Increase sentences for cannabis possession

I witness cannabis use on UK streets, daily. I see people drive cars using the class B substance, regularly.

I see it get dealt, in cars and on street corners in broad daylight. I was at a popular coffee chain in a city centre, when a group began smoking. They were sat to the right of me next to a family with toddlers and a baby.

I believe the UK has unofficially relaxed its approach when it comes to cannabis.

There seems to have been an influx of cannabis-based products over recent years.

Brad in-front of a wall with messages promoting drug free living, Birmingham, England

Adverts can be seen across Great Britain. It has created confusion amongst the community and suggests a welcoming of such products on UK shores.

More than 290 arrests were made in December 2023, by Essex Police. They were for drivers who were either over the limit or using drugs behind the wheel of a vehicle in the region.

In South Wales, police tested 56,000 drivers for drink and drug driving. 6,000 of these tests resulted in arrests, during the Christmas period.

Despite these statistics, cannabis remains visible on the streets throughout the UK.

Chief constable Jo Shiner of the National Police Chiefs Council said there was a "social acceptance" particularly among younger people.

Speaking about drug driving, she said, "stronger sentences were needed, particularly where someone was killed or seriously injured."

There are three categories a defendant can be sentenced under when guilty of possession. The determining factors look at a wider picture surrounding an individual and highlight circumstances, before a category is set. This is according to information published by the Sentencing Council.

Messages encouraging a drug free life on a wall in Perry Barr, Birmingham, England

Sentences can range from fines to 51 weeks custody.

In December 2023, 243 drug driving arrests were recorded in the Greater Manchester force area, 146 for Sussex, 245 in Thames Valley, 156 in Hampshire & Isle Of White, and 90 for North Wales.

Statistics indicate prevention is taking place. The numbers are suggestive policing operations are positive. What I see on a daily basis couldn't be further from the truth. I witness drug driving daily. Drivers' behaviour behind the wheel is confident and carefree. This would indicate from my perception the situation has gotten out of control.

I say increase sentences for drivers caught behind the wheel using cannabis. I also advocate the use of unlimited random vehicle checks a force wishes to use. This is to prevent road deaths caused by drugs and an arrogant and reckless attitude to drivers who seem to think it's legally and socially acceptable to drug drive in the UK.

Anti-drugs messages on a wall in Perry Barr, Birmingham, England

I also think more needs to be done to regulate or stop the sale of cannabis based products. It is encouraging a relaxation and acceptance of drug use, which can destroy lives.

I find it unacceptable to see marijuana leaves attached to products in adverts on the sides of public buses. Would it still be fair to expect convicts to pay fines for possession when peers are seen using, willy-nilly?

I say ban all cannabis based products within the UK and their promotion, a greater proaction of police prevention, both stop and search and random vehicle checks and an increase in sentences.

I would replace financial penalties with drug rehabilitation programmes attached to community orders under the supervision of a post-sentencing police unit. My view on the National Probation Service is they're a waste of space. My experience of staff there is they are massively undertrained, verging on the useless - money for jam.

The front of the criminal courts and justice centre in Brighton, Sussex

They are glorified social workers with many wishing they hadn't been rejected from police school. The NPS are a post sentencing body, separate from the police. They retain no arrest powers or detention powers, but can make various application to the courts for arrests to be made.

I've known some make lives hell for people on community orders. This is not what they're there for. They are there to see offending behaviour diminish and for a better way of life to ensue in its service users.

I suggest scrapping all funding for the NPS, close the body, and set that money aside to expand post sentencing policing units, who manage rehabilitates post-conviction.

There were more than 500 cases of cannabis detected in deceased drivers between 2014 and 2021, according to figures from the UK Government.

National Probation Service (NPS): A notice outside the building of Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire probation

I wouldn’t recommend a Netherlands style approach, either. To go to the places it is being used it to encourage it, even more. I do recommend a blanket zero tolerance. To promote products which are like something illegal is preposterous. The action has become almost a prerequisite. If these products can be tolerated, then maybe the actual thing can.

On legal advertisement of related products, pictures of the actual plant are used. To be in possession of the actual plant, even for medicinal or what one might argue are legal purposes, is illegal. It can carry a financial penalty and you can be put in prison.

What is the UK doing on the one hand it seeming to introduce such behaviour and on the one hand making it a criminal offence. It is not fair for the people who are currently being arrested and convicted of such behaviour to live in a society where it seems to be on trial.

I believe it to be a destroyer of life, of network and of culture. I have seen numerous cases where misuse of drugs can tear through a home and cause irreparable damage to a person’s mental health. There is a popular myth amongst youth that one cannot get addicted to cannabis and there are zero cases in history where somebody has died as a result of taking it.

To be in possession of cannabis in the UK, whether in a private property or in a public place is a criminal offence

This is absolute codswallop. Misusing cannabis can kill you. It heightens your chances of having a stroke and a fatal infarct. I spoke with a Rastafarian peer, who works in security, who agreed, “if you smoke too much, cannabis will kill you.” They were his words. From what I witness, I agree with these words.

My message to the UK is stop trying to create a utopia and stop allowing something tried and tested in other countries. This is the UK.

Can all police officers actually adhere to statute, stop picking and choosing when to enforce the Misuse Of Drugs Act 1971, and to all those who are confused, possessing cannabis can lead to you being fined or put in prison.

Do not be caught with it and never drive with it. It is still illegal, despite all the advertisement and promotion of things which might be similar.