I was one of the ones who 'caught' psychosis and was using cannabis at the time, and for a long time previously. Initially it helped my symptoms, but I gradually became more paranoid and grandiose, although I felt better while smoking it for a number of years. One point I would like to make is that there are actually two active ingredients in cannabis, one that makes you high (THC) and one that has been shown in a limited number of studies to improve the symptoms of psychosis (canibinol). I believe more research should be done on this important aspect of the drug as it slows down the thought process, relaxes one and aids rational thought - speaking from my reading on the subject and personal experience.

Mr. Smith, Kilkenny, Ireland

Why is drug taking "wrong"?

Please someone explain...

Jacob Browning, Leicester, Leicestershire

A carefully orchestrated "admission" by all concerned to ensure Nulab aren't caught out later by the press presumably.

It might explain a few of the decisions Nulab have taken over the last ten years given that large numbers of them have used mind damaging drugs!

d. hardy, Manchester, England

This is another example of how idiotic the government is , changing & meddling with this law & the 24 hour drinking law in the face of wide spread opposition .
They have been arrogant in the extreme, always thinking they know better than the experts, who have now been proved right.
So the tax paying public now pays the cost once more for their U turn.
Both cannabis & drinking laws should never have been relaxed, it gave the wrong message to teenagers & other users.
I have seen the devasting effects it creates long before it gets to schizophrenia, many think the symptoms are just teenagers being difficult , but it is in fact, the side effect of smoking strong cannabis, & yes ,generally at university.
In the early days it was a case of cannabis, or a drink, now unfortunately the two things are used together.
What has to be learned is the fact, both stay in the system for longer than the young realise, especially the cannabis.
I believe random drug tests should be made in universities

maggie Millington, Brittany, France

Legalize cannabis, but have the government regulate the supply, with it only being allowed to be sold in certain shops, the shops could have a 'garden' where you could sit outside have a drink and smoke.

C Parkes, West Midlands,

If there were to be an outing day, say August 21st, when everyone who smoked / smokes pot came out and like decent citizens went to their local police-station to give themselves up for criminal activites, half the work-places in England would empty. Class-riooms, farms, laboratories, factories, work-shops, malls would suddenly become depopulated. Dealing rooms would have only computers left in them.

Meanwhile the police would have to depend on the few law abiding citizens to help them process the criminals.

ER, Croydon, England

The other thing to consider is the message it sends out about the potentially more dangerouse drugs that are also classed as "B". Are they really only as dangerous as cannabis?

Rod Munch, Northampton, UK

People make mistakes. People learn from their mistakes. To suggest that having learnt from a mistake those same people do not discourage people from making similar, or worse mistakes, under the guise of it being hypocrisy, is absurd.

Farrukh, Woking,

The obvious answer after today's synchronised confession is for Ms Smith and her colleagues to make Cannabis legal for university students and nobody else.

Not only would they put themselves in the clear some 30 years on, they would almost certainly achieve their targets for Higher Education participation more quickly.

Mrs Trellis, North Wales,

Having heard her giggling and rather feebly protesting that she only did id occasionally but refusing to answer the question as to how often she indulged, why should we believe her or any other poitician when they preach to us ?

We know that they, politicians lie and distort the truth for their own ends and the for the sake of "the party". They really are utterly pathetic with their feeble palyground gang culture. They stoood an were elected to improve this country NOT to perpetuate their own positions and the gang to which they belong.

As for people who contribute money to these charlatans it is quite clear what they are after. We need some early prosecutions on htis matter to keep the monkeys honest,

David Barraclough, Cobham,

So no we have a dope fiend for Home Secretary... the king is dead, long live the king!!

BG, Carmarthen, Wales

Bob Evans, sorry, but your spouting the hate-mongering garbage that was invented in the 1850's to put people off smoking it.

"To watch your wonderfully compassionate, inquisitive and creative child turn into a dangerous and angry paranoid and schizophrenic teenager is devastating to a parent and entire family."

The report said it increases the risks by not even 1 percent, AT WORST.

Billy, Essex,

The majority of people will have experimented with soft drug's when they were younger and will appreciate her honesty.

John, Glasgow,

The question is did she inhale ;-)

More seriously the rise in mental illness in the last 20 years ties in terrifyingly to the rise of cannabis use amongst the very young and that of chronic long term abuse of the drug. This was the case when this wicked government slackened the classification of cannabis, none of the current cabinet opposed it then.

