London’s Mayor wants to decriminalize cannabis among teenagers and young adults

By Nina Zdinjak

Could the UK next join the cannabis legalization trend that is sweeping across Europe? Everything is possible.

While there are no confirmed or announced plans for the UK to embark on this path anytime soon, news from London signals possible changes in this direction. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced that it will end the prosecution of teenagers and young adults caught with marijuana, Metro reported.

Photo by Mayara Klingner / EyeEm / Getty Images

New program as a positive intervention

While the medical use of cannabis was legalized in England in 2018, Khan is now trying to introduce a new system whereby people under 25 caught with marijuana in their possession are offered certain courses or advice instead of being arrested.

The aim is to combat illegal drug use through more positive interventions. Although Mayor Khan has no powers to decriminalize or change the classification of cannabis or other drugs, the newly announced measures would essentially decriminalize cannabis possession for teenagers and young adults.

A similar system has been put in place in Ireland and a recent report found positive results. In 2021, fewer people were charged or summoned for drug possession, and those caught with cannabis received warnings.

Khan’s plan will initially be rolled out in the London boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich and Bexley. If successful, other areas should also be reached.

A mayor spokesman said Khan believes drug use and related crimes are preventable and not inevitable, which is why he chose to try deterrence and early intervention.

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“A core topic of this work is the investigation of different ways in which young people can be distracted by better education about the harms of low drug use. Added the spokesman. “We know we can never hold our own way out of the problem, so we are continuing to work on programs that provide support and education to young people rather than simply bringing them to the criminal justice system – with the aim of ridding them of drug use and crime distract. “

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The spokesman also noted that funding for the pilot project has not yet been finally approved by the mayor’s police and crime department.

Kahn’s initiative follows UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announced crackdown on illegal substances while police discovered traces of cocaine in 11 of the 12 toilets in Parliament, suggesting hypocrisy in the UK government.

RELATED: European Lessons from the U.S. Cannabis Legalization Journey

Furthermore, the news comes at a time when marijuana legalization is becoming popular across Europe as well as the US

Just last year, Malta became the first country in the EU to legalize marijuana, and Germany recently announced plans to allow cannabis sales, which will create the largest EU market with an expected $ 3.5 billion in tax revenue. Switzerland has launched a legal market study for cannabis for adults to investigate future regulation.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and was republished with permission.