The Mayor of London is under fire for trying to influence the Government to decriminalise cannabis.
Sadiq Khan has launched the London Drugs Commission to assess the UK’s drugs laws, with a focus on whether to decriminalise the possession and consumption of the Class B drug.
Although he is not permitted to enact such changes himself, Khan intends to use the Commission’s report to influence future Government policy.
‘Destroy lives’
Home Secretary Priti Patel criticised the Mayor, tweeting: “Sadiq Khan’s time would be better spent focusing on knife and drug crime in London.
“The Mayor has no powers to legalise drugs. They ruin communities, tear apart families and destroy lives.”
A spokesman for Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper added: “Labour does not support changing the law on drugs. Drugs policy is not devolved to mayors and under Labour would continue to be set by national government.”
[Drugs] ruin communities, tear apart families and destroy lives. Home Secretary Priti Patel
Damage
Writing in The Daily Mail, Tom Leonard slammed Khan for praising California’s legalisation of cannabis, accusing him of ignorance of the “scale of the disaster” it has caused.
The columnist explained that legalisation “invigorated” California’s black market and caused drug criminals to thrive, contrary to claims that it would reduce crime.
Leonard said: “Another worrying misconception is that cannabis is essentially harmless”.
He added: “Those fears have only grown: experts are increasingly alarmed about the drug’s links with mental health problems, with possible damage to brain development in young users and evidence that using it vastly increases the risk of developing schizophrenia and other mental disorders.”
Prosecution
Earlier this year, Khan came under heavy criticism for separate plans, which would mean that under-25s found with up to 14 grams of the drug in Lewisham, Bexley and Greenwich would be given courses or counselling instead of facing prosecution or police custody.
The scheme is set to begin later this year if the plans are approved.
In response, a Government source told The Daily Telegraph: “2021 was the worst year for teenage killings in London, so decriminalising a major driver of youth violence probably isn’t the answer”.
2021 was the worst year for teenage killings in London, so decriminalising a major driver of youth violence probably isn’t the answer.
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