Currently British law punishes cannabis possession with a maximum sentence of five years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both. Such actions are unavoidably and frequently linked to cannabis possession. In the U.K., like elsewhere, the economics of Prohibition, particularly given the changing environment and views towards cannabis increasingly don’t add up. However even the most staid members of law enforcement know that cannabis as medicine is increasingly becoming accepted—and that a family member might end up being a cannabis patient if not a “criminal” for the same. The police everywhere are the most conservative segment of mainstream society when it comes to decriminalization and legalization issues.
In a further sign that more cannabis reform is in the offing in the U.K., the head of one of the largest regional police forces in the country, John Campbell, of the Thames Valley Police, has come forward to support cannabis decriminalization. In testimony delivered to the Home Affairs select committee, citing evidence that he says would reduce violent crime, Campbell said that it is the “lucrative” illegalization of weed that promotes criminal behavior associated with the plant.
He has been joined in his support for...
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