22/08/2017 Victoria Derbyshire

Hello it's Tuesday, it's 9 o'clock, I'm Joanna Gosling,

Donald Trump has changed his mind about withdrawing US troops in

Afghanistan. He said he will send in more troops and that the US will

fight to win. He said he will send in more troops

and that the US will We'll be speaking to a Republican

strategist and a former US assistant secretary of defence in the next

hour about what the change signifies In the UK anyone found in possession

of cannabis can be sentenced And yet despite this the marijuana

industry is still booming. We've been to two European

countries with very different Bake Off is back! Almost. The baking

favourite returns to our screens next week with new faces and on a

new channel, of course. So will it rise to the occasion? We have had a

sneak peek. Hello, welcome to the programme,

we're live until 11 this morning. Also if you think the bake off pun

was bad, don't worry we have much better in store,

as we will be talking to the winner of the award for the best joke

at the Edinburgh Fringe this year. Do get in touch on all the stories

we're talking about this morning - use the hashtag Victoria live

and If you text, you will be charged President Trump said he'd changed

his mind about withdrawing troops from Afghanistan last night in a

major speech. The man who always said he didn't

want to intervene abroad came to announce the intervention

in Afghanistan is He said it was for

the right reasons. We are a partner and a friend but

will not dictate to the Afghan people how to live or govern their

own complex society. We are not nation-building again. We are

killing terrorists. He announced the lifting

of a cap on the number of US troops in Afghanistan,

and that there would be no time My original instinct was to pull

out, and historically, But all my life, I've heard that

decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk

in the Oval Office. A very different Donald Trump

to the one who said this kind of thing right

through the Obama years. And that is the basis

on which he campaigned as a presidential candidate,

that he wouldn't spend American He says he now realises that pulling

out American troops from Afghanistan Our primary mission after 9/11 was

to kill terrorists and I think he's going back to that original purpose

that the reason we came into Afghanistan was because of what

happened on 9/11 and the fact that Afghanistan was being used as

sanctuary and safe haven for terrorists. The toughest words of

his speech were directed at Pakistan, Afghanistan's neighbour.

We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars. At

the same time, they're housing the very terrorists that we are

fighting. But that will have to change and that will change

immediately. How the President expects Pakistan to comply and more

broadly how he believes the US will, in his words, fight to win in

Afghanistan, wasn't made entirely clear. The only thing that is

certain is that there's still no end in sight for America's longest war.

Aleem Maqbool, BBC News in Washington.

Our correspondent gave us the latest from Kabul.

The response will be given to President Trump's announcement. I've

been speaking to the former head of the after began Army and he told me

he very much welcomed what Donald Trump had to say, the after began

Foreign Minister's also taken to Twitter to say he welcomes it. As

you say, security has been steadily deteriorating in Afghanistan. Last

year it saw nearly 3,500 civilians die as a result of the violence. So

there had been concern here that if America were to make a complete

withdrawal from the country, then that could boost the Taliban;

instead President Trump seems to be quite clear he doesn't want to see

the Taliban take over Afghanistan. At the same time, he says he

believes eventually some form of political settlement with the

Taliban will be necessary in order to bring about peace and that's

actually pretty much the position of the Afghan Government here. So

overall, things are being very much welcomed in Afghanistan. We'll talk

more about that shortly. Let us know your thoughts and the usual ways of

getting in touch. Matthew is in the BBC

Newsroom with a summary At least two people have died

and more than 30 injured after an earthquake on the Italian

island of Ischia. Residents and tourists

ran into the streets as buildings collapsed; the quake

hit just before nine The earthquake struck just as local

families and tourists on the holiday People were evacuated

from buildings, including One woman was killed

when rubble fell from a church. At least 20 other

people were injured. Ischia is an hour's ferry ride

from Naples and lies about seven miles from the epicentre

of the earthquake. The island's northern town

of Casamicciola was the worst hit. In the village, firemen located

a baby trap beneath the rubble. In the village, firemen located

a baby trapped beneath the rubble. After a delicate operation,

a welcome sound. Some firemen were already on the

island to deal with wildfires. Italy's beautiful islands

are a draw for visitors, but unfortunately in an area prone

to seismic activity, After this latest earthquake,

one resident said it looked Police in Catalonia last night said

they shot dead the suspected driver of a van that ploughed into

pedestrians in Barcelona last Thursday. Younes Abuyaaqoub was

found hiding in a vineyard 30 miles west of the city.

Scrap your car get some cash back on a new less polluting vehicle.

The carmaker, Ford is the latest company to offer

The scrappage scheme offers drivers 2000 pounds off a new Ford -

if they trade in a petrol or diesel car or van that's over 7 years old.

The scheme will run until the end of the year.

The UK is to call for "close co-operation"

with the European Union to resolve cross-border legal

We will get more details of the government's

negotiating strategy later - this time the focus will be on how

things like divorces and commercial disputes that span multiple

Currently it is EU regulations that specify how

An investigation has begun after a 17-year-old girl

was sexually assaulted - twice - by two different

She was travelling home from a music festival.

British Transport Police say the assaults happened

on a Great Western Railway service - between Newquay and Plymouth -

on Saturday the 12th of August - some time between 8.45 and 9pm.

The victim was returning from the Boardmasters music festival.

A Danish inventor has been charged with killing a journalist in his

submarine home. A headless torso was found in Copenhagen. He initially

said he left the Swedish journalist alive on an island during a voyage,

then he said she died in an accident. The authorities are yet to

formally identify the body. India's supreme court has ruled

that the controversial Islamic practice of instant

divorce is unconstitutional. The practice enables a man

to divorce a woman by saying the word 'talaq' or 'divorce'

to her three times. The landmark decision

is being hailed as a victory Royal Mail has picked out ten of the

nation's favourite toys from the past 100 years for a set of stamps.

Stickle bricks, Meccano, the Space hopper, action men and Cindy are

among them. It's chosen the toys for their Enduring appeal.

Astonishing images from the Great American Eclipse.

Millions watched as the moon passed in front of the Sun casting

a shadow more than 60 miles wide across Earth.

Our science correspondent Pallab Ghosh joined the sky

They came in their tens of thousands, like pilgrims,

They came to witness one of nature's great spectacles.

It is a quarter past ten in the morning but it

We are just a few seconds away from the total eclipse,

and the moon has almost completely covered the sun.

It looks like a smiley face in the sky.

And then the moon blocks the sun's bright disc.

Its atmosphere, normally washed away by the solar light,

now appears as a halo around the moon.

It seems like a shimmering black pearl, hanging in the sky.

This was definitely something you have to see in person.

It's something that you can't describe.

The eclipse crossed the entire US - ten states, a distance of 2,500

From coast to coast, it seemed everybody was interested.

For two incredible minutes, the tiny town became

the centre of the universe, as those here became the first

in America to witness one of the great wonders of the solar

That was one way to watch it. Passengers on a cruise watched it

another way with Bonnie Tyler performing her apt song.

# Total eclipse of the heart... There you go. Bonnie Tyler

performing that power ballad from the '80s, passengers were on board

that cruise ship especially to watch the eclipse. Joanna, I'm sorry to

have put that song in your head for the rest of the programme. More at

9. 30. It's not going to leave. Thank you very much! In a moment

we'll speak to a strategist about President Trump changing his mind on

Afghanistan. Do get in touch. Right now let us catch up with the sport

with hue and the footballer Aluko has spoken for the first time about

the bullying and discrimination she says she was subjected to by the

England coach Mark Simpson? That is right. One of the most capped

players was dropped by England days after she made the allegations

against Mark Sampson, having been asked by the Football Association to

be part of a review and has claimed she suffered victimisation as a

result of her reporting the discrimination. She also says two

investigations into her grievances were flawed because key witnesses

were not spoken to and key evidence not looked at. She also told our

Sports Editor Dan Roan about an incident back in 2014.

He asked me, which family members is it, who is coming to watch the game

for you. I said, I have family coming in from Nigeria, family

coming in. And he said, "make sure they don't come over with ebola".

When that was said, did you challenge him at the time and say

that's unacceptable? No. I laughed. I laughed because, I mean, I was in

shock, I didn't know... I didn't know what to say. The FA have

strongly denied the most recent claims, insisting the timing of her

being dropped was coincidental and say all of the evidence remains

anonymous. A three month independent investigation last year didn't

uphold any of the only plaints and cleared Sampson of the claims. Aluko

reached a settlement with the FA receiving around ?80,000. On to

Wayne Rooney, another milestone in his career?

