Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy and effectiveness of delegated powers and resources of local authorities and police to tackle (a) the use of cannabis on private property and (b) its potential harms.

Possession of cannabis is illegal and anyone using it, regardless of location, is committing an offence. The police have a range of powers at their disposal to deal with drug-related offences, including tackling cannabis use in private properties and may, subject to a court ordered warrant, enter private properties where they suspect a person on the premises is in possession of cannabis and search the premises and any persons found therein. How police choose to pursue investigations is an operational decision for Chief Constables, but we are clear that we expect them to enforce the law.

Cannabis use poses a large number of health risks, including psychosis and respiratory disorders, and, after heroin and crack cocaine, is the most common drug that results in people seeking treatment. The Drug Strategy will invest £780 million to create a world-class treatment and recovery system and £533 million of this will be invested to rebuild local authority commissioned substance misuse treatment services in England.