Police chiefs call to make cannabis a Class A drug
(Picture: PA Archive)A group of police commissioners have called to make cannabis a Class A drug at the Conservative Party Conference, saying that it is “just as harmful as cocaine”.
Cannabis is currently a Class B drug, however, the police chiefs say that it should be reclassified to join the ranks of heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and LSD. This would mean the maximum penalty for the possession of cannabis would be up to seven years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.
The group of Conservative police commissioners claimed that new health data on the drug makes the case for re-evaluating penalties, according to the BBC.
David Sidwick, the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, described cannabis as a “gateway drug”.
Mr Sidwick said: “If you look at the young people in treatment, the number one drug they are in treatment for is cannabis.
“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.”
However, Peter Reynolds, President of CLEAR UK, a group campaigning to end the prohibition of cannabis, told the BBC that reclassifying the drug would be “completely crazy”.
“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,” Mr Reynolds said.
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