Yes, 200 goals for Wayne Rooney in the Premier League. It came against

Manchester City. He said it would have been a nice moment for the red

half of the city. This goal came for Everton. His second of the season.

Both teams ended the game with ten men on a dramatic night. Raheem

Sterling got the equaliser for Manchester City with eight minutes

remaining. For Rooney it was a night to remember, though he is still 60

behind the only other player to reach 200, Alan Shearer.

Congratulations Wainman reaching 200 Premier League goals. A great

achievement. Where have you been? The 200 club has been a lonely club

over the last few years. Well done. I'm sure you have in you. This is

how they compare. Wayne Rooney is the leading

goal-scorer for his country and 53. And finally, Victoria Azarenka has

been forced to pull out of the US Open? She won't be there. It is a

tournament she has reached the final of twice. Because of an ongoing

family situation that she is working through, she has withdrawn. She

reached the fourth round at Wimbledon but has not played since.

She recently spoke about the issue and said she would only be able to

play at the US Open later this month in New York if she left her home --

son at home in California, something she wasn't prepared to do. She

separated from her child's father last month. At the moment she is

unable to play any tennis. Thank you.

President Trump says he's changed his mind about pulling US

forces out of Afghanistan since becoming president.

In his first televised address to the nation,

the president said he didn't want to repeat the mistakes made

in Iraq, by leaving a vacuum for militants to fill.

Mr Trump said instead he'd be sending more troops -

though he didn't give an exact figure, and he refused to put a time

He said it was in America's interests to "fight to win".

Terrorists who slaughter innocent people will find no glory

They are nothing but thugs, and criminals, and predators, and,

Working alongside our allies, we will break their will,

dry up their recruitment, keep them from crossing our borders,

and yes, we will defeat them, and we will defeat them handily.

In Afghanistan and Pakistan, America's interests are clear.

We must stop the resurgence of safe havens that enable terrorists

to threaten America, and we must prevent nuclear weapons

and materials from coming into the hands of terrorists

and being used against us, or anywhere in the world

What a difference from a few years ago, when Donald Trump was singing

Afghanistan is a total and complete disaster.

Money should be spent on our country.

We should rebuild our country. Let's get with it. Get out of Afghanistan.

My original instinct was to pull out, and historically,

But all my life I've heard that decisions are much different

when you sit behind the desk in the Oval

Office as President of the United States.

The present war in Afghanistan started in 2001, in the aftermath

of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York.

At its height there were Armed Forces from around 40

countries fighting Islamist groups Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

President Obama withdrew most American troops

Only just over 8000 US troops remain, supported

by 5000 troops from Nato, working to train the Afghan

security services and to run counter-terrorism operations.

Since then, the Taliban has been taking back land

that it lost in the war, and fighters from Islamic State

are increasingly carrying out attacks in the country.

Lets talk to Scottie Nell Hughes, a journalist and supporter

And Larry Korb, a military expert from the Centre

for American Progress, and former Assistant Secretary

Welcome to both of you. That has been quite a rethink, hasn't it? It

has been described as a flip-flop, a U-turn, what do you think? I think

the president showed the frustration of the war continuing in

Afghanistan. I have been a part of the Trump campaign long enough to

remember back in March 2016 he did say, I think you have to stay in

Afghanistan for a while. It is next to Pakistan which has nuclear

weapons, and we have to protect them. He also said he will listen to

his generals. And what a refreshing statement that is from a

commander-in-chief that he will listen to those on the ground.

President Trump Omeley admitted a change in strategy. He wants to put

America first. But also, he doesn't want to create a troubled situation

like what we saw President Obama doing is quick withdrawal of troops

from Iraq, therefore creating the terrorist issues we're having many

other countries. Larry, refreshing and humble from President Trump. How

do you see it? I'm glad he changed his mind from his campaign

statements. I wish he could do that on the a lot of other areas. I'm

also glad he is listening to the experts rather than some of the

other people who seem to have been part of his national security

apparatus. But he really didn't tell us anything we didn't know. We have

been trying to kill the terrorists since 9/11. He also, in my view,

used the wrong analogy. We had the war in Afghanistan won in 2002

Omeley diverted our attention and resources to go into Iraq, where

there was no al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda came in. The deadline we said in Iraq was

the idea of Iraqis, not our idea. The question now is how long do the

Afghans want us what will be the rules. He is going to delegate more

authority to military commanders. Having served in the military in

Vietnam. I know what the military wants. I don't think he should only

have the military making those decisions. Because to struggle

against Isis and al-Qaeda has to be one psychologically and ideological

it. And if you start bombing and killing innocent civilians, that

will create more terrorists. For everyone you kill, you create six

more. I want to talk to a bit more about the politics of it. Steve

Bannon, who has only just left as chief strategist in the White House

and gone back to the Breitbart News network, which meant people were

looking at Breitbart to see how they would react after this first policy

speech since his departure. One of the headlines is, Trump's America

first base with flip-flop in Afghanistan speech. It confirms the

fears that without a nationalist voice in the West Wing, the

president will revert to the same old fair. How will his core base

react to this? That is a very good question. It is something I think a

lot of Americans will wake up to do today. In America, never depend on

one movement based on one headline on one new site. If Americans start

to look at the President's plan, there will be not seeking any

additional resources to support this new South Asian strategy. We will

stay on the same timetable. We will base it on actions on the ground.

Americans will look at those mothers, fathers, wives and husbands

who have lost people, who've lost loved ones in Afghanistan, and it's

very hard look them in the eye and say, if we pull out our troops, your

son and daughter died in vain. If that country continues to be a

hotbed for terrorism, they could attack us in the United States. In

terms of the cost, it currently costs $25 billion to sustain the

president position a year. By sending in an extra 4000 troops, it

estimates the cost financially. But also potentially in terms of

American lives lost. Absolutely. But the president and the majority of

Americans would rather fight that war over there before we do have

another 9/11 here. He has said previously he would do just the

opposite and that was part of what Americans voted for him for a?

Absolutely. But I don't think you will see the reaction. It takes one

terror attack on the ground here for people to realise we need to fight

the evil over there rather than here at home. If people go through his

plan in detail, and that is why you are seeing such overwhelming

support. Come on, we are getting praise from my colleagues. Both

sides in the United States are working together to find solutions.

Unlike what we have seen in the last eight years. Both sides have the

impetus from the experts to create a solution that works for everyone and

not just one side based on one ideology. Larry, when we talk about

the numbers, they are still tiny compared to what they were at their

height. What difference will be is extra troops make and what has

changed, actually, in terms of the reality on the ground? I think it's

only going to make a marginal difference. The real issue NASCAR --

Afghanistan as it was in Iraq, are you going to have a government that

gets the support of the people? The current government, just like the

Hamid Karzai government, is ripe with corruption. Because of that

they're losing support from people who are not terrorists. They are

people who, for example, support a particular ideology or a particular

way of life, like the Taliban. We have talked about and Trump mention

that last night, about coming to some sort of negotiations with the

Taliban. If they are so bad, how do you think you can negotiate? You

have got them all over the world. The way to deal with them is not to

go in to do nation-building, just go in and attack them. You don't need

to leave troops permanently there, any more than you have in the Yemen.

We are attacking al-Qaeda in the and in so or in Syria, where we are

allowing the Free Syrian Army to do the fighting and we are aiding them.

A final thought from you, Scotty, when he talked about how it was his

instinct to pull-out but then that decisions were much different when

you sit behind the desk of the oval office... Do you think this will be

the start potentially more U-turns? There has been a huge change,

obviously, in the people behind the scenes. No, I do not. This is

national security. This is because he has listened to intelligence

briefings. The United States does not seek a military presence in

Afghanistan. They do want to withdraw. They want to do it

responsibly. They want to do economic development, like he has

here. His policy has been focused on economic development in order to

help these crisis issues. He will adopt the same policy over there and

get his troops out as quickly as possible. We will not do it

responsibly like in the past. Thank you both. Do let us now your

thoughts as well. Now do something to be different, the Great British

Bake Off. It moved to Channel 4. New channel, new faces.

