Reverse cannabis law blunder, pleads head

Anthony Seldon, head of Wellington College in Berkshire, said the drug was 'wrecking lives' because schools were finding it tougher to enforce a zero tolerance line.

He criticised the 'misplaced' decision to downgrade cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug, claiming it sent out the message that it was suddenly safe and acceptable.

"The reclassification was unhelpful because it sent the signal that it is okay," he said.

"A message very clearly needs to be put out that this is not a good drug. It is not good in its own right and it's not good because it leads on to other drugs.

"As a headteacher, I am personally fed up of seeing young people have their lives spoilt by this pernicious substance.

"I have seen friends, children of friends and others have their lives wrecked by it."

Dr Seldon, who has written a biography of Tony Blair, also said campaigners in favour of the reclassification should apologise to the families whose lives had been scarred by the drug.

"The message from the media and the Government must be total prohibition. If sections of the media and the Government are saying this is an OK drug, it makes it harder for all teachers in schools," he said.

"A liberal soft line does not help children who just need to be told to stop."

He also warned that thousands of young people had felt 'emboldened' to start taking cannabis as a result of the campaign to decriminalise it, but felt that schools' attempts to steer pupils away from the drug had been undermined by the politicians' stance.

He added: "What about all the children whose lives have been wrecked because they have developed psychoses or been unable to cope?

"What about those who have died or reside in mental hospitals? Or the teachers who have had to endure apathetic or aggressive pupils high on dope?"

His call is part of a growing backlash against former Home Secretary David Blunkett's softening of the cannabis laws in 2003.

Most users caught with the drug are now no longer arrested, but simply given a verbal ticking off.

However, one of Britain's most senior police officers recently broke ranks to demand a U-turn on the 'softly softly' approach. Bernard Hogan-Howe, Chief Constable of Merseyside, warned that reclassification had 'legitimised' cannabis use and should be reviewed.

And Left-leaning newspaper The Independent on Sunday also recently dropped its campaign to decriminalise the drug on the grounds it was now more potent.

Research suggests cannabis use can lead to a 'higher incidence' of schizophrenia.

There are also concerns over an explosion in the production of super-strength cannabis by organised gangs.

Dr Seldon added: "It is not true to say only the new stuff is dangerous - the old stuff was also sinister.

"But instead of drinking brandy, the new stuff is like drinking vodka - you need far less of it for it to have a detrimental effect."