Outline the economic arguments for and against legalising cannabis use in the UK.

University Degree Subjects allied to Medicine

Outline the ECONOMIC arguments FOR and AGAINST legalising cannabis use in the UK

Cannabis is a drug that is widely used throughout the UK and the world. In the UK, cannabis is illegal and being found in possession of it can bring on a prison sentence and a hefty fine.

The title of this essay is about the economic arguments for and against legalising cannabis in the UK. I will look into the advantages and disadvantages of whether legalising cannabis will benefit the UK, or worsen the UK.

So far the argument has been that the government has now had a change of heart on their opinion of cannabis. They feel that cannabis is a drug that has its positive aspects, and should be distinguished between the more hardcore drugs, e.g. Heroin, Cocaine.

However, there are arguments to not legalising it, one being it can influence younger children.

Cannabis is an illegal substance. It comes from the cannabis sativa plant. It can come in various forms, which include a dark, solid lump known as resin, or crushed flower heads & leaves (sometimes with stalks and seeds) called grass, or occasionally, as an oil. Cannabis plants can grow up to 1.8 m (6ft) tall. It can be rolled with tobacco – called a spliff or joint – or smoked on its own in a pipe. It can also be eaten, sometimes in a cake. There are many slang names for cannabis, some of which are marijuana, weed, hash, spliff, and ganja.

Cannabis can be used for medical reasons, as it can relieve nausea and allow patients to eat and live normally.

Cannabis has many effects on the human body. It’s mildly sedative effect can lead to relaxation, decreased blood pressure, increased appetite, and increased sociability. Cannabis is high in carcinogens, and regular use may damage lungs. The official medical view of cannabis has also undergone a revolution. Although no one believes cannabis is a harmless drug, it is now widely seen to be less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco, although in the long term could cause lung cancer.

As the British Medical Association puts it: "The acute toxicity of cannabinoids is extremely low. No deaths have been directly attributed to their recreational or therapeutic use."

Cannabis is to be downgraded from a class B drug to a class C drug. It will still remain illegal but will have maximum penalties of 2 years for possession and 5 years for possession with intent to supply, compared to the current sentences of 5 years and 14 years respectively. The main reason for the reclassification is that cannabis does have its benefits and advantages. There are many cannabis organisations in favour of legalising cannabis

There has not been a reported death for which cannabis is directly responsible, whereas, there is always news and stories linking tobacco with cancer and high blood pressure. Yet cigarettes are available to buy to anyone in Britain over 16-years-old, while cannabis is a banned substance. The opportunity cost of not legalising cannabis is alcohol and cigarettes, which are consumed anyway. Alcohol is socially approved, even though people know the consequences of alcohol. Cannabis is not packed as tightly as a tobacco cigarette, and so the substances smoked is about half that in a tobacco cigarette. Also, tobacco smokers generally smoke considerably more cigarettes per day than do cannabis smokers.

A main argument for legalising cannabis is that it can be used for medical purposes. Cannabis can contribute valuably to the treatment of nausea, chronic pain, asthma, multiple sclerosis and various other illnesses.

Another argument is that a lot of police time will be saved from dealing with cannabis related issues, when there are more serious crimes to deal with.

Cannabis usage has increased dramatically over the years, with the number of drug offences that police dealt with which involved cannabis doubling from 40,194 in 1990 to 86,034 in ...

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Another argument is that a lot of police time will be saved from dealing with cannabis related issues, when there are more serious crimes to deal with.

Cannabis usage has increased dramatically over the years, with the number of drug offences that police dealt with which involved cannabis doubling from 40,194 in 1990 to 86,034 in 1997. In a recent poll put together by the Guardian newspaper, 65% of its readers agreed that “Prosecution for cannabis should be the lowest priority for the police”.

Police time will increase if cannabis is legalised, as the majority of police time is spent on handling cannabis offences. Police will no longer have the power to arrest anyone in the street for cannabis possession and prosecutions will be carried out by court summons. Police will lose power to arrest the 90,000 people a year who are currently charged with possession offences.

