To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current scientific evidence upon which the classification of cannabis as a class B drug is based. [HL6203]

As my right honourable friend the former Home Secretary (Jacqui Smith) advised in her Statement of 7 May 2008 in the other place, the reclassification of cannabis as a class B drug is based on a number of factors, including but not limited to scientific evidence. Reclassification on 26 January 2009 was a preventative measure to protect the public, particularly the future health of young people.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, in its report Cannabis: Classification and Public Health, published in April 2008, set out its assessment of the harms of the drug based on the available scientific evidence.