The British government is not proposing to legalise or decriminalise
cannabis, but merely to make its use a less heinous crime than hitherto. Even
after it is downgraded from a Class B to a Class C drug, it will still be
hypothetically possible to be sent to prison for its mere possession,
although in practice the user will not be arrested but simply be "cautioned"
by the police (as tends already to happen, in fact). Still, it is a big
change from a government that until recently said it was not prepared even to
discuss changing the law on cannabis because that would "send out the wrong
signals".
Andrew Barr.