Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants with species that have long been used for fibre (hemp), for medicinal purposes, and as a drug. Industrial hemp products are made from cannabis plants selected to produce an abundance of fiber and minimal levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychoactive molecule that produces the "high" associated with cannabis as a drug.
Pre-prohibition Cannabis may have been known in Britain as far back as the Bronze Age (ca. 2800 BP) when pieces of textiles and string were found at a site at St. Andrews in Scotland. Microscopic inspection showed that the fibres of these items appeared to have several different characteristics to those of flax.
The first hard evidence of hemp in England are seeds that have been identified as cannabis sativa found in a Roman well in York. Palynologists then find an increasing pollen curve in sediments, dating from the early Saxon period and peaking between 800 AD and 1200 AD. Hemp cultivation was widespread and appears to have been concentrated around the coastal areas of Britain which would indicate its importance for making nets, sail-cloth and rope.
However, to satisfy the increased demand for rope and sailcloth for King Henry VIII's new navy, he decreed (1533) that all landholders set aside one-quarter acre for the cultivation of flax or hemp for every sixty acres of land that they tilled in order to provide the necessary fibre. Queen Elizabeth I reintroduced the law (1563 AD) to expand her navy and imposes a £5 fine for any eligible landlord who failed to comply. From then on the demand increased and the hemp industry became very important to the British economy. Indeed, it was their need to improve the supply of this strategic raw commodity that come the 1630s the British sped up their colonization of the new world.Deitch, Robert (2003) Hemp: American history revisited: the plant with a divided history. page 12. Algora Publishing. Accessed 2010-01-16
Furthermore, cannabis also became an important medicine. There are claims that Queen Victoria took tincture of Cannabis to ease the pain of childbirth but these have been disputed.A pharmacy of her own: Victorian women and the figure of the opiate by Aikens, Kristina, Ph.D., TUFTS UNIVERSITY, 2008, 276 pages; 3304089
NameLifetimeNotable positions heldPartyRef. David Urquhart Member of Parliament Independent
Parties
Legislation In order that Britain could ratify international treaties which it signed up to, it added tincture of cannabis to the list of drugs which already required an importation or exportation licence, granted by the Home Secretary. This took the form of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1920 (10 & 11 Geo. 5. c. 46).
Secondary legislation was introduced to ensure better standardization and quality of cannabis tincture. This was achieved by tight legislative control over sourcing the raw materials, processing and distribution. An effect of this control was to restrict the use of tincture to purposes that were strictly medical or scientific. Other forms of cannabis were not affected.
One of the regulations to maintain quality is briefly alluded to by Maud Grieve in her book A Modern Herbal, where she mentions in the section about Indian Hemp that "two-year-old ganja is almost inert, and the law requires it to be burnt in the presence of excise officers."
The League of Nations was put in charge of international drug control after World War One. Cannabis was not initially subject to international control but was controlled as part of the Second International Opium Convention of 1925. Control came about due to the local situation in Egypt and the desire of the new leaders of the country to embarrass their former British rulers by claiming that its use had led to widespread insanity. Due to its importance as a medicine and its other industrial uses, this proposal was reduced to prohibiting the unlicensed possession of cannabis. Britain ratified this agreement by amending the Dangerous Drugs Act 1920 with the Dangerous Drugs Act 1925 (15 & 16 Geo. 5. c. 74) which added some other of cannabis hitherto ignored. Namely, cannabis resin, cannabis oil (hash oil), cannabis leaf, flower-heads and the raw plant itself. However, whole seeds, seed oil (hemp oil) and fibre are not included. They can still be used for baiting fish, feeding birds, cooking, making strong ropes and high quality paper. In order that the government could avoid paying out compensation, enforcement of the act was delayed until 1928, thus giving people time to legitimately dispose of their stock which contravenes the new Bill.
Following the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961) the cultivation of cannabis ceased in the UK.
Cannabis tincture was finally removed from the British National Formulary in 1971 by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
During prohibition
These are the politicians that have admitted to recreational use following prohibition including Members of Parliament, Secretaries of State and other Ministers, Peers, and Mayors as well as members of devolved legislatures.
