London Mayor Could Introduce Softer Cannabis Laws.
Worries have been raised by some anti-cannabis pundits that a new report instructed by London Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan next month will call for a major liberalisation of Britain's laws on cannabis.
The London Drugs Commission was created two years ago, and asked by Mr Khan to look at the efficacy of the UK's drug laws, with an exhaustive focus on cannabis, which currently remains a class B drug in this country.
The commission was set up in May 2022 at the same time as the London mayor visited a Californian cannabis dispensary and the city of New York, which legalised personal use and possession of cannabis back in 2021.
However, critics from the centre-right think-tank Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) cautioned against any plans for the UK to copy the US, noting that the legalisation in New York State has not done anything to stop or eliminate the still popular black market.
CSJ deputy policy director Sophia Worringer commented that the legal situation surrounding drug use in New York was 'confused' and that 'police feel powerless to enforce the law because drug taking is so widespread. 'The last thing in London – or anywhere in the UK for that matter – is to import a similar chaos to NYC by liberalising drug laws'.
The CSJ recently released research that revealed that three-quarters of UK police believed that current drug-possession guidelines were ineffective, with two-thirds saying that they believed that cannabis had virtually been decriminalised already.
The think-tank has cautioned that where drug laws have already been liberalised in countries like Portugal and parts of the US, it has only led to an upsurge in addictions.
What is the London Drugs Commision?
The London Drugs Commission is comprised of experts hailing from areas such as criminal justice, academics and public health, and was anticipated to file a report on the topic back in the autumn of 2023.
However, Mr Khan, who has commented in the past that he has an 'open mind' about decriminalising cannabis, said at that point that the issue was 'on the back-burner'. Sources have now said however that the commission's research is complete and a report was foreseen to be published in January.
Labour PM Sir Keir Starmer stated before the 2024 election that he had 'no intention' of changing drug laws, a position which remains.
More From Soft Secrets:
Drug Policy Foundation Launch Campaign for UK Canna Reform
One in Five UK Police Think Medical Cannabis is Still Illegal
L
Liz Filmer
