A new petition launched with the intention of facilitating a referendum on cannabis in the UK has already garnered half the signatures it needs to justify a government response.
Demand for a vote on cannabis
The ‘We demand a vote on cannabis’ petition has aroused an accelerated interest in recent weeks thanks to sick children being denied access to medicinal cannabis and heavy-handed police raids on seemingly legitimate business throughout Britain.
The petition’s call to action asserts;
“We sign because we do not support the law as it currently stands. We demand the chance to test the “will of the people” in regards to cannabis policy. DO NOT GIVE US THE STANDARD RESPONSE! We demand democracy, we demand a chance to change the law. Join the campaign Let Us Vote on Fb & twitter.”
Petition in response to police action
The petition was launched by Gareth Lendrum, an ordinary British citizen who fell foul of the law after growing medical marijuana to treat his partner’s cerebral palsy condition. Mr Lendrum, who doesn’t consume cannabis himself, was motivated to initiate the petition in response to police action, which saw his family temporarily homeless.
While many pro-cannabis petitions have failed in the past, Lendrum is pursuing an alternative approach – Instead of calling on Parliament to legalize medical cannabis outright, he’s asking MPs to let the people decide.
A search on the British Parliament website returns 169 results involving UK cannabis petitions. Amid the various proposals for legalising weed are petitions involving the plant’s use for CBD treating fibromyalgia, ME and various other mental and physical conditions, as well as changing the law around growing the plant.
After the petition receives 10,000 signatures, the Home Office must grant a response to petitioners. If the petition receives 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament. That could lead to the referendum Lendrum seeks.
Ms Deacon, the mother of Alfie Dingley, from Kenilworth, petitioned the government in March after she found his condition improved when he was given a cannabis-based medication in the Netherlands, where it is legal, in September 2017.