Here we have summarised the key elements of how we envision cannabis being regulated here in the UK. As part of our newly launched initiative to #LegaliseUKCannabis we will be consulting with key voices in the UK to develop the details of this vision, and the steps to realising it before publishing a roadmap to UK cannabis regulation in the new year.

In collaboration with experts and key stakeholders in the UK and around the world, at Transform we have been developing our vision for what responsible cannabis regulation should look like for over 20 years.

The detail of this work is captured in our ‘How to Regulate Cannabis; A Practical Guide’ now in its 3rd edition (translated into Spanish, Portuguese, German & Czech) and available to buy in print. While the book outlines the broad brushstrokes of good policy and practice, it also makes clear the need for regulation models to be adaptable to different local political and cultural environments.

Regulating cannabis in the UK will involve establishing a dedicated government agency to oversee the new cannabis reforms. This agency would oversee licensed production and supply of approved cannabis products as well as regulating non-profit cannabis clubs, and provisions for home-growing. Access to any form of legal non-medical cannabis supply would be for adults only (18+).

Below are the different ways people would be able to access cannabis legally

1. Home growing for personal use and non-profit sharing
   Provision will be made for adults to cultivate cannabis for personal use within certain parameters including growing limits, no for-profit sales, restricting child access etc.
   
   

2. Non-profit cannabis clubs
   As pioneered in Spain, and then formally incorporated into regulatory models in Uruguay, Germany, and Malta, these clubs/associations are non-profit and membership-based, providing cannabis to adult members. The model provides a supportive community-based environment that can encourage responsible use of quality controlled products, avoiding risks of over-commercialisation.
   

3. Licensed production and retail stores
   Regulation would ensure licensed production and sales of permitted cannabis products - overseeing quality and potency controls, price and taxation, shop location and hours of opening implementation of equity programmes (preventing emergence of corporate monopolies), inspection and compliance.
   
   

4. Cannabis based medical products access via prescription
   Medical cannabis is already legal in the UK however, we acknowledge that access needs to be dramatically improved. Cannabis based medical products on prescription would remain controlled by the relevant medical authorities, independent of a national regulatory agency’s role for non-medical cannabis access.
   
   

Guiding principles and aims

• Ending the criminalisation of people who use cannabis
  The criminalisation of people who use cannabis and, indeed, all drugs is expensive, ineffective and harmful - with marginalised communities carrying the greatest burden. Ending all punitive sanctions (including confiscation) for personal possession, home cultivation, and non-profit sharing is an essential prerequisite for further reforms. Decriminalisation must also include the deletion of former criminal records.

• Protecting and enhancing public health
  Ensuring people who use cannabis have access to safer regulated products, accurate information about contents, risks, harm reduction, and related health services is essential.
  
  

• Reducing the harmful illegal market
  The UK’s illegal cannabis trade is worth £2 billion a year with all profits going to the organised crime groups that control it - fueling street crime, child exploitation, and violence. Five years after legalisation in Canada, 70% of the market is now legally regulated.

• Equity and social justice
  Thoughtful community informed policy design can, not only ensure justice and rights are protected going forward, but can also help repair the harms of the past - deleting past cannabis-related criminal records, ensuring an equitable and diverse market landscape for small and medium sized businesses (not monopolised by big corporates) and participation in, and enjoyment of the benefits of emerging markets for those disproportionately impacted communities.

• Sustainable development
  We have an opportunity to ensure that emerging legal cannabis markets support the delivery of the UN sustainable development goals; that they are environmentally sustainable and carbon neutral/negative; and potentially support sustainable livelihoods in traditional cultivation regions of the Global South.

• Evidence based policy-making
  Drug policy has historically been driven by a toxic cocktail of ignorance, political ideology, cynicism, and prejudice. A truly just and effective policy must be based on evidence of what delivers our shared goals,whilst remaining flexible and able to evolve based on careful monitoring and evaluation.

Cannabis reforms are accelerating across the globe. Now it’s time for the UK to legalise and responsibly regulate. To achieve this change we need your support. We have launched a crowdfunder to help us bring responsible cannabis regulation to the UK. We are an independent charity - we receive no government funding and never accept money from the industries which stand to profit from a legal cannabis market.

Please support our work and donate today.