Cannabis is wrecking lives, says public school head
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A leading public school head yesterday warned that the casual acceptance of cannabis would result in an epidemic of children having problems at school. Anthony Seldon, head of Wellington College, said the drug was “wrecking lives”.
The decision to reclassify cannabis from a class B to a class C drug was a mistake and should be reviewed, Dr Seldon, author of a biography of Tony Blair, said. He added: “The reclassification was unhelpful because it sent the signal that it is OK.”
The change “emboldened” thousands of young people to try the drug, with many paying a high price, according to Dr Seldon. “What about all the children whose lives have been wrecked because they have developed psychoses or been unable to cope?” he said. “What about those who have died or reside in mental hospitals? Or the teachers who have had to endure apathetic or aggressive pupils high on dope? The message must be total prohibition.”
His call is part of a growing backlash against the former home secretary David Blunkett’s relaxation of the cannabis laws in 2003. A senior police officer has broken ranks to demand a U-turn on the “softly softly” approach. Bernard Hogan-Howe, Chief Constable of Merseyside, said reclassification had “legitimised” cannabis use and should be reviewed.
More than 22,000 people needed treatment for cannabis use in Britain last year, the problem being exacerbated by the increased use of the high-strength skunk form. The number of emergency hospital admissions due to cannabis has virtually doubled in five years - from 581 in 2001 to nearly 1,000 last year.
Marjorie Wallace, of the mental health charity SANE, said most children thought cannabis was harmless and legal. “We clearly need to have a much stronger message that it can devastate the mind,” she said. “It is like giving children loaded guns.”
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