London - British Home Secretary, Mr David Blunkett, said yesterday possession of cannabis should no longer be an arrestable offence, heralding a massive shake-up of drugs policy.
He proposed reclassifying the drug as "Class C", putting it in the same category as anti-depressants and steroids.
Mr Blunkett denied the move was decriminalisation by another name and stressed the drug will remain illegal.
But in practice, cannabis smokers will be unlikely to face any consequences if they are caught with small amounts of the drug.