Nottinghamshire's crime boss stands firm on the topic of cannabis as one fellow police and crime commissioner has called for the drug to be ranked as "Class A" - the same category as heroin, cocaine and ecstasy. Caroline Henry, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire, stresses current legislation says cannabis is illegal, and "any discussion about legalisation is a matter for Parliament rather than PCCs".
Her comments to Nottinghamshire Live came after Dorset's police and crime commissioner David Sidwick called on the powers that be to "make cannabis a Class A drug". Sidwick is part of a group of Conservative PCCs who have called on the Government to reclassify the drug from a Class B to a Class A drug.
But Prime Minister Liz Truss has “no plans” to classify cannabis as a Class A drug, Downing Street said earlier this month after it emerged Home Secretary Suella Braverman was open to the idea. The Home Secretary believes cannabis has been “effectively” legalised as it has not been “policed properly” and is “receptive” to calls for the drug to be upgraded from Class B to Class A, according to a source close to her.
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But No 10 said there were no plans to change the law and the Government was focused on “cracking down on illegal drugs”. And Mrs Henry, on the topic, said her role as PCC is to scrutinise Nottinghamshire Police’s efforts to enforce the law as it stands - but also to examine and support its efforts to prevent crime. "The question about the categorising of cannabis as Class A or otherwise is, again, a matter for Parliament," she said.
“Cannabis is illegal and is acknowledged to be causal and symptomatic within wider crime issues. Nottinghamshire Police pursues suppliers and users rigorously wherever they find them in order to tackle not just illegal drug use but also to prevent the wider harm and linked crime issues that arise from that drug use.
“My priorities in the Make Notts Safe plan are responding efficiently and effectively to local crime, preventing crime and supporting victims. While I scrutinise Nottinghamshire Police’s response to crimes, including drugs supply and misuse, on behalf of the public, my office also has a big role to play in commissioning external services across Nottinghamshire which help prevent and disrupt crime, and support its victims.
"National evidence shows offenders in drug treatment programmes are less likely to reoffend"
“Myself and my office are currently working closely with key strategic stakeholders across Nottingham city and Nottinghamshire county in their new Combatting Substance Misuse Partnerships, which focusses on local delivery of the 10-year national drugs strategy, From Harm to Hope. Its key priorities are to cut crime and save lives by reducing the supply and demand for drugs, through effective criminal justice processing, and delivering a high-quality treatment and recovery system to move addicts and users out of offending.
“National evidence shows offenders in drug treatment programmes are less likely to reoffend, which is why I co-commission, with public health partners in Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council, and a range of criminal justice and public health interventions such as recovery and support services for those actively misusing illegal and legal substances, including Clean Slate in the city, and Change Grow Live in the county.”
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