The Labour Party has secured a majority in the 2024 general election. Will Keir Starmer change cannabis policy in the the UK?
The Labour Party has secured a majority in the UK’s 2024 general election. With Keir Starmer as the leader, Labour will form the government after 14 years of Conservative rule.
However, like the Conservative governments that preceded him, Starmer is not expected to change the UK’s drug policy or decriminalize cannabis.
Starmer has repeatedly stated he won’t change the UK’s drug policy, mentioning he has “no intention” of altering drug laws if his party wins the next election. Just one week before the vote, in an interview with ITV News, he confirmed that he is not considering decriminalizing cannabis or any other drugs and intends to keep the current laws in place.
In the UK, cannabis is illegal for recreational use and classified as a Class B drug. It was reclassified as a Class C drug with reduced penalties in 2004 but returned to Class B in 2009.
Cannabis stands as the most frequently used illegal substance in the UK, as 7.6% of adults aged 16 to 59 reported using cannabis in the past year, according to the 2023 data from the Office for National Statistics.
However, public opinion in Britain is divided on the legalization of recreational cannabis use, as 38% of respondents are against legalizing cannabis for recreational purposes, while 35% express support for such a move, according to a 2022 survey conducted on 1,500 respondents by the market research and polling firm Redfield & Wilton Strategies.
