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The Liberal Democrats would legalise selling and growing cannabis if elected, the party has confirmed ahead of publishing its manifesto.
The party would allow licensed shops to sell the drug to over-18s, let people grow cannabis at home and introduce small "cannabis social clubs".
The Lib Dem spring conference in 2016 backed a regulated cannabis market. The party's manifesto will also include a promise to extend paid parental leave for fathers from two weeks to a month.
Under UK legislation, anyone found possessing cannabis can be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison, an unlimited fine or both punishments - but many argue that the law is not enforced. Supplying or producing cannabis, which is a class "B" drug, attracts a maximum 14-year prison sentence, unlimited fine or both, under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. 'Criminal gangs'
It is legal to consume small amounts of marijuana in some other countries - including Norway, the Netherlands and Portugal - while in other countries police do not arrest people for possession. In 2001, Portugal became the first country in the world to decriminalise the use of all drugs. Last year, the Lib Dems backed proposals for a "regulated market" to control the pricing, potency and packaging of sales to over-18s.
The proposals were outlined in a report, co-authored by the government's former chief drugs adviser Sir David Nutt, which argued that cannabis should be taxed - and that doing so could yield up to £1bn a year for the government.
_________________ lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector
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