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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Mattha Busby

UK drug advisers recommended decriminalising possession in 2016, leak reveals

Home Office United Kingdom ACMD
A participant holds a lit joint during the annual Hemp Parade on 12 August 2023 in Berlin, Germany
The revelation comes amid growing criticism of the government’s law and order approach to drug policy. Photograph: Omer Messinger/Getty Images

The UK government’s official drug advisers privately advocated for a formal repeal of the criminalisation of personal-use drug possession in 2016, a leaked document has revealed.

The Guardian has seen a copy of the 27-page pro-decriminalisation report, which the Home Office ignored at the time but then fought a three-year battle to keep confidential after a freedom of information request.

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