Mayor of London Sadiq Khan
(Picture: PA Wire)The majority of Londoners back Sadiq Khan‘s pilot scheme which would see young people caught with cannabis avoid arrest, a poll revealed on Wednesday.
Some 63 per cent of adults agreed with trial plans to offer speeding course-style classes to those found with the drug in three boroughs, a YouGov survey found.
Almost a third of the Londoners surveyed also said they thought the sale of “soft drugs”, such as cannabis, should be legalised, while 42 per cent believe that decriminalising class B substances would make no difference to the number of users.
City Hall is laying out proposals which would see people aged 18 to 24 found with “small” amounts of cannabis in Lewisham, Greenwich and Bexley avoid criminal charges.
The pilot is being funded by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and could be rolled out across the capital if successful.
Drugs charities have also backed the scheme.
But the Government has pledged a crackdown on the sale of illegal substances and the prime minister has called drugs “a scourge on our society”.
Labour leader Keir Starmer has also said he does not agree with decriminalising drugs.
However pre-custody “diversion schemes” for users, similar to the one set to be trialled in London, are working successfully elsewhere, including in Thames Valley.
Mr Khan has outlined new approaches to tackling illegal drug use as a priority for his second term in office.
He has commissioned a review by independent experts into the feasibility of decriminalising cannabis, but has no powers to change their status legally.
The commission will examine how countries around the world have tackled problems with drug use and addiction.
A spokesman for the mayor said: “This limited trial is still in development and has yet to be approved by City Hall.
“The idea of the scheme would be to divert young people who are found with a small amount of cannabis away from the criminal justice system and instead provide help and support. This has been shown to reduce reoffending.
“Reducing crime is the Mayor’s top priority and he will continue to explore and implement the most effective solutions to help to divert young people away from drug use and crime for good.”
However the Met has been criticised for “macho” policing of drug use in the capital. It comes after taskforce officers were filmed swabbing clubbers for illicit substances at two venues in Shoreditch and the footage posted to the Met’s official Twitter account earlier in January.
Green Party London Assembly Member Caroline Russell said: “The cannabis diversion trials are exactly the kind of evidence led approach London should be taking to policing drugs.
“The macho crackdown policing comms we’ve seen such as the police stopping and swabbing people for drugs when entering clubs in Shoreditch, is not the approach London should be taking if we are serious about reducing drug harms.
“Drugs policing in London needs a serious harm reduction plan and not flashy media stunts; the Mayor needs to launch his London Drugs Commission as soon as possible.”
