A petition calling for the legalisation of cannabis in the United Kingdom has amassed over 150,000 signatures, making it likely to receive serious consideration in parliament.
The online petition asks the government to allow the sale, production and recreational use of marijuana, citing financial, employment and policing benefits that could result.
The petition exceeds the 100,000-signature threshold, meaning that the House of Commons Petition Committee must consider parliamentary debate of the issue. The overwhelming response also requires the government to officially respond to the petition.
James Richard Owen, the author of the petition, argues that the UK government is wasting money by keeping marijuana criminalised.
Owen says “legalising cannabis could bring in £900m in taxes every year, save £400m on policing cannabis and create over 10,000 new jobs”.
According to Owen, marijuana is a “substance that is safer than alcohol and has many uses. It is believed to have been used by humans for over 4000 years, being made illegal in the UK in 1925.”
“There’s roughly three million adult [cannabis] smokers in the UK and I don’t think it’s right for the government to be criminalising such a large section of society,” writes Owen.
Cannabis is a Class B drug in the UK, with prison sentences of up to 14 years for supply and production. Possession of the drug can also result in prison sentences of up to five years.
The petition’s success is largely due to a worldwide social media campaign, with activists from around the world posting calls on Twitter for UK-based cannabis smokers to sign.
In the same week the petition was posted, three police commissioners said that due to budget constraints, they would not expect police officers to prioritise the targeting of those growing cannabis plants for personal use.
Jason Reed, executive director of LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) UK said in a statement that Owen’s petition has come at an appropriate time. “It’s definitely an issue that people are now taking seriously because before now people saw cannabis reform as something that was for a certain demographic,” he said.
The most recent figures from the Crime Survey of England and Wales showed the number of people using cannabis has risen to a five-year high.
Global acceptance of marijuana has increased over the years, gaining momentum since Uruguay’s countrywide legalisation in 2013. The US states of Washington and Colorado permitted the substance in 2012, with Alaska and Oregon doing so in 2014.