The spectre of Sadiq Khan bringing ‘New York-style drugs chaos’ to the UK was raised last night.
Critics raised fears that a new report ordered by the London Labour mayor will next month call for a major liberalisation of Britain’s laws on cannabis.
They pointed out that the London Drugs Commission is led by Labour peer Charlie Falconer, who has spoken of his regret for ‘supporting the war on drugs’.
Created two years ago, the commission was asked by Mr Khan to look at the effectiveness of the UK’s drug laws but with a specific focus on cannabis, which in this country remains a class B drug.
It was set up in May 2022 – the same time as the London mayor toured a cannabis dispensary in California and visited New York, which legalised the personal use of cannabis in 2021.
But last night critics at the centre-Right think-tank Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) warned against any plans for the UK to copy the US, saying that the legalisation in New York State had failed to eliminate the illegal market for cannabis.
CSJ deputy policy director Sophia Worringer, who recently joined the NYPD on a patrol, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The persistent smog of cannabis that hangs across Manhattan Island could not possibly be sustained by the small handful of official cannabis shops regulated to sell it.
‘Despite the legal options, people still prefer their old illegal dealers – who can promise a to-the-door-service of much stronger stuff all while undercutting the legal market.’
Critics raised fears that a new report ordered by the London Labour mayor will next month call for a major liberalisation of Britain’s laws on cannabis
The London mayor visited New York in 2022, which has legalised the personal use of cannabis
She added that the legal framework on drug use in New York was now ‘confused’ and that ‘cops feel hamstrung to enforce the law because drug taking is so widespread.
The legalisation of cannabis sends a message about the harmless nature of casual drug-taking.’
She concluded: ‘The last thing in London – or anywhere in the UK for that matter – is to import a similar chaos to NYC by liberalising drug laws’.
This month, the CSJ released research that found three-quarters of police here thought that current drug-possession policies were ineffective, and two-thirds said cannabis had effectively been decriminalised already.
But the think-tank has warned that where drug laws have been liberalised, such as in Portugal and parts of the US, it has led to an increase in addictions.
The London Drugs Commission, involving experts from the worlds of criminal justice, public health and academia, had been expected to report last autumn.
However, Mr Khan, who has said he has an ‘open mind’ about decriminalising cannabis, said then that the issue was ‘on the back-burner’.
But yesterday, sources said the commission’s research was now complete and was expected to be published in January.
Sadiq Khan has said he has an ‘open mind’ about decriminalising cannabis
In 2018, former justice secretary Lord Falconer called on his party to fight ‘for an end to the drug war and commit to the legal regulation of drug production’.
But last night, he declined to comment ahead of the report’s publication.
Sir Keir Starmer said before the election that he had ‘no intention’ of changing drug laws and a government source said last night that remained the position.