Ironically it was only a couple of years before that slackening that the weight of evidence against cannabis became heavy enough to convince me that its class b status was justified, as always labour got it wrong and people are paying the price.

Edward Andrew Green, Upminster, England

get real .. its not a case of her generation of policticians who used cannabis .. but more relevantly the minority of those who did not

terry kates, lincoln,

How many people die in this country every year from alcohol poisoning and alcohol fuelled violence, whether in public or in the home? How many people die from marijuana?

James, Newcastle,

what an appalling hypocrisy.
Alcohol and sugar as drugs do far more harm than cannabis ever could. What we need are guidelines for proper usage and dosage... not some pathetic backpeddling policy based on stigmatisation that will again overload the police and prevent action on real crimes.

alvin, london,

Who cares - everyone has taken drugs at some point. Why is it that we expect our politicians to be saints? She took it, admitted it and has not lied - that has to be admired at least.

Nic, London, United Kingdom

In regards to Bob Evans - ever thought that perhaps your delightful 13 year old was merely in the throes of puberty and that this change was due tomood swings and changes that are occuring natureally at this age?

Alexis, London, England

Let's face the facts here - The minister was not in government 25 years ago and probably was as ignorant as most of us as to the possible long-term side effects of long-term use of cannabis. But she only tried it and is not, to this day, sitting in the houses of parliament rolling up a fat one......At least she is being open and honest, and surely this is the best policy. It's no big deal.

Thomas Freeman, Leicester, England

The amatuer dramatics are slightly unecessary, saying we have 'lost our children', obviously cannibis does have a negative effect on some childrens lives, especially after prolonged use, but it isn't the be all and end all, all these politians we probably 'wonderfully compassionate, inquisitive and creative' children at somepoint, yet still manage to be top of the country. To be honest, all this 'coming clean' smacks of cheap PR which seems to be the done thing these days, and killing two birds with one stone, having a go at the honourable opposition at the same time. I guess this admissions is probably some ploy to show that they aren't completely isolated from society so all the people gunning for legalised cannabis don't go 'well how would you know its not good for us', but hey, it's difficult to be british and not massively cynical, especially about 'shifty politcians. I welcome the change, but i doubt it would actually stop anyone stupid enough to smoke it in the first place.

Neil Fuller, London, UK

The problem with "soft" drugs like cannabis is that in exceptional circumstances, users tend to experiment and move on to harder drugs like crack; if you know what a crack-user gets up to, you will know what I mean!

Rob, Brumq, UK

Presumably as Her Majesty's loyal servants they will be assisting the relevant constabularies with details of their illegal activities as well as passing on information about those who supplied the drugs.

Fergus, Dublin , Ireland

Surely an announcement from a British MP admitting to smoking cannabis is nothing shocking right? I know that in America something like this is massive given the laws there regarding drugs and especially cannabis but in Britain the general attitude to Cannabis is one of ambivalence. Most people I know have tried Cannabis but few people I know regularly smoke it, it just seems to be one of those things a lot of people try and grow out of. Of those few people I know who do smoke it regularly there is no doubt in my mind of the effects it has on them. Many of these people need cannabis when they wake up, need it before they go to sleep, need it whenever they get stressed and as they feel throughout the day. All of these people certainly have problems with paranoia and their perspective of reality. But still, for an MP to say they smoked it 25 years ago? Id be more shocked to see if there was an MP who hadn't!

Paul, stevenage,

How refreshing to have a touch of honesty from a cabinet member. Previous MPs dancing around the subject has been cringe worthy. The public is not naive to what goes on in University's and will hopefully judge MP's on their political merits.

Hayley, Oxford,

Sorry Bob, I realise you've had a terrible experience, but if (big word) your son's problems were caused by cannabis, it was an aberration. I know countless well-adjusted, mature people who smoke cannabis, or have done, over many years, who have absolutely no paranoia, schitzophrenia or any mental issues at all. It helps the people I know with MS and other debilitating diseases, and yes, I have read the research, and no I'm not a fool. Cannabis is a naturally occuring plant, not a manufactured drug in a laboratory, and the evidence I've seen suggests it's less harmful than tobacco, let alone alcohol.

Neil S, Glasgow, Scotland

There sheer hypocracy of this government is outstanding.

