Yes, you read that right. Soon, you might be able to puff away your good green stuff in public without being arrested– if the Mayor of London has his way, that is.
Back in April last year, Sadiq Khan said that he’d look into legalising cannabis for adult recreational use in the capital if he was re-elected as Mayor of London for a second term. His plan was to create an independent drugs commission to weigh up the pros and cons of legalisation, then to take its findings to government. A month later, he was voted in. Now, he’s making moves, with plans to start decriminalising the use of Class B drugs in London.
Hold your horses though, folks – it’s not as simple as it sounds. The Telegraph reported that it would work by rolling out a new scheme in the boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich and Bexley, allowing people under 25 caught with cannabis (and effectively all Class B drugs) to be offered speeding course-style classes or counselling sessions.
Basically, it means that police officers will be told to not arrest young people caught with Class B’s like weed, ketamine and speed. Instead, offenders will be taken back to their family homes and kept out of cells – following research suggesting that police time would be better spent tackling serious crime. So far, reports say that the scheme will only be for under 25s, so some oldies might be feeling a bit left out.
The Mayor's scheme follows prime minister Boris Johnson’s plan to crackdown on illegal substances, including ‘lifestyle users using Class A drugs’ – an announcement that came in December after the Sunday Times reported that parliament's loos showed traces of coke use. Naughty naughty.
Sadiq Khan’s scheme to decriminalise Class B drugs will reportedly be announced at some point this month and will be spearheaded by Lewisham mayor Damien Egan.
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