Legalising cannabis will not deter gangs, says Met chief

LEGALISING cannabis would not stop violent gangs who profit from the drug because they would just “start selling different things”, Dame Cressida Dick has said.

Britain’s most senior police officer also described the legalisation of the Class B substance in Canada and parts of the US as “interesting experiments” that should be watched.

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner gave her views on drug legalisation during an interview on BBC Radio London’s Drivetime show after being asked by a listener on Monday.

Dame Cressida’s claim came after Sadiq Khan said it was time for an “evidence-based conversation” about cannabis laws, as he tries to work out ways to reduce the epidemic of violent crime in London.

County Lines gangs, so-called because they smuggle drugs from cities to rural areas for sale, make huge profits from selling cannabis, and are known to recruit children to cultivate it.

Dame Cressida said she “accepts” there is a lot of cannabis use in London and that people in possession of small amounts will not be “locked up” for it, adding: “I am not suggesting they should be in the first instance.

“My own view is that we should watch what happens in the United States and Canada. It is an interesting set of experiments.

“My concern is, I’m not a health professional, but you see what is happening with skunk and some of the damage done to people with mental health issues, is absolutely huge.

“The organised crime groups, in my view, would come in and cause

‘The organised crime groups would cause problems in different markets and sell different things to people’

problems in different markets and start selling different things to people. Let’s see, though, what happens.”

She continued: “As a citizen, my own view is almost certainly if we were to legalise immediately here, we would come up with all kinds of problems that would not help, not least the health issues that would be associated.”

Growing, buying and possessing cannabis was made legal in Canada on October 17, while nine states in the US have legalised the recreational sales of the drug.

Cannabis is illegal for recreational use in the UK, although it can be prescribed for medicinal purposes.