Cannabis is just as harmful as cocaine and should be classified as a Class A drug, according to police chiefs. The group of Tory Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) have argued that the drug should be reclassified because of data they say suggests it is more harmful than previously thought.
The call for change came at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham. David Sidwick, the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, called cannabis a 'gateway drug'.
He believes that reclassifying cannabis would mean police could more effectively deal with people who are prosecuted for its misuse. He told the Telegraph: "No child ever went to a drug dealer for heroin for their first deal - they would all have started with a bit of weed."
The proposal has also been backed by Alison Hernandez, PCC for Devon and Cornwall, and Avon and Somerset's police and crime commissioner Mark Shelford. They were due to present their plans at the conference alongside academics, the Daily Mail reports.
Cannabis is currently classed as a class B drug. It carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison for possession.
A change to Class A could see the maximum penalties for possession increase to seven years in jail. The maximum penalty for supplying cannabis would increase from 14 years in prison to life.
In January King's College London professor Sir Robin Murray told The Times that around a third of the psychosis patents he sees at his practice are mostly young people suffering from debilitating paranoia and hallucinations caused by use of high-strength skunk.
He said: "I think we're now 100 per cent sure that cannabis is one of the causes of a schizophrenia-like psychosis. If we could abolish the consumption of skunk we would have 30 per cent less patients."
The Home Office said there were no plans to upgrade cannabis to a Class A drug but illicit substances were kept under constant review.