Mary, Mel and Sue have gone, replaced by Prue Leith alongside

Paul Hollywood and comedians Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding

TV critics and the press had a sneak preview of the new-style Channel 4

Bake Off yesterday. Let's take a look.

Paul and Pru must now decide who will be our first star baker

The standard has been ridiculously high.

This is one of the strongest challenges

Nobody wants to be the first person to leave.

His flavours are spectacular but is baking falls short.

Our Entertainment Correspondent, Lizo Mzimba, got a sneak peak

I really enjoyed it. It's a special show to the British public, they

feel it doesn't belong particularly to the BBC or Channel 4, it belongs

to the nation. It's quickly become part of the national fabric, so

Tinker with that at your peril. Three presenters. Short of cloning

Mary Berry, the new presenter is just like her. Very quickly into the

show it felt very, very comfortable, with all the familiar themes, the

tent, the music, and of course the thing that drives it through from

people watching this. Some do spectacularly well, some close to

disaster and being judged along. I felt comfortable and didn't think,

it's not the same, I miss all these people. It's interesting because you

wonder whether there would have been a real appeal in changing it a lot

or whether it's better to keep it the same. We'll only know when it

airs but the big difference people have talked about is that there'll

be ad breaks. I was lucky enough in one way to see it without ad breaks

but it was clear when they were coming. This is a difficult one for

Channel 4. A lot will not like the fact ad breaks are in there and that

it breaks the flow of the programme in the way they remember watching it

when on the BBC. I suppose perhaps there might be younger viewers who

might see the ad breaks as good opportunities for popping on to

social media, probably on social media throughout the programme

anyway but popping on and taking it as a chance for five minutes to

discuss and see what other people are saying. Of course that is

inevitably going to be a big difference. A lot of people

instinctively don't like ad breaks if they are given the option not to

have them. Thank you very much it's on Tuesday. Yes. Lovely.

Politicians from across the political spectrum have said

We look at the very different approaches in Portugal and Sweden

Gum disease sufferers are more likely to suffer from dementia, that

is a finding that we'll discuss later.

Here's Matthew in the BBC Newsroom with a summary of today's news.

It's Trump says the US is going to fight to win in Afghanistan. He's

unveiled a new strategy in the war against the Taliban in a major

speech last night and said he'd changed his mind about Waite drawing

troops from the country. He called on NATO allies to do more as he

lifted the cap on the number of US troops in Afghanistan and said there

was no At least two people have died

and more than 30 injured after an earthquake on the Italian

island of Ischia. Residents and tourists

ran into the streets as buildings collapsed; the quake

hit just before nine Footage has been released of a baby

being successfully rescued from the rubble.

Police in Catalonia last night said they shot dead the suspected driver

of a van that ploughed into pedestrians in

Younes Abuyaaqoub was found hiding in a vineyard 30

Scrap your car - get some cash back on a new less polluting vehicle.

The carmaker, Ford is the latest company to offer

The scrappage scheme offers drivers 2000 pounds off a new Ford -

if they trade in a petrol or diesel car or van that's over 7 years old.

The scheme will run until the end of the year.

England footballer Eni Aloku speaks to the BBC about the "bullying

and discrimination" she says she was subjected to

Including her claims about a "racist comment" about her family.

Sampson vehemently denies the claims and has been

This is the 200th Premier League goal of Wayne Rooney's career.

It helped Everton get a point at Manchester City.

He's only the second player to reach the landmark but is still 60

England will have wing Lydia Thompson fit for their Rugby

World Cup semi final against France tonight.

Coach Simon Middleton is promising no more rotation.

He's going to pick his strongest side fo rthe match in Belfast.

Victoria Azarenka has withdrawn from the US Open because of what she

describes an an ongoing family situation that she's working

through. She says she can't travel to New York and leave her son at

home in California. Those are the headlines. More after ten.

The Liberal Democrats new leader, Vince Cable, has told Radio 1

Newsbeat that he continues to support the legalisation

His comments come as a series of politicians from across

the political spectrum say it's time for laws relating to

Newsbeat's politics editor Jim Connolly has travelled to two

European countries to see how their drugs policies compare -

and how they might inform the debate here in the UK.

Cannabis, weed, skunk, Call it what you will.

For many people, it's a common sight at music festivals,

house parties and frankly, your local town centre.

It's the most commonly used illegal drug in Britain and last in England

and Wales alone, over 2 million people admitted taking it,

even though being caught using it could land you in prison.

But all over the world attitudes to cannabis are changing.

These countries have decriminalised the drug,

with a small amount of weed, you're not going to jail.

Some have gone further and legalised it and if you want to see things

changing at the pace, look at North America.

In the US, 21 states have decriminalised small amounts

of cannabis for personal consumption and eight have gone further,

But the place that many are watching is Canada,

with the country set to legalise the drug next year.

So with all this happening around the world, some

in the UK are asking, cannabis, time for a change?

He's the chair of the Brighton Cannabis Club and thinks the answer

So basically, we're offering a venue that will offer a fully

medicated meal to Brighton Cannabis Club members.

When you say fully medicated, that means there's load

Yes, it's cannabis infused so it will get you high as a consumer.

So this meal is all about taking lots of cannabis, basically?

Lots of people today, it's a rainy, drizzly day at the seaside,

most people just go to the pub at lunchtime.

Why not just have a pint like everyone else?

For us, we see cannabis as a less harmful alternative to basically

smoking tobacco or drinking alcohol, but that

What it is is it's a restaurant in Brighton that will allow you 24

hours in advance to book in a fully medicated menu if you are

Unfortunately, that's just due legality and that's why it's only

So in the kitchen here, a couple of chefs have been

hard at work all morning, knocking up some food.

Just taking a look over there now, it looks pretty

And to be honest, it's not the kind of food you expect in a cafe

you might get in Amsterdam or somewhere like that.

It's not brownies and space cake and anything like this,

I've been chatting to the chef whose behind it and he's worked in some

And before you get the wrong end of the stick, this is not

what they're going to be putting in all of the food.

This green stuff here is actually genuinely a dressing for it.

The food is going to be infused with an oil that goes

through it and that's where the cannabis will be.

It will be comfit chicken Goujon is with black garlic

and for the main course we'll be having grilled sea

bream with purple Afghan and pea arancini.

I mean, where in there is the cannabis?

Where are we finding cannabis in that one?

So, you'll find it find it in the pea arancini.

Purple Afghan will be the strain with the pea arancini.

Because we're sat here and it's quite a civilised

It's quite relaxed atmosphere, but the government would say that

what you're doing is illegal and it's illegal because of the harm

it can do to you and your friends and wider society.

Why do you think you should be doing this?

We believe that that information is updated.

Their reports and research is outdated.

If you take a look at Spain, Portugal, Canada, America, they'll

all coming through with progressive forward-thinking policies

for finding more of a positive impact and utilising the cannabis

culture for the positives it can do for the local community,

for the industry, for medical patients, recreational users that

just want to have a social experience, but not be

It's pretty obvious that you represent Brighton cannabis,

So far we have over 400 club members.

We have been around for about three or four years now.

We have over 40,000 Instagram followers and 6000 Facebook likes

and we basically keep growing and we've had one of our outdoor

events, green pride, which is grown year and year.

Our first year we only had 100 people turn up to it.

Our second year 1000, our third year 1500 and about eight

different stalls and this year we hit over 3000 people attending

and about 25 different schools setting up for the day

Leaving Rob and his friends behind in Brighton, I can't help wonder how

Surely what they were doing couldn't have happened in the country

Somewhere like Sweden, which despite having a reputation

for being a liberal country, as some of the strictest drug laws

Anneka Stranzl is the minister in charge of drug policy.

In Sweden we have very broad political support in both

the government and Parliament for our drug-free society.

At the heart of Swedish drug policy is this idea that

Can you explain why you hold that policies are close?

We see a among young people and also a lot studies show that an expensive

use of cannabis or regular use of cannabis at early age

also affects especially young people's brains.

So that's what it is an important part in our drug policy and the way

that we work to prevent the start of the gateway that cannabis

is for many young people into heavier drugs.

Later that evening, I found two friends in a bar who have very

different views on cannabis, so I jumped in for a chat.

I think it should be as prohibited as with our goal.

I don't see the difference between it.

Because your off-licences government regulator, aren't they?

And that's how you'd like to treat weed.

You can have a beer or a glass of wine or anything weird

food or wine or beer, but when it comes to

And you think they should just be banned and that's the easiest

But is that really like the solution to that?

