Tag: britain

Cannabis remains prohibited in Great Britain, and cannabis for legal medical use continues to be limited to a large degree. Despite cannabis prohibition continuing to be a failed public policy approach by every meaningful measure, law enforcement leaders in Britain are urging a crackdown on personal cannabis possession and consumption.

“The country’s longest-serving chief constable admits the smell of the drug is a ‘sign of crime and disorder’ which makes even him ‘feel unsafe’.” reported Daily Mail. “Sir Andy Marsh, who leads the College of Policing, said frontline officers should ‘do something about it’.”

“Launching a new leadership programme for policing, they acknowledged forces were in a ‘foot race for public confidence’ and officers can no longer ignore what has traditionally been perceived as the ‘little stuff’.” the outlet also reported.

The comments made by Sir Andy Marsh were echoed by Greater Manchester Police Chief Sir Stephen Watson and Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy. Sir Andy Marsh reportedly also said that law enforcement “must listen to their communities and be prepared to take a tougher line.”

However, public opinion is not in line with the recent comments made by the law enforcement leaders. A recent YouGov UK poll asked adults in the United Kingdom, “Would you support or oppose decriminalising possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use?”

A combined 54% of poll respondents expressed support for the public policy change. Only 34% of poll respondents directly opposed cannabis decriminalization in the United Kingdom, with 13% being undecided.

In 2022, London Mayor Sadiq Khan established the independent London Drugs Commission (LDC), tasking the Commission with examining cannabis policies in England’s capital city and other jurisdictions. The commission recently published its findings and recommended that personal cannabis possession be decriminalized, a recommendation that Mayor Khan reportedly supports.

“The report follows detailed analysis of written and oral evidence from over 200 experts and academics from London, the UK and around the world. Lord Falconer and his Deputies were assisted by leading experts from criminal justice, public health, community relations and drug policy and supported by academics from University College London (UCL).” The London Drugs Commission stated about its methodology.

“Inclusion of cannabis as a Class B drug in the Misuse of Drugs Act is disproportionate to the harms it can pose relative to other drugs controlled by the Act. The sentencing options currently available, especially for personal possession, cannot be justified when balanced against the longer-term impacts of experience of the justice system, including stop and search, or of serving a criminal sentence can have on a person.” The Commission stated about its report.

“Sir Sadiq Khan said current rules “cannot be justified”, adding that the commission’s findings had provided “a compelling, evidence-based case” for decriminalisation.” reported BBC in its local coverage.

Earlier this year the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, launched a commission to explore London’s cannabis enforcement policies, which is something that he campaigned on as a candidate. Throughout 2022 Mayor Khan seemed to be promoting a policy that is essentially cannabis decriminalization.

Cannabis decriminalization is obviously not as good as outright legalization yet is clearly superior than arresting people caught with a personal amount of cannabis. Khan’s expressed desire to change London’s cannabis enforcement policies was condemned by other officials, including Steve Reed, the Labour’s Party’s shadow justice secretary.

As we previously reported, Reed made the ridiculous claim that cannabis decriminalization would “turn London into a drug supermarket.” It appears that Reed’s reefer madness talking points are not gaining as much traction in some circles as presumably hoped, with reports that the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing are proposing a less-harsh approach to cannabis penalties. Per Daily Mail:

First time users of cocaine and cannabis will be offered education or treatment programmes rather than being prosecuted under new plans being drawn up by police bosses.

Officers would agree to take no further action against those caught in possession of illegal drugs, including class A and B, for the first time under new proposals being drawn up by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing.

The offender would therefore avoid a criminal record, however, they would be prosecuted if they failed to take part in education or treatment programmes or were caught with drugs again.

According to reporting out of Britain, fourteen police forces already use this enforcement approach, including law enforcement agencies in Durham, Thames Valley, and West Midlands. It’s not an optimal approach, however, it’s a step in the right direction.

No one should be forced into rehab or counseling simply because they were caught with cannabis. Cannabis possession, or even confirmed use, is not automatically problematic be default. If a consumer wishes to go to rehab for cannabis, so be it, but it should be a personal decision and not something that is imposed by the government.

Cannabis policy discussions in London have made considerable headlines in recent weeks, with London Mayor Sadiq Khan currently in somewhat of a political showdown with some of his political peers.

