How decisions are made: police, prosecutor, court

Stage 1 — Police discretion

• Stop and search. Police can search someone if they have reasonable grounds to suspect the person has a controlled drug (Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 s.23, under PACE Code A). The College of Policing's 2016 APP said that "the smell of what the officer believes to be cannabis on its own will not normally justify" a search. Research shows this is applied inconsistently (Grace, Lloyd and Page, 2025).[12]
• Adult possession for personal use (E&W). The College of Policing describes a three-stage escalation: "Providing there are no aggravating factors, an offender will receive a cannabis warning for a first possession offence, a penalty notice for disorder (PND) for a second offence, and be arrested for a third offence." A cannabis warning "applies to adults over the age of 18 years possessing cannabis for personal use only", and "No more than one cannabis warning can be administered" (College of Policing, n.d.).[13] Home Office PND guidance adds that "only one PND for cannabis... possession should ever be given" (Home Office, 2014).[14] The same guidance (para 1.4) sets lower- and upper-tier penalties of "£60 and £90 respectively", and lists cannabis possession as an upper-tier £90 penalty.
• In practice, the ladder is not always applied in order. A 2025 study of one Northern England force by Grace, Lloyd and Page looked at the 14 people with four offences each and found that "patterns of escalation were inconsistent": some received a series of cannabis warnings, others received warnings after previously being charged or receiving PNDs. Some forces use community resolutions or diversion schemes instead. Do not assume you will get a particular outcome.

Stage 2 — The prosecutor (CPS) decision

The CPS applies the Full Code Test: is there a realistic prospect of conviction, and is prosecution in the public interest? CPS drug guidance says that "a prosecution is also usual for the possession of more than a minimal quantity of Class B or C drugs" (CPS, 2025).[2] Key points from the same guidance:

• Possession includes things under your control even if someone else is physically holding them (MDA s.37(3)).[2]
• Supply "includes distributing" and "does not require proof of payment or reward". "A return of drugs to the original supplier would be a supply" (R v Maginnis).[2]
• Intent to supply is usually inferred from the surrounding evidence. Large amounts of cash or a lifestyle only explainable by dealing are admissible where relevant (R v Morris (1995) 2 Cr App R 69, cited by CPS).[15]
• The statutory defence in s.28 (lack of knowledge) places only an evidential burden on the defendant (R v Lambert [2002] 2 AC 545).[2]

Stage 3 — Sentencing (adults, E&W)

1. Culpability (role) is assessed as leading, significant or lesser. For cultivation, the lesser role includes "If own operation, solely for own use (considering reasonableness of account in all the circumstances)" and "Expectation of limited, if any, financial advantage".[1] It also covers people "Engaged by pressure, coercion, intimidation, grooming and/or control".[1][16]
2. Harm (quantity). Cultivation: Category 4 = 7 plants; Category 3 = 20 plants; Category 2 = "operation capable of producing significant quantities for commercial use"; Category 1 = "industrial quantities", with "an assumed yield of 55g per plant".[1] Supply: Category 4 = 100g; Category 3 = 6kg; Category 2 = 40kg; Category 1 = 200kg. "Selling directly to users" is treated as at least Category 3, whatever the quantity.[1][17]
3. Starting point and range come from the grid below.
4. Aggravating and mitigating factors move the sentence within the range. Statutory aggravating factors include previous convictions and offending on bail.
5. Guilty plea. A plea at the first stage normally earns up to a one-third reduction.
6. Custody threshold and suspension. "Cases where the offender was convicted on or after 22 March 2026: If the shortest term commensurate with the seriousness of the offending is 12 months or less, the court must suspend the sentence under the statutory presumption of suspension." Exceptions include offending while on a community order or suspended sentence, breach of a court order, "significant risk of physical or psychological harm to an individual", and "exceptional circumstances". Terms of more than 12 months and up to 3 years may be suspended (Sentencing Council, 2026; Sentencing Act 2026 s.1–2).[1][4]

The Sentencing Council places a disparity note on the cultivation guideline: "there is evidence of a disparity in sentence outcomes for this offence which indicates that a higher proportion of Asian and Other ethnicity offenders receive an immediate custodial sentence than Black and White offenders". A similar note on the supply guideline refers to Black, Asian and Other ethnicity offenders. Sentencers are pointed to the Equal Treatment Bench Book.[1][17]

Key sentencing grids (Class B, adults, E&W)

Sources: Sentencing Council (2026a; 2026b); CPS (2025) for permitting premises.[1][2][17]