A FORMER UK Government adviser has said Scots should go Dutch and open cannabis cafes.

Professor David Nutt, who has advised the Department of Health, said it could be "very good" for the economy. Prof Nutt sacked by the UK Government in 2009 for saying horse riding was more dangerous than ecstasy also blasted plans to ban legal highs.

Speaking ahead of a talk in Edinburgh, Prof Nutt said: "If Scotland had a sensible medical cannabis policy you'd get a lot of health tourists and that would be very good for your economy. People could have a cuppa in cafes in Edinburgh and Glasgow and have a spliff as they do in Amsterdam."

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George Square Event Criticised by Politicians

DRUG users are planning to stage a "cannabis celebration" in Glasgow's George Square.

The annual '420 event' sees campaigners gather in a public place on April 20 to call for the legalisation of the Class B drug.

Last year Glasgow Cannabis Social Club held a gathering of 150 people at Glasgow Green and five were reported to the procurator fiscal for flouting the law by lighting up in full view of police.

The maximum penalty for possession of cannabis is five years in prison.

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CAN you put two and two together? Have a try. The authorities, and most of the media, cannot. Did you know that the Copenhagen killer, Omar El-Hussein, had twice been arrested (and twice let off) for cannabis possession? Probably not.

It was reported in Denmark but not prominently mentioned amid the usual swirling speculation about 'links' between El-Hussein and 'Islamic State', for which there is no evidence at all.

El-Hussein, a promising school student, mysteriously became so violent and ill-tempered that his own gang of petty criminals, The Brothers, actually expelled him.

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BRITAIN'S brightest teenagers are among those most at risk of mental illness caused by smoking a potent form of cannabis, a leading expert has warned.

Professor Sir Robin Murray said it tended to be 'clever and sociable' youngsters who were damaged by using the super-strong strain of the drug, known as skunk.

Sir Robin, the foremost authority in Britain on the effects of smoking cannabis, led a landmark study with colleagues at the Institute of Psychiatry which found that regularly smoking skunk triples the risk of psychosis, as revealed last week by The Mail on Sunday.

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Frequent use of high-potency weed might be linked to an increased risk of having a psychotic episode. But milder strains of marijuana, even when used heavily, don't appear to carry an increased risk of psychosis.

Researchers got data from 410 London patients sent to the hospital for a first-episode psychotic incident and compared those numbers with data from370 control individuals living in the same area.

Compared with someone who had never smoked, a weekly user of high- potency weed, defined as having greater than 15 percent THC content, was three times as likely to be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder. The researchers found no link between frequent use of low-potency weed and psychotic disorder.

The findings were published Tuesday in the journal Lancet Psychiatry.

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As far as futile activities go, the fight against legal highs is a textbook example. According to figures released last week, police incidents involving legal highs substances sold in high street shops and on the internet, including products for the home such as "plant food", but which contain psychoactive elements that mimic the effects of cannabis, amphetamine and heroin have more than doubled in a year,

The web enables ever quicker and easier access to these substances. Their cheapness and the veneer of respectability because they are nominally "legal" means that more people are eschewing illicit drugs in favour of taking the alternative.

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Study Finds 60,000 Britons Are Living With Mental Illness Because of Super-Strong Drug

ONE in four new cases of psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia could be the direct result of smoking extra-strong varieties of cannabis, a major new study concludes.

The finding suggests that about 60,000 people in Britain are currently living with conditions involving hallucinations and paranoid episodes brought on by abuse of high-potency cannabis, known as skunk, and more than 300,000 people who have smoked skunk will experience such problems in their lifetime.

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A FORMER Government drugs tsar says cannabis and ecstasy should be used to treat patients battling cancer and depression.

Professor David Nutt claimed that banning certain drugs is depriving patients and doctors of "extremely useful" therapies for chronic pain and illnesses.

Nutt, who was fired by the Government in 2009 for claiming horse-riding is more dangerous than ecstasy, also said there may be therapeutic benefits in legal highs.

The psychiatrist added: "Let the doctors decide which drugs are harmful, not the politician."

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Nearly a quarter of new cases of psychosis are linked to highpotency "skunk like" cannabis, new research shows.

People who smoke superstrength cannabis are three times more likely to develop psychosis than people who have never tried the drug and five times more likely if they smoke it every day.

