Despite the advice of an expert government panel, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown remains determined to tighten the law on cannabis, the BBC reported April 3.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs - the official advisory group on drug policy - was asked to review the legal status of cannabis amid concerns over new stronger forms of the drug, such as so-called Skunk and Super Skunk.

Cannabis was downgraded from a class B drug to class C in January 2004 in a move designed to allow police officers more time to concentrate on tackling harder drugs.

The Conservative party wants the government to reclassify the drug regardless of the recommendations from advisers. "There are all sorts of cannabis on the streets today. Skunk and Super Skunk are incredibly powerful and can lead to people having all sorts of mental health problems," the Conservative Party leader David Cameron said.

The Liberal Democrats are opposed to reclassification. "The Advisory Council is the most authoritative and independent body capable of making a judgment, and we should not turn drugs classification into a political football or the plaything of tabloid newspaper editors," home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said.

The Association of Chief Police Officers has recommended that cannabis be restored to the category of a Class B drug. But Steve Rolles of the Transform Drugs Policy Foundation thinks that reclassifying cannabis to increase jail time is not the way to warn teenagers about the dangers of cannabis abuse.

"Rather than mass criminalization of millions of young people, the best way would be to invest in effective, targeted public health education," Rolles said.