User:Little9a9/British Groups In Favour of Cannabis Legalisation

The United Kingdom, like most countries in the West, currently forbids cannabis, with laws in place that criminalise the possession, cultivation, and distribution of the drug.

Compared with the United States, the penalties for possession of cannabis are minimal. For first time offenders, the police will usually confiscate the drug and issue a 'cannabis warning', a verbal warning given by the confiscating officer, as part of a three-point system for cannabis possession. The second time, a penalty notice is likely to be issued. The third time is likely to result in arrest. The maximum penalty for possession is up to five years' imprisonment. This is similar to many other countries in Europe. A list of countries and their penalties for possession of cannabis is available here, published by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.

There are many groups, organisations, and charities which advocate the legalisation of cannabis. This is a list of some of these groups.

CLEAR
CLEAR, the Cannabis Law Reform, are a political party that advocate legalisation and regulation of cannabis and as other drugs. CLEAR started as a charity, only later becoming a political party. Recently, they were the subject of much criticism, and lost support, after a series of blog posts by CLEAR's leader, Peter Reynolds, which criticised multiculturalism and talked of "gay culture" being an "infection". 'Website: hxxp://www.clear-uk.org

NORML UK
NORML UK is a British chapter of American group NORML, which campaigns for cannabis legalisation for recreational and medicinal use. NORML UK was created in 2012. Website: http://norml-uk.org/

Transform Drug Policy Foundation (Transform)
Transform is a charity which was founded in 1996. Critical of the Drug War, they campaign for sensible drug policy based on scientific evidence and not on politics. Their mission statement calls for ""An end to the war on drugs, and the establishment of effective and humane systems of drug regulation." Transform carry out research, advise others NGOs on drug policy, and lobby the British government. Website: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/

Release
Release is a charity, founded in 1967, which provides legal advice to those caught in possession of drugs. Release is the oldest drugs charity in the world, and offer free legal advice. Release support a rational, evidence-based drug policy. Website: http://www.release.org.uk/

Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats (often 'Lib Dems') are the 3rd largest political party in the UK. They support legalisation of all soft drugs, and call for treating drug addiction as a health issue and not a criminal one. Their stance on drugs is clearly outlined in their policy mainfesto. In 2010, the Liberal Democrats entered a coalition with the Conservative Party. Website: http://www.libdems.org.uk

Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party have long called for cannabis and other drugs to be legalised; it is one of the party's core policies. Website: http://www.greenparty.org.uk/

Websites, Forums and Communities
UK Cannabis Internet Activist

UK420

UK Cultivator

UKTrees, a community on social networking site Reddit

Don't forget!
It's also worth remembering that Brits too can provide support to great organisations based elsewhere around the world, such as NORML, the Marijuana Policy Project, and other groups based both in the United States and elsewhere. The current legalisation/decriminalisation efforts in the United States particularly are instrumental to the efforts we pursue here in the UK. Recent successes in the US states of Colorado and Washington  have already reignited the debate, both home and abroad.