A petition of over 211,000 signatories has forced the House of Commons to table a debate on the legalisation of marijuana.

The debate will be led by Labour MP Paul Flynn who is a long time advocate of medical marijuana and sits on the Parliament’s Petitions committee.

The petition believes therer are many economic positives from legalisation, claiming: ‘Legalising cannabis could bring in £900m in taxes every year, save £400m on policing cannabis and create over 10,000 new jobs.

It adds: ‘A substance that is safer than alcohol, and has many uses. It is believed to have been used by humans for over 4000 years, being made illegal in the UK in 1925.’





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The UK government’s response to the petition has not been encouraging as this statement proves: ‘Substantial scientific evidence shows cannabis is a harmful drug that can damage human health.



‘There are no plans to legalise cannabis as it would not address the harm to individuals and communities.‘



While it is expected that this will change existing laws - supporters hope this will force the government to act, reports the Independent.