Legalise cannabis to end 'free market anarchy', says Sir Vince Cable

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Legalise cannabis to end 'free market anarchy', says Sir Vince Cable

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Legalise cannabis to end 'free market anarchy', says Sir Vince Cable

16:53, UK, Tuesday 22 August 2017


Sir Vince Cable says the 'evidence is clear' that the policy would work

By Alan McGuinness, Political Reporter

The Liberal Democrats will continue to support the legalisation of cannabis, party leader Sir Vince Cable has confirmed.

He said it was better to control the drugs industry rather than have what he called "free market anarchy", continuing the party's long-term commitment to legalisation.

The party said during the General Election campaign - under previous leader Tim Farron - that the drug would be taxed and sold on the high street, with the estimated £1bn of tax generated going into education and investment.

The Home Office has said it has no plans to legalise cannabis because there is "clear scientific and medical evidence that cannabis is a harmful drug which can damage people's mental and physical health".

Campaigners say a digital-only marketplace should be created for cannabis.

Independent experts say using the drug is a significant public health issue.

However, Sir Vince said there were "serious negative side effects from driving it underground".

He told the BBC's Newsbeat: "The evidence is clear that if you want to stop abuse and damage to young people, you've got to bring the trade into the open and out of the hands of the criminal underworld.

"Common sense suggests to me that you should try to regulate and control this market, rather than just have a free market anarchy in the underground, which is what happens at the moment."

The Home Office said its independent experts - the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, said using the drug is a significant public health issue and can "unquestionably" can cause harm.

Legalisation would not eliminate the crime committed by the illicit trade, it added, saying such a move would send the wrong message to the vast majority of people who do not take drugs.

http://news.sky.com/story/sir-vince-cab ... s-11000508


sit back, blaze ganja and chill
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