Is London about to legalise cannabis?

A new report backed by the Mayor of London calls for some cannabis possession to be decriminalised in the capital.

Sadiq Khan is supporting calls for the partial decriminalisation of cannabis in the UK capital, following a study by the independent London Drugs Commission (LDC).

According to reports by the LDC, the global policing of drug usage — particularly cannabis, which remains the most contentious substance when it comes to international legislation — are causing more harm than good.

Lord Charlie Falconer, who chairs the organisation, has said that current laws are ‘disproportionate to the harms [cannabis] can pose.’

Now, Sadiq Khan has publicly supported the LDC’s findings, specifically highlighting the disproportionate impact that drug policing has on Black and other minority communities.

Speaking to the use of stop-and-search procedures as part of anti-drug legislation in the UK, the Mayor said he had ‘long been clear that we need fresh thinking on how to reduce the substantial harms associated with drug-related crime in our communities.’

He added that the ‘current sentencing for those caught in possession of natural cannabis cannot be justified given its relative harm…