Pubdate: Thu 18 Feb, 1998
Source: Independent, The (UK)
Author: Charles Arthur, Science Editor
Contact: Email:  Independent on Sunday, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5DL
England
Editors note: The IoS Cannabis Campaign has web pages at
http://www.independent.co.uk/sindypot/index.htm

REPORT BOOST FOR CANNABIS

Research has established that decriminalising marijuana does not lead to
the use of harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin, and  that teenagers and
children are more likely to experiment with alcohol and tobacco.

Long-running surveys carried out in the Netherlands, where  marijuana was
decriminalised in 1967, have found that even in the  age group where
cannabis use is highest - those between 20 and 35, of whom 12.5 per cent
are "regular" users - only 1.3 per cent had used cocaine in the previous
month, with the majority of those being aged over 30.

The latest sample of more than 2,000 people in 1994 found that nobody under
20 had ever used heroin, and there were just four  people who "regularly"
used heroin, all aged between 25 and 50. Cocaine and heroin use are not
legal in the Netherlands.

The findings, from ongoing surveys carried out over the past 10 years by
the Centre for Drug Research at the University of Amsterdam among the
city's residents, provide more ammunition for the Independent on Sunday's
campaign to decriminalise cannabis in Britain.

It also shows that the Government's insistence that  decriminalising the
drug would be a catastrophe does not stand up to close examination.

A leading scientific magazine is expected tomorrow to publish further
research which indicates that cannabis has fewer health effects than other
legal drugs such as tobacco.