+Key
NameLifetimeNotable positions heldPartyRef. Peter Ainsworth Shadow Secretary of State Conservative Hazel Blears Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Labour Andy Burnham Secretary of State for HealthSecretary of State for Culture, Media and SportMayor of Greater ManchesterLeader of the Labour PartyPrime Minister of the United Kingdom Labour David Cameron Leader of the Opposition from 2005 to 2010Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016 Conservative Charles Clarke Home Secretary Labour James Cleverly Conservative Vernon Coaker Minister of State for Schools Labour Yvette Cooper Secretary of State for Work and PensionsChief Secretary to the TreasuryChair of the Home Affairs Select Committee Labour Bruce Crawford Cabinet Secretary for Parliamentary Business and Government Strategy SNP Alistair Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish Chancellor of the Exchequer Labour Ed Davey Leader of the Liberal Democrats Liberal DemocratLib Dems vow to legalise cannabis but ban tobaccoThe TelegraphDavey defends support for legalising cannabis and smoking ban BBC News Ruth Davidson Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party Conservative Fergus Ewing Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity SNP Michael Fabricant Lord Commissioner of the Treasury Member of Parliament Conservative Caroline Flint Minister of State for Europe Labour Thomas Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde Leader of the House of LordsChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Conservative Michael Gove Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentSecretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsSecretary of State for Education Conservative Matt Hancock Secretary of State for Health and Social CareSecretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Conservative Harriet Harman Leader of the House of Commons Labour Patricia Hewitt Secretary of State for HealthSecretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Labour Jeremy Hunt Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth AffairsSecretary of State for Health and Social Care Conservative John Hutton, Baron Hutton of Furness Secretary of State for Defence Labour Fiona Hyslop Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External AffairsCabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning SNP Bernard Jenkin Shadow Secretary of State for Defence Conservative Boris Johnson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2018Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016 Conservative Jon Owen Jones Parliamentary Under-Secretary of the Welsh Office Labour Ruth Kelly Secretary of State for TransportSecretary of State for Communities and Local GovernmentSecretary of State for Education and Skills Labour Liz Kendall Shadow Minister for Care and Older People Labour Sadiq Khan Mayor of LondonMember of ParliamentMinister of State for TransportShadow Secretary of State for JusticeShadow Lord Chancellor Labour Stephen Kinnock Minister of State for CareSecretary of State for Wales Labour Susan Kramer, Baroness Kramer Minister of State for Transport David Lammy Deputy Prime Minister of the United KingdomForeign Secretary LabourDavid Lammy Blasts 'Pot-Smoking Stonehead' Cameron For Not Legalising Marijuana https://www.lbc.co.uk/ Norman Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick Chancellor of the Exchequer Conservative Andrea Leadsom Leader of the House of CommonsLord President of the CouncilSecretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Conservative Oliver Letwin Chancellor of the Duchy of LancasterShadow Home Secretary Conservative Tricia Marwick Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament SNP Francis Maude, Baron Maude of Horsham Minister for the Cabinet OfficeMinister of State for Trade and Investment Conservative Stewart Maxwell Minister for Communities and Sport SNP Tony McNulty Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform Labour Esther McVey Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentSecretary of State for Work and Pensions Conservative Mo Mowlam Leader of the House of LordsChancellor of the Duchy of LancasterSecretary of State for Northern Ireland Labour Archie Norman Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions Conservative Adam Price Leader of Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru Dominic Raab Deputy Prime MinisterFirst Secretary of StateForeign SecretarySecretary of State for Exiting the European Union Conservative Steve Reed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsSecretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentLabourOn a mission Law Gazette Shona Robison Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport SNP Jacqui Smith Home Secretary Labour Nicola Sturgeon First Minister of Scotland SNP Jo Swinson Leader of the Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrat Matthew Taylor, Baron Taylor of Goss Moor Liberal Democrats Treasury Spokesman Liberal Democrat Chuka Umunna Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Liberal Democrat David Willetts, Baron Willetts Minister of State for Universities and Science Conservative Leanne Wood Member of the National Assembly for Wales Plaid CymruLeanne Wood: Plaid Cymru leader 'took drugs as student'. BBC NEWS. Published 15 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017. Tim Yeo Shadow Secretary of State Conservative
See also
Cannabis classification in the United Kingdom Cannabis in the United Kingdom List of United States politicians who have acknowledged cannabis use
References