British police commissioner wants more Cannabis Clubs

North Wales Police Commissioner Afron Jones supports UK cannabis clubs and calls for legalization based on the Spanish model. A hundred cannabis clubs already exist in the UK and operate according to well-honed methods based on English case law.

It's not the first time the police have takes the side of Cannabis Clubs, police authorities are generally tolerant of clubs and concentrate their efforts on the black market. In fact, as consumption and sales within the associations are carried out responsibly, they relieve the police of many efforts deemed by many officers to be useless and futile.

Afron Jones' position, an example of good faith

The Chief Constable of North Wales Police calls for a rethink of the societal view of substance abuse and for addiction to be treated as a health issue: «There are expectations around drug use problems and anti-social behaviour that these should be seen as public safety issues for the police to deal with. This is not the case. We treat the symptoms, but other agencies of a different nature should deal with the root causes.

As a member of the police force, he has observed the failure of current methods: «My positions on the subject have been formed after many years of experience in the police service, where I have observed the futility of locking up people with problematic drug use, only to see them appear again and again in the courts».

He has met with some of the UK's cannabis clubs and travelled to Switzerland to develop and examine different models for regulating cannabis consumption. He proposes taking inspiration from the Spanish model: «I support a legal, regulated cannabis market with age restrictions and the authorization of the cultivation of a limited number of plants. It's been clear for a long time that the so-called «war on drugs» has failed. I support the Spanish model of cannabis clubs that grow their own plants as part of a regulated consumption for their members».

The government's position

Despite the fact that the programs are increasingly popular and centered around a responsible and ethical model, the government, which recently legalized the medicinal use of cannabis reminds us that «the trade and possession of recreational cannabis is illegal anywhere».

In particular, it calls on the police to act accordingly: “The scientific and medical evidence is clear that the recreational use of cannabis can represent a danger to individuals and society. Those who use it, if caught, are liable to prosecution and a five-year prison sentence. The way in which the police choose to carry out their investigations is left to the discretion of police chiefs, but we expect them to uphold the law».

Institute of Economic Affairs in favor of legalization

The British think-tank had come to same conclusions The criminalization of cannabis is a failure. The director of the Lifestyle Economics, Chris Snowdon said: «It's time to reform cannabis policy in the UK. Canada and the USA are leading the way. Done properly, cannabis legalization is a win-win-win: criminals lose control of a lucrative industry, consumers gain access to a cheaper, higher-quality product, and the burden on the taxpayer is reduced (in reference to spending on security and public health)».

The Think Thank report sounded the alarm about «the predominance of skunk cannabis, of dubious composition and high potency, on the black market«, which it already considered sufficient reason for legalization. Instead, he proposed a regulated market with maximum THC limits and sales and cultivation carried out by licensed specialists, taxed at a reasonable rate so as to rout the black market and save on public health expenditure.