Khan can’t be serious on unleashing cannabis in the capital
Posted at 1pm UK time
I was shocked to see an article in the Independent stating that the Mayor of London has commissioned a review into the wider use of cannabis and its role in the criminal justice system.
My initial thoughts on the issue are thus: firstly, to what extent would this review team operate? Would it be the same as his review into diversity in the capital, which comprised of several, well-known agitators and activists, who were simply not impartial by any stretch of the imagination.
Secondly, what jurisdiction would the Mayor possess? Given the fact that his review team would almost certainly be in favour of decriminalisation, to what extent would the Mayor have the power to instruct the Met to (further) ignore the national law of cannabis prohibition?
Thirdly, this stinks of liberal opportunism.
While we're at the height of one of the worst public health emergencies in a century, what would possess someone to think that decriminalising a drug closely associated with irreversible mental health issues and criminal violence could be a good idea, especially in the capital?
This is a major city with cramped spaces and an epidemic of violent crime – a mental health ticking time bomb – exasperated by lockdowns and with an immense economic shock coming down the tracks, especially on the youth.
Unleashing a dangerous psychotropic drug upon them, in this time of a mental health emergency, would simply be madness.
