27 February 2008
We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to allow local authorities the power to license legal private-member Cannabis Social Clubs for adults."
Details of Petition:
"CANNABIS SOCIAL CLUBS: A HEALTHY OPTION In most countries, adults can go to a shop or bar when they want to buy alcohol or consume, or they can brew their own. There should be a system for production and distribution of cannabis that will cause less problems and lower policing costs. There should be a place where cannabis can be enjoyed in a responsible way, where it is away from minors, hard drugs, and where the consumers are safe. CSC’s are associations of citizens who want to cultivate a limited amount of cannabis to satisfy their personal needs legally. Health and safety conditions of a CSC should be monitored during the entire process - from cultivation to consumption. This would stop the use of adulterants used in the illegal market all with their own risks. Cultivation would take place in accordance with safety rules. This would reduce problems such as fire risk and theft of electricity. Membership of the clubs would be limited to adults, so these clubs are a way to reduce the availability of cannabis to minors. This proposal is a harm reduction measure."
Read the Government’s response
You have signed an e-petition in support of providing local authorities with the legal power to allow them to license private member cannabis social clubs for adults. This is the Government’s response.
The Government’s message has always been that cannabis is a harmful and illegal drug that should not be taken. It has a number of acute and chronic health effects and prolonged use can induce dependence. Most cannabis is smoked and smoking, in any form, is dangerous. Even the occasional use of cannabis can pose significant dangers for people with mental health problems, such as schizophrenia, and particular efforts need to be made to encourage abstinence in such individuals.
The Government seeks to balance the rights of individuals on the one hand and the greater public health and welfare considerations on the other. In so doing it considers that it makes sense, on health grounds, for cannabis to remain a controlled drug whose unauthorised production (including cultivation), supply and possession are and will remain illegal.
There is therefore no prospect of the Government facilitating the supply of cannabis by enabling local authorities to license private member cannabis social clubs for adults to cultivate the plant for personal use.
Furthermore, anyone trying to establish a cannabis social club, cannabis café or similar establishment risks imprisonment or a heavy fine (or both) under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Supply of cannabis is and will remain a criminal offence and those who supply it to others risk severe penalties. It is also an offence for managers of premises knowingly to allow the production, supply or smoking of cannabis on their premises. The classification of cannabis makes no difference to this position and the Government expects a swift and effective response from the police to any attempts to defy the law.
There is real public concern about the potential mental health effects of cannabis use and, in particular, the use and availability of increased strengths of the drug, commonly known as skunk. That is why the Government asked the independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to review cannabis classification in July 2007.
The Government will consider carefully the findings of the Advisory Council when it submits its advice in April 2008. It will then make a decision about whether or not to bring a proposal to Parliament to reclassify the drug from Class C back to Class B under the Misuse of Drugs Act. This would toughen the penalties relating to cannabis possession, if approved.