Cannabis in the United Kingdom
Cannabis is widely used as an illegal drug in the UK, while other strains lower in THC have been used industrially for over a thousand years for fibre, oil and seeds.
[3] Since it appears to have been mostly grown around the coastal areas it suggests the main reason for cultivating it was as a source of vegetable fibre which was stronger and more durable than stinging nettle or flax.
[4][5] With hempen ropes being fundamental to the success of the English Navy, King Henry VIII in 1533 mandated that landowners grow allotments of hemp; Elizabeth I later increased those quotas, and the penalties for failing to meet them.
[20][21] Cannabis remained a fringe issue in the British public consciousness through the Interwar years and beyond, associated with society's margins: "coloured seamen of the East End and clubs frequented by Negro theatrical performers".
[22] This perception was strained by a 1950 police raid on Club Eleven in Soho which recovered cannabis and cocaine, and led to the arrest of several young white British men.
[34] This compares with France which has some of the strongest drug laws in Europe with 40.9% and Portugal which views drug taking as a medical issue and therefore has far more relaxed laws at 9.4%[citation needed] Cannabis is at times linked to young people beginning to smoke tobacco as cannabis is often smoked with tobacco in the United Kingdom, unlike in many other parts of the world.
[citation needed] In February 2015, a team of researchers at the Institute Of Psychiatry, King's College London, led by Dr. Marta Di Forti, found that use of high potency cannabis known as skunk increased the risk of psychosis by three times, compared to non-use.
[36] The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) provides help and advice with obtaining financial assistance via the Single Payment Scheme.
Hemp hurd, also called shives, is the soft core of the cannabis plant which remains after the fibres are removed, and provides good animal bedding which can absorb more moisture than either straw or wood shavings.
[41] The 2004 reclassification (originally announced in 2001) removed the threat of arrest for possession of small amounts, for the purpose of allowing police to focus on harder drugs and violent crime.
[42][43] In May 2008, under the leadership of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, it was announced that cannabis would be moved back to Schedule B,[44] against the recommendations of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.
The children (Billy Caldwell, 12, and Alfie Dingley, 6) both experienced significant improvement in their conditions after they began using cannabis, but were initially not allowed to continue their treatment under UK law.
[50][52] On 20 June 2018, then Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced his support for the medical use of cannabis and that a review would be undertaken to study changes to the law.
[64] NHS guidance states that medical cannabis should only be prescribed when there is clear published evidence of its benefit and other treatment options have been exhausted.
[65] Nabilone is another cannabinoid drug that has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to treat nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy.
Peter Carroll of the campaign group End Our Pain said there are dozens more families in a similar position or unable to pay for the drugs at all.
[71][72] In 2016, the governor of the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands approved a change to the Misuse of Drugs Law to allow the importation and use of CBD oil for medical purposes.
The former Prime Minister, David Cameron, when serving in opposition, sat on the Select Committee on Home Affairs and voted to call on the Government to "initiate a discussion" within the UN about "alternative ways—including the possibility of legalisation and regulation—to tackle the global drugs dilemma".
[85] A study published in March 2016 said that legalising cannabis in the UK would raise up to one billion pounds in tax a year and reduce the harm done to users and society.
Under its recommendations, the price, potency and packaging of all sold cannabis would be controlled by the Government with a new regulator established to oversee the market, possibly modelled on Ofgem and Ofwat and drug production and sales would be taxed, raising, the panel claims, between £500m and £1bn a year.
[90][88] In early 2018, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) published a report looking at the size of the UK cannabis market and the potential implications of legalisation.
Legalisation has also been advocated because it would ensure the drug meets acceptable standards and is pure, while also limiting the access of young people via a minimum age for purchase, possession and use.
[95][87] The Head of Lifestyle Economics at the IEA described legalisation of cannabis as a "win-win-win", noting: "criminals lose a lucrative industry, consumers get a better, safer and cheaper product and the burden on the general taxpayer is reduced".
[97] A report conducted between 24 February and 14 March 2022 by Hanway and Savanta ComRes interviewed a nationally representative sample of 9,043 adults aged over 18 in several European countries, including the UK, regarding cannabis legalisation.
Of the 8 European countries surveyed in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, and the UK, 55% overall reported to be in favour of legal and regulated cannabis sales to over-18s.