It's a generation question, actually.

I think a lot of the younger ones, they smoke more.

But you wouldn't do it in front of her because you

Staying in Europe, but going from one extreme to the other,

Here, all drugs are do criminalise, meaning you're not going to be

However, you may get sent to a hearing of what's called

a dissuasion commission to assess your drug problem.

I think it must be this one, so this is definitely

Well, they've let us in, so that's a good sign.

It's certainly not what you'd expect at a court back in Britain,

but maybe we've got the wrong end of the stick.

Maybe this isn't a traditional court.

It's definitely not the entrance to a court you'd be

Users who are caught with small amounts of drugs are referred

here and dealt with as medical patients and not criminals.

These are the rooms where we have the preliminary interviews

This is the room where we are having the hearing now.

Ricardo has been given an appointment after being caught

He's agreed to let us film his hearing if we don't show his face.

Yes, he was caught with a small amount of hashish,

Because it's a non-addict, recreational user,

we suspend the procedure for three months.

And if he's not caught a second time, in that period,

After the hearing, I'm keen to have a chat

Do you think this process of chatting to a psychologist,

a doctor, coming in here, has made it big about your drug.

From now on I will stop, I don't need it.

The system in Portugal, I think this is the best

because it's not for one mistake that a person has to

We focused a lot on the law relating to cannabis,

When cannabis plants are being bred and grown,

they have a substance that goes on to form three other

Two are really important when it comes to how the user

THC, that's what gets people high, but at increased levels,

it's also the thing blamed for mental health issues.

It acts as an anti-psychotic and counteracts some

Depending on the genetics of the plants, it can

either have a high THC, low CBD strain, or CBD can

be the main compound, or you can have something

There are three main types of cannabis product

and the amount of THC in each of them varies massively.

Hash, where CBD is generally higher and THC tends to be low.

Herbal cannabis, where THC levels are low and CBD is usually low

And then there's high potency cannabis, often called skunk,

which has high levels of THC and almost no CBD.

It's also the most common type of cannabis being sold,

making up around 80 to 90% of the market in the UK and some

argue that it's this lack of CBD and high THC in skunk that leads

to mental health problems, especially in those

We wanted to put what we'd found in Sweden and Portugal

to the government here, but it wouldn't speak to us.

In an e-mail it said it has no plans to legalise cannabis,

saying this clear scientific and medical evidence that

it's a harmful drug, which can damage people's mental

The government wouldn't speak to us in person there,

but we are going to speak to someone who will, he's very passionate

He's got a very personal reason for being interested in this subject.

That looks like a suitably grand house for a lord.

He's invited me along to talk about his 21-year-old son who had

We noticed that there was something that was becoming strange

Anyway, he was diagnosed with drug-induced psychosis.

One day in January he said to his mother that he was,

that the voices were getting so strong in his head

Anyway, two days later he went out in the evening and...

Afterwards, I spoke to the doctors, somebody just said in an offhand way

that this is yet another, kind of, casualty of skunk.

I said, well, isn't that just, sort of, cannabis must have changed,

and he said that this was not really cannabis that you might have known,

with the greatest respect, sir, when you might have been

He said this is completely different stuff.

I was actually shocked to discover how strong this

And as such it's believed that the way to tackle skunk

is to legalise the old-fashioned cannabis so it has the right

And it has only a, sort of, level of potency.

Lots of people listening to this will find it strange that a drug

that you say killed your son, you are now campaigning to legalise.

I think that skunk is, it has been labelled

Some people will argue that, frankly, your son may have had

underlying mental health issues, that's what led to him killing

Well, indeed, yes, that has been put to me.

I received a whole lot of letters from people who read

"So sad to read about the loss of your son, Rupert.

So many parallels with the death of my son.

He also had a history of mental illness.

The most part caused by smoking cannabis and skunk."

He's had correspondence with the Prime Minister and thinks

we will see a change in attitude within the next five years.

Since meeting Lord Monson I spoke to the Prime Minister.

Unfortunately we weren't allowed to film the conversation.

But she told us she stands by her government's new drugs

strategy, which, she says, is all about helping people recover.

Walking around here and it's not hard to find signs

Everywhere you go in this area of east London,

to be honest most of the places in the UK, you can see it.

And even on a weekday morning you could smell it in the air.

We had the same experience in Portugal.

Which, on the face of it, has got much more relaxed drug policies.

But I keep thinking back to Ricardo who we saw at dissuasion core.

He was caught with a few joints going into a music festival and had

to go to a half-hour appointment with a psychiatrist,

he had to go through that, kind of, court case experience.

And I keep thinking, what would have happened to him

had he been caught with the same amount of drugs at a festival here?

So, it does beg the question, when it comes to, say, weed,

do we already have one of the more tolerant approaches in Europe?

And at nine o'clock tonight, there will be a special programme

by Radio 1's Newsbeat debating the future of Britain's laws

Presented by Tina Daheley, it will be shown live

on the BBC News Channel as well as on BBC Radio 1.

We will be talking more about that later.

Coming up, we'll hear the funniest joke at the Edinburgh Fringe

If you keep your teeth clean you are less likely to develop Alzheimer's.

That is the finding of research in Taiwan which suggests that people

with long-term gum disease are 70% more likely to develop dementia.

Although the study could not prove that gum disease directly caused

Alzheimer's, researchers think proper tooth-brushing should be

advised to ward off dementia. We are joined by Doctor Nigel Carter from

the oral health foundation and Doctor Norton. This sounds like a

pretty dramatic statistic, that having gum disease could increase

your risk of getting all slammers? It is an interesting new study that

adds to a small but growing number of studies showing the link between

chronic gum disease and Alzheimer's. The people in this study had to have

periodontitis for more than ten years. It shows the growing link

between gum disease, as I say, and inflammation. Inflammation in other

parts of the body which we think could be causing problems in the

brain. Why might you be there is a link between gum disease and damage

to the brain? We don't yet know there is a direct causal link. This

research doesn't show that. We can hypothesise. There are some reasons

we think this could be happening. Periodontitis is caused by this

inflammation in the gums. We think the chemicals produced by the body

in response to that infection, they could be finding their way through

the circulatory system into the brain. We think potentially some of

the bacteria that causes periodontitis in the gums and in the

mouth could be finding their way through to the brain. They could be

two reasons why there is an increased risk of Alzheimer's

disease and other conditions, caused by gum disease. Doctor Carter,

should there be a specific warning around gum disease that extends

beyond the obvious impact, the other conditions that may be exacerbated

by it? Absolutely. We are seeing an increasing body of evidence. This is

one of a number of studies around Alzheimer's. But we have also got

strong links with diabetes, with coronary heart disease even with

adverse pregnancy outcomes. It is looking after your teeth well. It is

no longer just about looking after your teeth and making sure you keep

your teeth. It is also about having better general health and stopping

some of these other conditions. Do we neglect our teeth? Our teeth seen

by people as being a key part of their overall health? It is quite

interesting. When the oral health foundation was formed 45 years ago,

more than one in three of the population had no teeth at all. We

have come a long way in a very short time. People would be early middle

age would be horrified if you said they would only have their teeth for

another five years. But as a result of that, we haven't necessarily kept

the best oral care routines. We know, for example, that the

recommendation from dentists is to clean your teeth twice a day, last

thing at night and one other occasion for at least two minutes.

The majority of people clean for about 45 seconds. We're not doing a

good enough job. When it comes to traditionally flossing, cleaning in

between the teeth, which is where those gum disease and periodontal

disease decays start, we really are very poor. Five to 10% of us do that

on a regular basis. That is something we should add into a

routine. Matthew, the headline statistics being 70% more likely to

develop Alzheimer's if you have gum disease is a stark one. But when you

look at the figures, just one in 100 people with gum disease did go on to

develop dementia in this study. Nonetheless, in which focused you

think there should be around oral health gum disease when it comes to

talking about preventing Alzheimer's? And also, trying to

make sure it doesn't get worse? It is also linked with cases of

dementia worsening. Indeed. You make a good point about the exacerbation

of conditions of dementia. -- symptoms. Often it is difficult to

communicate and identify the problem that may be causing the problem. In

terms of where we go, we need to do more research, we need to really

understand the causal links between the mechanisms of action that are

relating gum disease to dementia. But I think it is clear, and it is

clear from your expert on this morning, that good oral hygiene is a

very important concept and something we should all be adhering to. And I

think it is safe to say that it will do no harm and probably do some

benefit in terms of potentially reducing your risk of dementia.

