United Kingdom: the British are in favour of legalization

«Parliament would be failing in its duty to represent the people if it continued to resist calls for the introduction of a regulated cannabis market,» warned a former coalition minister.

Next Friday, a bill proposing the introduction of a legal cannabis market in the UK will complete its journey through the House of Commons (the lower house of the British Parliament). If passed, it would represent the biggest change in drug laws for 50 years.

The bill was tabled by Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, and supported by members of Parliament from all parties, as well as experts, including a serving Chief Constable.

Despite a previous setback when he was his coalition's Health Minister, Norman Lamb says he has achieved his goal in framing the debate around drug laws in the UK.

«Change will happen, it's just inevitable.»

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In particular, he draws a comparison with public support for a revision of euthanasia laws. «It's an issue like assisted dying, where parliament is way behind the public. [...] I think it reinforces the view that parliament is not representative of so many people in our country.».

Under Norman Lamb's proposals, cannabis producers would be licensed and their products sold in plain packaging. There would be an obligation to provide health advice to consumers at the point of sale, and cannabis potency would be controlled. Latest figures estimate that the regulated market could raise up to £1 billion a year in taxes.

«Some people say we shouldn't do anything because we're not sure what to do,» says Lamb, «I say that because we're not sure, we should act. People communicate their fear of substances that can cause harm. The instinctive reaction is to ban them until you see unintended consequences - as with alcohol prohibition in the USA.».

Norman Lamb says he received only 5 letters opposing his bill from his constituents in Norfolk County. He says it was striking that his bill won the support of the liberal press and was not ravaged by right-wing newspapers, proof that public opinion at home and abroad has changed its mind.

Opinion polls suggest that the majority of the UK population supports a regulated cannabis market. In Canada, the Liberal government was elected on the manifesto commitment of legalize cannabis. So far, 24 American states have passed legislation in favor of medical cannabis, 4 of them for recreational use. Uruguay has allowed the cultivation of cannabis for personal use, while its neighbors are studying the possibility of selling cannabis in pharmacies.

«More and more people are recognizing that the control regime for UK drugs has been a public health disaster that has needlessly criminalized large numbers of people,» says Richard Garside, director of the County Court Judgment, one of England's courts. «Portugal's health-based approach and the regulated cannabis markets in the US offer examples of how drugs can be regulated differently. Whatever the fate of the cannabis bill, there is a growing feeling that drug-taking should be treated as a health and education challenge, not a crime.