Calls are being made for cannabis to be reclassified from a Class B to a Class A drug by some police commissioners.
If this was to happen, it would put cannabis in the same category as heroin, cocaine and ecstasy. And it would result in tougher penalties for suppliers, producers and those found in possession of the substance.
The calls to reclassify the drug are being made by a group of Conservative police commissioners, according to the BBC. At the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, they argued that new health data on cannabis makes the case for re-evaluating penalties.
Read More: Police seize £50,000 of illegal drugs as part of Newcastle freshers' week clampdown
They said it is "time we realised that it is not just a little bit of weed", the BBC reports. However, the Home Office said there were no plans to reclassify cannabis.
David Sidwick, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, said cannabis was "driving harm" in communities. "We're seeing it because it's a gateway drug. If you look at the young people in treatment, the number one drug they are in treatment for is cannabis."
Mr Sidwick claimed that a "wealth of new data" on the drug's effects on health had come to light, which merited a "re-evaluation". He also said enforcement needed to go alongside rehabilitation and education, but reclassifying cannabis would provide clarity.
"There are so many crimes linked to drugs that, actually, by addressing this, by giving us this clarity, it makes it clearer for our police to be able to do what they need to do," he is reported to have said.
However, Peter Reynolds, president of CLEAR, which campaigns against the prohibition of cannabis, told the BBC the police commissioners were "promoting ideas which will increase crime, violence and child exploitation".
He told the broadcaster: "The idea of doing more of the same as the past 50 years, which has quite obviously dramatically failed, is ridiculous. The only people who want this are ignorant politicians and the people who sell illegal drugs, I'm crystal clear about that."
A Home Office spokesperson told the BBC: "There are currently no plans to reclassify cannabis, which is controlled as a Class B drug in the UK on the basis of clear medical and scientific evidence of its harms."
Read Next:
Driver caught with £20,000 of cannabis in car in Gateshead avoids jail
Cannabis farm with plants worth £360,000 uncovered in Gateshead guest house following raid
Police discover suspected cannabis farm site inside empty business premises in Newcastle
Bunging burglar jumped from upstairs window when caught in act by police
Criminals sentenced for using knives to cause devastation to people's lives in North East
