{"id":19319,"date":"2025-06-01T16:56:38","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T15:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=19319"},"modified":"2025-06-01T16:56:38","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T15:56:38","slug":"opinion-piece-put-cannabis-on-par-with-crack-says-policing-chief-in-rebuke-for-khan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2025\/06\/opinion-piece-put-cannabis-on-par-with-crack-says-policing-chief-in-rebuke-for-khan\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion Piece: &#8220;Put cannabis on par with crack&#8221; says policing chief in rebuke for Khan"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"grid-col\n\t\tgrid-col-12\n\t\ttpl-article__layout\n\t\ttpl-article__layout--header\n\t\t\" data-test=\"article-header\"><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"e-headline u-heading-1    \" data-test=\"headline\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">by Ch<\/span><span class=\"e-byline__author\" style=\"font-size: 12pt;\" data-test=\"author-name\">arles Hymas &#8211; <\/span><span class=\"e-byline__job-title\" style=\"font-size: 16px;\" data-test=\"author-job-title\">Home Affairs Editor &#8211; The Telegraph of London &#8211; <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">28 May 2025<\/span><\/h1>\n<p class=\"e-standfirst u-heading-4  \" data-test=\"standfirst\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Police Commissioner says drug should be Class A over long-term health impacts<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/header>\n<aside class=\"grid-col\n\t\t\t\tgrid-col-12\n\t\t\t\tgrid-col-lg-2\n\t\t\t\ttpl-article__layout\n\n\t\t\t\ttpl-article__layout--meta\n\n\t\t\t\ttpl-article__separator\n\t\t\t\ttpl-article__separator--pseudo-hide-lg\" data-js=\"article-meta\"><span class=\"e-byline e-byline--multi\" data-test=\"byline\"><span class=\"e-byline__meta\" data-test=\"byline-meta\"><a href=\"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2025\/06\/opinion-piece-put-cannabis-on-par-with-crack-says-policing-chief-in-rebuke-for-khan\/khan-in-pot-farm\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-19320\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-19320\" src=\"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Khan-in-pot-farm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"635\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Khan-in-pot-farm.jpg 1043w, https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Khan-in-pot-farm-640x402.jpg 640w, https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Khan-in-pot-farm-1024x643.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Khan-in-pot-farm-768x482.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 635px) 100vw, 635px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/aside>\n<aside class=\"grid-col\n\t\t\t\tgrid-col-12\n\t\t\t\tgrid-col-lg-2\n\t\t\t\ttpl-article__layout\n\n\t\t\t\ttpl-article__layout--meta\n\n\t\t\t\ttpl-article__separator\n\t\t\t\ttpl-article__separator--pseudo-hide-lg\" data-js=\"article-meta\"><em>Sir Sadiq Khan, who made his call following a report from the London Drugs Commission, visited a legal cannabis farm in Los Angeles in 2022 <span class=\"e-caption__credit\" data-test=\"credit\"><span class=\"e-caption__credit-description\">Credit<\/span>: Stefan Rousseau\/PA Wire<\/span><\/em><\/aside>\n<div class=\"grid-col\n\t\t\t\t\tgrid-col-12\n\t\t\t\t\ttpl-article__layout\n\t\t\t\t\ttpl-article__layout--content\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\" data-js=\"article-body\" data-test=\"tpl-article-body-recipe\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"articleBodyText section\">\n<div class=\"component article-body-text    \" data-test=\"article-body-text\">\n<p>Cannabis should be upgraded to a class A drug because of the harm it can cause, a policing chief has said.<\/p>\n<p>As\u00a0Sir Sadiq Khan calls for possession of the drug to be decriminalised, David Sidwick, Dorset\u2019s police and crime commissioner, has urged that cannabis, currently a Class B drug, should be put on a par with crack cocaine and heroin.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Commissioner, also opposed Sir Sadiq\u2019s call for cannabis to be decriminalised. He pointed out that drugs were \u201cat the centre of a lot of crime\u201d and said drug use was one of the main drivers of antisocial behaviour.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"html-embed section\" data-test=\"html-embed\">\n<div id=\"wrp-57f5144e-2d06-4bdc-bcb7-a349771571cc\" class=\"wrp-57f5144e-2d06-4bdc-bcb7-a349771571cc part-wrp frame--loaded\">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.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articleBodyText section\">\n<div class=\"component article-body-text    \" data-test=\"article-body-text\">\n<p>He said there was growing evidence linking psychosis, cancer and birth defects to cannabis use, particularly with the development of more potent strains.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Sidwick warned it was also a \u201cgateway\u201d 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCannabis 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCurrently, 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\u2019t stop people getting on the first two or three carriages of the train in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnly through reclassifying cannabis will it be treated with the severity it deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"html-embed section\" data-test=\"html-embed\">\n<div id=\"wrp-e8097c04-10e6-4690-80ae-95448ddf1e34\" class=\"wrp-e8097c04-10e6-4690-80ae-95448ddf1e34 part-wrp frame--loaded\">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.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articleBodyText section\">\n<div class=\"component article-body-text    \" data-test=\"article-body-text\">\n<p>Instead, it proposed that natural cannabis would be removed from the Misuse of Drugs Act and brought under the Psychoactive Substances Act.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>The Home Office has ruled out any reclassification of cannabis.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Sidwick\u2019s proposals have been backed by Janie Hamilton, a Dorset mother who has campaigned for upgrading cannabis to class A.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"html-embed section\" data-test=\"particle-embed\">\n<div id=\"wrp-5f09aef5-f92b-46b8-9924-42da854b1b53\" class=\"wrp-5f09aef5-f92b-46b8-9924-42da854b1b53 part-wrp frame--loaded\">Ms Hamilton said: \u201cMy 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 \u2018in\u2019 crowd. This was to be his undoing.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articleBodyText section\">\n<div class=\"component article-body-text    \" data-test=\"article-body-text\">\n<p>\u201cAt 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\u2019t like him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said there had been a 16-year cycle of medical treatment, relapses and trouble with the police before her son died.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCannabis is everyone\u2019s problem. It destroys lives and families. Let no one say that cannabis is harmless \u2013 cracking down on this destructive drug is one of the greatest and most urgent needs facing us all,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Source:\u00a0 https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/gift\/32da88934bd58598<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Charles Hymas &#8211; Home Affairs Editor &#8211; The Telegraph of London &#8211; 28 May 2025 Police Commissioner says drug should be Class A over long-term health impacts Sir Sadiq Khan, who made his call following a report from the London Drugs Commission, visited a legal cannabis farm in Los Angeles in 2022 Credit: Stefan [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,129,68,104,40,128],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cannabis-marijuana","category-culture","category-drug-use-various-effects","category-political-sector","category-prevention-research","category-uk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19319\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}