Calls for Cannabis to be a Class A drug made at Tory conference

Conservative police commissioners want to bump up cannabis to a Class A drug, placing it in the same category as cocaine and heroin.

At a Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, some members argued that penalties should be re-evaluated, saying it's "time we realised that it is not just a little bit of weed" – an idea that campaigners have shut down as "dangerous and crazy".

David Sidwick, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, said cannabis is "driving harm" because it is a "gateway drug".

"If you look at the young people in treatment, the number one drug they are in treatment for is cannabis," he said.

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He continued that the "wealth of new data" on the drug's effect on health merited a "re-evaluation".

"There are so many crimes linked to drugs that, actually, by addressing this, by giving us this clarity, it makes it clearer for our police to be able to do what they need to do," he added.

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Those caught with Class A drugs could face up to seven years in prison and an unlimited fine. However, according to the BBC, the Home Office said there were no plans to reclassify cannabis.

Peter Reynolds, the president of cannabis campaign group CLEAR, called the concept "completely crazy."

He said they were "promoting ideas which will increase crime, violence and child exploitation".

"The idea of doing more of the same as the past 50 years, which has quite obviously dramatically failed, is ridiculous. The only people who want this are ignorant politicians and the people who sell illegal drugs, I'm crystal clear about that," Reynolds added.

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