THE Government's recent retreat on cannabis sends the wrong message to young people and effectively gives ground to criminals.

But it is a small number of senior police officers who should hang their heads in shame, because their surrender to the drug dealers has forced the change.

There are two distinctly separate drugs cultures in society and, if we are serious about tackling them, then we must acknowledge that fact.

Every weekend, thousands of young people will take Ecstasy recreationally. They regard it as no different from taking alcohol. On Monday, they will return to work and their lives as otherwise model citizens. They do not mug pensioners or burgle houses to pay for their drugs and to suggest otherwise is to mislead.

This culture rarely affects anyone else and does not affect the crime rate. It only hits the public spotlight when a young person dies.

Then there is the second drug culture. The criminals who take heroin. It is wrong to suggest that everyone who is on heroin started on cannabis. Myth number two is that they turned to crime to feed their heroin habit. Many were already criminals, having progressed from shoplifting to house burglary and then decided to spend their ill-gotten gains on drugs.

Their culture has a severe impact on society; it has numerous victims. We must differentiate between the two cultures because they both require a different approach.

Recreational drugs can be tackled through campaigns aimed at changing society's perception, in much the same way as drink driving is now regarded as abhorrent.

The heroin culture requires a more robust approach. Education has an important role but the police must target known dealers and users and keep on targetting them until they change their behaviour.

Meanwhile, an effective police force will catch young offenders on the way up the crime ladder and, hopefully, change their behaviour before they even try heroin.

For some time now, certain senior police officers have been blurring these two cultures to frighten the public with statistics. They cry "drugs' to explain any crime rise and to justify demands for more public cash.

Not prepared to tackle cannabis abuse, they have effectively ignored the wishes of Parliament and adopted their own softly softly approach - now they have their way with the declassifying of cannabis.

The police have ALWAYS had the power to use their discretion and the use of warnings, cautions and discussions with parents are all good alternatives in the right circumstances.

But arrest and prosecution for cannabis possession is also a valuable tool for the police officer trying to send a message to criminals and maintain law and order on Britain's toughest streets.

Effectively, the law now differs from one part of the country to another. Confusion is bad for any organisation and it is the poor policeman on the street who is left clear up the mess his superiors have made.

By its decision on cannabis, the Government has given ground to the criminals. We must now draw a line and give no more.