Legalising cannabis won’t tackle disproportionate policing outcomes for ethnic minorities, crime minister says

Legalising cannabis won't tackle disproportionate policing outcomes for ethnic minorities but the issue does need to be tackled, the crime minister says.

Sadiq Khan announced this week a review into cannabis legalisation, a measure charities have said could tackle racial inequalities in the criminal justice system which sees Black offenders 1.4 times more likely to be jailed for drug offences compared to their white counterparts.

Although policing and crime minister, Kit Malthouse, strongly opposed the London Mayor's review he said the government does need to address inequality within police outcomes for ethnic groups.

“We need to look at disproportionality in policing outcomes from a number of outcomes, but I don't think legalising cannabis is the way,” Mr Malthouse told The Independent.

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“If you look at California for example where they’ve legalised it [cannabis] and it’s widely acknowledged to be a disaster and the illegal market is now as vigorous if not more vigorous as the legal market. In Canada we've seen consumption increase, in fact the illegal market still exists,” he added.

Analysis commissioned by the Sentencing Council found that “different sentencing outcomes” were observed for different races, even when the offences and other factors were the same.

“For Asian offenders and those in the ‘other’ ethnic group, the odds of receiving an immediate custodial sentence for the three drug [supply] offences were 1.5 times the size of the odds for white offenders. The odds of a black offender receiving an immediate custodial sentence were 1.4 times the size of the odds for a white offender,” the 2021 report found.

Drug policy experts have hailed Sadiq Khan’s review as an opportunity to update “outdated” drug laws which have increased racial inequalities in the criminal justice system.

“As well as freeing up funds to tackle knife crime, diversion schemes and arrest referral schemes in the capital could tackle racial injustice in the criminal justice system. Any policy proposals should try to address this issue as a major priority,” Ant Lehane, lead policy consultant at social justice charity Cranstoun.

Regarding the review, Mr Malthouse added that Sadiq Khan “has bigger problems at home” to deal with, citing violent crime in the capital.

The remarks come as the minister for policing announced new measures cracking down on middle-class drug users. Football fans convicted of taking or selling class A drugs at matches will face a five-year ban from attending matches, the government has announced, with the new legislation likely to come into force in the new 2022/23 season.

Ahead of the announcement, Boris Johnson said that "middle-class coke heads" were driving crime across the UK.

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“Middle-class coke heads should stop kidding themselves, their habit is feeding a war on our streets driving misery and crime across our country and beyond,” the prime minister said.

“That's why we are stepping up our efforts to make sure those who break the law face the full consequences - because taking illegal drugs is never a victimless crime.”

Mr Malthouse added: “More and more the police are finding class A drugs at the heart of that disorder and so we must act. The football family wants every ground to be a safe space for fans, especially children, and so do we.”

Speaking at the National Drugs Summit in London, the minister also announced that a white paper to implement passport and driving licence bans for drug abusers would be put forward this summer, furthering the government’s efforts to crack down on middle-class drug users.