There are a number of other things we can do. What is good for the

heart is good for the brain. We know that all of the healthy lifestyle

choices we should be making around good cardiovascular health can also

be very beneficial for brain health. We can add oral hygiene to that as

well. Thank you very much. A joke about the new pound coin has

been named the funniest The joke, from his show

Ken Cheng: Chinese Comedian, won 33% of a public vote on a short

list of gags picked We're joined from our Edinburgh

studio by Ken Cheng now. How do people normally react to

that? They usually grown. It gets a lot overgrowns. It has won you the

title at the Edinburgh fringe. What did you think when you got that? Did

you expect it would be of the calibre to win such an impressive

title? No. I was very shocked. I didn't

even know it was being considered that much. Did you put yourself up

for it? Did you have to campaign? No. I think someone saw my show and

put it through. Journalists put together the list. How did you come

up with the joke? I think it came to me. I don't think there was any

process. Am I right in thinking that you came up with it some time ago?

Yes, I came up with it when it was first announced there would be a new

pound coin. It is nice I can bring it back nowadays in circulation.

That was in 2014. How many times have you told that joke? I didn't

actually tell it on back then. I only introduced it in this show.

I expect you'll tell it more times than this? Yes. And have you got any

other jokes you would like to tell us? Yes, a knock, knock joke, do you

want to hear it? Yes. Knock, knock. Who is there? Auntie. Auntie who? I

should point out that at this stage my auntie's name is Auntie Hoo. Any

others? I was in a shop thinking about stealing a magazine but in the

end I couldn't take the Heat. Excellent. Well you have got a good

career ahead of you, I'm sure. Congratulations on taking the title.

Thank you. Thank you for joining us. Great to

talk to you. Thank you. Now the weather with Simon King.

Lots of cloud around this morning. It's been a murky start for many.

But very mild and muggy out there. This is the scene in Devon. Some of

us have had some sunshine. With that, some fabulous cloud actually

high up in the atmosphere. Look at that in Cornwall, fascinating cloud

that. Looks like waves on the ocean in the atmosphere. This is the warm

sector in-between two weather fronts giving the muggy conditions and the

tropical air -- given the muggy conditions.

Scotland and Northern Ireland, lots of cloud in those areas. Heavy rain

into Northern Ireland. One or two showers dotted around across North

Wales into northern England but really for most of England and

Wales, the clouds will thin and break and there'll be warm sunny

spells, in fact feeling very warm in places. Temperatures could reach 26

or 27. This evening, this heavy rain and showers will continue to move

further north and east into Scotland. Then gradually the warm

and humid air will slowly push towards the east by this cold front.

Behind it, fresher air coming in from the Atlantic. So during

Wednesday, things turning a little more fresh towards the west and with

that, some heavy rain and showers in Scotland, northern parts of England.

Those will tend to drift away and there'll be sunny spells in the west

with showers coming in. Towards the east, still quite warm with highs of

about 24 or even 25. Going through witnesses night into Thursday, that

cold front continues to push away and then we've opened up the door to

more Atlantic weather systems coming into Thursday. We'll see more

unsettled weather through Thursday, heavy showers across Scotland and

Northern Ireland. One or two across parts of northern England. For many

parts, Thursday is going to be a dry day with sunny spells. By Friday, I

think again it's northern parts that will probably see more showers

further south and drier and brighter. Going into the Bank

Holiday weekend, there are some uncertainties in the forecast. If

you have anything plans, the message is to stay tuned to the forecast.

Bye. Hello it's Tuesday, it's 10 o'clock,

I'm Joanna Gosling. In a change of heart,

President Trump says he will send more troops to Afghanistan to help

fight the Taliban. He warned that a hasty US withdrawal

would leave a vacuum He doesn't want to create a horrible

situation like we saw President Obama do in his wick withdrawal of

troops from Iraq therefore creating the terrorist issues that we are

having in many countries today. The struggle against terrorist groups is

not just going to be one of militarily, it's going to be

psychological and ideaology issues. In the next few minutes,

those involved with military and charity operations

in Afghanistan will be talking about what sort of impact

the President's plans might have Here, possession of cannabis can get

you five years in prison but despite this two million people

still took it last year. We've been to two European

countries with very different The system in Portugal is the best

because it's not for one mistake And we'll be speaking to people

on both sides of the legalisation debate later about whether UK drug

laws go too far, or not far enough. The NHS fat-busting scheme that will

see ten towns offering people discounts on their family shop and

cinema tickets so long as they exercise. We'll speak to one of the

healthy town directors. Good morning, here's

Matthew in the BBC Newsroom President Trump says the US

will "fight to win" in Afghanistan. He's unveiled a new strategy

in the war against the Taliban. In a major speech last night he said

that he had changed his mind about withdrawing troops

from the country. He also said NATO allies must do

more, he lifted the cap on the number of US troops

in Afghanistan and said there was no Our troops will fight to win. We

will fight to win. From now on, victory will have a clear definition

- attacking our enemies, obliterating Isis, crushing

Al-Qaeda, preventing the Taliban from taking over Afghanistan and

stopping mass terror attacks against America before they emerge.

At least two people have died; 25 others have been injured

after an earthquake on the Italian island of Ischia; it's just off

TV pictures show a church and other buildings have collapsed.

The fire brigade has released footage of a baby

Four men accused of being part of a terror cell which killed 15

people in Spain last week are due to appear in court

They arrived at a jail just outside the city last night.

Earlier police in Catalonia said they'd shot dead the suspected

driver of a van which ploughed into pedestrians in

Younes Abouyaaqoub was found hiding in a vineyard 30

Scrap your car; get some cash back on a new less polluting vehicle.

The carmaker, Ford is the latest company to offer

The scrappage scheme offers drivers ?2000 off a new Ford; if they trade

in a petrol or diesel car or van that's over 7 years old.

The scheme will run until the end of the year.

An investigation has begun after British Transport Police say an

assault happened on a Great Western Railway service between Newquay and

Plymouth on Saturday 12st August when a girl was assaulted between 8.

45 and 9 in the evening when she was sexually assaulted twice by two

different people. She was on her way home from a festival. Police would

like to talk to anybody who saw anything. A Danish inventor has been

charged with killing a journalist in his submarine. He orangelily told

police he left the journalist alone on an island, then he said she went

missing. Millions of people turned out to see

the first total solar eclipse to sweep coast to coast

across America in 99 years. The moon passed in front of the Sun

casting a deep shadow It began on the west coast

above Oregon; it took about 90 minutes to cross 13 states,

ending in South Carolina. That's a summary of the latest BBC

News, more at 10.30. Do get in touch with us

throughout the morning, use the hashtag Victoria live

and If you text, you will be charged Now let us join Hugh for a sports

update. Hi there. Wayne Rooney has become only the

second player to score 200 Premier League goals, it came at ever

tonne's 1-1 draw at Manchester City last night and against the same

opponents as his 50th and 150th, claiming afterwards the red sides of

Manchester would have enjoyed it. City were down to ten men after Carl

Walker was sent off before Raheem stirling equalised for the home

side. I'm not surprised about his performance, I know the player, I

know how he wants to come back to Everton and he showed the quality on

the ball and the productivity of the player that he showed tonight,

again, and we are really happy that he's back. He is still 60 behind the

record-holder, Alan Shearer. Congratulations, Wayne, on reaching

200 Premier League goals, a great achievement. Where have you been,

man, the 200 club's been a lonely place over the last few years. Well

done, I'm sure you have a few more left in you! Aloko says she was

subjected to bullying by her coach Mark Sampson, after he made

prejudicial and bullying remarks. He's been cleared by an FA

investigation. He asked who is coming to watch the game for you. I

said, I have family coming in from Nigeria, I have family flying in.

And he said "make sure they don't come over with ebola".

When that was said, did you challenge him at the time? Did you

say that is unacceptable? No. I laughed. I laughed because, I mean,

I was in shock, I didn't know... I didn't know, you know, I didn't know

what to say. The FA says the ebola allegations were not investigated

because Aluko did not include them in her formal complaint. She

received an ?80,000 settlement. The review concluded she'd not been

singled out. England's women are preprayering for

the Rugby World Cup semi-final against France this evening. Lydia

Thompson will start on the wing after recovering from a knee injury.

