.

The post leads off like this:

"72% of Criminals use Cannabis...
A few days ago, the Government published a report revealing that more than 7 out of 10 teenage criminals have smoked cannabis every day for the last 12 months. Not only does this show that cannabis use is on the rise, but also that solid evidence is emerging between use of the drug, and crime rates."

I believe the writer is implying that these figures are proof that smoking cannabis leads to crime. I suggest it is more likely that both crime and cannabis are used by the offenders to relieve their insufficiently rewarding lives. They probably drink, too.

More clichés in the post:

1. "Since New Labour re-classified the drug in 2004, youths have turned their attention to cannabis (including the super strength version known as 'skunk'), and as a result, drug related crimes have increased further each year."

2. "Youths (who have now formed addictions to cannabis) turn to crime to fund their purchasing of the drug..."

3. "since its re-classification, police are not even allowed to caution youths for possession of the drug anymore"

4. "simply because of one simple reason...drugs are addictive."

Easily-found information on the above points:

1. "The slow decline in cannabis use since 1998 has been sustained following reclassification and there is no evidence at present of any short-term increase in consumption among young people since reclassification." Further consideration of the classification of cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971: Report of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, Dec 2005.
Minister Caroline Flint said new crime survey figures also showed that fears for a rise in cannabis use among young people were "wholly unfounded."
Year on year figures from the Independent Drugs Monitoring Unit.

2. According to the US Institute of Medicine (IOM), fewer than one in 10 cannabis smokers become regular users of the drug, and most voluntarily cease their use after 34 years of age. Source: Norml New Zealand.
"In general cannabis users smoke fewer cigarettes per day than tobacco smokers and most give up in their 30s,..." states the 2002 report of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs: 'The classification of cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971'.

3. "when police officers find someone in possession of cannabis they're still required to record this as a crime" from BBC Cannabis and the law page.

4, as 2 above. This is the same false generalisation as that made by Captain Walter Elliott in Parliament in 1969 at the reception of the Wootton Committee's report on Cannabis (see post below: "a bunch of trendies").

Also note:

A study for the all-party science and technology select committee today questions the way the government classifies illegal drugs; they report: "The theory that cannabis use acted as a 'gateway' to more serious drugs had not been proven despite extensive research."