You can bet on cannabis becoming legal in the UK in the next 10 years Could the UK follow Canada’s lead and begin steps to legalise cannabis? According to bookmakers, the chance of decriminalising marijuana […]

Could the UK follow Canada’s lead and begin steps to legalise cannabis? According to bookmakers, the chance of decriminalising marijuana in the next ten years looks likely.

Ladbrokes are offering of odds of 3/1 that cannabis will become “legalised and regulated in the UK by 2026”.

The drug was de-classified to a Class C drug in 2004, but was re-classified to a Class B drug again in 2009.

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Campaigners claim legalising cannabis would save the Treasury millions. Here’s what we know about Cannabis in numbers:

Cannabis usage

2.2 million

The number of people aged 16-59 who are thought to have used cannabis in the UK in 2014.

10 million

The number of smokers in the UK in 2014

39%

Percentage of cannabis users classed as frequent drug users

Cannabis and the law

5 years

The maximum custodial penalty for possessing cannabis

14 years

The maximum sentence for those found guilty of supplying cannabis

1 ounce

If small amounts of herbal cannabis are found for personal use, the police will offer a “cannabis warning”

67%

The percentage of drug-related offences cannabis accounts for in the UK

Estimated savings if cannabis was legalised

£500m -£800m

Tax revenue that could be made from a legal cannabis market, according to estimates by the Treasury, including:

£16m-£128m

Savings to the NHS

£55m-£147m

Savings to the criminal justice system

£24m

Savings to the courts

£18m

Savings to the police for people no longer charged for possession

£9m

Savings in community sentences

£3m

Savings to the probation services

£2m

Savings to prisons