Make cannabis legal and cut crime, says Adam Smith think tank

A leading think tank has said legalisation is the best way to tackle violent crime
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A leading think tank today called for cannabis to be sold over the counter in pharmacies — and said legalisation for adult recreational use is a matter of “when, not if”.

The Adam Smith Institute, a non-profit organisation that promotes free-market socially liberal ideas and has strong links to the Conservative Party, said the best way for the next Tory government to tackle serious youth violence and knife crime is to legalise cannabis.

Its report, “The Green Light — how legalising and regulating cannabis will reduce crime, protect children and improve safety”, will be published this week and has been revealed exclusively to the Evening Standard.

It calls for a Colorado-type free-market model augmented by elements of the Canadian public health approach, namely educating the public as to the harms of cannabis via product label warnings and public information campaigns.

Daniel Pryor, co-author of the report, said: “It is time for us Tories to be more honest with ourselves.

“We have just had a spate of high-ranking Tory politicians admitting to drug use but we must get to a stage where politicians can express their views on cannabis more comfortably.

“If the Conservatives want to be the party of free enterprise, they should support a nascent cannabis industry that has clear public support. With Canada legalising and Illinois voting to become the 11th US state to legalise, we see it as a matter of when, not if, it will be legalised here. So the key question becomes ‘how?’”

The report follows a series of opinion polls, the first by Survation published in the Standard on Monday last week, which found 63 per cent of Londoners now back legalisation.

A British Medical Journal poll published later last week revealed that 79 per cent of respondents support legalisation, and an Evening Standard online poll showed 84 per cent of respondents in favour of legalising.

Mr Pryor said legalisation in the UK could be “reasonably expected within the next five to 10 years”.

“The main aim should be to reduce crime and protect children, but that means you have to eliminate the black market and to do that you need as little regulation as possible.” The eight main points of the institute’s bespoke cannabis regulatory regime are:

  • Cannabis to be sold in “pharmacies like Boots” and via dedicated licensed outlets, as well as online and on mobile apps, but with buyers having to show age-appropriate ID.
  • Products to include edibles and vape concentrate, to move people away from tobacco-mixed joints.
  • The free market to be responsible for production and retail, rather than the state, to avoid shortages that drive a persistent black market.
  • Tax to be used as a lever to deter high-potency skunk by taxing higher potency strains at a higher rate, much like duties on whisky versus beer.
  • Advertising and branded packaging to be allowed (though not on TV or radio) to signal product quality and safety.
  • Taxes to be kept low so retail prices compete with the black market, with tax proceeds partially used to fund addiction services.
  • Canadian-style product warnings on packaging to alert users to the impact of cannabis on mental health. 
  • People involved in the illegal cannabis industry to be offered pathways to transfer to the legal market and previous cannabis convictions to be expunged to limit the damage criminal records cause to life chances. 

But some health experts have called the Colorado free-market style model “reckless”, arguing that it has led to a rise in potency and general use as well as more emergency hospital admissions due to overdosing on edibles.

Mr Pryor dismissed those concerns, saying: “Our aim is to deter underage use, but we are neutral on rising use by adults who make informed decisions to consume cannabis.”