Sadiq Khan’s Cannabis Decriminalisation Isn’t Radical. It’s Long Overdue. 

By Aoife Wilson

Let’s be clear: cannabis is not completely harmless. It can impact your memory, lead to dependency, and in rare cases, trigger psychosis, especially in people with underlying vulnerabilities. However, none of those risks justify giving someone a criminal record just for smoking a joint.

That is why Mayor Sadiq Khan’s recent call to partially decriminalise cannabis in London should seriously be considered. His position, based on the findings of the London Drugs Commission, argues for the removal of criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of cannabis. It is time to recognise that the current system is failing.

Right now, the law treats recreational cannabis use as a criminal offence, and it does so disproportionately. Cannabis policing continues to target particular ethnic communities, leading to harmful consequences for individuals and damages police-community relations. The Commission notes how Black Londoners are far more likely to be stopped and searched for cannabis than their white peers, despite similar usage rates [1]. Furthermore, young people from working-class communities often face criminal charges for similar behaviours, while others skate by with a warning.

As of 2025, cannabis remains a Class B drug in the UK. A classification that is growing more outdated as time passes, with new scientific evidence proving so. While possession and supply remain criminal offences, the actual risks posed by cannabis, particularly in comparison to other Class B substances like ketamine, amphetamines, and codeine, tell a different story.

Cannabis has low acute toxicity, virtually no risk of fatal overdose, and lower addiction potential than many drugs in its legal category. Yet it continues to be treated with the same severity by the UK government. The Labour government’s decision to reclassify it from Class C back to Class B in 2009 was not driven by public health concerns.

By adhering to outdated classifications, the UK is not protecting its citizens, it is hindering them. It’s time we acknowledge that cannabis, while not completely harmless, does not belong in the same legal bracket as far more dangerous substances.

Surprisingly or perhaps tellingly, alcohol could pose a greater risk to individuals than cannabis. A major UK study led by Professor David Nutt, published in The Lancet in 2007, ranked substances by overall harm. Alcohol and tobacco, both legal and widely consumed, appeared in the top ten ranking of harmful substances. Cannabis, by contrast, ranked significantly lower [2].

If drug laws were based purely on harm as conducted in the study, alcohol would be Class A and cannabis, at most, would be Class C. But in reality, they are not. The British justice system continues to criminalise cannabis users while turning a blind eye to the far greater harms caused by legally sanctioned substances like alcohol and tobacco.

It is difficult to interpret MPs’ inaction on cannabis reform as anything other than political cowardice. The scientific findings are clear and the hypocrisy is blatant.

It has taken far too long, but several politicians have adopted similar stances to Sadiq Khan. While Westminster continues to dither, the Liberal Democrats issued support for a legal, regulated cannabis market in 2016 [3]. Furthermore, the Green Party has been in favour of cannabis decriminalisation since its formation in 1990.

Locally in Northern Ireland, the then-Lord Mayor of Belfast Kate Nicholl publicly backed legalisation along with supervised injection sites, which is a far more progressive measure than most MPs have dared to take.

Despite cannabis remaining illegal for recreational use in the UK, with only limited availability for medical purposes, the irony is hard to ignore. As of 2016, the United Kingdom was the world’s largest exporter of legal cannabis [4]. The message is clear: profit is acceptable, as long as it doesn’t benefit British citizens. If there is such demand at home for cannabis, then the government should stop flirting with prohibition and instead introduce a regulated system that prioritises safety over punishment.

If financial gain is what it takes to convince policymakers and those of a capitalist persuasion, then cannabis reform should be a no-brainer. Cannabis legalisation presents itself as a promising economic opportunity that the government is ignoring. A 2016 report estimated cannabis legalisation could generate up to £1 billion a year in tax revenue [5]. Factor in the money saved on fruitless prosecutions and decreasing policing costs, it is the obvious choice.

Khan’s proposal to legalise cannabis is not radical, it is in fact reasonable. And while it may not solve every issue overnight, it is a step toward a more humane drug policy. The government’s current policy of punishment rather than education and rehabilitation is causing far more harm than good.

Sources

[1] The London Drugs Commission (2025). https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/mayors-office-policing-and-crime-mopac/mopac-governance-and-decision-making/london-drugs-commission.

[2] Nutt, D. (2007) ‘Development of a rational scale to assess the harm of drugs of potential misuse,’ Health Policy, 369(9566). https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(07)60464-4/fulltext.

[3] Legalise and regulate cannabis (no date). https://www.libdems.org.uk/cannabis.

[4] International Narcotics Control Board (2017) Narcotic Drugs. https://www.incb.org/documents/Narcotic-Drugs/Technical-Publications/2017/Narcotic_drugs_technical_publication_2017.pdf (Accessed: July 21, 2025).

[5] Wright, O. (2016) ‘Cannabis legalisation in UK ‘would raise £1bn a year in taxes,’’ Independent, 8 March. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/cannabis-legalisation-marijuana-uk-ps1bn-a-year-in-taxes-a6918161.html.