http://cannazine.co.uk : Its February 5th, the long awaited date for the cannabis debate which takes place in London today between the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, experts who will give advice and opinions and the one or two members of the public who managed to get a ticket.

Although how the government can call this a fair representation of the cannabis community is beyond us here at the Canna Zine, as we, like many MANY others, were unable to get a ticket to the gig.

According to Rethink, new research shows that the classification of cannabis makes no difference to how much it is used. Rethink’s report, Educating Reefer, finds that:

Only 3% of people stop using cannabis because it is illegal
Cannabis should remain a class C drug
The government should deliver on its promise of a 2006 public health    campaign
Products associated with cannabis use – such as king-size rolling papers – should carry warnings about the mental health effects of cannabis

“Given that the classification of cannabis has little impact on how much it is used, we would urge the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to recommend that the government keeps cannabis at class C. Changing the class would be pointless and expensive – Government should put their money into a public health campaign to educate people about the mental health dangers. King-size rolling papers should carry health warnings like those on cigarette packets.”

Its a valid point. Another valid point relates to other, legal drugs which cause more harm than cannabis but are classified lower?

Drugs such as tobacco and alcohol for instance, which are directly responsible for the main majority of drug related death's and hospital admissions in the UK, up to 90% of ALL drug related death's at the time of writing and this has always been a major bone of contention for the cannabis community.

Alcohol, kills more than 9000 people every year whilst cannabis is yet to be credibly reported as being directly responsible for a single death

But the fact is, tobacco and alcohol create literally billions of UK pounds in revenue's. An income the government simply couldn't operate without, so it would seem tobacco and alcohol will be pushed harder with 24/7 drinking laws, announcements which encourage youngsters to drink at home (which is legal under the current system), with absolutely no mind paid to the cost in human life.

In the meantime,  the cannabis witch hunt carries on regardless and perhaps the biggest question people will ask themselves today is just how can two political parties differ so widely with what is an important health issue?

On the one hand we have the Labour government, who claim cannabis is an ultra dangerous drug which should be punishable with upto 5 years in prison, yet across the house, the Liberal Democrats are suggesting decriminalisation as an option, suggesting the removal of cannabis from criminal hands will offer more in the way of UK harm reduction, in much the same way as the same steps have in Holland.

And speaking of Holland in a week which has seen the Dutch Police again complain because they are not allowed to use cannabis whilst off-duty, for me at least, this puts things firmly into perspective.

It seems the Home Office has already decided cannabis is too dangerous for the Great British public. What will YOU do about it?

The Canna Zine is 1 year old this week. Happy birthday to us, and thanks to everyone who visits the Canna Zine to find out whats happening in the world of cannabis.

You won't find any Police or government propaganda reports on the Canna Zine. We leave that to other cannabis websites. We tell it just like it is, so here's to another successful year of cannabis news, and exerting pressure on UK government to change the irrational policy on cannabis.