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Contrary to the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the Home Secretary, Jackie Smith, has announced that from 2009 cannabis will be reclassified from a Class C drug to a Class B drug leading to an increase in the maximum penalty for possession from 2 to 5 years inprisonment.

Jackie Smith, said she wanted to reverse the 2004 downgrading of the drug because of "uncertainty" over its impact on mental health even though the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs had said that it had uncovered no new evidence on the health dangers from cannabis beyond the "probable, but weak, causal link between psychotic illness, including schizophrenia, and cannabis use".

Mrs Smith further said, "Since cannabis was downgraded there has been widespread concern about the increased prevalence of stronger "skunk" varieties. This now accounted for 80% of the cannabis seized on the streets and the drug was nearly three times stronger than in 1995."

Helen Yates, Chief Executive of the Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre said, " Whilst we do not condone anyone breaking the law, we are very concerned about this upgrading of cannabis and the potential for it to further criminalise people who only use the drug for legitimate, medicinal purposes. It is time to separate out the medicinal use of cannabis from the recreational use, as is the case with many other drugs that are illegal recreationally but legal through your doctor for medicinal purposes".