UK - Report on 2008 Drug Strategy Consultation (Cannabis upgrade)

[Lunar Loops]

There is a new addition to the Drug Policy file archive:

Drugs: Our Community, Your Say.
A Report on the 2008 Drug Strategy Consultation
Views on Reclassifying Cannabis to a Class B Drug

The UK Home Office, on behalf of HM Government, commissioned Ipsos MORI to undertake a full and open consultation to seek views to inform the development of the drug strategy going forward. In addition to this, Ipsos MORI was also commissioned to conduct a wide-reaching programme of research that proactively sought the views of those who are directly involved and/or affected by drugs. The process ran from July to October 2007. This report looks primarily at the findings of the consultation process with respect to the reclassification of Cannabis.

Now the process may well have been "full and open", but it has certainly done little to "inform the development of the drug strategy going forward" as will be seen from the findings. Of 639 responses to the question of whether or not to reclassify cannabis, only 121 said yes to reclassifying to B, 278 said leave as C and 124 said legalise (116 undecided).

So the UK government wasted more money on this process along with commissioning the report from the ACMD, only to ignore the findings of both.