The British Prime minister, Gordon Brown, fancies himself as a "conviction" politician. This may explain why he has been pushing to reclassify marijuana as a Class B drug rather than a Class C drug as is currently the case. Such a move would contradict the British government?s own Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).

The ACMD doesn?t believe that upgrading cannabis to Class B status will significantly impact on its consumption.

In fact, quite the opposite is true. Surveys have shown that cannabis use has decreased over the years, even after it had been downgraded from a Class B drug to a Class C one.

So not only will the reclassification not act as a deterrent but it also means that people caught in possession could end up spending up to five years in prison. The police force, which is far closer to the reality on the ground than any politician will ever be, has said that it would continue to "confiscate and warn" offenders rather than arrest them.

In Mauritius, 548 people were arrested for cannabis possession between July 2006 and June 2007.

In its report on the Patterns and Trends of Alcohol and Other Drug Use in Mauritius, the National Agency for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Substance Abusers (NATReSA) points out that: ?It is evident that the number of arrests for cannabis use was high but that the actual amounts of the drugs seized in relation to the arrests made were relatively small.? By arresting people for possession of small amounts of cannabis, the authorities are both depriving families of their bread earners and exposing offenders to seasoned criminals.

In addition, each detainee costs the State thousands of rupees every year.

In the meantime, the most pernicious drug of all continues to savage society. ?Alcohol abuse is the main substance driving admission to the mental health institution and also puts an enormous strain on local families, their social networks and the social and medical services of the country?, the NATReSA?s report. Needless to say, alcohol is also one of the main causes behind domestic violence and traffic accidents.

The UNAIDS regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Mark Stirling, recently declared that the number of new HIV/AIDS infections in Mauritius is growing yearly. Last year, 580 new cases were declared. This year the figure could reach 600. Injecting drug users constitute the lion?s share of the new infections. Instead of imprisoning cannabis users, the authorities should perhaps think about concentrating its efforts on stymieing heroin use. And the economic windfall caused by keeping cannabis users out of jail could be spent on the greatest weapon of all: education. Prevention trumps repression every single time.

A few years ago, it would?ve been unthinkable to implement a needle exchange programme in Mauritius.

It was too much of a political hot potato. And, although the exchange programme only covers 10% of drug users, its introduction is a huge leap forward in terms of challenging some outdated mentalities. The time has come to drastically enlarge its coverage.

I recently read somewhere that ?statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive but what they conceal is vital?.

This is true. But, whichever way you look at it, arresting cannabis smokers is not going to solve any of the more pressing social problems that we face.