Smoke it if you’ve got it. That pretty much sums up the approach of London Mayor Sadiq Khan to personal drug use as he backed calls Wednesday for small quantities of cannabis to be decriminalised and “negate problems between the police and ethnic communities.”
He was endorsing a report by the London Drugs Commission, chaired by former Labour cabinet minister Lord Falconer, which makes 42 recommendations, including removing natural cannabis from the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA).
Lord Falconer told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme, “continuing to have possession as a crime meant continuing have problems between the police and ethnic communities.” He added:
Stop and search in London for example is most commonly based on ‘the smell of cannabis’ and it is disproportionately used against young black men.
Lord Falconer said the current law “doesn’t work, is disproportionate” and is also used to relieve genuinely symptoms of certain illnesses.
He added: “The law treats cannabis the same as a whole range of much more serious drugs. The right course now, we think, is keep dealing criminal but make sure that possession is not a crime.”
A roadside advertisement for an online cannabis store hangs from a central divide fence on a main arterial road on May 28, 2025 in London, England. A report pby the London Drugs Commission recommends decriminalising possession of small quantities of cannabis for personal use. London Mayor Sadiq Khan endorsed the report, saying the current rules “cannot be justified” and the findings offered “a compelling, evidence-based case” for decriminalisation. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Sir Sadiq Khan agreed.
The BBC reports he said current rules “cannot be justified”, adding the commission’s findings had provided “a compelling, evidence-based case” for decriminalisation.
Among the recommendations put forward, the report says natural cannabis should be removed from the MDA, where it is considered Class B alongside drugs like ketamine, and instead maintain it as a controlled substance under the Psychoactive Substances Act (PSA).
The report states: “The possibility of a custodial prison sentence of any length, but certainly up to the current maximum of five years, for possession of cannabis for personal use feels excessive.”
While acknowledging that it is very rare for anyone to be sentenced anywhere close to the five years, the authors said the “consequences of serving any time in prison are significant.”
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