Cannabis should be legalised and many other drugs decriminalised, a Manchester MP told Parliament.

Jeff Smith, Labour MP for Withington, told the House of Commons he believes the legalisation of cannabis is ‘inevitable’, if only the government would ‘grasp the nettle’.

He also described the war on drugs as a ‘dangerous fantasy’ which ‘diverts attention and resources from the real challenge of making drugs safer and taking back control of the drugs trade from the criminals who want to exploit vulnerable users’.

Mr Smith said addicts should be treated, not vilified.

In an impassioned speech, Mr Smith highlighted the case of 15-year-old Martha Fernback, from Oxford, who died in 2014 after taking 91 per cent-pure MDMA.

Martha’s mum Anne-Marie, who was in the public gallery for the debate on drugs policy, has since become a high-profile campaigner for the legalisation of ecstasy.

Mr Smith said: “The day after tomorrow will be the fourth anniversary of the death of Martha Fernback.

“The reason Martha died is because there was no controlling measure of the substance that killed her, there was no way for her to check the safety of the substance she was using.

“Martha was failed by our approach to drugs policy.”

Mr Smith said drug addiction was very often a psychological or biological problem and that addicts should be treated, not arrested.

He described criminalising cannabis users for taking a substance ‘less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco, that the overwhelming majority find pleasant, relatively harm-free and a rewarding experience’ was ‘surely wrong’.

(Image: Vincent Cole)

Mr Smith also used the debate, which was held following the publication of the Home Office’s new drugs strategy, to call for consumption rooms for heroin users, heroin prescribing, pill testing and a ‘much stronger emphasis’ on education.

The former DJ and events manager said there also needed to be ‘more openness and honesty’ in the drugs debate, adding: “In my previous life I spent a lot of time working and socialising in nightclubs and I spent a lot of time around people who had taken recreational drugs.

“Many thousands, probably hundreds of thousands, of ecstasy pills are taken in the UK every week and we can’t pretend that people are taking drugs because it is a terrible, miserable experience because people won’t believe us. It will just destroy the credibility of the message.

“I don’t expect any quick progress on drugs policy, but I think we need to start reframing the debate.

“There are a limited number of us who are prepared to stand up and speak about this issue at the moment, I hope gradually the numbers will increase because we really need serious debate on this issue, not more of the same approach which has failed.”