LONDON (AFP) - Cannabis is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco, according to a report by a research charity Thursday, which called for a "serious rethink" of drug policy.

The Beckley Foundation, a charity which numbers senior experts and other academics among its advisors, said banning cannabis has no impact on supply and turns users into criminals.

"Although cannabis can have a negative impact on health, including mental health, in terms of relative harms it is considerably less harmful than alcohol or tobacco," says the report by the Foundation's Global Cannabis Commission.

The government is pressing for cannabis to be re-classified in law as a Class B drug compared with its current, less serious, Class C classification.

Authorities are concerned notably by the growing prevalence of the potent "skunk" form of the drug. Around 80 percent of cannabis seizures are of this strain, said to be linked to mental health problems, official figures show.

The Beckley Foundation, a charitable trust, claimed only two deaths worldwide have been attributed to cannabis, while alcohol and tobacco use together kill an estimated 150,000 people in Britain alone.

"Many of the harms associated with cannabis use are the result of prohibition itself, particularly the social harms arising from arrest and imprisonment," it said.

"It is only through a regulated market that we can better protect young people from the ever more potent forms of dope," it added.

The decision to reclassify cannabis upwards into the more punitive Class B category -- which includes amphetamines -- is a U-turn for the Labour government.

Cannabis was downgraded from Class B when Tony Blair was prime minister, but Gordon Brown announced a review of its status soon after taking over in June last year.

An earlier review of the cannabis classification, at the time of the last 2005 general election, resulted in it remaining Class C.

It's about time that the suits start learning what we've all known for years

It hasn't done you much good.

Alcohol is the worst drug when abused..With pot all you would have to worry about is keeping food in the house..I personally don't smoke but when I did,I did inhale.

Well....it's about time someone noticed!!!! Alcohol takes so many lives....everyone is spending billions trying to eliminate drunk drivers, etc...you won't get rid of the drunk till you get rid of the drink....how many lives could be saved...not only on our roads, but medically...domestically...never heard of a pot smoker getting mean while stoned and beating on someone...it just makes sense. I admit that once in awhile a cold one sounds good, maybe an occasional Sangria, or mixed drink, but responsibly...I have enough sense to know that alcohol will always exist and the trouble will continue...but the ol mj is a more sensible way to go if you want to relax...jmo