You need licence to drive car, so why not one for cannabis, asks professor

Published on Monday 13 September 2010 14:21

A SCOTTISH cannabis expert has called for the drug to be legalised and licences made available to people who want to smoke it.

• Roger Pertwee was a research pioneer

Professor Roger Pertwee, of Aberdeen University, who pioneered research into the effects of cannabis in the 1960s and 1970s, argues that only people under the age of 21 and those suffering from mental illness or at risk of psychosis should be prevented from buying the drug.

He believes this would take it out of the hands of criminal dealers and make it less likely to be a gateway drug, leading to harder and more dangerous substances.

Prof Pertwee said: "You'd need to have a minimum age of 21, and I would suggest you might even have to have a licence.

"You have a car licence and a dog licence - why not a cannabis licence?"

He told the British Festival of Science at Aston University in Birmingham: "We need to explore all the various options.

"At the moment, cannabis is in the hands of the criminals, and I think it's crazy. We're allowed to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. Cannabis, if it's handled properly, I think is no more dangerous than that."

He went on: "I think this could be the way forward, but it might not work. It depends on a private company being willing to produce a branded product."

His comments received a mixed response, with doubts being raised about both the reasoning and the practicalities of such a radical change to the law.

Professor Neil McKeganey, of Glasgow University's Centre for Drug Misuse Research, said: "It's not at all clear that the government should license people to use substances which they know are dangerous in terms of their mental health.

"In Scotland, we have seen a decreasing use of cannabis among young people and we don't want to do anything that would lead to greater use. How could the government do this and maintain a stance on drug prevention?"

A spokesman for the Scottish Drugs Forum said: "Certainly, there are concerns around people's mental health and a licence to say you don't have mental health problems seems very hard to verify - you can say someone has them, but it is harder to say someone does not."

However, John Arthur, director of Crew 2000, which offers practical support to people dealing with drug problems, believes there could be merit in the idea of licensing cannabis.

He said: "Initially, it seems like he has given reasoned thought to this, which is what Crew advocates. Certainly, drugs policy is a complete failure at the moment."Other countries that have moved in different directions than us, such as Holland and Portugal, where personal-use amounts are not against the law, have seen a reduction in the number of people using cannabis and other, harder drugs."

Detective Superintendent Alan Cunningham, of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, said: "One of the biggest risks we face by decriminalisation is to send a message to people that because something is legal, it is safe.

"However, these substances can be hugely harmful and users need to be aware of the adverse effects and the potential for serious long-term damage to their health."