The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is set to launch a review into the feasibility of decriminalising cannabis in London in a bid to tackle drug-related crime.
The Labour mayor said if he’s re-elected on May 6th, he will establish an independent London drugs commission to examine the economic, criminal justice and health benefits of making the class-B drug legal.
It has been reported that Mr Khan will be willing to consider changing the legal status of cannabis if that’s what the commission concludes.
He has, however, ruled out the decriminalisation of class-A drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
A source close to the mayor said: βIt will be for the commission to look at the evidence in the round, but nothing is off the table in the context of what is best for public health and keeping Londoners safe.”
Sadiq Khan will propose the idea as part of his mayoral election manifesto which is due to be published today (April 6).
Mr Khan’s plans to launch a commission into the decriminalisation of cannabis comes after a poll found that more than half of the UK – and nearly two-thirds of those in the capital – support legalising the drug for recreational use.