The squad has been rotated heavily up to now but he's now named the

strongest side for what has been the toughest or what will be the

toughest test so far. This is about putting the best 23 out that you

feel are right for the job and if you feel it's the right 23 for the

next one, then you will put them out again, if you don't we'll make

changes, simple as that. We don't even need to think about the next

game until we get this one out of the way. This is huge. Chris

Froome's taken the leader's red jersey. He finished third to take

the second overall lead. Britain is aiming to become -- Victoria

Azarenka's pulled out of her tournament. She returned in June

after the birth of her son and reached the fourth round of

Wimbledon but hasn't played since. She says she can't travel away to

leave her son at home in California. She separated from her baby's father

last month. Headlines at just after 10. 30. That's all for now.

President Donald Trump has announced plans for US Troops in Afghanistan.

The present war in Afghanistan started in 2001 in the aftermath

of the September the 11th attacks on the World Trade

At its height there were armed forces from around 40 countries

fighting Islamist groups Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

President Obama withdrew most American troops

Only just over 8000 US troops remain, supported

by 5000 troops from NATO, working to train the Afghan

security services and to run counter-terrorism operations.

Terrorists are nothing but thugs and criminals and predators and that's

right, losers. Working alongside our allies, we'll break their will, dry

out their equipment, keep them from crossing our borders and yes, we

will defeat them and we will defeat them handily. In Afghanistan and

Pakistan, America's interests are clear - we must stop the resurgence

of safe havens that enable terrorists to threaten America and

we must prevent nuclear weapons and materials from coming into the hands

of terrorists and being used against us or anywhere in the world for that

matter. We are not nation-building again. We are killing terrorists.

What a difference from a few years ago. Afghanistan is a total and

complete disaster. What are we doing? Money should be spent in our

country. We should rebuild our country. Let's get with it.

Get out of Afghanistan. My original instinct was to pull out. And

historically, I like the following my instincts. But all my life I have

heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the

desk in the Oval Office. In other words, when you are a president of

the United States. Let's talk to Colonel Richard Kemp,

the former head of British forces in Afghanistan,

Jawed Nader, who is from Afghanistan and runs the British

and Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group and Dr Sarah Fane, who runs

the charity Afghan Connection which has done lots of work

promoting sport and education in the country and Will Griffin,

who served as a paratrooper in Afghanistan and Iraq

for the US Army. And Carling Cross, whose son was

killed in Afghanistan in 2003. Welcome all of you. Carleen, one of

the three main reasons that Donald Trump David Ferrer sending more

troops in was to honour US soldiers who have died. What is your view? I

would just encourage our military leaders to choose these campaigns

very wisely. And to make sure they are worth the sacrifice of our most

precious resource. Our young men and women in arms. How do you feel about

the thought of more American soldiers going in? It is such a

complicated issue because I understand that he can't Just Paul

out of Afghanistan. And it's not just Afghanistan, it's that entire

region that is very important. But it also makes me nervous as well. I

understand the heartache and the sadness of losing a child. And I

just would encourage them to really be wise about an escalation. And if

we are going to escalate the number of soldiers, we have to back that up

with programmes when they come home to help them reintegrate back into

society. I think our commitment should span not only going into a

country, but also supporting our military when their home. Will

Griffin what are your thoughts on that? You served in the US Army as a

paratrooper until 2010. Yeah, first of all if there are any people in

Afghanistan watching this, I apologise for me occupying your

country and for what my country is doing to yours. And I want this to

end. This is madness. 16 years. I don't know how we can't make the

connection that the military being in the country is actually fuelling

the terrorism. It is fuelling the conflict. We need to really address

this issue. I really want the US military to pull out as soon as

possible. If we need any Matchroom metric of how we have been losing

this war, in 2001 when the US went in there was one terrorist group.

Now there are 20. More veterans have committed suicide since 2001. More

civilians have died in this war. I don't know how else we can gauge

this metric. We need to admit defeat and actually really strive for a

true peace by trying to get the local villagers and provinces to

talk, and not drunk striking civilians on the ground. Colonel

Richard Kemp, how do you respond to the claim that the military are

making the conflict worse? Well, we could pull out, and that was one of

President Trump's options, to completely withdraw US forces from

Afghanistan, which would have left the country to the mercy of the

Taliban that would quickly engulf it and it would become as it was

before, from which attacks could be carried out against other places in

the world. Resonant trompe's decision to reinvigorate the

operation in Afghanistan is the right one. -- President Trump.

Pakistan has been fighting on the wrong side for 15 years in

Afghanistan. They have been supporting the Taliban. They have

been supporting other extremist groups. And we have been paying them

to do so. That has to end. The second thing he said which is

important is that he is going to focus not on nation-building but I'm

killing terrorists. We were distracted too many years by some

incredible idea of trying to turn Afghanistan into a Western European

country, rather than focusing on killing the enemy. In addition to

that, a key area is to help to build and develop the Afghan National

Security forces. So eventually they can take on the struggle. It will

not end overnight. It will be a long-term war. In terms of

reinvigorating a military operation to bring security and to stop it

being a haven for terrorists, 8000 troops currently there, potentially

up to 4000 extra from the US. That compares with 150,000 troops at the

height of the Allied forces being there. Realistically, what can those

small numbers achieve that will be any different to what has been

happening? I think President Trump has not placed a figure on the

number of troops he is prepared to send, nor rightly has he set a time

frame. That is one of the failings of President Obama's strategy, to

capture the number of troops and set a time frame. President Trump

doesn't appear to be falling into that trap at this stage. I think the

general in charge of Afghanistan, the president has indicated he

believes he has enough war fighting troops to deal with what he needs to

deal with out there. What he is after is more forces to help advise

and train the Afghan National Security forces to work alongside

them, Dell direct air strikes etc. And if they are targeted properly,

and if the mission is to destroy the enemy rather than build of the

country, I think there are a relatively small number of troops

who have a chance of succeeding rather than those holding onto

ground and trying to develop and build up grounds and villages. That

was a mistake and strategy. Sorry to interrupt. I want to bring in our

guest in the studio. The balance being talked about is military fight

versus building up the country. You both work with charities in

Afghanistan. How do you see it? First of all, since 2001 there have

been enormous amounts of progress made and people should know that. We

often see the bad headlines about Afghanistan. There are now 6 million

more people in school. There is infrastructure, there are

communications and there is a free press. If we simply add to the

military, which I'm not saying it's a bad idea, it will not create a new

society. We need to support what is in place. We have fantastic young

people in Afghanistan who want a positive future. We need to help

them with education, jobs and economic support. Alongside the

military support, that will give horse a real chance of a more

successful Afghanistan. Nobody would deny nation-building is a good

thing. Whether Trump is looking at it from the military perspective of

trying to target terrorism, the number of terrorist groups in the

country has increased, what is that nation-building done to win hearts

and minds and make the world a safer place? I think nation-building has

been successful. There has been development and humanitarian work. A

lot of Afghans will have great sides of relief that the United States and

the International committee does not abandon Afghanistan. The

international military presence stops civil war in Afghanistan. Do

you think if the troops withdrew, there would have been a different

outcome? It would have been catastrophic. What is absent from

the military strategy is what happens after military strategy has

accomplished its goals. What happens after Afghanistan has got rid of

Taliban and other extremist groups. For that, development problems on

education and health and infrastructure is really important.

Back to you, Richard Kemp, as you pointed out, President Trump has not

put specific figures. The Pentagon has the go-ahead to send an extra

4000 troops. Potentially more could go in the end. There is also no

final timeline. As a military person, what would you say the

answers to those undefined areas should be? I think the president is

quite right in not specifying military figures. And also, in not

giving a timeline and did not setting out a strategy in detail.

This was something President Obama did. It gives the enemy information

that we don't want them to have. It enables them to say, they are going

to pull out in five years, if we can work to that time frame, or we can

strike then. That is what they can do with that information. It is

right not to give those figures. I do think the key really is Pakistan.

