Chill, Bill

Bill Clinton did not inhale. Or more accurately, he said he didn't inhale. Remember, he was trying to secure the Democrat nomination for President at the time. This was in 1992 - years before the idea of a President who had to quit cocaine and stop drinking before he could achieve anything was really imaginable.

Bill said he didn't like it and he didn't inhale, which leads to the conclusion that it was the mouth feel of the smoke that he had a problem with. Anyway he got the nomination, won the election and proceeded to squander the biggest political talent most observers had ever seen. He was, famously, distracted by one thing and another. But I digress.

Times have changed. Barack Obama has admitted he did inhale. Frequently. "That was kind of the point." Well, yes. But he hasn't won his party's nomination yet, let alone anything else.

One of these men has clearly been more honest than the other - and one is the greatest political talent...etc. But the point is both were talking about the past, their youth. Because that's when most people use cannabis. They try it when they're at high school or university and it peaks in their 20's - the decade marked by independent income and freedom from parental shackles - then it drops away markedly.

But the latest National Drug Household Survey shows that the beginners, the school-age users, are disappearing. Ten years ago, 35% of boys had recently used cannabis when surveyed. Last year it was a shade over 13%. It's the same story with girls - in 1998 about 34% had recently gotten stoned; last year it was 12.7%. Something is going on, but what?

I won't know until the morning, when I ask Jan Copeland, head of the new National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre, but there is a long journalistic tradition of guessing and I'm nothing if not a traditionalist. Firstly ecstacy use is increasing, rapidly becoming the drug of choice for younger people. Secondly, cannabis use is associated with tobacco use and smoking is trending down.

Actually I think these reasons are connected. Tobacco is not healthy, as discussed here before, and it's not seen as such a cool choice anymore. Whereas e is seen as 'healthier' - it doesn't make you cough or wheeze, it doesn't make you smell, it doesn't send you outside or offend anyone. It makes most people feel amazing and wanting to engage with the world. Cannabis doesn't do that - it's renowned for making people feel hungry, happy and sleepy. But it can also make people withdrawn, uncommunicative and paranoid. Stack all that up and it's an easy call. Sorted.

I will ask, though really most of the interview will be about cannabis and addiction. Because, yes, it turns out that if you're my age, your Dad was right after all - there is now evidence that cannabis can be a drug of addiction and also lead to real health problems.

Luckily for Bill Clinton, he'll never know.