"Do as I say, not as I do".

How can they sit there and make criminals out of people for the very same acts they themselves have done, and still sleep at night!

I'm once again disgusted by 'new labour'.

Arthur, Newcastle,

FYI - It's the law that's wrong.

Charles Duwel, Chicago, USA

Surely we cannot let Parliament sell its birthright for a mess of potage!
Who cares if some Ministers have smoked the "dreaded weed", let them get on with their jobs rather than be bothered by mindless critics who simply exemplify "the pot calling the kettle black". ( both puns intended!)

Gus, Oxford, UK

So what's the big deal? Many more have smoked cigarettes and got drunk and are not pilloried for it.
Should the media not be concentrating on how well people are doing their job or not, allowing the public to make a reasoned judgement.

Dave Madley, Alicante, Spain

Smoking cannabis is so wide among my age grope that I have only ever met one or two friends that wont touch it, dew to sports or a career in police force. I believe that at the moment the view to smoking weed as the law see’s it is the older generation the view (45+), law should reflect the views of the hole country that of the older and the young. Between my friends and others we chat about the new laws that come in and the probation of cannabis. You look at Portugal, Holland, Spain and other EU states that are a little bit more lax on its laws to cannabis and do u see the prisons over crowded, no you don’t why because as a hole there are a hell of a lot worse crimes that go on.
Make it a class b and you’ll have no one severing you in Mc Donald’s or at the at a check out that’s under 45 because were all going to be looked up or on probation. Have a think my generation the 45 below will soon going to come to power and the law will change you watch this space.
I’m a 25 year old graduate with 2 successful companies and I go to Holland 2 a month that’s cash you could tax lots of it to.

ben, andora,

The advent of the ban on smoking in enclosed public premises will surely have the effect of pushing this cannabis problem behind closed private doors together with other ghastly practices. It may then become similarly tolerated!

Gus , oxford, uk

They should just do slightly more than they've done with tobacco - legalise smoking it within the home but clamp down on anyone using it in the street etc..

This announcement is merely another tactic to try and distance Brown from Blair; unfortunately the electorate seem to have such short memories that it will probably work.

Adam Neilson, Birmingham,

Who cares?

Andrew, Nottingham,

It seems that the sane and sensible approach to cannabis in the UK (as well as Canada and Mexico) versus the more severe criminalization in the US (my country of citizenship) is being debated again. Again, I feel, the C classification will remain should a good demographic analysis be used (how many people went insane vs. the number who were unaffected adversely) . The UK's current cannabis classification could serve well as a model for other countries' drugs classification.
Too many resources are used for fighting the evil weed in the US.
US prisons are unpleasantly overcrowded and cannabis convictees don't deserve to share their living area with violent law breakers.
In the US, the medicinal use of cannabis pits some city governments and state governments against the US federal gov't. Many seriously ill people find relief against pain through at-least-locally-available programmes.
My own feeling that the UK is a saner place than the US in terms of its laws concerning cannabis

Morgan Russell, Vienna, Austria

"... admitted today that she smoked cannabis when she was at university." WOW - Oh really - how exciting

It might be more newsworthy to find somebody who DIDN'T smoke cannabis when at university.

Perhaps Jenny Booth and Richard Ford would like to rush us breaking news from the Womens Institute flower arranging contest.

Sean Shalor, Coventry, UK

You will of course view your own opinion as correct, but i speak from experience as much as you do and have never had a problem myself or with any of my colleagues. Responsibility is key here and some people (mainly younger) have little if any with regard to smoking. Dont come down on everyone who smokes with your morale bludgeon.
Maybe the Government need to reconsider how to deal with this in a more informed and intelligent way, rather than promoting a lot of propaganda and scare tactics.

Rafa, London,

Having known someone close who has smoked canabis since they were 15 and now 44. I have only recently really started to see the effects. this being lack of concentration and forgetfulness. Its a shame to see, but no worse than effects to a person who binge drinks, or has smoked tobacco over the same period. Their effect on others from this is little to non-existent.

Tom Clarke, Cardiff, UK

"To watch your wonderfully compassionate, inquisitive and creative child turn into a dangerous and angry paranoid and schizophrenic teenager is devastating to a parent and entire family"

Yes, but that's adolescence! It's not caused by cannabis and, unfortunately, can't be cured by not taking it.

