Cannabis laws in shambles

Changes in the law on cannabis are surrounded by massive confusion, an Evening Standard investigation reveals today.

Headteachers, drugs charities and lawyers warn there is widespread misunderstanding among the public - and especially teenagers - over what the changes mean.

Cannabis will be downgraded from a class B to a class C drug on 29 January to free police time and let officers concentrate on the more serious drugs.

But one leading defence lawyer described the move as "a shambles" and said most people thought cannabis had been made completely legal.

In fact police have been told to arrest anyone using the drug in public. Under-18s caught in possession of the drug will also be arrested under any circumstances.

The Home Office is now commissioning material to put across its message but with weeks to go until the new law comes into effect, no information making the effects of the change clear have been sent to schools.

The confusion was revealed as figures showed that the price of cannabis dropped 20 per cent last year to £66 for an ounce of cannabis resin, further fuelling fears of a boom in its use.

The price of class A drugs has also fallen, with cocaine 29 per cent cheaper than in 1997 and heroin is now 18 per cent less expensive.

Statistics later this week are expected to show that one in 20 people who admit to drink-driving also took drugs before getting behind the wheel.