A few days ago, the five-year-old mayor of London, Saadik Kaan, announced his plans to decriminalize the possession of small quantities of cannabis. This provoked several reactions, even from within his own party, with Labor leader Kir Starmer making it clear that he “does not support any further easing of drug laws.” Today, according to data released by the Metropolitan Police at the request of Conservative MP and Kaan’s opponent in last year’s election, Sean Baley, it appears that 1,096 illegal cannabis farms have been identified across London in the last six years.
Interestingly, during the period from December 2019 to November 2020, when the capital experienced the biggest lockdown due to the pandemic, almost half were identified. More than 1,000 cannabis saplings, valued at Îνα 1 million, have been seized from a recent police operation in Reinham, east London. Caan’s spokesman was quick to comment on the Metropolitan Police’s work as “crucial in tackling drug-related crimes”, seeking to defend a plan to decriminalize users, but not producers.
The pilot project promoted by Kaan
The controversial plan by the mayor of London stipulates that young people aged 18 to 25 arrested for possession of a small amount of cannabis will not be prosecuted, but will be referred for help with detoxification and psychological support. The program is planned to start in three of the 32 municipalities of the British capital and will concern only cannabis. It is noted that the plan is still in the process of approval by the Municipal Office of Policing and Crimes (Mopac). The illicit drug trade in the UK is estimated at 19 19 billion a year, with nearly 42,000 people in England and Wales facing drug-related charges last year.
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