BUT IT'S JUST A LITTLE WEED, MAN...:

Youth courts appeal for cannabis rethink (Ben Farmer, 17/09/2007, Daily Telegraph)

Judges and magistrates are so worried about the dangers of burgeoning cannabis use among young criminals that nearly every youth court in the country has urged the Government to reclassify it.

Fifty out of the 51 youth courts in England and Wales have written to Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, asking her to tighten the laws regarding the drug.

Cannabis had been downgraded to a class C drug in 2004 by the then home secretary, David Blunkett, meaning dealing the drug or possessing it carried less severe penalties.

However, since then youth offending teams (YOTs) claim they have seen cannabis use soar among young offenders.

In a national survey, two thirds of the teams are reported to have found that use of the drug has risen by between a quarter and three quarters. In some areas nine out of 10 young offenders were reported to be using cannabis.