The Dorset police and crime commissioner is calling for cannabis to be reclassified as a class A drug.
The call from David Sidwick comes following the publication of a new book that examines the impact of cannabis on physical and mental health.
The reference book, titled “The Epidemiology of Cannabis” by Stuart Reece and Gary Kenneth Hulse, delves into the potential health impacts of the illegal drug, focusing on areas including mental health, birth defects, cancer and ageing.
Mr Sidwick, who wrote the foreword for the book, hopes it will act as a catalyst for the government to change its focus and address the harm that illegal gateway drugs, including cannabis, cause to society.
He said: “I have always been very clear about the pernicious impact I believe cannabis and other illegal gateway drugs have on physical and mental health and I have long campaigned for it to be reclassified as a class A drug because of these effects and the impact it presents on wider society as a result.”
In Dorset, the harmful effects of the drug have been highlighted by Janie Hamilton, a mother campaigning for the reclassification of cannabis after her son, James, suffered from mental illness induced by its intake.
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James died at 36 after refusing treatment for testicular cancer, following years of battling mental illness, which his family believe was triggered by his addiction to cannabis.
Janie said: “Cannabis is everyone’s problem. It destroys lives and families.
“Let no-one say that cannabis is harmless – cracking down on this destructive drug is one of the greatest and most urgent needs facing us all.”
Mr Sidwick added: “Janie’s heartbreaking loss, which is at the heart of her courageous campaigning, should send a stark message to those in power and the general public, that we need to get a much harder grip of these corrosive illegal gateway drugs.
“This has already started, with ketamine being considered for reclassification and it is time for those in power to be brave and reconsider cannabis in the same vein.
“This drug causes harm, to individuals and communities and it needs to be taken as seriously as the threat it presents to society.”
