Yahoo News Cannabis users smoke openly as calls mount for drug to be legalised
The sweet sickly smell is unmistakable, that and the cloud of smoke wafting above the heads of the crowds flocking to one of London’s most popular street markets.
There, on the edge of the Regent Canal, next to bustling Camden Market, it’s easy to spot them; small groups of young people sitting languidly in the summer sun, sharing cannabis joints.
Whether outside bars and concert venues, in festival fields, or even on the street, seeing - or smelling - a joint being smoked has long ceased to be unusual.
Adam McWilliam, a 31-year-old band roadie and drum technician, is happy to admit he has been openly smoking ‘weed’ since he was a teenager, despite a number of convictions for possession of the drug.
“Politicians are finally starting to admit the reality out there,” he says as he rolls a spliff. “ So many people use it you just can’t deny it any more,” he says.
“I’ve had problems with aggression and I find it chills me out and for so many people it helps with pain relief and other medical issues. My mum has chronic cirrhosis of the liver and she should be able to use it legally to relieve her symptoms.”
In fact while the debate around the legalisation of the drug gathers momentum, the realities of policing in 21st Century Britain, means in some areas of the country possession of cannabis has already effectively been decriminalised.
Between 2010 and 2017, the number of cannabis possession offences has decreased by 48 per cent - from 160,733 to 83,591 as officers turn a blind eye to focus on other priorities.
Some Chief Constables and Police & Crime Commissioners have openly argued for cannabis and other drugs to be legalised in order to frustrate the activities of organised criminals. A position that has not always been welcomed.
In 2013, Mike Barton, the Chief Constable of Durham Constabulary came under fire when he argued that the war on drugs had failed, arguing that decriminalisation was the best way to wrestle power away from criminal gangs.
Two years later, Sara Thornton, the chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) admitted that responding to cannabis possession had "never been a top priority".
And more recently, Martyn Underhill, the Police & Crime Commissioner for Dorset, called for an "honest debate around drug policy", claiming the current approach has fallen short, resulting in widespread harm to our communities.
Last year the College of Policing recommended that officers do not necessarily stop and search a person just because they could smell cannabis.
Despite this the official policy of the NPCC is that cannabis is illegal because it has been shown to be harmful.
However Simon Bray, the NPCC lead on drugs policy said acknowledged that users were likely to be treated differently depending where they were in the country.
He said: “Forces are operationally independent, meaning that chief constables are able to vary their approach to tackling offences involving cannabis, according to local circumstances."
In fact the open use of the drug is likely to be even more common than police officers and most members of the public realise thanks to the introducing of vaping, which disguises its tell-tale smell with a vapourising perfume.
“It’s very discreet when you use a vaper to smoke cannabis. There’s no give away smell and you don’t have to worry about how people might react, like you used to,” said Orson, 38, a
London-based behavioural therapist and psychologist who uses cannabis to alleviate the pain of a long term back injury.
“Plenty of people smoke cannabis openly. You just have to look around you. The police aren’t interested in cracking down on it. For them it’s not a priority. They know that Class A drugs and alcohol are a far bigger issue in terms of anti-social behaviour and crime.”
Around the country users have also started to gather together at impromptu ‘cannabis cafes’, where they can buy they can either buy the drug or bring their own and enjoy it in the company of others.
There are thought to be around 25 of these cafes in London alone, tucked away above shops or business premises, but their location is a closely guarded secret, spread among users by word of mouth or on discreet social media platforms.
“The police know about them, but for the most part - unless there any problems - they leave them alone,” says Orson. “You’ll find people from all walks of life there, relaxing after a hard day at work”
For others the drug is a matter of medical necessity.
He, for one, cannot wait for the drug to be decriminalised, saving him the effort of sourcing it from illegal dealers or friends in his hometown of Brighton.
“The NHS should provide medical care for me and cannabis is the most effective way I have found of dealing with my pain - so why can’t I be prescribed it by my doctors?” he asks.
Indeed finding the money to pay for the cost of his daily use of the drug is a far bigger headache for Mr French, 32, than the fact he is breaking the law.
“I recently went on a demo against far right extremists and there were hundreds of police there. I was openly smoking cannabis as they were marching past,” he recalls. “They weren’t interested in me. They had other, bigger, problems to worry about.”
