Cannabis should be legalized and sold under license by the government, the former deputy leader of Britain's main opposition Tory party urged Friday.
In a move breaking with traditional Conservative values, Peter Lilley wrote in the Daily Telegraph that the laws on soft drugs should be liberalized.
He said one of the reasons the Conservatives were thrashed in last month's general election was that they are perceived as negative and punitive, quicker to lock people up than "setting them free."
"Nothing could more vividly dramatize reaffirmation of our belief in freedom and personal responsibility than to move clearly in favor of liberalizing the law on cannabis."
Lilley says magistrates could issue licenses for outlets selling a limited amount of cannabis to people over the age of 18. Consumption would not be allowed on the premises or in public places.
The drug would be taxed -- a potentially lucrative source of government revenue -- and carry a health warning.
Lilley said the current law on cannabis was unenforceable and outdated in a country where alcohol and nicotine are perfectly legal.
Consumption of, and dealing in, cannabis is illegal in Britain, although it is so common that police have begun a pilot project in south London under which people caught with small amounts would be given on-the-spot warnings rather than arrest and charges.
Lilley's suggestion is also an indication of the agonies the Conservative Party is going through as it tries to elect a new leader and recover from the disastrous election defeat.
Drug pressure groups welcomed his intervention. Mike Goodman, director of the drugs charity Release, said: "The debate in relation to cannabis has really come on leaps and bounds in the last few months.
"We're now having a much more sophisticated discussion and it's good that it is coming through leading politicians. The law on cannabis is long overdue for reform."
However, a Home Office spokesman said there were no plans to decriminalize cannabis or any other controlled drugs.
And the Tories' own home affairs spokeswoman, Ann Widdecombe, warned that legalizing cannabis would lead drugs barons to push even more hard drugs.
Widdecombe -- whose proposals last year for zero tolerance of cannabis fell flat when a succession of her colleagues admitted to having tried the drug -- insisted the party remained opposed to legalization -- LONDON (AFP)
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