Howard Marks questions cannabis safety

Howard Marks, one of the world's most famous drug dealers, has questioned the safety of cannabis use and admitted that further research is required into potential links between it and schizophrenia. The man who became a champion of the campaign to legalise cannabis said that being "stoned" and "off your head" may be connected in an exclusive interview with the online video channel friction.tv. His comments follow the 2004 reclassification of the drug in the UK that made posession of it a lesser crime. In recent months there has been a growing backlash against that move in the UK and even liberal media outlets that pushed for the decriminalization of cannabis have suggested that the downgrading of the drug was in fact too hasty a move. Marks, also know as Mr Nice, ran a global drug empire and has written books on the subject of cannabis use. He cited the British newspaper the Independent on Sunday as an example of the media that has about-turned on the issue and said it's move was "understandable". In the late 1990s Marks spoke at a march in London organised by the newspaper to push for decriminalisation. On friction.tv, Marks said: "If, as a result of smoking a lot of dope, one becomes schizophrenic, that's reason for concern. If being slightly schizophrenic makes you want to smoke some dope to ease you through the day, I don't think that's a cause for concern. "To find out which of these is true will require research. One has to look into the action [of cannabis] on the brain and what happens." To view the interview in full click on www.friction.tv/debate.php?debateno=1147