Put cannabis on par with crack, says policing chief in rebuke for Khan
Cannabis should be upgraded to a class A drug because of the harm it can cause, a policing chief has said.
As Sir Sadiq Khan calls for possession of the drug to be decriminalised, David Sidwick, Dorset's police and crime commissioner, has urged that cannabis, currently a Class B drug, should be put on a par with crack cocaine and heroin.
Such a move would see the maximum penalties for possession increase from five to seven years in jail, while the maximum penalty for supplying cannabis would rise from 14 years in prison to life.
Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Commissioner, also opposed Sir Sadiq's call for cannabis to be decriminalised. He pointed out that drugs were 'at the centre of a lot of crime' and said drug use was one of the main drivers of antisocial behaviour.
Sir Sadiq, the Mayor of London, has proposed that the possession of small amounts of natural cannabis should no longer be a criminal offence. Dealing in or producing the drug would remain illegal.
Mr Sidwick sets out his demand in a foreword to a new book by Albert Reece and Gary Hulse, two Australian professors of medicine and psychiatry, who have linked cannabis to mental ill-health, autism and cancer.
He said there was growing evidence linking psychosis, cancer and birth defects to cannabis use, particularly with the development of more potent strains.
Mr Sidwick warned it was also a 'gateway' drug used by crime gangs to lure in users. They then entice them on to addictive class A drugs such as crack that not only provide more profit per unit but also give the gangs greater power to leverage them into criminal activity.
'Cannabis needs to be taken seriously on a national scale because of the danger it presents, and there needs to be money put into prevention and education to ensure people are aware of these dangers,' he said.
'Currently, Class A drugs take precedence when it comes to enforcement and treatment, but it is my view that there is no point focusing on the destination of addiction if we don't stop people getting on the first two or three carriages of the train in the first place.
'Only through reclassifying cannabis will it be treated with the severity it deserves.'
The London Drugs Commission, set up by Sir Sadiq, ruled out full legalisation of cannabis in its report because it said any benefits from tax revenues and reduced police workload were outweighed by the potential longer-term health impacts on users.
Instead, it proposed that natural cannabis would be removed from the Misuse of Drugs Act and brought under the Psychoactive Substances Act.
This would mean possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use would no longer be a criminal offence, but importing, manufacturing and distributing the drug would remain a criminal act.
The Home Office has ruled out any reclassification of cannabis.
Mr Sidwick's proposals have been backed by Janie Hamilton, a Dorset mother who has campaigned for upgrading cannabis to class A.
Her son James died when he was 36 after refusing treatment for testicular cancer. It followed years of battling mental illness, which his family believes was triggered by his addiction to cannabis, which he started using at 14.
Ms Hamilton said: 'My beloved son James was a fun-loving, mischievous, clever, tender-hearted boy who wanted to fit in with his peers and be part of the 'in' crowd. This was to be his undoing.
'At the age of 14, unbeknown to us, living at a boarding school where his father taught, he started smoking cannabis. He became arrogant, rude, secretive, rebellious and unpredictable. I remember thinking how I loved him, but that I didn't like him.
'He dropped out of university after one term and took job after job, worrying us with his bizarre behaviour. He shaved his hair, his eyebrows, cut his eyelashes and became aggressive. He would stay in his room all day and come out at midnight to shower and cook.
'One day, he came home from his job on a building site, turning in circles in the garden and all that night. He told me he had spent all his wages on cannabis. I called the doctor the next day and James was sectioned within an hour, diagnosed with schizophrenia.'
She said there had been a 16-year cycle of medical treatment, relapses and trouble with the police before her son died.
'Cannabis is everyone's problem. It destroys lives and families. Let no one say that cannabis is harmless – cracking down on this destructive drug is one of the greatest and most urgent needs facing us all,' she said.
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