'Legalise cannabis' says MP Lilley
Peter Lilley
Peter Lilley
Cannabis should be legalised, a Conservative MP told Parliament this week.
Speaking yesterday (October 21), Hitchin MP Peter Lilley told the House of Commons “we should move to the legalisation of cannabis.”
Joining a debate on drugs policy, he argued the ban on cannabis was ineffective, widely disregarded and using too many resources to enforce.
He said: “Much less effort and resources go into the prohibition of hard drugs, which cause the greatest harm and the greatest danger.
“Therefore, if we could provide some legal outlets for cannabis, we would be able to focus more of the effort on the drugs that do the greatest harm.”
He also argued that a ban on cannabis meant users were having to buy from illegal dealers, who would push them on to harder drugs.
Mr Lilley – who said he had never used cannabis – continued: “The worst option is falling between two stools and decriminalising use while leaving the supply in the hands of drug gangs.
“That leaves us open to driving soft drugs users into the arms of hard drugs pushers.”
The MP made his remarks after the Green Party tabled a motion saying current drugs laws were “failing” and alternatives should be considered.
Mr Lilley is a longstanding critic of renewable energy – one of the Green Party’s core policies.
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