Cannabis debate hijacked by cynical campaign

WILLIAM HAGUE triggered a political and public health firestorm this week when he claimed we’ve ‘lost the war on cannabis’ and called for its legalisation.

Let’s be honest, we stopped fighting that war a long time ago. As someone who has worked in mental health and substance abuse, I’m all too familiar with the devastating impact of this drug, from depression and anxiety to psychosis.

I’ve been horrified at its effective decriminalisation as police forces turn a blind eye to the production and possession of cannabis for personal use. You can’t walk down a High Street without the potent aroma assaulting you at some point as people flaunt their spliffs.

Now, as I warned on these pages recently, campaigners set on legalising cannabis for recreational use are cynically exploiting what is a welcome debate on its medicinal use, prompted by the case of 12-year-old Billy Caldwell who, his mother says, relies on cannabis oil to control his severe epileptic seizures.

Yes, cannabis contains several chemical compounds with therapeutic potential. But those compounds need to be isolated and formulated into medication of known quality and dose, and to be prescribed by doctors.

That’s what we do with the powerful painkiller diamorphine — also known as heroin — which is derived from poppies.

To take the complex case of a seriously ill child and use it to argue — illogically in my view — that a dangerous drug such as cannabis should be made freely available is irresponsible.

Shame on you, Lord Hague.