Closed petition Hold a referendum for the legalisation of cannabis

Petition progress

View all updates for this petition, with the most recent first.

• 12 September 2018

  Petition closed

• 12 June 2018

  Related activity

  MPs ask Government for a clearer response on petition about referendum on cannabis

  The Government’s response to this petition has changed. This change was made on 12 June 2018.

  This is because the Petitions Committee (the group of MPs who oversee the petitions system) did not think that the Government’s first response was satisfactory, because it did not address directly the petition’s specific request for a referendum on the legalisation of cannabis.

  The Committee wrote to the Government to ask for a new response which answered the petition more directly.

  The Government has produced a new response which is published here:https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/214030

  The new response reads as follows:
  This Government has no plans to legalise cannabis and there are no plans to hold a referendum on the matter.

  Cannabis is a Class B Drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. There is a substantial body of scientific and medical evidence to show that controlled drugs, such as cannabis, are harmful and can damage people’s mental and physical health, and our wider communities.

  The evidence from the Government’s independent experts, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (‘ACMD’), is that the use of cannabis is a “significant public health issue and can unquestionably cause harm to individuals and society”. The ACMD’s most recent advice on cannabis is set out in its 2008 report:
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/acmd-cannabis-classification-and-public-health-2008
  Given these acknowledged harms, the Government does not consider it appropriate to hold a referendum on the legalisation of cannabis. Whilst the debate is an important one, the eleven previous referenda have centred on fundamental constitutional issues such as devolution and the UK’s membership of the EU.
  The legalisation of cannabis would send the wrong message to the vast majority of people who do not take drugs, especially young and vulnerable people, with the potential grave risk of increased misuse of drugs. It would not eliminate the crime committed by the illicit trade, nor would it address the harms associated with drug dependence and the misery this can cause to families and society. As such, the Government’s position on Cannabis remaining a controlled drug remains clear and there is no intention to hold a referendum on the matter.

  The previous response, which has now been replaced, was as follows:
  This Government has no plans to legalise cannabis.

  Cannabis is a Class B Drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. There is a substantial body of scientific and medical evidence to show that controlled drugs, such as cannabis, are harmful and can damage people’s mental and physical health, and our wider communities.

  The evidence from the Government’s independent experts, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (‘ACMD’), is that the use of cannabis is a “significant public health issue and can unquestionably cause harm to individuals and society”. The ACMD’s most recent advice on cannabis is set out in its 2008 report:
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/acmd-cannabis-classification-and-public-health-2008

  The legalisation of cannabis would send the wrong message to the vast majority of people who do not take drugs, especially young and vulnerable people, with the potential grave risk of increased misuse of drugs. It would not eliminate the crime committed by the illicit trade, nor would it address the harms associated with drug dependence and the misery this can cause to families and society.

• 30 April 2018

  Government responded to this petition

  This Government has no plans to legalise cannabis and there are no plans to hold a referendum on the matter.

  Read the response in full

  Cannabis is a Class B Drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. There is a substantial body of scientific and medical evidence to show that controlled drugs, such as cannabis, are harmful and can damage people’s mental and physical health, and our wider communities.

  The evidence from the Government’s independent experts, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (‘ACMD’), is that the use of cannabis is a “significant public health issue and can unquestionably cause harm to individuals and society”. The ACMD’s most recent advice on cannabis is set out in its 2008 report:
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/acmd-cannabis-classification-and-public-health-2008

  Given these acknowledged harms, the Government does not consider it appropriate to hold a referendum on the legalisation of cannabis. Whilst the debate is an important one, the eleven previous referenda have centred on fundamental constitutional issues such as devolution and the UK’s membership of the EU.

  The legalisation of cannabis would send the wrong message to the vast majority of people who do not take drugs, especially young and vulnerable people, with the potential grave risk of increased misuse of drugs. It would not eliminate the crime committed by the illicit trade, nor would it address the harms associated with drug dependence and the misery this can cause to families and society. As such, the Government’s position on Cannabis remaining a controlled drug remains clear and there is no intention to hold a referendum on the matter.

  Home Office

• 13 April 2018

  Government will respond to this petition

  This petition got more than 10,000 signatures meaning that government will respond to it.

• 12 March 2018

  Petition published

  This petition can now be signed.

  If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

  If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

  This petition will stay open until 12 September 2018.