Wootton Report Section 3 - Cannabis in the United Kingdom

33. In 1956 the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs observed that it was clear that consumers of cannabis, as of opium, numbered millions in the world, and that geographically it was the most widespread drug of addiction. 2 Few countries have published numerical estimates of consumers or consumption, preferring to rely on such data as the quantities of drug seized and the number of convictions, for demonstrating the nature of their cannabis "problem". These details often reflect altered emphasis in enforcement and are not a reliable guide to scale or trends, without supplementary evidence about what is not being detected.

34. Our witnesses considered that there had been a gradual growth in cannabis use in the United kingdom over the past 70 years, and the relevant statistics so far as they go are consistent with this. The following table shows the numbers of convictions for cannabis offences and of seizures by H.M. Customs and Excise, and the amounts seized, in each year since the end of the Second World War:

	Convictions	No.of Customs Seizures	Amounts Seized (Kg)
1945	4	4	0
1946	10	?	2
1947	42	?	8
1948	46	32	13
1949	60	38	25
1950	79	65	41
1951	127	46	48
1952	87	70	19
1953	83	44	27
1954	144	68	118
1955	115	48	82
1956	103	37	114
1957	51	36	237
1958	99	32	101
1959	185	36	282
1960	235	84	126
1961	288	66	107
1962	588	60	105
1963	663	68	150
1964	544	96	336
1965	626	84	250
1966	1,119	72	258
1967	2,393	87	192

35 In the early part of the period most seizures were of green plant tops, found in ships from Indian and African ports and thought to be destined for petty traffickers in touch with coloured seamen and entertainers in London docks and clubs. By 1950 illicit traffic in cannabis had been observed in other parts of the country where there was a coloured population. In 1950, however, police raids on certain London jazz clubs produced clear evidence that cannabis was being used by the indigenous population; by 1954 the tendency for the proportion of white to coloured offenders to increase was well marked, and in 1964 white persons constituted the majority of cannabis offenders for the first time.

Cannabis offenders	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967
White	296	284	400	767	1,737
Coloured	367	260	226	352	656

Several witnesses discounted the significance of immigrant influence on cannabis-use, and asserted that international movement of young people and new attitudes to experimentation with mood-altering drugs were the main explanation of increased cannabis use by white persons in the United Kingdom since 1945.

"The use of cannabis is increasing, and the rate of increase is accelerating. Cannabis smoking is widespread in the universities, and the custom has been taken up by writers, teachers, doctors, businessmen, musicians, artists and priests.... Smoking the herb also forms a traditional part of the social and religious life of hundreds and thousands of immigrants to Britain.... Uncounted thousands of frightened persons have been arbitrarily classified as criminals...."

We invited witnesses to estimate the numbers of people who had tried cannabis and of those who used it regularly. Only guesses were forthcoming and these ranged between 30,000 and 300,000. We could find no basis for constructing estimates of our own. It is clear from the convictions recorded that such use of cannabis as there is, is widely spread throughout the country. Most witnesses felt that cannabis-use would continue to be popular and to spread for some time yet. As to speed of growth, we doubt whether the annual doubling of convictions in 1966 and 1967 reflects a corresponding growth in the use of cannabis in that period. One explanation might be that the formation of drug squads in many police areas in the past three years has been responsible for more successful police action against cannabis offenders than previously.

37. The annual volume of seizures by the Customs has been fairly steady over the past decade or so. Individual cases have shown that large supplies have been brought in by highly organised smuggling. According to witnesses, however, there is also a substantial traffic in small amounts carried by persons returning from holidays abroad, or sent mainly to immigrants by post from their home countries. Several witnesses felt that "amateur" smuggling was now becoming more organised, with a more standardised drug in the illicit market. Lebanon, Pakistan and Cyprus were mentioned as major sources. It was suggested that hashish now formed some eighty per cent of the traffic.

38. Within the United Kingdom, we were told, the competition of the "amateur" smuggler has made the illicit traffic a very loosely organised and often casual activity not exploited to any significant extent by professional criminals. We were informed that the price of cannabis on the illicit market has shown little fluctuation in recent years beyond what might be expected for varying quality, and that there has been no shortage of supplies.

39. All our witnesses were agreed that cannabis-smoking in the United Kingdom was a social rather than a solitary activity, casual and permissive like the taking of alcohol. Friend introduced friend; the drug was readily enough available; if it did not suit the initiate, no one was the loser. The collective impression was that cannabis "society" was predominantly young and without class barriers. It resented middle-aged society’s judgment on alcohol and cannabis. It was not politically inclined and our witnesses saw no special significance in the popularity of cannabis among members of radical movements.

40. Some witnesses thought that it was possible to distinguish particular social groups with ill cannabis "society" and mentioned staff and students in universities and art schools, jazz and pop musicians and entertainers, film makers and artists, and others engaged in mass media of publicity. They explained this part of the pattern by the particular appeal of the drug to those interested in creative work and self expression. But they also mentioned that there were growing numbers of workers in unskilled occupations who smoked cannabis for pleasure at weekends as their equivalent to other people’s alcohol. The aspect that some of our witnesses thought most worthy of note was the broad similarity of attitude to cannabis and its dangers amongst all these groups.

