Young cannabis users in parts of London would avoid police arrest under trial scheme

Plans to swap prosecutions of young drug users for speeding awareness-style courses are being drawn up in parts of London.

A scheme to divert 18-24-year-olds found in possession of small amounts of cannabis in southeast London away from the criminal justice system has been mooted with City Hall.

The project, initiated by the London Borough of Lewisham, would see young offenders spared arrest if they complete a speed-awareness style course on the dangers of drug use.

Reports the scheme would apply to ketamine and speed are considered misleading by the mayor’s team, who say Sadiq Khan does not have the power to decriminalise drug taking.

A spokesperson for the mayor of London said: “This limited trial, which is still in development and has yet to be approved by City Hall, would involve three of London’s 32 boroughs.

“It would only apply to 18-24 year olds found in possession of a small amount of cannabis. It would not apply to any other drug.”

The scheme is said to be based on the Thames Valley Police drug diversion scheme, which won a national award in 2020 after 80% of young people referred to it completed the course.

Discussions on similar pilot schemes are also underway in Bexley and Greenwich.

Drug harm-reduction advocacy organisation Volteface recommended a trial of the pilot scheme to councillors in Lewisham, who approached City Hall for support with the roll-out.

The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) is involved in discussions around the scheme going ahead, which are yet to be finalised.

City Hall officials insist any wider rollout of the project would be intensely scrutinised before being greenlit, while the mayor’s promised London Drug Commission will not examine Class A drug classification which he has maintained must remain illegal.

While a similar MOPAC scheme to work with female offenders has slashed reoffending rates and the government’s drug strategy includes a focus on diverting users into healthcare.

The spokesperson added: “The idea of the scheme, already used by other police forces across the country, would be to divert young people who are found with a small amount of cannabis away from the criminal justice system and instead provide help and support.

“This has been shown to reduce reoffending.

“Reducing crime is the mayor’s top priority and he will continue to explore and implement the most effective solutions to help divert young people away from drug use and crime for good.”

Damien Egan, mayor of Lewisham, said: “We are in early discussions about the possibility of a diversion pilot for low-level drug offences.

“The current approach to policing drug offences is disproportionate and is not working.

“Young black men are around four times more likely to be stopped and searched than their white counterparts, and in 2019 almost 90% of the children in Lewisham who were sent to court for the first time were from a black, Asian or ethnic minority background.

“As a society we cannot simply arrest our way out of these issues, and it’s important we explore early intervention schemes that focus on support and education, and aim to divert young people away from drug use and crime for good.”

During a New Year’s speech this morning, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he opposed decriminalising the possession of cannabis.

The ex-director of public prosecutions said: “I’m not in favour of changing the laws, or decriminalisation.

“Some sort of pilots obviously we’ll look at, but we’re very clear that we’re not in favour of changing drug laws.”

While the prime minister Boris Johnson’s spokesperson declined to comment on an unconfirmed City Hall policy, but said there was “no intention to decriminalise drugs in any way”, the Mirror reported.