The consumption of cannabis should be decriminalised in Germany, according to a police officers organisation in the country.

The head of the BDK organisation or The Association of German Criminal Officers said that the group favours a "complete decriminalisation of cannabis consumers".

Andre Schulz told German tabloid Bild that the current system prohibiting marijuana use stigmatises people and "allows criminal careers to start."

He argued that "the prohibition of cannabis was, viewed historically, arbitrary" and is "neither intelligent nor expeident."

He added: “In the history of mankind there has never been a society without the use of drugs. This is something that has to be accepted. My prediction is cannabis will not be banned for long in Germany.‎”

However, Mr Schulz insisted that the drug should remain off-limits for drivers.

Germany does allow some patients to use marijuana as a prescription medication, but officials have made it clear that recreational use will not be legalised.

Police officers in the UK are also calling for the decriminalisation of cannabis use, Steve Rolles, a senior policy analyst on drug policy at Transform, told The Independent.

Break the law by using cannabis at Houses of Parliament, MP urges

"It's always welcome to hear calls for drug welfare reform coming from the police, because they have the authority of frontline experience of the failure of the war on drugs," he said.

"What's happening in Germany is also a case of what's happening in the UK, where we're seeing increasing numbers of serving police questioning the status quo and calling for a debate on reforms.

"Several police authorities are putting in place de facto decriminalisation schemes, where people caught in possession of cannabis aren't prosecuted but are diverted into education or treatment programmes."

He added: "If we want to deal with the problem of the illegal market we need to legalise and responsibly regulate the production and supply of cannabis and other drugs as well, and there are many police forces making that argument.

"It's time for the Government in the UK to listen to those voices in the police and other experts and begin a meaningful debate on legalisation in the UK as well."

The call comes after research found the legalisation of marijuana for medical purposes led to a significant reduction in violent crime in several US states bordering Mexico.

Where cannabis is and isn't legal Show all 10 1 /10 Where cannabis is and isn't legal Where cannabis is and isn't legal UK Having been reclassified in 2009 from a Class C to a Class B drug, cannabis is now the most used illegal drug within the United Kingdom. The UK is also, however, the only country where Sativex – a prescribed drug that helps to combat muscle spasms in multiple sclerosis and contains some ingredients that are also found in cannabis - is licensed as a treatment Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal North Korea Although many people believe the consumption of cannabis in North Korea to be legal, the official law regarding the drug has never been made entirely clear whilst under Kim Jong Un’s regime. However, it is said that the North Korean leader himself has openly said that he does not consider cannabis to be a drug and his regime doesn’t take any issue with the consumption or sale of the drug MARCEL VAN HOORN/AFP/Getty Images Where cannabis is and isn't legal Netherlands In the Netherlands smoking cannabis is legal, given that it is smoked within the designated ‘smoking areas’ and you don’t possess more than 5 grams for personal use. It is also legal to sell the substance, but only in specified coffee shops Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal USA Although in some states of America cannabis has now been legalised, prior to the legalisation, police in the U.S. could make a marijuana-related arrest every 42 seconds, according to US News and World Report. The country also used to spend around $3.6 billion a year enforcing marijuana law, the American Civil Liberties Union notes AP Photo/Ted S. Warren Where cannabis is and isn't legal Spain Despite cannabis being officially illegal in Spain, the European hotspot has recently started to be branded, ‘the new Amsterdam’. This is because across Spain there are over 700 ‘Cannabis Clubs’ – these are considered legal venues to consume cannabis in because the consumption of the drug is in private, and not in public. These figures have risen dramatically in the last three years – in 2010 there were just 40 Cannabis Clubs in the whole of Spain. Recent figures also show that in Catalonia alone there are 165,000 registered members of cannabis clubs – this amounts to over 5 million euros (£4 million) in revenue each month Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal Uruguay In December 2013, the House of Representatives and Senate passed a bill legalizing and regulating the production and sale of the drug. But the president has since postponed the legalization of cannabis until to 2015 and when it is made legal, it will be the authorities who will grow the cannabis that can be sold legally. Buyers must be 18 or older, residents of Uruguay, and must register with the authorities Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal Pakistan Despite the fact that laws prohibiting the sale and misuse of cannabis exist and is considered a habit only entertained by lower-income groups, it is very rarely enforced. The occasional use of cannabis in community gatherings is broadly tolerated as a centuries old custom. The open use of cannabis by Sufis and Hindus as a means to induce euphoria has never been challenged by the state. Further, large tracts of cannabis grow unchecked in the wild Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal Portugal In 2001, Portugal became the first country in the world to decriminalize the use of all drugs, and started treating drug users as sick people, instead of criminals. However, you can still be arrested or assigned mandatory rehab if you are caught several times in possession of drugs Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal Puerto Rico Although the use of cannabis is currently illegal, it is said that Puerto Rico are in the process of decriminalising it RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP/Getty Images Where cannabis is and isn't legal China Cannabis is grown in the wild and has been used to treat conditions such as gout and malaria. But, officially the substance is illegal to consume, possess and sell Getty

The study, published in The Economic Journal, found the rate of violent crime, including robberies, murders and aggravated assaults, fell by 12.5 per cent in counties close to the border following the introduction of medical marijuana laws (MMLs).

Nine US states and the District of Columbia have legalised the recreational use of marijuana, while dozens of others permit its medicinal use.

Thousands of Californians will have marijuana offences wiped from their records after voters eliminated criminal penalties in 2016, it was recently reported.

However, earlier this month, the US Justice Department rescinded an Obama administration policy which eased enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states that legalised the drug.