Suella Braverman believes cannabis has been "effectively" legalised as it has not been "policed properly" and is "receptive" to calls for the drug to be upgraded from Class B to Class A, according to a Home Office source.
However, the PA news agency has been told it is a "very big stretch of the imagination" to suggest the Home Secretary herself wants to change its classification to put it on par with substances such as cocaine, ecstasy and heroin. The Times reported that Ms Braverman has told allies she is on the "same side" as a group of Tory police and crime commissioners (PCCs) who have called for the drug to be reclassified.
The commissioners are said to have made the case for re-evaluating penalties based on new health data at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham. In remarks cited by The Times and the BBC, David Sidwick, the Dorset PCC, said: "We're seeing it because it's a gateway drug. If you look at the young people in treatment, the number one drug they are in treatment for is cannabis."
