Related information:
50 of the UK's 51 youth courts have written to Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, asking for a tighter law on cannabis.
The drug was moved down into the Class C bracket in 2004. Since then, Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) report that use has dramatically increased, with the secretary of the Association of YOTs describing the situation as "out of control."
A national survey revealed that in some areas 9 out of 10 young offenders use cannabis, and another report commissioned in Sheffield found that 25% there use crime to help fund their habit.
The damaging effects of the drug have been increasingly acknowledged over the last year, with the latest research compounding medical evidence that smoking cannabis increases risks of developing psychotic illnesses later in life.
The Independent on Sunday newspaper, which apologised in March for its support of declassification, led on Sunday with an article acknowledging the confusion and ignorance on which its stance was based.
Since the declassification of cannabis, there have been indications that 'skunk' - a much stronger form of the drug has become increasingly available. John House, the chief superintendent of South Yorkshire Police said: "The reclassification of cannabis was a decision taken based on a different drug.
"It wasn't taken bearing in mind the strength of new cannabis, or the potential damage to social fabric caused by open cannabis smoking in the street by those who don't perceive it as a serious crime."
The Christian Institute's briefing on cannabis and its effects can be found here.