Mayor Khan is exploring the idea of reforming the way that law enforcement handles simple cannabis possession in London. The policy exploration is part of the work that a newly formed commission is performing at the behest of Mayor Khan. He recently indicated that calls from his political peers to refrain from pursuing the work would not deter him.

Additional headlines were made when it was reported that Home Secretary Suella Braverman was considering changing cannabis’ classification level to a more restricted status. The Prime Minister’s office has since made it clear that what is being reported will not happen, although it’s still unclear to what degree Braverman wants to pursue the concept in the future, if at all.

YouGov recently conducted a poll, asking Britons, “Do you think that the current cannabis laws should be tougher, less tough, or are about right?”

“Home secretary Suella Braverman has been reportedly planning to change cannabis from a class B drug to a class A But only 23% of Britons want to see cannabis laws made tougher, with 42% wanting less tough laws, and 19% thinking they’re ok as they are.” YouGov tweeted regarding the poll’s results.

Sixteen percent of poll participants indicated that they ‘don’t know’ in response to the question being posed to them. Obviously, 42% is not a majority, and for that matter the poll was not legally binding in any way.

However, the fact that only 23% of Britons indicated that they wanted cannabis laws to be made tougher is encouraging, and something that shouldn’t be ignored by lawmakers.

While many parts of the world are now trending towards adult-use legalization and/or comprehensive medical cannabis reform, if they haven’t already implemented such reforms, Britain continues to lag behind.

Technically, Britain does allow limited use of cannabis for medical purposes, with a heavy emphasis on the word ‘limited.’ It’s estimated that well over a million people in Britain could benefit from medical cannabis, however, the number of people actually afforded safe access is minimal.

Non-medical cannabis reform seems even further out of reach than comprehensive medical cannabis reform, although that’s not due to a lack of support from British citizens.

YouGov recently conducted a survey in which it asked the question, “To what extent would you support or oppose the de-criminalisation of the following currently banned substances?”

Out of the fourteen substances listed, cannabis was the only substance that received a greater level of support compared to the level for opposing reform.

Forty-five percent of respondents expressed support for decriminalizing cannabis while forty-three percent were opposed. Thirteen percent of respondents indicated that they ‘don’t know’ which way they feel about the question.

The next closest substance on the results chart was mushrooms, which received 28% support, 55% opposed, and 17% undecided.

The thirteen percent of undecided citizens when it came to decriminalizing cannabis is obviously significant, in that it’s a large enough percentage of people that if they decided to join the ‘opposed’ camp, that would obviously result in a majority.

However, those people could just as easily fall on the ‘support’ side of the equation, and studies have consistently found that the level of support for cannabis reform in polls is lower than the actual level of support in society. Hopefully lawmakers in Britain take notice.

The controversial politician was forced to announce his resignation last week. How will this affect the pace of British cannabis reform?

Through the lens of history, the passage of Boris Johnson through the country’s top political job may become forever associated, for good or for bad, with Brexit. How that plays out when it comes to forwarding cannabis reform in the now separated from EU regulations on the same is still unclear.

That said, on the CBD front, it appears that it’s full speed ahead. The Food Safety Authority (FSA) just announced that 12,000 CBD products are now legal for sale in the UK. This puts the country far ahead of the discussion in Europe, where Novel Food regulations have yet again put applications (and legalization) discussions on hold. However, one thing is also clear. The EU may have ruled that CBD is not a narcotic, but this change, along with any other decisions taken at this level, now has to be incorporated into national law in every EU country.

What Is Likely to Shake The Apple Cart?

Far more influential than anything the UK does right now is what is happening in Germany. The government has formally committed to recreational reform, formal hearings have been heard, a white paper will be issued and there is, more or less, a timetable of reform that is now being refined as necessary. The passage of recreational reform will also finally normalize the CBD conversation in Germany.

Beyond this, the normalization of cannabis in Europe’s largest economy – and the fourth largest in the world, will certainly move the needle not only in the EU but in the UK too.

From a medical standpoint, the issue has essentially stalled in the UK so far. That said, both Brexit and Covid – and now the tumult of British national politics – are not likely to be fertile ground for forward-thinking politics on this (or many other issues) until things become a bit less chaotic in the UK.

In the meantime, it is clear that limited cannabis reform is in the offing in special trials (see the mayor of London’s proposal on decrim).

For now, at least, as a result, “Global Britain” is following, not leading, on the cannabis discussion. And right now, all eyes are looking to the Bundestag, not Whitehall, to move the stakes if not the goalposts forward.