(Figures provided by UKCIA)

The diagram above shows the number of arrests made in Britain over a 10-year period related to all drugs and cannabis. As you can see, a lot of arrests were made for cannabis usage, or possession. This is a huge amount of arrests, considering it is classified as a drug not any different to cigarettes.

Since labour came to power, arrests for possession have stayed near the same level; with more than 81,000 a year arrested for possession in the 12 months to march 2001. Police looking for drugs, search more than 300,000 people in the street each year.

The government is also pressed to legalise cannabis because it can be used for medical purposes. It has the potential to treat patients with different types of illnesses, such as multiple sclerosis, aids or patients who are undergoing chemotherapy and who suffer from severe pain, nausea, and appetite loss and other illnesses. It can also be used for its healing properties and as a way of dulling pain, such as headaches.

Cannabis has been used as an herbal cure for medical purposes for thousands of years by different cultures, but since it became illegal in Britain under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act, it has done little to stop it still being used. The Act sets upon which “People in the UK can be prosecuted for possession, cultivation, supply, and possession with intent to supply, production, importation or exportation of the plant, which many people find sacred”.

Home Secretary David Blunkett said “Britain’s 30 year old cannabis laws, the most stringent in Europe, are to be relaxed by next spring”.

According to the law, until 1971 cannabis was a substance of potential healing value: it could be prescribed medically. During that year however, with The Misuse of Drugs Act, it became illegal. This was largely due to British agreement with the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotics of 1961, in which cannabis was classified as a dangerous drug of no beneficial value. The British Government claimed that cannabis was being misused as a recreational drug.

(Table taken from, )

The arguments that are against legalising cannabis are also very strong, and very important.

The main worry is that legalising cannabis may lead onto harder drugs. This however is not proven. Cannabis is said to have relaxation effect on the mind, which is why people take it. Also people will use it for medical purposes, so other harder drugs will not be involved. It may also be used as a drug that people will get hooked on, as a replacement for harder drugs; therefore more people may take cannabis.

Another reason against making it legal is that children will see that it is alright to take cannabis, as the law has made it legal. The Guardian newspaper stated that “About 49% of English teenagers say they have tried the drug - a level far higher than in any other western European country”. This is not good as nearly 50% of all teenage children have tried it.

The other main factor against the legalisation of cannabis is the health risks involved. Although the drug can be used for medical purposes, it does have side effects. These include impairing short term memory, and affect body coordination and slow reaction time, affecting the brain by reducing the sympathetic blood flow – which means blood vessels dilute, therefore blood pressure and pulse rate drop. Heavy use of cannabis can lead to temporary psychosis – a serious mental disturbance that can result in paranoia or depression as well as trigger symptoms of schizophrenia.

The long term effects of cannabis are that there is a greater risk of cancer and heart disease, and can cause bronchitis. An article in a newspaper read “Smoking cannabis can increase the chance of a heart attack up to 5 times within the first hour of taking it".

Looking on the bright side, the economical factors that Britain will benefit from if the drug is legalised are worth thinking about. Reclassification could reduce the time spent by officers dealing with such offenders, enabling them to concentrate on tackling more serious crimes such as street robbery, which has increased.

Making cannabis legal will create more profit to the government instead of to organised crime, who use these profits to sell other, more harmful drugs to people. The increase in government spending, which will be obtained through the taxation of cannabis, can be used to spend on education, NHS, transport, etc.

If cannabis is legal

P(price), S+T(supply taxed), P,S+T(price of S+T)

Tax revenue

If cannabis were legalised, it would be taxed at a high rate. The tax added shifts the supply curve from S to S1. The quantity bought decreases to Q1, and the price is now high and moves to P1. The price received by supplier’s decreases to P2.

The amount of tax received by the government is the area P1, P2, (Q1,P2), and (Q1,P1).

The legalisation of cannabis will increase tourism as many people who smoke cannabis go to Amsterdam where it is legal. This way people can come to Britain knowing cannabis is legal, and as a result, if cannabis is legal, demand in the black market will decrease. This is good news as the government would then be able to try and keep tab on the amount of cannabis smoked or consumed in Britain.

