Nine in ten cannabis users and growers in some areas of England are being let off without a criminal charge, a Mail investigation reveals.
Despite a string of warnings over the drug’s harmful long-term effects, many are getting away with a simple telling-off.
Figures show the proportion of users who are charged for possession of cannabis has fallen sharply.
Across England, an average of just 22 per cent of possession offences led to a criminal charge last year – down from 27 per cent in 2017.
Figures show the proportion of users who are charged for possession of cannabis has fallen sharply (file image)
But in Devon and Cornwall, only 14 per cent of cases led to a charge, while in Leicestershire it was 13 per cent and in Surrey just 12 per cent.
The remainder either escaped with a caution or a fine, an official ‘warning’ or ‘community resolution’ such as attending an educational workshop, or they had their case dropped altogether.
Separate figures for cannabis cultivation – a more serious crime than possession – show that some forces are also charging as few as one in ten offenders.
Last night, anti-drug campaigners said the figures showed the drug was being ‘unofficially legalised’ by police chiefs, and branded the approach as an ‘encouragement to break the law’.
The news comes after Northamptonshire Police revealed on Friday that officers had found a cannabis factory in what used to be a Gala Bingo hall that could have produced drugs worth about £2.8 million each year.
Cannabis has been linked to depression, suicidal thoughts and psychosis, which causes hallucinations. Many fear it acts as a gateway to harder drugs, too.
Only last month the head of the NHS, Simon Stevens, said Britain risked making a ‘big mistake’ by relaxing the laws on cannabis.
Despite the warnings, some police chiefs are actively calling for the drug to be legalised, while others have urged officers to be even more lenient with offenders. Home Office figures on cannabis possession show that in Northamptonshire – where the cannabis factory was discovered – just 18 per cent of offences led to a formal charge in 2018. In North Yorkshire, the rate was just 14 per cent.
Only last month the head of the NHS, Simon Stevens, said Britain risked making a ‘big mistake’ by relaxing the laws on cannabis (file image)
In Hampshire, Staffordshire and West Yorkshire, more than half of possession crimes in 2018 led to a ‘community resolution.’ Usually this involves officers confiscating the substance and giving individuals a telling-off. Avon and Somerset Police have half-day education workshops for first-time offenders.
In March, the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, Dave Thompson, revealed how officers were even avoiding issuing ‘warnings’ for cannabis offences, so as not to ‘criminalise’ young people.
