Six-Year Study Leads To Call For Leniency On Drug Penalties

The government has been urged to revise the UKs penalties for drug misuse so that possession of small amounts would no longer be a criminal offence.

The recommendation comes in a report from the UK Drug Policy Commission, which undertook six years of research and concludes the UK is wasting much of the £3bn it spends each year on tackling illicit drugs.

However, the Home Office says drug use is falling and it does not plan to alter its approach.

The report, called A Fresh Approach to Drugs, says the annual estimated cost to England and Wales of class A drug use is £15bn.

It says that while drug use and drug problems have declined in the UK in recent years, there are still about 2,000 drug-related deaths each year and 380,000 problem drug users.

Some 42,000 people in England and Wales are sentenced annually for drug possession offences and about 160,000 given cannabis warnings, it says, which "amounts to a lot of time and money for police, prosecution and courts".

The commission says giving people cautions and criminal records for having small quantities is not "proportionate" and suggests imposing civil penalties, such as fines, or drug treatment orders instead.

It also recommends individuals who grow a small number of cannabis plants should be treated leniently, to undermine organised crime networks that produce stronger types of cannabis.

However, it does not call for the decriminalisation or legalisation of most drugs.

(H/GK)