UK Police forces are engaging in the de facto decriminalisation of cannabis without government approval, with charges for possession of the drug falling to a record low.
Despite the drug’s usage being at its highest point since 2007, the number of people being charged for using cannabis has reportedly hit a record low, with police in the UK now being accused of engaging in a policy of de facto decriminalisation of the drug, despite no such edict being ratified by British lawmakers.
In fact, there have been some rumblings in recent days in regards to clamping down on the use of the drug. UK Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, is reportedly interested in reclassifying Marijuana as a class-A drug — like heroin and cocaine — although Downing Street has already rejected such a rumoured proposal in favour of simply seeing the law that already exists enforced properly.
According to a report by The Telegraph, the proportion of people charged for possession of the drug has fallen from 26 per cent seven years ago to only 16 per cent this year.
Some forces have even seen prosecutions drop below 10 per cent, with unnamed sources reportedly telling the publication that there is an “undercurrent” within forces questioning “what is the difference between alcohol and cannabis in terms of the demand on public services and the overall effect on society”.
“There is so much risk around Class A drugs such as heroin and cocaine and crack, that that is where we are focused,” the source is described as saying. “Our priorities are about keeping society safe and we simply do not have the resources to go after everybody who is found in possession of cannabis.”
As a consequence of this apparent attitude, some are now claiming that UK law enforcement is now engaged in a de facto decriminalisation of the drug, despite no approval for such a move being given by any executive branch of government within the United Kingdom.
“It’s decriminalisation by stealth without a doubt,” David Wilson, a former prison governor who now serves as an emeritus professor of criminology at Birmingham University, said.
Such a position has been backed by broadcaster Peter Hitchens, who criticised a recent suggestion that the UK government could reclassify cannabis as a drug on par with the likes of cocaine and heroin as being useless should the country’s police be unwilling to enforce any restrictions.
“As long as police won’t pursue possession, it matters hardly at all what class it is,” Hitchens, a major critic of the drug, wrote online, describing the campaign to reclassify the drug as “empty political grandstanding”.
“If you actually policed this marijuana more effectively you would almost certainly reduce a violent crime as well but this is another unsayable thing,” he also claimed in a recent interview with UK broadcaster TalkTV.
Meanwhile, suggestions that the drug could be reclassified — despite seemingly being backed by individuals within the Conservative party, as well as some senior officials within UK law enforcement — has been shot down by Number 10, with a spokesman for Prime Minister Liz Truss saying that the cabinet wants to focus on other ways to tackle crime and drug usage in Britain.
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