‘Legalise illicit cannabis, it’s a win-win-win’
ONE of Britain’s most influential right-of-centre thinktanks claims that the illicit cannabis market in the UK is now worth £2.6bn a year and describes legalisation as a “win-win-win”.
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) argues that cannabis could bring in tax revenues of more than £1bn a year and that licensing would protect the public from dangerous high-strength strains.
The call comes as pressure grows for greater freedom for healthcare professionals to prescribe cannabisbased products following a series of high-profile cases.
Newport West Labour MP Paul Flynn has introduced a bill which would allow the medicinal use of cannabis and is due to come before the Commons next month.
At present, cannabis is a Class B drug and possession can lead to five years in prison.
Mr Flynn described the status quo as the “worst possible way to run the show” and called for an end to “prohibition”.
He said: “It is a huge market. It is one of the world’s biggest trades.
“Why on earth allow it [to] be put in the hands of criminals who produce products from cannabis that kill, which is something that cannabis has never done in its natural state? We’re encouraging the use of the worst forms of cannabis, taken in the most dangerous ways by smoking, without getting the benefit of the