List of British politicians who have acknowledged cannabis use

Colorful painting of five people standing in a stream retting hemp. A woman and child stand along the stream in the background. A pastoral setting surrounds the stream, with trees and bushes, a cottage, a blue sky, and fields of yellow and green.
The retting of raw hemp in a stream

Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants with species that have long been used for fiber (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.[1]

The first hard evidence of hemp in England are seeds that have been identified as cannabis sativa found in a Roman well in York.[2] Palynologists then find an increasing pollen curve in sediments, dating from the early Saxon period and peaking between 800 AD and 1200 AD.[3] 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.[4]

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.[5]

Furthermore, cannabis also became an important medicine, there are even disputed claims that Queen Victoria took tincture of Cannabis to ease the pain of childbirth.[6]

Prior to prohibition, British politicians were known for growing or using cannabis.

Name Lifetime Highest position Party Ref.
Urquhart, DavidDavid Urquhart 1805–1877 Member of Parliament Independent [7]
Parties

      Independent

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.

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."[8]

Although the United States were not members of the League of Nations they put pressure on the 1925 Geneva Opium Conventions to include a complete ban on cannabis. 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 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.[9]

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

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.
Mayor of London and Member of Parliament
Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland
Harriet Harman MP
Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs

Politicians that have admitted to recreational use following prohibition include, Members of Parliament, Home Secretaries and other Ministers, Peers, and Mayors.

Name Lifetime Highest position Party Ref.
Ainsworth, PeterPeter Ainsworth b. 1956 Shadow Secretary of State Conservative [10]
Ashton of Upholland, BaronessBaroness Ashton of Upholland b. 1956 High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy & Leader of the House of Lords Labour Party [11]
Blears, HazelHazel Blears b. 1956 Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Labour Party [12]
Burnham, AndyAndy Burnham b. 1970 Chief Secretary to the Treasury Labour Party [12]
Clarke, CharlesCharles Clarke b. 1950 Home Secretary Labour Party [13]
Coaker, VernonVernon Coaker b. 1953 Shadow Defence Secretary Labour Party [12]
Cleverly, JamesJames Cleverly b. 1969 Member of Parliament Conservative [14]
Cooper, YvetteYvette Cooper b. 1969 Shadow Home Secretary Labour Party [15]
Crawford, BruceBruce Crawford b. 1955 Minister for Parliamentary Business SNP [16]
Darling, AlistairAlistair Darling b. 1953 Chancellor of the Exchequer Labour Party [12]
Denham, JohnJohn Denham b. 1953 Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Labour Party [11]
Ewing, FergusFergus Ewing b. 1957 Minister for Community Safety SNP [16]
Flint, CarolineCaroline Flint b. 1961 Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Labour Party [12]
Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde, ThomasThomas Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde b. 1960 Leader of the House of Lords Conservative [10]
Harman, HarrietHarriet Harman b. 1950 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Labour Party [12]
Hutton, JohnJohn Hutton b. 1955 Secretary of State for Defence Labour Party [12]
Hyslop, FionaFiona Hyslop b. 1964 Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning SNP [16]
Jenkin, BernardBernard Jenkin b. 1959 Shadow Defence Secretary Conservative [10]
Johnson, BorisBoris Johnson b. 1964 Mayor of London Conservative [17]
Jones, Jon OwenJon Owen Jones b. 1954 Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Welsh Office Labour Party [18]
Kelly, RuthRuth Kelly b. 1968 Secretary of State for Education Labour Party [12]
Kramer, SusanSusan Kramer b. 1950 Minister of State for Transport Liberal Democrats [19]
Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick, NormanNorman Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick b. 1942 Chancellor of the Exchequer Conservative [20]
Letwin, OliverOliver Letwin b. 1956 Minister of State for Policy Conservative [10]
Marwick, TriciaTricia Marwick b. 1953 Member of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body SNP [16]
McNulty, TonyTony McNulty b. 1958 Minister of State for Work and Pensions Labour Party [12]
Maude, FrancisFrancis Maude b. 1953 Minister for the Cabinet Office Conservative [10]
Maxwell, StewartStewart Maxwell b. 1963 Minister for Communities and Sport SNP [16]
Mowlam, MoMo Mowlam b. 1949 Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Labour Party [19]
Norman, ArchieArchie Norman b. 1954 Former member of the shadow cabinet Conservative [10]
Robison, ShonaShona Robison b. 1966 Minister for Public Health and Sport SNP [16]
Smith, JacquiJacqui Smith b. 1962 Home Secretary Labour Party [12]
Sturgeon, NicolaNicola Sturgeon b. 1970 First Minister of Scotland SNP [16]
Taylor, MatthewMatthew Taylor b. 1963 Former Shadow Minister for Social Exclusion, Cabinet Office Liberal Democrats [19]
Umunna, ChukaChuka Umunna b. 1978 Member of Parliament Labour Party [21]
Willetts, DavidDavid Willetts b. 1956 Member of Parliament Conservative [10]
Yeo, TimTim Yeo b. 1945 Shadow Secretary of State Conservative [10]
Parties
      Labour       Conservative       Liberal Democrats       SNP
David Cameron PM

