Drugs minister says she took cannabis as student

Caroline Flint, the Home Office minister responsible for drugs policy, has revealed that she once experimented with cannabis but stressed that its illegal status prevented her from taking it again.

Ms Flint, 41, who was appointed to her first ministerial job less than a fortnight ago, admitted that she tried the drug more than 20 years ago as a student. Her remarks came as Iain Duncan Smith pledged that the next Tory government would guarantee a drug rehabilitation place for every young addict in Britain. The Conservative leader promised a tenfold increase in the number of treatment places as he underlined his party's "tough but tender" drugs policy for the general election. Those who refused treatment would face jail.

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, made clear his support for Ms Flint last night after her past drug use was revealed and insisted that cannabis would remain illegal.

The MP for Don Valley, who will oversee the downgrading of cannabis from class B to class C next year, admitted using the drug when questioned by a BBC reporter. Danny Shaw, Radio 4's home affairs correspondent, said: "I got the impression she didn't like it. She didn't like the fact that other people smoked it all the time. She said she was put off because it was against the law. She said that being illegal acted as a brake on her taking any more of it."

A Home Office spokesman said: "She was chosen because she is the best person for the job. Everyone has full confidence in her. The minister was asked if she had ever taken drugs. She gave an honest answer. She fully supports the Government's policy that cannabis should remain illegal. The Home Secretary is very supportive of her."

Mo Mowlam, the former cabinet minister in charge of drugs policy, admitted once smoking cannabis, and eight senior Tories revealed their own use of the drug after Ann Widdecombe proposed a crackdown on all users.

Under Mr Duncan Smith's £482m initiative announced yesterday, the number of rehabilitation places for those hooked on heroin or crack cocaine would be increased from less than 2,000 at present to more than 20,000. Young people caught with drugs would be given a choice of either going to jail or accepting treatment in rehabilitation centres, most of which would be provided by community groups rather than the state.

In a speech in Leeds, Mr Duncan Smith also highlighted his party's pledge to put 40,000 more police on the streets, claiming that the extra officers will tackle not just serious crime but also vandalism, petty crime and antisocial behaviour.

"Crime is infecting our nation and hard drugs are making our condition worse. It's no longer good enough simply to contain the problems of crime and drugs," he said. "We have to defeat them. We want to give a fair deal for victims of crime, and a fair deal for victims of drugs."

Roger Howard, chief executive of the charity DrugScope, said the Tories' plans may prove prohibitively expensive. "Their original figures were about £147 per patient per day. In fact, for young people's treatment, the cost is probably over £300 per day. There are nowhere near enough treatment workers, nurses, doctors and psychiatrists available to provide the care that these young people will need."