41. The "professional" group for example, was described to us as fundamentally law-abiding; discriminating in the use of cannabis for introspection and elation as well as for social relaxation; "involved in life", often to the point of social protest; not much interested in experiments with L.S.D; generally disinclined to take amphetamines or alcohol (which was regarded as much more damaging than cannabis); and tending to stop the use of cannabis on marriage, or when the risk of prosecution was felt to be inimical to career prospects. The "unskilled" group was said to be similarly industrious and law-abiding and to see nothing wrong or harmful in its use of cannabis. l

42. Outside these groups the picture was much more confused and in flux. There were young people who had failed to adjust to university life or professional training or regular work. and who had "dropped out’; actively discontented and rebellious teenagers, looking for ‘‘kicks", who were prepared to take any drug offered to them: their weaker associates who took cannabis to avoid rejection by the group; and a few who were severely unstable and sought escape from their problems in a multiple drug use that included cannabis.

43. None of our witnesses felt able to estimate the relative sizes of the groups that they identified. We judged that they considered the responsible law-abiding regular users to be in the majority. They could tell us little about the use of cannabis by immigrants and we did not find any clear links between this and cannabis-smoking by other groups. Proportionately to their numbers there have been more convictions recorded against immigrants than indigenous United Kingdom nationals and we have no doubt that a number of those who have recently come to this country from areas where cannabis-smoking has been traditional have not given up their habit. We made special enquiry without success in an attempt to discover whether the smoking habits of immigrants made them particularly vulnerable to enforcement or caused unusual problems of social adjustment with local communities.

44. Witnesses knowledgeable about patterns of use told us that although some people smoked every day without interference to work or social life, the typical user probably took the drug once or twice a week, aiming at a "high" of 2 or 3 hours. More intensive daily smoking tended to make the user withdraw from other activity, particularly if he was not in a full-time occupation. Some people responded badly to the drug and a small number of initiates gave up smoking quickly because they disliked feelings of nausea or burning in the chest. There was little bias as between leaves or resin, but most smokers were interested in distinctive effects and there were individual preferences for material from particular sources. Experience and the heightened suggestibility due to the drug allowed the regular smoker to achieve the elation he sought with successively smaller doses. There was no physical tolerance; and "hangovers", although occasionally severe, were extremely rare.

45. We found a large measure of agreement among witnesses about the principal subjective effects of the drug. Most gave chief emphasis to its relaxing and calming effect. Several medical witnesses speculated that it had appeared to be beneficial for young patients during depression and also to have helped ex-addicts to abstain from heroin. Others contested this. Some suggested that cannabis tended to concentrate the user’s attention on his anxieties, aches and pains, without helping him to resolve them and to induce passivity without removing suffering. Apart from relaxation, the main sensations looked for were euphoria, tolerance of environment, and at a more intellectual level heightened awareness of self. Much reference was made to the varying influence of the circumstances in which the drug was used, little to altered visual or sensory perception. It was generally agreed that it was dangerous to drive a motor vehicle under the influence of cannabis not so much because driving ability was over-estimated (as with alcohol) as because of possible distortion of perception of depth and perspective.

46. We were told by more than one medical witness that cannabis-users did not seek treatment. and, when seen for other reasons, did not feel that treatment was needed for a cannabis habit. One medical witness mentioned having seen a few cases of acute psychosis following cannabis-use, but did not feel completely satisfied that cannabis had been the cause. The same witness was impressed by evidence of severe disturbance in a sample of chronic cannabis-users. but as this group was self-selected this information seemed to be of doubtful relevance to the generality of experience of cannabis-taking. A review carried out by the Ministry of Health has been reported to us as showing that 82 cases were admitted to hospital in 1966 with the diagnosis of drug addiction where cannabis was mentioned as the only or one of the drugs concerned. Further data were obtained in 79 of these cases. In 29 cases further evidence as to the significance of cannabis in leading to admission to hospital was inconclusive because of inadequate data or the patients concurrent misuse of other drugs. Of the remaining cases 8 had psychoses or confusional states. and 9 had other mental symptoms (not psychoses), which appeared to be attributable primarily to using cannabis. Although other drugs might have been taken. 20 cases showed evidence of a way of life in which cannabis had played a significant part in the social deterioration which had led to admission, although acute symptoms had not been the immediate cause. In this group the concurrent misuse of other drugs was a significant consideration. In 13 cases cannabis appeared to be irrelevant as a reason for admission to hospital. Thus in 42 cases the evidence was inconclusive or irrelevant and in the other 37 other drugs might also have been used.

1. The moderate use (of hemp drugs) practically produces no ill effects. In all but the most exceptional cases. injury from habitual moderate use is not appreciable. Indian Hemp Drugs Commission.

"From the study as a whole it is concluded that marihuana is not a drug of addiction, comparable to morphine, and that if tolerance is acquired, this is of a very limited degree. Further more those who have been smoking marihuana for a period of years showed no mental or physical deterioration Which may be attributed to the drug’‘--New York Mayor’s Committee.

2. Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, Twenty-second Session, Supp. No. 8 (E/2891), para. 133.

3. A similar picture of attitudes was found by investigators in Oakland, California who obtained the confidence of youngsters, mostly Mexicans and Negroes, through providing them with club amenities without strings. The youngsters were firm in their conviction, based on their own experience, that the use of such drugs as marihuana resulted in harmless pleasure and increasing conviviality, did not lead to violence, madness or addiction, was less harmful than alcohol, and could be regulated. They cited case after case of individuals known to them who had net been harmed in health, school achievement, athletics or career as a result of a habit of smoking marihuana: and they were not themselves interested in being helped to abstain from the drug. Most had taken up marihuana-smoking from a simple desire to emulate older boys, and not as reason of emotional disturbance or social stress. On the contrary the group regarded those who took drugs to excess has having a weak personality, and marihuana-users generally as making a positive effort to be in the main stream of organised society and reality