Dom, London,

Simon's first point is very well made. This wretched government continues to pass reams of legislation that constantly erodes our freedoms of choice and seeks to regulate the minutiae of everyday life.

Sadly, his second point is rather incongruous, suggesting that HMG can now find something else to regulate (quality and strength, to quote him) and something else to tax. They are quite adept at that when left to their own devices.

Finally, whatever your views on cannabis, Ms Smith must surely be applauded for her honesty - an increasingly rare phenomenon amongst politicians.

John R, Yorkshire,

The fact is alcohol, also a drug, is a very profitable drug and is extremely easy to control - there are major brands that are being bought by the customers, there are distribution channels... You want be able to brew your own alcohol for profit without considerable investment and the amount of that investment is such that you'll think it over and decide not to risk. As a result, this super profitable market is locked.

As for drugs, anybody could grow excellent marijuana at his own home and it will be sold. Anyone could even produce more technological synthetic drugs will some knowledge about the process and some equipment - no multi million investment needed. This will cannibalize the booze market and booze manufacturers wont be able to compete will all the neighborhood chemists and agricalturalist that will come to the legal drug booze market effectively. Huge losses.

Morals aside. Pure economy.

Jack, London, UK

So, in terms of health risk, let's get this right. Cannabis is something you SMOKE. So why isn't it getting the same press as tobacco? As I understand it the two are mixed for delivery. So cannabis users are smokers and should be treated as such. We've managed to get drunk drivers into the class of social pariahs and we're working on smokers becoming social pariahs - where is the publicity campaign for cannabis?

KR, Stockport,

have we not been here before ? , its no different to a youngster scrumpting apples , he grows up and if he/she has any degree of support from parents he/she does not indulge again now a days "confessing" to taking canabis as a teen is becoming a rights of passage for politicions who want to be seen as having "expereance" and a little street cred so as to give the appearance of some one who is as "one" with the suckers who vote for them pay no attention to them and pounce when they are caught as adults is what I say

patrick clarke, stevenage, hertfordshire

I notice that cars and lorries kill and maim thousands of people every year and pollute the environment with their noxious fumes.

They seem to be bad for the health of unfortunates who are adversely affected by their use and bring untold suffering to many relatives and friends.

Will this government be banning them anytime soon?

Bob, Essex, UK

If you actually look at the medical evidence there is significantly more evidence to suggest that alcohol rather than cannabis causes long term psycological damage and if we also take into account the numerous medical applications for cannabis it would seem somewhat illogical that one is legal whereas the other is not.. The only reason it has not been legalised(as both the police and medical professions have recommended) is that it is a condition of favoured nation status with the USA that this never happen.

Robert Martin, Edinburgh,

Who cares. So did most of the cabinet probably just like thousands of other people who went to uni. Get over it

Who cares?, London,

a case of dont do as i do, do as i tell you. how typical of new labour hypocrisy

Dr Kevin Law, Dundee,

Jack Straw was President of the Students Union at Leeds University at around the time that I was there.

If he ever entered the Students Union building he will certainly have been a passive smoker, at least, of cannabis!

Andrew, Montpellier,

Sir,
I'm mildly amused and annoyed by the latest outing and pouting of a naughty MP.
Of course, students have generally come of age, ergo they are responsible for their actions, but most students get drunk, try the odd stimulant and even get arrested. It's par for the course.
I wonder, would we bar an ex-alkie or an overweight woman from becoming Minister of Health? Would we check potential Ministers of Transport for parking/speeding fines? Would we preclude a prince(ss) from becoming monarch on the grounds that (s)he had had premarital sex? Or prevent a woman who had had an abortion from becoming bishop? I hope not, but I shudder to think.
A line should, in my view, be firmly drawn between private and public life, past and present. Jobs impact on life and vice versa, but they do not define us.
The vast majority of students do not become junkies, dypsos, sex fiends or criminals.

Tim Davies, Whitechapel, London

I dont really think that changing the classification of the drug is actually going to alleviate the problems menioned. If people want to get hold of the drug, theyre going to do it, whether its class b or c. Ok, it will be easier to confiscate drugs, or arrest people for it, but the people who are taking the drugs will carry on using/abusing it anyway, im sure they will see it as a risk worth taking.

