This petition was submitted during the 2017-2019 parliament

Petition Allow the British people to vote on cannabis legalisation

This Government stands on the shoulders of the phrase "will of the people" it should therfore agree, that the only way to settle this long term debate, is to allow a people's vote on cannabis legalisation.

Join the campaign at Let Us Vote
on twitter and facebook

More details

Uk biggest exporter of legal cannabis

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/health-44197038

Cannabis 114× less deadly than Alcohol

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/weed-is-114-times-less-deadly-than-alcohol-study-finds-10066496.html

Violent crime rate reduced in states that legalise cannabis

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/14/legal-marijuana-medical-use-crime-rate-plummets-us-study

This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months

18,381 signatures

Show on a map

100,000

Government responded

This response was given on 9 January 2019

This Government has no plans to legalise cannabis for recreational use, or to hold a vote on the legalisation of cannabis.

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. 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’.

Given these harms, the Government does not intend on legalising the recreational use of cannabis and the penalties for unauthorised supply, possession and production will remain unchanged.

The legalisation of drugs in the UK 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. Legalisation of recreational use 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.

Home Office