The market for illegal drug

(Take from Economics, John Sloman, 4th Edition)

The figure illustrates the market for cannabis. If it was legal, the demand and supply curves would shift to the right, hence to D (legal) and S (legal). This is because suppliers do not have to fear getting caught. The equilibrium price and quantity would therefore be P (legal) and Q (legal).

As cannabis is at this moment still illegal, the demand and supply curve is to the left. Demand for cannabis is pretty low and so to the supply, as suppliers and users are afraid of being caught and getting a prison sentence and fine. If the penalties were harsh for the supplier or user, then there is more chance of them being caught, and so there would be a more leftward shift in the demand and supply curve. Price however, is high, because the drug is illegal.

If the drug was to be legalised, then demand will increase and price will fall. This would be because the drug is now legal and can be bought for social reasons, but more importantly for medical reasons.

Jobs will be created as cannabis will need to have the means of supply, distribution, and sale of cannabis to accommodate this. Labour is needed to grow and prepare the drug. A system will be needed where cannabis users are able to purchase cannabis, and producers and retailers having an organised network of supply, distribution and sale for the consumer. In Manchester, a coffee shop has opened where cannabis can be purchased.

It is reckoned that between 5 - 10,000 "Coffee-bar" type of retail outlets could be established throughout the U.K., providing some 50,000 plus jobs. There will need to be growers to grow the cannabis plant, quality control inspectors, security people, and all those involved with distribution. There would need to be trained advisors for the Help-lines, as well as those involved in the "Education and Information".

The funding for such things would be coming from the revenue generated by tax on Cannabis income, just like any other business.

However, cannabis does bring economical disadvantages if legalised. First off, dealers will be on the streets trying to supply cannabis and would not worry about getting caught as they could escape prosecution by claiming a large amount in their possession was for their personal use. There will also be a concern that sanctioning the medical use of cannabis might increase its use among the general population. This would not be a problem if the medical use of cannabis were as closely regulated as other medications with abuse potential. Cannabis may be addictive and legalising another addictive substance could only harm society. It could give a message out to people and especially youngsters that cannabis is alright to smoke, as it is now legal, therefore children may be influenced in smoking cannabis.

The negative impact of drug abuse on health is also a topic the government is concerned with, as the “health costs of a drug addict appear to be some 80 percent higher than those of an average citizen in the same age group”. Cocaine and heroin are main drugs that are commonly associated with drug-related deaths. Cannabis can have a negative impact on health but is not usually associated with death.

Drugs and crime are also related in several ways. Drug-related crime occurs mainly in the form of violence between groups in competition for increased market share at the wholesale and retail levels. “A full 50 percent of the total value of theft in 1993 in England and Wales was drug-related”. (Taken from newspaper article found on web)

With the negative and positive views on cannabis outlined, I believe it should be legalised.

Home secretary Davis Blunkett was quoted in the Gurdian newspaper as saying “Cannabis would remain a controlled drug and using it a criminal offence”.

We need to define the word “drug”. Is it a substance that can cause addiction? Or is it a substance that is so dangerous it can kill. Cocaine and Heroin are two life threatening drugs that can kill, but cannabis is not even on the same level as those two. Therefore if it is a drug that does not kill, I do not see why we cannot legalise it. Cigarettes and alcohol are legal, and both can kill.

In Holland, cannabis is legal if smoked in a coffee shop or in the home. Because of the legalisation of cannabis, Holland has one of the lowest rates of hard drug users in Europe. The UK has one of the highest. ()

If cannabis is found to be useful in medical advances that it should be legalised. There is nothing more important than helping a human being live a better life, free from pain and illness.

Cannabis is a naturally occurring substance, which poses far less danger than cigarettes and alcohol. It has the ability to benefit the terminally ill. We should stop wasting resources on imprisoning young people found with small amounts of this substance. Instead we should use that extra money to educate children about the dangers of hard drugs.

If there is a reason that cannabis will not be legalised, then a factor would be that the government could never find an approachable way of controlling it. Also the price would be higher than it would be on the black market.