I think more should be done to discourage use in the first place, rather than increasing the amount of discipline/power etc against it.

I'm at university now, and was educated previously at a state school that was rife with cannabis use amongst children of all ages. I have never used any drug myself, nor have i smoked tobacco either. But of all the people have come accross who do take it, i dont think one of them actually cares what class drug it is, or what the consequences are either.
Is a very sad case of peer pressure which causes so many young people to fall into drug use.

Hannah, Leeds, UK

I would not trust or vote for anyone who has not smoked a little pot. It is an eye opener and harmless and it shows a sense of adventure.

Phil Greene, houston, us/Tx

Once again we see the same old argument-there is no new significant evidence, only what we have already known for several years. Therefore, this story has appeared once again only for political reasons, I also suspect lobbyists playing a part here too. Why reclassify after only two years? Nothing significant has changed in that time, there were already plenty of studies linking cannabis to schizophrenia in some individuals. To change the law twice so quickly makes a mockery of the government, if that is what is going to happen. The fact that many senior politicians have dabbled themselves shows that many people like to experiment with recreational drugs. To simply say "I was wrong", is a ploy being used to justify this reclassification. In fact, it really demonstrates that it is acceptable behaviour to most in society. If you have too much of anything, it is bad for you. Its time we engaged in tolerance and not look to increase punishment.

Rolf, London,

How many people has cannabis killed? If I drink a bottle of whisky and die of liver failure, ordo something stupid and kill myself, is it the whisky or me that is to blame? Is it possible teenagers go through many changers in their adolescent years, with or without cannabis? Its easy to pin there evasion of adult responsibilty on an external factor, such as cannabis. If millions of people take anything, there are possible negative effects on some, look at wheat for gods sake, are we going to ban that? What is a 13 year old doing smoking cannabis or anything else? Parental responsibility? Those who notice a negative effect shouldn´t smoke it, and it should be illegal completely for under 18´s. Other than that it is way behind alcohol, tobacco and cars as one of societies problems. Oh, and alcohol´s prime effect is to reduce our inhibitions, to disastrous effect, but that hasn´t been classified as a B, and it is a drug that has deadly effects short and long term.

colin rich, alicante, spain

The penalties do not stop the dealers!

If Cannabis was legalised, the dealers would be out of business. It is through the contact with the dealers that people get pulled into trying other more serious drugs. After all, the dealers have a good business if they woo there 'customers' onto heroin or cocaine. The latter are addictive and once 'hooked', the addict NEEDS it in order to function at all. I do not mean that the NEED is to get 'high' but just to stay normal. I have held a grown man in a clinch as his body writhed with the agony as he was trying to withdraw from heroin. He became addicted after the death of his brother who died of a heart disease....he was offered a cigarette [he didnt smoke]. He became friends with is man and they talked about the brother. They had a cigarette together...the cigarettes contained heroine. He was hooked !! Take away the dealers market. Break the contact of our children, husbands, wives with these people. SAVE LIVES!!!

A MUM, LINCOLN, UK

The real question Jacqui Smith needs to answer is whether she thinks that her spending five years in jail would have helped her, or indeed anyone at all. Because that is what is being proposed should happen to people who simply do what she did: five years in jail for possession of a class B drug.

Jonathan, Oxford,

No cannabis dosn't exactly make me get up and run the marathon, but neither does alcohol. Smoking a large dose could even make you paranoid, but it won't get your stomach pumped.

Things need to be seen in proportion, the current laws create a dangerous illusion that legal drugs are somehow safer.

Richard Ellicott, Radlett, Herts

I absolutely approve of giving gangsters the monopoly over the supply of cannabis. If it becomes a prescription drug, available at a sensible price, not only will we be able to supply it in controlled strengths with appropriate medical advice, and perhaps with the truly dangerous compounds removed, but we will be interfering with gangsters' humand rights to profit from destroying society. Also, let's face it, prohibition worked for alcohol in America, so lets follow that success up with a similar approach with Cannabis in the UK.

A Gangster (retd), Farnham, Surrey

The message is not, I fear, that drug taking is wrong. The message left by her admission is that teenagers should treat drug-taking as a pastime as surely - like Jacqui smith, they would come out of it and still end up on top. The only difficulty is that many do not come out of it. I wish people would stop preaching (inadvertently in this case) that it is okay for teenagers to experiment on drugs. It is not ok - full-stop.

