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Public opinion is shifting towards the legalisation of the use of cannabis. A YouGov survey commissioned by the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group found that 48% of adults favour

legalisation of recreational marijuana use, up five points in the past year, with just 24% opposed. The tide is decisively turning.

It’s time for the UK to have a coherent policy on cannabis. Currently the law is enforced inconsistently across the regions, but most police forces have chosen to take a very light approach.

The practical result is that cannabis is informally decriminalised across the country. That’s why cannabis dealers operate freely all over the place. That’s why people feel relaxed enough

to smoke it on the street, in parks and at festivals.

It’s bad policy to have a law enforced so inconsistently. If a law is worth having, it’s worth enforcing. If we have decided as a country that it’s not worth enforcing, then it should be

repealed and replaced by a policy of legalisation and regulation. Otherwise the law is an ass and people take it less seriously across the board.

There are only two choices. One is to ensure the police enforce the law as written. That means arresting producers, dealers and users, and sentencing them, but, considering the proliferation

of cannabis dealers and the number of British people who enjoy using it, this amounts to a major police operation. Significant resources would need to be redirected for a concerted clamp

down. Perhaps you believe this is a price worth paying, but the YouGov survey suggests most of the public would not consent to it.

When voters were given a range of options, 55% backed “softer” government policies on cannabis, 27% backed legalisation and 28% supported “decriminalisation”. Only 30% wanted the current

criminal offences maintained.

The problem with decriminalisation is that it means the black market continues to thrive and criminals continue to rake in the profits. Legalisation allows the focus to shift towards

safeguarding, harm reduction and the redistribution of tax levied on legal Cannabis products. It would also lead to a much smaller black market.

Cannabis is a very widely used and enjoyed natural drug. There is little, if any, social stigma around using it in Britain, particularly in younger age groups. Users currently buy it form an

unregulated black market run by criminals in which nobody has proper information on what they’re buying, and there is no protection for young people.

In Canada, the safeguarding of young people was one of the main arguments advanced for legalisation. As the Children’s Enquiry paper from the think tank Volteface showed, current UK

government policy is failing to adequately safeguard young people from accessing and using cannabis. The majority of young people who have tried cannabis bought it aged 15 or under, and

found it easier to obtain than alcohol.

Legalisation will take back power from criminals and dismantle the black market. A regulated market can encourage safer and healthier means of consumption, such as vaping. Consumers will be

safer if they are educated on the risks of cannabis, and if all cannabis products are tested and regulated. Detailed information on potency and the risks of consumption will allow them to

make informed decisions.

Canada, ten US states and Uruguay have already legalised cannabis for recreational use, which raises the question of how a legal market in the UK should work. A recent paper by Daniel Pyror,

a Research Economist and the Head of Programmes at the ASI, and Liz McCulloch, Director of Policy at the drug reform advocacy group Volteface, provided some good ideas.

Chief among them was the recommendation that the taxation on cannabis products should not be so high that it pushes consumers to purchase it from the black market. The taxes should be levied

in such a way to encourage the use of less potent and safer to use products. If the tax is set at the optimal point, it will cripple the black market while providing major revenue to be

redirected into underfunded mental health and drug services.

It’s clear that the current government approach to cannabis is harmful and ineffective. It’s time for a more honest and rational cannabis policy by creating a safe, regulated legal market

and focusing on disempowering criminals, safeguarding young people and reducing harm in the consumption of a natural drug that has been widely used and enjoyed for a long time.

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