*Ø* Blogmanac | Campaign Warns of Cannabis Dangers

By Kate Holton

London (Reuters) -- "The British government launched a one million pound campaign Thursday to warn people of the dangers of taking cannabis, a week before it downgrades the legal status of the recreational drug.

"Young people will be targeted by radio adverts and leaflets to remind them that cannabis is still illegal ...

"'Cannabis is a drug that can kill,' Dr Peter Maguire, deputy chairman of the BMA's [British Medical Association's] board of science told Reuters. 'People are making the conclusion that it is safe where in fact it is actually more dangerous than tobacco.'

"A cannabis joint without tobacco contains a third more tar than a normal cigarette, Maguire said, while the blood of someone who smoked a cannabis joint contained five times more carbon monoxide than that of a person who smoked a normal cigarette.

"Mental health charities have also highlighted the link between cannabis and schizophrenia."

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