Anne, Longstanton, UK

Its all to easy these days to put things down to mental disorders like schizophrenia and paranoia but what if everyone really is out to get you? If you let some docotor tag you with a medical condition theres always the chance you'll drop your defences and thats when things can really start going bad. No way are they doing that to me - no-ones taking me alive!!

Rod "Twoskins" Munch, Northampton, UK

Bob - sorry about your son. Perhaps he was too young. Perhaps he would have become schozophrenic because of genetic reasons whether he smoked pot or not.

What annoys me about the story is the obsequious apology Jacqui Smith gave. She knows she did wrong... really? Did she kill someone by drink driving? Did she become rowdy on street corners after drinking? Is she dying of lung cancer brought on by addiction to tobacco?

No. She did what millions of us do. Had a blow. It should have taught her not to kow tow to the narrow minded and hypocritical elements in our society who in a time of growing threat from terrorism want to waste police time by forcing them to arrest and fill prisons with the more peaceable members of society.

ER, Croydon, England

Whilst a minority of people react adversely to the consumption of cannabis (most probably to the more recent variety known as skunk), my husband and I have smoked it regularly for forty years without the slightest ill effect or inclination to try harder drugs. In the same forty years we have seen numberless marriages break down thanks to alcohol, whilst recent figures show that hospitals have seen a threefold increase in alcohol-related cases since the licensing laws were relaxed two years ago. I find it incredible that the Home Secretary should be castigated for having the guts to admit to smoking cannibs 25 years ago, whilst a disproportionate number of MPs are secret (not VERY secret) alcoholics. Maybe a little more attention should be shown the alcolohol problem, which has now reached plague proportions!

Sue Markham, Alaró, Baleares

The problem is that prohibition doesn't work . Giving control of cannabis to criminals benefits nobody except those criminals . If people are really concerned they should stop trying to score political points and look at different ways of dealing with this issue .

Mark, Hull, Yorkshire

In the UK cannabis was outlawed because Egypt and Turkey asked for it to be added to the 1925 Convention on Narcotics Control because it gave a secular reason for their police state tyranny and because MPs didn't care about it.

In the USA cannabis was outlawed because of racism towards Mexicans and Blacks as well as it threatening business interests.

The war on some drugs is very useful for the government.

SoiCowboy, Belgrade,

Who cares? Didn't most people share a joint at some time whilst they were at university??

Anon, London,

Who the hell cares what she did 30 years ago? We're appeasing the Afgans and allowing them to grow heroin so they can sell it to our teenages NOW THAT IS AN ISSUE.

CA, Manchester, UK

If the government legalised cannabis (along with other drugs) it would have greater controls on its distribution and effects. They would be able to monitor what kind of drugs were coming into the country, decriminalise thousands of youngsters and adults alike, alleviate some of the prison overcrowding which in this country is at breaking point, recover tax on the sale of drugs and instead of the 'war on drugs' costing the tax payer hundreds of thousands of pounds, would actually recover some revenue from drugs instead. NOTHING is gained by this country's attitude towards drugs. How many politicians go home of an evening, spark up a cigarette and pour themselves a stiff drink. Alcohol is a drug with effects no less damaging than marijuana. Get off the pulpit people and look at things with some rationality.

Pippa , liverpool,

Yet another example of the government deciding what's best for us, and then enforcing their opinions on us all. Surely if someone wants to smoke cannabis they should be able to make that decision for themselves. We can all read the research that has been done for ourselves and make our own educated decisions. If parents care so much about their children smoking cannabis, then they will explain the dangers personally, and hopefully discourage them from doing it. Keeping it illegal only serves to entice more young people to rebel, as often it is seen as cool to break the law when your a teenager, and to do something the government doesn't want you to do. Besides, if it was freely available then the governemnt could regulate the quality and strength, and at the same time tax it, providing another source of income. In the netherlands where cannabis is decriminalised (not legal but freely available in coffee shops) the percentage of the population that smokes cannabis is less than in the UK

Simon, Surrey, England

Who cares what she did.
It is what she can now do for our Country that matters.