David Cameron, the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the Conservative Party, does not appear on the above list because he has not clearly communicated whether he has used cannabis but he has clearly stated that he is “not issuing denials” about the stories on the front pages of several national newspapers claiming that he had. He did however, while Leader of the Opposition, say, that he supports the legalisation of medical cannabis.[22][23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ryder, M. L. (1993). "Probable hemp fibre in Bronze Age Scotland". Archeological Textiles Newsletter (17): 10–13.
  2. ↑ Wild, John Peter (April 2003). Textiles in Archaeology. United Kingdom: Shire Publications. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-85263-931-3.
  3. ↑ Fleming, M. P.; Clarke, R. C. (1998). "Physical evidence for the antiquity of Cannabis sativa L. (Cannabaceae)" (PDF). Journal of the International Hemp Association (5): 80–92.
  4. ↑ Whittington, Graeme; Edwards, Kevin J. (December 1990). "The cultivation and utilisation of hemp in Scotland". Scottish Geographical Journal 106 (3): 167–173. doi:10.1080/00369229018736795.
  5. ↑ Deitch, Robert (2003) Hemp: American history revisited: the plant with a divided history. page 12. Algora Publishing. Accessed 2010-01-16
  6. ↑ A pharmacy of her own: Victorian women and the figure of the opiate by Aikens, Kristina, Ph.D., TUFTS UNIVERSITY, 2008, 276 pages; 3304089
  7. ↑ "Cannabis Use and Abuse By Man: An Historical Perspective" (PDF). Overseas Publishers Association N.V. 1998. p. 20. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  8. ↑ Grieve, Maud (1931). A modern herbal. Johnathan Cape Ltd. p. 396.
  9. ↑ Dorn, Nicholas; Murji, Karim; South, Nigel (20 December 1991). Traffickers: drug markets and law enforcement. Routledge. pp. 178–179. ISBN 978-0-415-03537-8.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Eighth Tory admits cannabis use". BBC News. 10 October 2000. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  11. 1 2 "Now TEN cabinet ministers admit: 'We smoked cannabis'". Daily Mail. 20 July 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Top ministers admit cannabis use". BBC News. 20 July 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  13. ↑ Booth, Jenny (19 July 2007). "Puffing politicians: list of cannabis confessions". The Times (London: News Corporation). Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  14. ↑ "Tory MP reveals he smoked marijuana and watched online porn". The Guardian. 1 November 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  15. ↑ "Cannabis laws 'too strict' say doctors". BBC News. 2 November 2000. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gordon, Tom (29 April 2007). "Half of SNP cabinet used cannabis". Sunday Times (London: Times Newspapers Ltd). Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  17. ↑ "Boris: I took cocaine and cannabis". Oxford Mail. 4 June 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  18. ↑ "Cannabis-smoking past of Cardiff MP". BBC News. 12 October 2000. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  19. 1 2 3 "Senior Lib Dem tried cannabis". BBC News. 24 January 2000. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  20. ↑ "Minister admits cannabis past". BBC News. 14 October 2000. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  21. ↑ "I smoked marijuana, admits Chuka Umunna". The Daily Telegraph. 1 July 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  22. ↑ Reuters UK (Sat Feb 10, 2007). Cameron smoked cannabis in youth – papers. Accessed 2009-01-18
  23. ↑ Reuters UK (Sun Feb 11, 2007). UK opposition chief won't deny he smoked cannabis. Accessed 2009-01-18
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