The only way to win the war on drugs is to legalise them starting with cannabis - GP Taylor

Evidence of the benefit of cannabis for health is patchy, but a recent study by JWU, a university in America stated that cannabis had healing properties for inflammatory diseases and cancer. Anecdotally, I know several people who firmly believe that their daily use of low doses of cannabis has dramatically improved conditions that other medicines haven’t. One man I know in his 70’s has told me that his anxiety levels have decreased since he has taken the drug.

In the town where I live, it is not uncommon to smell cannabis as people pass by. Many young people prefer it to alcohol. Most do not think it is out of the ordinary and the law is out of step with the beliefs of society.

In 2019, there were nearly 10,000 alcohol related deaths whilst in the same year only 31 people had traces of cannabis in their body at the time of death. A 2018 study said that over 15 per cent of the public had used cannabis. There could be as many as seven million users in the UK. That is a lot of criminal behaviour.

The worrying thing is that those who are supplying the needs of these people are organised criminal gangs, many of them here illegally and usually have contempt for the law and those who seek to impose it. These are not the jolly drug dealers typified in the film Withnail and I, these drug dealers are involved in people smuggling, money laundering and violent crime. They are difficult to catch and the sentences they receive are laughable. The source of their business must be taken away from them. Drug dealers only survive because the products they sell are illegal.

The only way to win the war on drugs is to legalise them. Cannabis would be the place to start. The police-led enforcement approach to drugs creates numerous social problems: £1.4bn is spent on drug-related police enforcement and criminal justice system costs per year in England. A further £5.5bn is spent on drug-related crime. That is a vast amount of money wasted.

With the legalisation of cannabis, drug gangs would have their product stripped from them. They would no longer be the only source of supply and it would soon become unprofitable for them. Gun and knife crime would go down in communities where carrying a knife or firearm is a part of youth culture.

In a liberal society, prohibition does not work. If cannabis was legalised and available from the chemist at a fair price, we would see an overnight change in drugs related offences. Users could be licensed and carry a cannabis card that would allow them to buy and grow several plants at home for their own consumption. Those people who developed a problem could be helped.

The supply of cannabis outside of permitted shops would still be policed, but better quality and cheaper products would soon cut down illicit trade.

The police cannot and should not be responsible for the problem of drug use. The American model of legalisation has shown that large amounts of tax revenue can be raised. This money could be used to help those addicted to other drugs such as heroin. In the State of California, cannabis tax brought in £1.2bn in 2022. In Britain, the amount could be a lot more.

Some scientists say that cannabis is less toxic than alcohol, less addictive, less harmful to the body, and less likely to contribute to violent or reckless behaviour.

Why then does the government insist on the ban of this herb? Surely, in a free society people have the right to take whatever they want? As people are pushing to legalise euthanasia, why can’t cannabis be legalised?

It is against our human rights for a government to nanny people and make them criminals because they ingest a plant that humans have taken for thousands of years. Freedom means that we have the right to consume whatever we like even if they are bad for us.

Within 200 yards of my house there are four pubs where people are free to drink as much alcohol as they can, to the point of collapse if they wish. As we all know, alcohol has a dramatic effect on the human body as well as the family and society. Yet, it is perfectly legal to drink as much as you can regardless of the consequences.

The only way to win the war on drugs is to legalise them. Many countries around the world have a positive attitude to cannabis reform and Britain is lagging behind. It is time to end prohibition and allow people freedom of choice.

GP Taylor is a writer and broadcaster who lives in Yorkshire.