We are witnessing another circumstance where the Police are proving to be more sensitive than the government concerning the big cannabis question. During a summit in the Welsh national legislature on February, a senior police officer called for the legalization of weed. On the other hand, a famous Welsh lawmaker called for Westminster to give Wales the opportunity to stop the war on drugs.
During a summit in the Senedd at the beginning of the year, held by former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood – professionals, politicians, campaigners, and police talked about the means to control the recreational cannabis industry in Wales. They also wanted to improve the economy, public health and increase law enforcement resources.
The meeting was held because of the recent election of the new Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford who plans on legalizing cannabis.
Although the Welsh Labour policy has no say in the legalization of recreational cannabis, different regions in the nation have been taking a friendly approach towards marijuana. This progressive approach is mainly due to Arfon Jones, a North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, who is advocating a massive turnaround in the way weed smokers are treated.
In October, North Wales Police are set to begin a diversion scheme particularly for people who are caught with little measures of marijuana. Similar measures are being utilized in different cities such as Bristol, Newbury. This measure will decrease the rate of incarceration rate in Wales, which currently has the largest in Western Europe.
The measure will give the police more time to focus on more useful things. It usually requires a lot of time to process marijuana-related charges conventionally, in contrast to just 20 minutes under the diversion scheme. If the plan becomes active, it brings enormous money in tax to the UK economy. Currently, every cannabis case can sum up to more than £2000, while police spend a lot of time enforcing cannabis prohibition.
Wales now has multiple cannabis social cafes which operate under the radar. Jones has openly shown his support for these cafes, and he wants them to stop hiding. According to Jones, if the police knew the location of these cafes, they won’t interfere with their business as long as they are not selling to minors.
According to Jones, the most appropriate cannabis cafe for wales will be the Spanish style-cannabis clubs. He chooses because the Misuse of Drugs Act is useful in all of the UK, which makes it difficult to regulate cannabis without legalizing weed.
Some powers across multiple policy areas are devolved to the Welsh government, including – seemingly increasingly – social justice, according to campaigners. The office of the Police and Crime Commissioner controls police budgets, with the PCC-appointed chief constable responsible for operational policing.
Jones is highly known for his support for cannabis cafes, and advocates are now foreseeing a regulated recreational cannabis market in the future.
But legalization could take a lot of time before being effective. However many North American investors, who had experience in tobacco want to pressure governments worldwide to legalize medicinal cannabis.
