Reclassifying cannabis as a Class A substance would put Merseyside's "vulnerable" at risk, according to a local expert.
Earlier this week, news broke that Home Secretary Suella Braverman was considering making cannabis a Class A drug, on par with substances such as heroin and cocaine. The reclassification would mean those convicted of possession of cannabis could be given up to seven years in prison, with dealers and producers possibly facing life imprisonment.
Currently, the maximum sentence you could be given for possession of cannabis is up to five years imprisonment, with dealers and producers facing up to 14 years.
READ MORE: Should cannabis become a class A drug?
Cannabis is one of the most widespread substances among Merseyside's young people, and 20% of people aged between 16 and 24 reported using cannabis in the past year according to Harry Sumnall, professor of substance use at Liverpool John Moores University. Speaking to the ECHO, Prof Sumnall said reclassification of the drug would risk further criminalisation of a "small but highly vulnerable population" of drug users.
He said: "If cannabis was moved to Class A it really risks further criminalisation and further focus by authorities on a small but highly vulnerable population, whose needs are probably best not responded through police action and action through the courts.
"The people who do have problems with cannabis, it’s actually the treatment support, the educational and the harm reduction support that can benefit them most."
Responding to claims attributed to Suella Braverman that cannabis had been "effectively legalised," Prof Sumnall said: "There’s certainly easy access to a criminal and harmful market, but that’s not the same as legalisation.
"Internationally, a number of countries have looked at legally regulated markets. In Canada they introduced this because they were primarily concerned with the contact between young people and organised crime.
" I think what the current government is doing, and this does seem to be supported by labour as well is moving towards what we might perhaps call decriminalisation whereby it would still be an offence, but possesion might be a penalty rather than a criminal penalty.
"A lot of the Tory government rhetoric is to be very tough on drugs and tough on possession offences and all these discussions about cannabis being class A are part of that.
"But in reality Police, drug service providers and policy makers are actually supportinbg some quite innovative approaches - so identifying those who do need support with drug use, diverting them away from the criminal justice system and where possible into treatments and other forms of support.
"So I think that represents progress from previous approaches, and despite some of the tough language we hear from politicians, i think in the real world it reflects trying to address some of the realissues associated with drug use."
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