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."
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A Home Office source told PA that while Ms Braverman is "receptive" to the PCCs' position, "we need to really understand what will be most effective means to improving enforcement". Asked about the reports the Home Secretary wants to upgrade the drug to Class A, the source said: "That is a very big stretch of the imagination. Her position on this is that effectively cannabis has been legalised by not being policed properly. We need to focus attention on changing that."
Reclassifying cannabis from Class B to Class A would boost the maximum penalty for possession from five to seven years in prison, and from 14 years to a life sentence for supply and production. Earlier, Labour shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth said his "understanding" of the medical advice was that cannabis should remain a Class B substance.
He told Times Radio: "I'm not an expert, I've not kept up to date with what their latest research suggests, but that's always been my understanding."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "Cannabis is a controlled drug on the basis of clear medical and scientific evidence of its harms. It is currently a Class B drug but its classification is subject to review."
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