Cannabis is controlled under Class B of the Misuse of Drugs Act.
The government's decision to reclassify cannabis to Class B under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 was announced by Home Secretary on 7 May 2008. Cannabis was reclassified to Class B on 26 January 2009.
The reclassification of cannabis to Class B has a number of implications for the way that police will respond to offences involving the drug.
Supply and production
As a Class B drug, the maximum penalty for supplying or producing cannabis is 14 years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. This remains unchanged from when the drug was Class C.
Possession
Maximum penalty
As a Class B drug, the maximum penalty for possession increases from two to five years imprisonment.
1) for the first time - they will be issued with a cannabis warning. A cannabis warning is a spoken warning given by a police officer, either on the street or at the police station. The police have the option of using a cannabis warning when someone is caught with a small amount of cannabis for personal use.
'Cannabis warnings' were first introduced in 2004 as a way for police to respond to cannabis possession offences while the drug was at Class C. However, cannabis warnings issued during the period that cannabis was a Class C drug (bewteen January 29 2004 and January 26 2009) will not be carried forward.
2) for the second time - They will be issued with a Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND) for cannabis possession. PNDs are tickets that police officers can issue at the scene of an incident or in custody - they carry an on-the-spot fine of £80.
3) for the third time - police officers will consider further action. This could include release without charge, caution, conditional caution or prosecution.
4) any additional times - According to government statements ‘all subsequent offences are likely to result in arrest’.
In the case of someone being brought to prosecution for cannabis possession, as a Class B drug the maximum penalty is five years imprisonment.
What happens with under 18s ?
According to the Home Office, a young person found to be in possession of cannabis will be arrested and taken to a police station where they can receive a reprimand, final warning or charge depending on the seriousness of the offence. This must be administered in the presence of an appropriate adult.
Following one reprimand, any further offence will lead to a final warning or charge. Any further offence following a warning will normally result in criminal charges. After a final warning, the young offender must be referred to a Youth Offending Team to arrange a rehabilitation programme.External link: Cannabis: the law has changed (Factsheet)
