The law in the UK: an overview

A1. Core legislation

Sentencing (England and Wales): for Class B possession the starting point is a Band B fine (100% of weekly income), range discharge to 26 weeks' custody (guideline effective 1 April 2021, updated 5 October 2026; a draft revision is out for consultation).[19]

A2. The three legal systems

A3. Policing in practice (England and Wales)

• Warnings and PNDs. College of Policing APP (updated 7 May 2026): "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", absent aggravating factors; "No more than one cannabis warning can be administered." PNDs are £90; recipients have 21 days to pay or request a hearing.[7] All are discretionary.
• Two-tier reform not in force. PCSCA Part 6 would replace these with diversionary cautions (breach can lead to prosecution) and community cautions (breach can lead to a financial penalty).[25] Section 118 remains "prospective"; only s.116 (code of practice) is commenced.[6][26] The draft code was consulted on 2 August–13 October 2023.[25] Many forces run a voluntary "two-tier+" model.[27] Schedule 19 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 makes further, uncommenced amendments.[6] Under change.
• "Swift, Certain, Tough" (July 2022) proposed a three-tier escalation for adult possession, including possible passport and licence removal. Consultation closed 10 October 2022; not legislated.[28][29][30]
• Diversion schemes (Thames Valley, West Midlands DIVERT, Durham Checkpoint, Avon and Somerset) are local and discretionary. A press analysis of Home Office data found West Yorkshire Police charged or summonsed 767 of 4,615 closed cannabis possession offences in one year and recorded the diversion outcome only twice; this early-2020s figure needs updating.[31][32]
• Youth: no further action, Outcome 22 (diversion or deferred caution), community resolution, youth caution, youth conditional caution, charge, often decided with the Youth Justice Service.[33]

A4. Stop and search

• PACE s.1 and MDA s.23 require reasonable grounds; Code A forbids relying on personal factors such as race or appearance.
• Smell: College of Policing APP says it is "not good practice" to base grounds on "the smell of cannabis alone".[34][35] The IOPC's April 2022 national report made 18 recommendations, including a Home Office review of smell as grounds.[36][37] Smell alone is not unlawful: City of London Police noted "there is no stated case which says that the smell of cannabis alone cannot provide reasonable grounds."[38] Avon and Somerset has trained officers not to rely on it.[39]
• GOWISELY rights: Grounds, Object, Warrant card, Identity, Station, Entitlement to a record, Legal power, You are detained. In public, only outer coat, jacket and gloves can be required to be removed.
• Complaints: the force's Professional Standards Department or the IOPC; StopWatch supports.

A5. Arrest, interview and records

• Free legal advice at the station for everyone; appropriate adult for under-18s and vulnerable adults (PACE Code C).
• Caution: "You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence."
• Cautions and community resolutions require admitting the offence — take advice first.
• DBS (from 28 October 2023): youth cautions, reprimands and warnings are not automatically disclosed; all unspent convictions and conditional cautions are; minor convictions are filtered 11 years after becoming spent (5.5 years for youth).[4][40]
• Rehabilitation periods (adults): fine 1 year; community order spent at end; simple caution immediately; conditional caution 3 months or when conditions are met; custody ≤1 year: 1 year after sentence; 1–4 years: 4 years; over 4 years (non-excluded): 7 years. Youth periods are generally halved. Confirm with Unlock's calculator.
• ACRO handles subject access to the Police National Computer and police certificates.

A6. Driving

RTA 1988 s.5A: driving above 2 µg THC per litre of blood is an offence regardless of impairment: minimum 12-month ban, unlimited fine, up to 6 months' prison, 11-year endorsement.[41] The medical defence (s.5A(3)) applies if the drug was prescribed and taken as directed, but not to the s.4 impairment offence.[42]

A7. CBD

CBD food is a novel food; only products linked to the FSA public list may be sold in England and Wales. The FSA advises healthy adults to take no more than 10 mg CBD/day (down from 70 mg in October 2023) and, since 1 July 2025, a THC safe upper limit of 0.07 mg/day; under-18s, pregnant or breastfeeding people and those on medication should avoid CBD.[13][43] The limits are voluntary for businesses, but the Home Office 1 mg-per-container THC rule is enforceable.[43][44] "CBD flower" is not legal.[45]

A8. Medical cannabis

• NICE NG144 (2019) supports Epidyolex, Sativex and nabilone for specific uses; evidence for most other CBPMs was judged insufficient. Private clinics are regulated by the Care Quality Commission; Project Twenty21 is a patient registry. England's Patient Safety Commissioner, Prof Henrietta Hughes, has warned that "the growth of medicinal cannabis prescribing has outpaced the systems needed to ensure patient safety" and called for "urgent action". Her warning followed the death of Oliver Robinson, 34, and his family's campaign for an "Oliver's Law".
• A prescription covers only the dispensed product. Home cultivation is still an offence.
• NPCC-approved guidance, Medicinal Cannabis and the Police – Guidance for Officers and Staff (6 January 2026), says officers should treat patients as "patients first, suspects second" and confirms a Cancard is not legally required. West Yorkshire Police (FOI 1863630-23) expects patients to give the specialist's name, dispensing pharmacy and contact details.[46][47][48]
• Travel: under 3 months' supply needs a prescriber's letter, not a personal licence; larger supplies need a Home Office personal licence, which "has no legal standing outside the UK".[49][50] Many countries ban cannabis medicines.

A9. Gaps and limitations (policy debates)