This graph shows the percentage of cannabis use of young people around the UK in 2002. I believe this is the most reliable source for this information in 2002 as it was collected by the British Crime Survey taken by the Home Office.
If cannabis was to be legalised, a definite plus would be the decrease in important police time taken by the prevention of illegal cannabis use. This graph shows the number of cannabis convictions including cautions from 1945-1999.
The graph shows just how dramatic the number of convictions there are per year and that police time could be put to better use if cannabis was legalised. I think this is a reliable source as it was published in the Home office annual statistics of 2000.
Over the years many studies taken out by various universities and medical groups. Some of these studies have shown cannabis use increases the risk of schizophrenia by 30 per cent. Dutch research found that half of patients treated for a cannabis-related mental disorder go on to develop full schizophrenia.
Many people agree that cannabis should be legalised as it has less harming effects on the body than some legal substances such as alcohol. Official statistics record just two deaths related to the use of cannabis with no other drug, yet around 9000 people per year die from affects of alcohol in the UK.
Some people believe that cannabis is a ‘stepping stone’ or ‘gateway drug’ to other, harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin and that if it were to be legalised, there would be an increase in the use of class A and class B drugs.
Others believe that when cannabis is legalised, more people will use it however, latest available statistics on cannabis use by country (taken by NationMaster) shows that in the UK, cannabis use is higher at 9% of people using cannabis than in the Netherlands at 5.2% where cannabis is legal in most places and this has been the case for a number of years.
Cannabis is quite commonly known to help people who suffer from Multiple Sclerosis (MS) ease pains of spasming muscles and other symptoms that come with the terrible disease.
