UK Report Calls for Cannabis Possession to be Legalised

[ambertrichomez]

Cannabis use may be legalised in the UK if the government adheres to recommendations made in a new report by the UK Drug Policy Commission (UKDPC).

The report, entitled A Fresh Approach to Drugs, suggests that cannabis possession should be made legal and people should be able to grow the plant for personal use.

Every year, 42,000 people in England and Wales are sentenced for drug possession offences, while 160,000 are given warnings about cannabis.

The UKDPC says these warnings lead to a great amount of time and money being spent by police. They also damage many people's employment prospects. It says there is evidence to show that these costs could be reduced by allowing people to possess small amounts of cannabis for personal use.

According to the report, evidence from other countries suggests that legalising cannabis would not necessarily lead to a significant increase in use.

In 2009 cannabis was reclassified from a class C drug to a class B. The maximum penalty for possession is five years' imprisonment, but many first-time offenders and young people are issued with warnings.

Half of all 16 to 29-year-olds say they have tried cannabis at least once and around two million people are thought to smoke it.

However, research over recent years has strongly suggested a link between cannabis use and mental health problems in people who are genetically vulnerable. Studies have shown cannabis users have a higher risk of suffering from depression, anxiety and developing schizophrenia.

The report said: "We do not believe that there is sufficient evidence at the moment to support the case for removing criminal penalties for the major production or supply offences of most drugs.

"However, for the most ubiquitous drug, cannabis, it is worth considering whether there are alternative approaches which might be more effective at reducing harm.

"For example, there is an argument that amending the law relating to the growing of it, at least for personal use, might go some way to undermining the commercialisation of production, with associated involvement of organised crime and the development of stronger strains of cannabis ('skunk'), that we have seen in the UK and other countries in recent years."

The report also pointed to the fact that some people will experiment with drugs, and some will continue to use, despite being aware of the risks. It said that preventing drug use in all circumstances is not required to encourage responsible behaviour.

"This is not to say that we consider drug use to be desirable," it said. "Just like with gambling or eating junk food, there are some moderately selfish or risky behaviours that free societies accept will occur and seek to limit to the least damaging manifestations, rather than to prevent entirely."

Last week, an elderly couple from Bedford unwittingly grew a huge cannabis plant in their back garden. Bedford police tweeted: "Elderly couple bought shrub at car boot sale, tended carefully-biggest cannabis plant we had seen!!"

A spokesperson said the plant had been collected and would be disposed of. No police action was taken against the couple.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE FOUND HEREhttp://www.ibtimes.c...ukdpc-skunk.htm

[T®!chomes]

nice post, thanks for sharing, here is the final report in PDF.

http://www.ukdpc.org...-commission.pdf

[Slade88]

Nice post, good read, with the proper regulations and legislations in place why shouldn't it be legal? It's far more helpful than it is harmful, I think we can all agree on that! Recent studies from the Complutense University in Spain, ''The chemicals found in Cannabis promotes the death of brain cancer cells, by helping them essentially feed upon themselves in a process called 'autophagy', the research team discovered that Cannabinoids such as THC had anticancer effects in mice with human brain cells and in people with brain tumors. When mice with the human cancer cells received the THC, the tumor shrank. Using electron microscopes to analyze brain tissue taken both before and after a 26-30 day THC treatment regime, the researchers found that THC eliminated cancer cells while leaving healthy cells intact. The patients did not have any toxic effects from the treatment; previous studies of THC for the treatment of cancer have also found the therapy to be well tolerated.''

I guess my point is, even if it's not legal for personal use and personal grow, lets at the very least make it legal for the medicinal use.

[semtex123]

Thanks for that information mate, made for some interesting reading

[Dust]

good luck UK people!!

[phayze]

at last there is light at the end of the tunnel that legislation is a big read will have to read it all later cant let it take up my forum time thanks for keeping us informed

[ambertrichomez]

Here's another article about this that goes into a bit more depth about the logistic's of the report about home growing.

The UK Drug Policy Commission's six-year study, "A Fresh Approach to Drugs," calls for the elimination of criminal penalties for all illegal drugs, beginning with marijuana.

"The law on the possession of small amounts of controlled drugs, for personal use only, could be changed so that it is no longer a criminal offense," the commission writes in it's 172-page groundbreaking report. "Criminal sanctions could be replaced with simple civil penalties, such as a fine, perhaps a referral to a drug awareness session run by a public health body, or if there was a demonstrable need, to a drug treatment program. The evidence from other countries that have done this is that it would not necessarily lead to any significant increase in use, while providing opportunities to address some of the harms associated with existing drug laws.

"Given its relatively low level of harm, its wide usage, and international developments, the obvious drug to focus on as a first step is cannabis, which is already subject to lesser sanctions than previously with the use of cannabis warnings. If evaluations indicated that there were no substantial negative consequences, similar incremental measures could be considered, with caution and careful further evaluation, for other drugs."

The commission also recommends home growing as a way to counteract organized crime's control of drug markets.

"For the most ubiquitous drug, cannabis, it is worth considering whether there are alternative approaches which might be more effective at reducing harm. For example, there is an argument that amending the law relating to the growing of it, at least for personal use, might go some way to undermining the commercialization of production, with the associated involvement of organized crime and the development of stronger strains of cannabis (‘skunk’), that we have seen in the UK and other countries in recent years.

"Fragmenting production could undermine organized crime networks. Perhaps the most expedient course to take here would be to re-examine sentence levels and sentencing practice to ensure that those growing below a certain volume of plants face no - or only minimal - sanctions. The impact of any such move would need to be carefully measured and evaluated so policymakers could make informed decisions about future actions."

original article herehttp://www.celebston...nalize-pot.html

[budman1988]

i think this is a start to the future of becoming legal or at least tolerated

[elvis420]

come on UK !!!!

[T®!chomes]

This is really exciting news for many people in the UK, lets hope this isn't a wet kipper and that it will allow people to lead a life without fear of persecution.

If you watch the three videos i have posted its quite clear to me that toleration in certain states in america has worked very well so why wouldn't it work in the UK.

The video's are more related to medical canabis, but if you watch them you can just see the impacts that medical canabis is having on peoples lifes and the economy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcjoK6sfa5E&feature=channel&list=UL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EHXRgu6z58&feature=channel&list=UL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoEnMICUsHo&feature=related

[will blitz]

finally the uk maybe seeing some sense i cant see anything happening soon though under the government we have at the moment though sadly :/

[#Robbo#420#]

Getting classed as a criminal for this what a life can see my self doing worse if I can't do want I want to not like it's much eh let's see what happens