Why it’s high time we changed the law on cannabis

Cannabis is the most popular illegal drug, not just in the UK but around the world. Yet the current law surrounding its use in this country is simply not working.

With respect to possession, the law is often not enforced, it is clearly no deterrent, and we know it is applied disproportionately within certain ethnic groups – particularly London’s Black communities.

The law is unfit for purpose: something must change. As the London Drugs Commission, which I chair, sets out in our report for mayor Sadiq Khan – and following the most extensive investigation of the issues in recent times – a simple change to the law would save our police and taxpayer money at a time when it is needed most.

Moreover, it would likely go some way towards easing some of the widely recognised tensions that exist between police and the communities they serve.

Around 2.5 million people in England and Wales used cannabis over the past year, the large majority of whom will have experienced no significant adverse health effects. Hearing from over 200 experts and academics and exploring different legal frameworks in operation around the world, we gave serious consideration to wholesale legalisation.

What we found suggests that while there may be some economic benefits, use of cannabis would likely increase – with “Big Cannabis” emerging as a commercial industry akin to “Big Tobacco”. This is not desirable, as we also know that for a small proportion of those who use cannabis (which nonetheless equates to many people), there can be significant negative consequences for their mental and physical health.

That said, maintaining the status quo is equally undesirable. Too many police perform stop-and-searches on suspicion of cannabis possession – often based solely on smell – that end in no further action. Either no cannabis (or other illegal item) is found, or a decision is taken to proceed no further.

This is, by and large, a waste of time, serving predominantly to sour police-community relations, particularly among Black communities who are disproportionately subjected to the procedure. Where a charge of cannabis possession is pursued, the court process and possibility of a custodial sentence on conviction represent a huge cost to both the public purse and the individual.

Our central recommendation is to remove the legal governance of (natural) cannabis from the Misuse of Drugs Act. This would automatically bring it under the control of the Psychoactive Substances Act, effectively decriminalising possession of small amounts of the drug, while allowing dealing, production and supply to remain criminal. While not a panacea, we think this represents the right compromise at the current time, reflecting and balancing the reality of widespread use against the risk of harm.

Alongside this proposal, we make a suite of wider recommendations. These include a push for more coordinated, joined-up health services focused on problematic use of cannabis. And more credible education for young people, which reflects the fact that, whether we like it or not, this is a drug that is widely available and widely used, albeit not without risk.

I strongly urge the government to take the time to seriously consider this report and our proposals. My greatest hope is that the law is changed as a result, making possession of small quantities of cannabis no longer illegal while those producing and dealing continue to face appropriate criminal sanctions.

This will focus the criminal justice system on the right target. It will reduce the scope for stop-and-search, particularly when based on the smell of cannabis, to wreck relations between the police and the Black community. And it will allow for much more effective help for those harmed by cannabis use.

Charles Falconer is chair of the independent London Drugs Commission, a Labour peer and former justice secretary