Pakistan has given a safe haven for Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Islamic State,

striking into Afghanistan. They have not only given them the safe haven,

they have provided material support, including helicopter lifts and that

sort of thing. That has to stop. The diplomats and politicians must make

a very concerted effort in turning Pakistan around. That will not be

easy. Pakistan has a specific interest themselves in their view of

maintaining instability in Afghanistan, and controlling

organisations like the Taliban, which they have been doing. That is

probably the greatest challenge we could have. If we don't achieve

that, internationally, I don't see how we can possibly defeat the

Taliban in Afghanistan. No matter how many forces we put in. Sarah,

you said you were not opposed to the military side things. What do you

think would be the best strategy going forward to improve the lives

of Afghans and make the world safer? We have to invest in our young

people. They are determined, they are resilient. They want to be the

future of Afghanistan. They want to dictate their future. Any strategy

must include development and support for those young people. And what is

to stop them being vulnerable to militants who sort of offer the

assistance that has been offered previously, where the militants have

stepped in and offered communities these are -- support they have

needed? That is exactly my point. I have seen areas in Afghanistan that

are so poverty stricken, they have no water, no schools, no hope. If we

don't support those communities, that is what will happen.

That is why development is so important. Really good to speak to

you all. Thank you for your views. Coming up, the NHS fat Foster -- fat

busting scheme that Weed, skunk, cannabis

call it what you will. It's the most commonly used illegal

drug in Britain even though being caught with it could land

you in prison. The Liberal Democrats new leader,

Vince Cable says he continues to support the legalisation

of the drug. His comments come as a series

of politicians from across the political spectrum tell us it's

time for laws relating Newsbeat's Politics Editor,

Jim Connolly is with me. it is talked about so much and yet

nothing changes. You have been looking at how it works in other

countries. What have you been looking at? We have looked at how it

works in two other extreme countries. We have looked that the

political reality in the UK. There is a growing campaign around the

world to see lots of countries moving decriminalisation. We have

gone to the new Liberal Democrat leader and asked him specifically,

are you going to stick with your policy, which was to legalise the

drug? Insiders in the party, everybody working within the Liberal

Democrats, says to us, this was not a popular policy on the doorstep

when we were campaigning, but the reality is, we stick by this because

we think it is a better way regulating the market. The political

reality is the government have no intention whatsoever of changing the

law on cannabis. They say it remains a class B drug. It is harmful to

users. You have looked at elsewhere. What is the evidence of what is

happening in other countries? What you have got in other countries is

you have got countries... Let's look at North America. You have got eight

states legalising the drug. You have got more than half of states

decriminalising for medical use. What you have got there is a

movement towards a more liberalised approach in Western country. Next

year you will have Canada going in a similar direction. And they are

going to legalise across the whole country. Uruguay have done the same.

Decriminalisation movement across Europe. In the UK we have seen a

rise in so-called cannabis social clubs. Six years ago, there were

none in this country. Now there are more than 100. They are based on a

Spanish model where users get together and by getting together

they feel safer from prosecution. They are also campaigning, dealing

within each other, to each other. It is a regulated market. We have been

out with Rob from Brighton cannabis. You represent Brighton cannabis. It

is all over your T-shirt. How popular is the club? So far we have

more than 400 club members. We have been around for three or four years.

We have 6000 Facebook likes. We basically keep growing. At one other

outdoor events, we have grown year-on-year. The first year we had

one other people. By the third year, 1500. This year we hit over 3000

people. 25 stalls selling up for the day.

You've also been looking at what is out there on the streets. Skunk -

you said about the different terms that have been used. Is it skunk

that is being used? Yes, skunk is a controversial term because actually

it refers to specific strains of cannabis. What we use the term

skunk, the media particularly, the tabloids especially is this killer

deadly skunk. What they're referring to there is hypotency cannabis. What

you have got to look at is what is in cannabis. It's got two main

substances that affect the user when they take it. THC, that is what

makes people frankly high, but it's also the thing linked to mental

health problems when it's in high quantities in the drug. The other

thing there is in cannabis is CBD which acts as an antipsychotic and

the they ary is that it balances out the issues that the THC bring to it.

80% of cannabis bought amongst dealers on the street, it's the

hypotency called skunk and is linked to mental health problems with

people in susceptibility, or at least that is the claims. Lord

Munson, we spoke to him, his son killed himself, he had mental health

problems after smoking lots of this hypotency stuff. He says it's the

skunk that is the problem and he wants it banned. Lots of people

listening to this will find it strange that a drug you say killed

your son, you are now campaigning to legalise? I think that skunk has

been labelled as cannabis but it's not really, it's a Frankenstein

variant. That is Lord Munson who lost his son.

Let's get a bit of a wider perspective on this.

We're joined from our Bristol newsroom by David Raynes.

He is opposed to be the decriminalization of cannabis -

he's from the National Drug Prevention Alliance.

And joining us via videophone from Malaga in Spain

is Ian Hamilton, a lecturer in mental health at York University,

who has done research into the mental health risks

Let us pick up on the point that cannabis has hypotency when it's

sold on the streets. Are people aware that it's such hypotency and,

what are the links to mental health issues? I think the problem is for

many people who won't be aware of the potency of the cannabis they are

using until they actually are exposed to it. That is a real

problem. I agree that regulation would in some ways help to resolve

that because, in the same way we do with alcohol and tobacco, there

would be a clearer idea of the quality and strength of the product

that people were using. So when you say regulation, that would be part

of legalisation? Yes, that is right. There's many forms that can take.

It's not a kind of straightforward an-off switch with regulation. There

are different systems and different ways that can be done, it doesn't

have to be a complete free-for-all, there are different options we could

look at. What do you think about the prospects of legalisation, David

Raines? It's not going to happen in the UK. It's absolutely clear it's

not going to happen. About 19 months ago, we had a Parliamentary

discussion debate only about 14 MPs turned up, of them at least four to

my knowledge were against it. Complete lack of interest after a

public campaign. Sorry, but can minds be closed when you look at

what is going on in other countries, specifically Jim's report looked at

the model in Portugal and Sweden, the model in Sweden is a sort of

punitive absolute strongly policed ban, whereas in Portugal it's about

decriminalising and we saw in Jim's report earlier someone in Portugal

caught at a festival with a snail amount of cannabis was taken through

a court-style process and give an psychiatric appointment for half an

hour. You look then at the number of drugs related deaths in Portugal

compared to Sweden and there's a huge difference, a million people in

Portugal dying as a result of taking drugs versus nearly 80 in Sweden.

Yes. So why doesn't that get looked at, why are you sure politicians

will dismiss that and stick with the status quo? You have mixed up

various things, not many people die from taking cannabis, although a few

do, and that is underreported. The UK is probably a half way house

between Portugal and Sweden. I've been to Portugal three times and

discussed their drugs laws with their Parliamentarians. Portugal is

sort of decriminalises for possession up to ten days' supply.

In the UK, the argument that people go to prison for taking cannabis

personal use of it is nonsense. In fact most people don't get

prosecuted so we are much nearer to Portugal than the programme is

giving the impression. And there's an awful lot of nonsense talked

about skunk. I don't use the term skunk, I use the term high THC

cannabis. What you said about THC and CBD is correct. We have to look

at where the high strength cannabis came from. It came in from the

States because they had poor herbal cannabis. It was developed in the

Netherlands and it took over the market there and here. It didn't

take oaf the market because pushers pushed it, it took over the market

because of consumer demand. So any legalisation of low-strength

cannabis would create a larger market and we have the laws because

they're there to contain drugs use. Actually, we are quite successful.

If you look at tobacco for instance, tobacco use is down from 48% of the

population in 1948 to about 16% of the population now and we have done

that through a combination of laws and social pressure. Cannabis is

about 6-7% of the population using it and most grow out of it. You

started off with the Lib Dem policy which is absolutely balmy and does

Vince Cable, a wise old man of my age, does he really believe in it? I

don't think he does. I think he's been trapped by his nutters in the

fringe of his party. But why do you think it's... What do you think of

the issues around it, the sort of discrepancy between what the Lib

Dems say on mental health and what they talk about with drugs? There is

a big problem isn't there. Norman Lamb and Nick Clegg have both spoken

about mental Health Services for young people. Cannabis causes mental

health problems and aggravates them in young people who have them

because their brains aren't mature until they're in their early 20s.

OK, I want to get the thoughts of Ian on that then because when people

talk about legalising cannabis use, it's not for young people is it, I

mean, what is the evidence for damage in terms of mental health for

young people? Ian, can you hear us, still? Yes, sorry, it was breaking

up a little. Just picking up on the point about the Liberal Democrats

talking about legalising cannabis but also the focus within the party

on mental health and the point I'm making that is it contradictory?

