| Factor | Effect | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, first time, small amount, personal use, admitted | Decreases (warning eligible) | College of Policing APP |
| Under 18 | Changes track (youth diversion, not cannabis warning) | APP; YJB guidance |
| Previous warning / PND / caution / conviction | Increases (police ladder; statutory aggravation) | APP; Sentencing Council |
| More than a "minimal" quantity | Increases (prosecution "usual") | CPS (2025) |
| Deal bags, scales, tick lists, cash, messages, "lifestyle" | Increases sharply (possession → PWITS) | CPS (2025); R v Morris |
| Sharing, buying for friends, "minding" for someone | Increases (supply in law) | CPS; Maginnis |
| Selling directly to users | Increases (at least Cat 3) | Supply guideline |
| Any cultivation | Increases (production offence, max 14 years) | MDA s.6; cultivation guideline |
| Plant count near 7 / 20; commercial scale | Increases harm category | Cultivation guideline |
| Unlawful access to electricity | Increases (aggravating or separate offence) | Cultivation guideline; Theft Act 1968 s.13 |
| Children or non-users present; fire or third-party risk | Increases; safeguarding referral | Guidelines |
| Possession in school, prison or licensed premises | Increases | Possession guideline |
| Smoking in public view, anti-social behaviour | Increases (ladder bypass) | Older ACPO guidance [unverified as current practice] |
| Coercion, grooming, exploitation, naivety | Decreases (lesser role); possible s.45 MSA defence | Guidelines; MSA 2015 s.45; CPS |
| Credible own-use account | Decreases (lesser role) | Cultivation guideline |
| Medical use without prescription | Mitigation only, never a defence | R v Quayle [2005] EWCA Crim 1415; Judiciary NI |
| Valid UK prescription, product as dispensed, not smoked | Lawful possession | APCDLO/NPCC guidance |
| Early guilty plea | Decreases (up to one-third) | Guilty plea guideline |
| Custodial term ≤12 months, conviction on/after 22 Mar 2026 | Suspension presumed | Sentencing Act 2026 |
What makes it more or less serious
The facts that move a cannabis case up or down: purpose, age, record, quantity, location, exploitation.