Khan argued that the report “makes a compelling, evidenced-based case for the decriminalization of possession of small quantities of natural cannabis,” according to a report from Marijuana Moment.

Commission Calls For Possession Decriminalization

The commission, led by the former Labour justice secretary Lord Falconer KC, collaborated with researchers at University College London, collecting evidence from more than 200 policy experts and academics from around the world. The commission found that classifying cannabis a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act is “disproportionate to the harms it can pose relative to other drugs controlled by the act.”

“The sentencing options currently available, especially for personal possession, cannot be justified when balanced against the longer-term impacts of experience of the justice system, including stop and search, or of serving a criminal sentence can have on a person,” the researchers wrote in the report.

The report, titled “The Cannabis Conundrum: A Way Forward For London,” noted that cannabis enforcement focuses on ethnic communities, the Black community in particular, “creating damaging, long-lasting consequences for individuals, wider society, and police-community relations.”

Lord Falconer told Radio Four that “continuing to have possession as a crime meant continuing have problems between the police and ethnic communities,” according to a report from the BBC.

“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,” he said.

“The law treats cannabis the same as a whole range of much more serious drugs,” he added. “The right course now, we think, is keep dealing criminal but make sure that possession is not a crime.”

Decriminalization, Not Legalization

The commission emphasized that it was not advocating for the complete legalization of cannabis. While finding potential benefits of legalization, including a possible increase in tax revenue, the report stressed that the “extent of harms, particularly with respect to public health, as well as personal and societal costs, take longer to emerge and are not yet well understood.”

The researchers said that cannabis policy should be redirected to focus on the harms associated with the drug for a minority of users.

“Those who suffer from the adverse effects of cannabis, which may be a small percentage of users but is a high number of people, need reliable, consistent medical and other support,” the report reads.

Quick Decriminalization Unlikely

Despite the London Drugs Commission report’s findings and Khan’s call for decriminalization, a change in U.K. cannabis policy is unlikely in the short term. A spokesperson from the Home Office said that the government has no plans to change the legal status of cannabis.

“We will continue to work with partners across health, policing and wider public services to drive down drug use, ensure more people receive timely treatment and support and make our streets and communities safer,” the spokesperson said. “We have no intention of reclassifying cannabis from a Class B substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act.”

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the report’s recommendations were “not the government position and we are not going to be changing our policy.”