REGULATION
MARKET FORCES
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uccessful cannabis reforms are accelerating across the globe , benefitting millions of people , with good reason . The UK ’ s illegal cannabis trade alone is worth £ 2bn a year , profiting organised crime , and fuelling street crime , child exploitation and violence . The criminalisation of people who use cannabis – and , indeed , all drugs – is harmful , ineffective and costly .
Marginalised communities are carrying the greatest burden of these harms , as those who work in treatment , housing and other services know . For example , vulnerable people are evicted because smoking cannabis is specifically named in the ( wildly out of date ) 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act as something landlords must prevent . Possession
More and more of the world ’ s cannabis markets are now legally regulated . It ’ s time for the UK to follow suit , says Martin Powell
offences can be part of an accumulation of convictions and unpaid fines leading to prison . Most police stop searches – disproportionately impacting Black people – are for cannabis , and young people carrying cannabis for older suppliers is an entry point to being drawn into county lines supply . Cannabis use can also be a barrier to accessing mental health services , in part because of its illegality .
Yet five years after legalisation in Canada , a substantial proportion of the cannabis market is now legally regulated . In the US , over half of the adult population can access legal cannabis , while in Europe , Germany is introducing a new non-profit model – based on one Transform helped Malta develop . The momentum is unstoppable . The question is , what will the UK ’ s approach be ? We need all concerned stakeholders – including readers of DDN – to help us develop a roadmap to reform . We need a regulatory model that benefits individuals , communities and society by putting social justice and public health at the heart of our new approach . If frontline expertise in the drugs field is not engaged in this debate at this critical early stage , we risk repeating mistakes made with over-commercialised , underregulated alcohol and tobacco markets .
In the last 20 years , Transform has largely operated internationally on this issue , advising governments and working with civil society in almost every country that has legalised recreational cannabis ( Canadian civil servants described our How to
Regulate Cannabis guide as the ‘ regulation bible ’). We ’ ve also worked in the UK ( for example , helping the Green Party and Liberal Democrats develop their cannabis legalisation policies ) but now want to turn our full focus on our cannabis laws .
To make this possible we need help . That ’ s why we ’ ve launched a crowdfunder which has just reached £ 10,000 of our £ 50,000 target . This money will fund everything from an authoritative report on economic impacts to workshops engaging those with the greatest stakes in how cannabis is regulated – including drug services . Because it ’ s time to legalise and responsibly regulate the UK ’ s most widely used illegal drug .
Martin Powell is head of partnerships at Transform Drug Policy Foundation
Transform ’ s guiding aims for cannabis regulation are :
• Ending the criminalisation of people who use cannabis , plus the deletion of former criminal records .
• Protecting and enhancing public health – ensuring access for adults to safer regulated products , accurate information about contents , risks , harm reduction , and related health services .
• Substantially reducing the illegal market and profits for organised crime .
• Equity and social justice – community-informed policy design to protect justice and rights , while repairing past harms . That could mean a fully state controlled market , or an equitable and diverse mix of small and medium sized businesses ( not monopolised by big corporates ) involving and benefiting previously disproportionately impacted communities . Cannabis taxes could support treatment services or community projects .
• Environmentally sustainable and carbon neutral / negative .
• Evidence based , able to evolve based on careful monitoring and evaluation .
Our current thinking suggests a combination of existing models , but tailored to the UK :
1 . Home growing for personal use and non-profit sharing including growing limits , not-for-profit sales , restricting child access etc .
2 . Non-profit adult membership-based cannabis clubs : As pioneered in Spain , and now part of the regulatory models in Uruguay , Germany , and Malta . A supportive community-based environment can encourage responsible use of quality- controlled products , avoiding overcommercialisation .
3 . Permitted products in licensed shops with controls on quality and potency , price and taxation , shop location and opening hours , with funded social equity programmes preventing corporate monopolies ; inspection and compliance .
4 . Cannabis-based medical products via prescription – medical cannabis is already legal in the UK but access needs to be dramatically improved .
18 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • OCTOBER 2024 WWW . DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS . COM