Next week Canada will become the first G7 country to vote to legalise and regulate cannabis.

It joins Uruguay and nine US states, and will probably be followed by New Zealand, which is set to hold a referendum on legalising cannabis in the next three years.

Politicians around the world are waking up to the benefits of regulated cannabis markets to protect their citizens and improve public health.

So, too, are many voices here in the UK. The British Medical Association, the British Medical Journal, the Royal Society of Public Health and the Royal College of Physicians have all made the public health case for reforming our drug laws.

Yet the government lags woefully behind, clinging to a failed model focused on criminalisation, which puts people’s health at risk. It’s time politicians from the major parties stepped up to this public health challenge, as they have done with alcohol and tobacco.

The evidence is clear: prohibition does not work. Last year, 2.1 million people aged 16-59 in England and Wales used cannabis. In an unregulated market, they have little idea of its contents or strength.

Successive studies this year, from drug policy thinktank Volte Face and from Dr Marta di Forti at King’s College London, show that an illicit market left in the hands of criminal gangs is driving up potency and toxicity.

The only way to get a grip on this problem and protect young people is to explore ideas for a regulated market. Only then can we restrict who can buy it and what they can buy, and provide genuine public health information on the risks associated with cannabis.

As it stands, the only people benefitting from a zero-tolerance approach to cannabis are violent gangs and international drug cartels.

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A regulated cannabis market would also raise vital funds for the NHS: £1bn annually at a conservative estimate, and possibly much more.

Health Poverty Action’s new report highlights cannabis as an untapped revenue stream for the NHS, calculating that this would pay for every midwife in England, with money left over to fund drug education, harm reduction and mental health services.

Earlier this year, I visited Washington state, where I saw first-hand how tight regulation can work. The Liquor and Cannabis Board, the state regulator, combines strict age limits and health warnings on all packaging with public health awareness campaigns in schools, on social media, and on billboards across the state.

Since legalising the drug in 2014, Washington state has taken $1bn in tax revenues, almost 80% of which is pledged to their health and judicial systems. Opioid dependency is down across the state, child use of cannabis has flat-lined, and Washington state police can now focus on eliminating the remnants of the black market.

The first step for the UK would be to move responsibility for drug policy to the Department of Health and Social Care. We could establish a panel of experts to develop the most effective model for a regulated market and design a cannabis regulatory authority to implement it.

It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s increasingly politically popular too – 53% of people support decriminalisation or legal regulation, with larger majorities among young voters. Politicians of all stripes can afford to be brave on this issue, backed by the evidence.

While governments continue to ignore the wealth of evidence from medical professionals, health experts, drug experts, law enforcement officials and development organisations in order to pursue a failed policy, criminal gangs have exploited the cannabis trade for far too long. It’s time to take back control.

Jeff Smith is MP for Manchester Withington and Labour whip