The study, by researchers at King's College London, will fuel calls for politicians and public health officials to take a stronger stance against high potency cannabis, at a time when many campaigners are arguing for marijuana to be legalised. The researchers say there is an "urgent need" to inform young people about the risks of strong cannabis.

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Nearly a quarter of new cases of psychosis are linked to high-potency "skunk like" cannabis, new British research shows.

People who smoke super-strength cannabis are three times more likely to develop psychosis than people who have never tried the drug - and five times more likely if they smoke it every day. The study, by researchers at King's College London, will fuel calls for politicians and public health officials to take a stronger stance against high potency cannabis, at a time when many campaigners are arguing for marijuana to be legalised.

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Smoking powerful "skunk" cannabis triples the risk of suffering a serious psychotic episode, scientists have found.

The drug is linked to one quarter of all new cases of psychosis, the study revealed.

The findings add to a compelling body of evidence that smoking strong cannabis "tilts the odds" towards a person developing psychosis, which leads to schizophrenia in about half of cases.

The study found that people who smoked skunk every day had five times the normal risk of experiencing extended episodes in which they heard voices, suffered delusions or demonstrated erratic behaviour.

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Concerning the high-rise residents at Warwick Mount (The Argus, February 7).

Has Warwick Mount no lost and found box? A box could be placed discreetly with a sharps disposal box in a corner with no cameras.

Think health, people. Of course people are using drugs. Don't make it more dangerous for all, make it safer.

Jay Bergstrom, Forest Ranch, California

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Fearful residents at a council-owned block of flats found a used crack pipe at the bottom of their stairwell.

The homemade pipe was found at Warwick Mount in Montague Street, Brighton, last week.

The discovery is one of a number of incidents at the building that has left locals feeling concerned for their safety.

They include the death of a man who was stabbed in the heart on Christmas morning.

Last month a man jumped from the eleventh floor of the block to his death.

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Experts have raised concerns about a thriving Twitter cannabis culture.

During a single month, researchers identified more than seven million tweets referring to marijuana, with "pro-pot" messages outnumbering those opposed to the drug by 15 to one.

Most of those sending and receiving "pot tweets" were under the age of 25, and many in their teens, said the team.

US psychiatrist and lead author Dr Patricia Cavazos-Rehg, from the Washington University Institute for Public Health, said: "It's a concern because frequent marijuana use can affect brain structures and interfere with cognitive function, emotional development and academic performance.

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On-The-Spot Saliva Test for Cannabis and Cocaine Use Approved for Use by Police

Police will be able to test drivers for drugs on the roadside after the first mobile checking device was approved.

The "Drugwipe" can trace cocaine and cannabis in a saliva sample within three minutes. Drivers will be tested on the spot, rather than at a police station, meaning convictions are likely to soar as the device is increasingly adopted by forces. Mike Penning, the police minister, said chief constables would now be able to roll out the Securetec DrugWipe 3S after the technology was rubber-stamped by Home Office scientists. "Drug drivers are a deadly menace and must be stopped," said Mr Penning. "Those who get behind the wheel while under the influence of drugs not only put their own lives at risk, but also those of innocent pedestrians, motorists and their passengers." The test can detect cocaine and cannabis, the substances most commonly used by drug drivers. The manufacturers also produce a test for other drugs including heroin, amphetamine and Ecstasy, but this version has not yet won Home Office backing. A positive test will show red lines, similar to a pregnancy test.

In March a new drug driving law comes into force with penalties of up to six months' jail and UKP5000 fines.

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Almost 30,000 prisoners addicted to drugs were given a heroin substitute last year to feed their dependence, figures show.

The drugs were paid for by the taxpayer and given to inmates in a bid to help them kick the habit.

However inmates who are in prison for less than three months do not have time to complete the drug treatment programme, but are supplied with methadone or buprenorphine.

The figures were revealed in a request by Andrew Griffiths MP to the Secretary of State.

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While Federal Law Says Possession and Sale Is Still Illegal, You Can Now Buy Recreational Marijuana in Four US States

Last year, on New Year's Day, I spent two hours queuing in the bone- chilling cold of a Denver January to be one of the first few people in the world legally to buy recreational cannabis over the counter. The drug has traditionally been tolerated in the Netherlands, but never truly legal. Portugal decriminalised it more than a decade ago. California legalised medical marijuana in 1996, and has since been followed by 22 other US states and Washington, DC.

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