NCJ Number
119302
Date Published
1968
Length
78 pages
Annotation
This report on cannabis by the British Advisory Committee on Drug Dependence focuses on the drug's effects and laws governing its use and distribution.
Abstract
The adverse effects produced by cannabis consumed in even small amounts are significant, such that the wider use of cannabis should not be encouraged through the decriminalization of its use. On the other hand, the commonly accepted dangers of its use and the risk of progressing to opiates from cannabis use have been overstated. Consequently, existing criminal sanctions intended to curb its use are unjustifiably severe. The committee's recommendations pertain to research, the reform of general drug legislation and existing law relating to cannabis, synthetic cannabinols, and police powers of search and arrest in relation to drug offenses generally. The recommendations represent a plea for the use of cannabis to be judged more realistically in the codes of law and social behavior, given current understanding of the drug's effects. The recommendations do not oppose the obligations to control cannabis assumed by the government as a party to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961. 46-item bibliography, appended supplementary material.