Bernard Parke, Guildford,

As a parent of four children and grandparent of sixteen I have found that the best way to get them to do something is to tell them not too. The more you let them know that it is wrong the greater will be the urge to try it. Forbidden fruit will always be more attractive to young people and it is our duty to educate them intelligently to enable them to decide what the difference is between right and wrong.It may also help if our national newspapers didnt splash the doings of a twenty year old student twenty five years ago across its front page as if it was NEWS

jerym eedy, caerphilly, U.K.

l personally believe that the effect of smoking cannabis and developing schizophrenia is genetic. In our family on both my wife's side and mine, all those who have smoked cannabis appear to have strong symptoms of depression. At the same time, other people I knew who smoked cannabis did not appear to be affected, except that they appeared to become far more self-centred.

Dominic Holmes, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

So what?

Like all drugs (legal and otherwise) the evil lies in excess, not in the drug.

Because some teenagers can't control themselves, why should my wife be criminalised for using cannabis to help her multiple sclerosis symptoms.

As ever, a broad brush approach by politicians eager to court public approval gets in the way of a common sense approach.

To Bob Evans in Anaheim (comment below): Your child was YOUR responsibility, perhaps if you were a more effective parent then things might have turned out differently.

Dave, Notts, UK

What are Labour expecting now?? Reclassing Cannabis to a class B drug will ask for heavier punishments for those caught in possession of the drug. This will only result in more overcrowding in the prisons and early releases of prisoners who go on to offend again. Let them smoke their bud, if they are lucky enough (as the Home Secretary) they can realise their wrongdoing and make admissions on national tv.

Waleed , Derbyshire, UK

Jacqui Smith should be commended for her honesty. Better she should admit to this now than various unsavoury types start selling stories to tabloid rags concerning her student days.

Now if only Messrs Osbourne and Cameron will give a straight answer to the same question they constantly evade. A politician who has tried drugs in the past is hardly going to be a novelty, but a little honesty is refreshing.

Roy Ellor, Salford, UK

I dont doubt that the government feels that drug taking is wrong, but they have to recognise that most people who smoke cannabis couldn't care less whether it's grade a,b or c.. the only way to control the strength of the drug is to decriminalise it in some form, as it is all the politicians are doing is registering their disapproval, which makes no difference whatsoever.

But that's the whole point of this debate, isn't it? This is just a political football to kick around, to look 'HARD ON DRUGS'.

Owen, London, UK

The canobie is smoked in Afghanistan Pakistan for a long time ,the effect of the drug are
1.Users becomes polite and stop aggressive behavior.
2.Ofter smoking cannabis a user can make the best decision.
3.No side effect illness dangers as explained in above report are true.
4.Has no side effects,Using canobie is more better than alcoholic drinks
5.I have seen the users who smoke for 50-60 years has developed nothing serious

saad, hirat, Afghanistan

I don't see the concern with smoking cannabis. Sure if you smoke to excess then you could be setting yourself up for problems in later life. Same goes for every other activity, eating, drinking, smoking, diesiting, exercise....

The big problem here is that the govt. do not have the balls to accept that a large proportion of the pop. smoke the stuff on a regular basis. They completely ineffective in reducing the amount of pot smokers, happier to criminalise people for something that is less likely to kill you than drinking alcohol.

Its a shame they refuse to see the bigger picture, pot smokers spend a lot of money on the drug every year - money which could be taxed and used to help create a better society.

Tom, Truro, Cornwall

Bob - sorry bout your loss, but whose to say it wouldn't have happended anyway? -I have smoked cannabis for nearly 20 years now, more than 1/2 my life. I am well adjusted, fit, healthy and succesful.

It causes far fewer problems than alchohol, and remains the victim of 'stigma' .

I for one think a politician admitting to this sort of thing just makes them more human, and more bearable than the holier than though attitude a lot seem to carry. I hope she inhaled, deeply, and then ran to the shop for a load of nice chocolate.

Chrisdapink, Chorley, Lancs. UK

It explains a LOT about New Labour policies!

Anna Piotr, Warsaw, Poland

Anyone who has not read the research on the effects of cannabis on young people and then minimizes its effects is a fool. To watch your wonderfully compassionate, inquisitive and creative child turn into a dangerous and angry paranoid and schizophrenic teenager is devastating to a parent and entire family. To have him eventually tell you that it all began when he starting smoking cannabis when he was 13 is bewildering and heart crushing.

If society had been as concerned about cannabis as they are with smoking tobacco, perhaps we would not have lost our children.

Bob Evans, Anaheim, California