Guardian Unlimited | Archive Search Is cannabis now legal?
No. The home secretary, David Blunkett, has, however, made it a class C drug - putting it on a level with controlled substances such as tranquillisers and steroids.
What does that mean in practice?
Police will no longer be able to arrest anyone caught smoking the drug. Most people caught in possession will face no legal action, although the maximum penalty will be two years in jail (reduced from five). To prosecute, police will be required to produce a court summons; few will bother.
Is this decriminalisation?
No. Cannabis use will still be a criminal offence. The penalty for possession with intent to supply (dealing) is to be cut from 14 years in jail to five, but - unlike straightforward possession - police will still be able to make an arrest. This means that when the proposals are in force, expected to be early next year, it will be an arrestable offence to supply cannabis but not to possess it.