Well, no, I don't think it is. I think regulation offers the

opportunity to protect particularly young people who for a small number,

some will be sensitive to the effects of particularly hypotency

cannabis. Officers... Sorry, but as things stand now with messages going

out about legalisation with the fact that there is primarily hypotency

cannabis on the streets, does it send a message to young people that

actually it's OK to smoke it and for the dangers to young people toe be

overlooked? Well, I think part of the problem is, we don't have enough

information in the UK about a number of things to do with cannabis,

including the young people's views. We have very little in the way of

information about how potent cannabis is. That's not true. It is,

David, we have... That's not right. No, I can't allow that to go... It's

based on proxy measures, things like Home Office seizures and the

narrative is built up so that we have these strains of cannabis, we

may well do. We are almost out of time. Let me very quickly, in three

seconds just to respond, David? The claim from Ian is absolute nonsense.

We know what they contain and we have known that since 1973. I used

to go to the lab and I tested it for years and years and years and Ian's

part of that School of People who wants to legalise. We are right out

of time. Thank you very much for a lively debate, thank you.

Still to come, as four men appear in court accused of being part of the

terror cell in Barcelona last week, we speak to counterterrorist

officers about whether we are going to have to live with terror and the

town that is offering rewards to families that exercise.

Instant divorce amongst Muslims , where men can terminate

their marriage simply by uttering the word "talaq" three times ,

In what's being seen as a major victory for women's rights

activists, the country's Supreme Court has declared

It is presently outlawed in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Our correspondent, Shalu Yadav, is in Delhi.

Tell us more about it? It's a landmark judgment here, being hailed

as historic. Not just by Muslim women but by women across India. The

Prime Minister himself tweeted half an hour ago welcoming the judgment

and congratulating the Muslim women who went ahead and challenged this

practice in court. He said this will go way ahead in empowering the women

of this country, so quite a landmark judgment. The women's rights groups

have welcomed it with open arms and this was a judgment which was much

anticipated for the last one year in India. There was a lot of debate

around it because of the controversial nature of it where a

Muslim man could just simply get divorced from his wife simply by

saying three words which translated as towards in Hindi. Where is it

still legal? I didn't get that question? How many countries have

banned it? Well, I can't give you the count, but then this was one of

the arguments which was put in the court today that even the Islamic

neighbouring countries of India for instance, Pakistan and Bangladesh

have banned it a long time ago. So why not India, go ahead and do

something like this which is a landmark decision on the Supreme

Court's part. However, the court's said that now it's up to the

Government to decide whether they want to bring in a law to address

this issue. It's a very sensitive issue here. The Muslim bodies have

tried to protect this practice of triple Talek and say it's a

religious matter and the court and the government shouldn't be allowed

to interfere in this. Thank you very much.

The four men held in connection with the attack last week in Barcelona

are due to go to court today. Younes Abuyaaqoub was found hiding in a

vineyard 30 miles west of the city yesterday. Officers believed the

suspected ring leader may have blown himself up accidentally shortly

before the Barcelona attack. It was the latest in a series of terrorist

atrocities in Europe, using vehicles to kill, including the killing of 87

people in Nice and 12 in Berlin. Does the increase in this type of

attack mean people are getting too used to terrorism? Do we need to

resign ourselves to a level of violence that will just exist for

the foreseeable future? We can speak to Dr Evan Lawrence,

Counter-Terrorism expert at the University of Central Lancashire, Dr

Sarah Perry, clinical psychologist at Manchester Metropolitan

University and Jim Gamble in Northern Ireland former

Counter-Terrorism officer. Thank you all very much for joining us. Are we

having to adjust to what is effectively a new normal, not

commonplace but there? Realistically when we start talking about

Counter-Terrorism and security, you can never have 100% security. So I

think that this is something that we've seen become more prevalent in

the last 15 years or so. But realistically when you look back

historically as well, you know, the 60s and 70s, even into the 80s, we

have large amounts of terrorism, it wasn't the same type though. So I

think that, you know, there seems to be this false idea within society

that terrorism is really quite new and very scary, but realistically

it's been around for a long time and I think it's something that is being

covered better by the media and so supreme more information about it.

But I don't know that it's something that's new all together. How do you

see it, Jim, with your experience of what happened in Northern Ireland?

I certainly don't think it is new and I don't think there are good

terrorists or bad terrorists. There are have been people about using

violence further ends forever. If we move to a position where there is an

acceptable level of violence, I think we fall into a trap. We have

had that cycle in Northern Ireland for decades. I was in Nice a couple

of weeks ago sitting in a cover with my wife having a meal when four

different armed patrols, Army patrols, went past. The thing that

shocked me is that some people didn't even raise an eyebrow. And I

think when we go beyond being shocked about that, then we are in

danger of getting into a problem where we think this happens and it

happens in some places at some times. Putting the Army on the

street is an easy thing to do. Getting them back off it, in my

experience in Ireland, is very different. Sarah, what would you say

is the impact on national psychologies? When things started to

unfold it is shocking but we have to adapt? We do. Other instances where

there have been ongoing threats, they tend to show that communities

are incredibly resilient. That common sense of purpose, possibly

outrage, a struggle against a common threat, it seems to be very

supportive. And as your other guests mention, this isn't new. It is a

different approach to terrorism. If we look back through history, we

tend to see the same parens, communities come together, support

each other, and that helps on an individual level. Jim, what we have

here mainly is on one side. There is not the tit-for-tat that takes

things to a different dynamic. How does that make things different? In

some ways it is similar and in some ways it is very different. You

haven't got opposing factions fighting each other on the streets

of European cities. In Northern Ireland we had loyalist terrorism

and republican terrorism. While both of them accepted collateral damage

and indeed attacked civilians, there are nuances around what we have now.

One of the disturbing themes I see is that in this particular instance,

where they are attacking in London, knees or Barcelona, you have got

young people, many of whom will have significant mental health issues,

there have been radicalised either online or off-line and influenced by

others, and there is sole purpose is to strike fear through protest. The

attacks are a protest in these communities. Whilst the other

speaker talked about the resilience of communities, one of the things I

would say is the difficulty here and where we will lose, is if we allow

this form of Isis terrorism to become synonymous with a community.

What they do is they hide behind communities but they don't actually

come from within communities. That is one of the problems in Northern

Ireland. I think we cannot allow the media or a Mac anybody else to drive

us towards looking through the lens of a particular religion or

community, when these terrorists are individuals, some of them with very

compact mental health backgrounds, others imported from elsewhere. But

they simply manifest their hatred in attacks on innocent members of the

public. We have to keep that community cohesion. We have to stand

together, all races, all colours, all creeds, against this. Don't

allow yourselves to be divided. Don't allow yourselves to be

perceived as partisan ad any stage. In terms of practical advice, run,

high tell, is that the best advice? Absolutely. The police do a really

good job and our security services are quite adept at dealing with

attacks and the response to attacks. Practically. Members of the public

don't really need to worry so much about attacks or being caught up in

attacks. The likelihood is quite low when you look at the statistics. But

what you do need to start doing is really demanding from your

politicians and your governments, that we start dealing with why

people are radicalising in the first place. We are to a point now where,

realistically... Sorry to interrupt. Isn't that exactly what has been

happening for a long time? Well, no. I think we expect, especially

certainly within the UK, we expect the police and the security services

to do everything for us. They are stopping and talking to people and

really working with communities. But that is not really their job. Their

job is to be a reactive force to crime. They have been thrown into,

in the last 15 or 20 years, this whole kind of larger concept of

counterterrorism. It is an important aspect, but I think that we have

two, as a society, start working with the police and the other part

of that puzzle is figuring out why people radicalise and stopping them

before they get to the awareness of the police. That is really the only

way we are ever going to be able to address terrorism in the long-term.

The police are only ever going to be reactionary. Sarah, the point of any

terror is to spread fear, to get people to change their behaviour.

What is the evidence of how much people do that, and how quickly

people do bounce back? The individual ability to bounce back is

bothered by that sense of belonging and identifying with community. But

the flip side of that is that people can perhaps over identify with

communities. The sense of a shared enemy may become too broad, which is

what we are seeing in the US at the moment, where whole groups of people

are being identified as potentially threatening, which is definitely not