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Regulation of Cannabis

My right hon. Friend is entirely right. That is why I made my decision. Clinical, medical harm is the advisory council’s predominant consideration, contrary to what was said by the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis), but there are also harmful implications for society more widely in the case of particular drugs, whether they relate—as my right hon. Friend suggests—to organised crime or to general social factors. The signals that emerge from the classifications A, B and C can be very confused, so it is important to re-examine the position. I do not think that I am betraying a confidence in saying that Sir Michael Rawlings, chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, has welcomed my decision. I believe that that is because the council’s members know that getting the classification system right is key to reducing the use of dangerous drugs, which I am determined to do.