Ex-Police Chief's First-Hand Account Of Why Cannabis Should NOT Be Legalised

22 June 2018, 10:44 | Updated: 22 June 2018, 10:48

Lord Stevens told LBC of the moment while working with Dutch police that convinced him cannabis should not be made legal.

Earlier this week, Lord Hague said the government should be bold and legalise the drug, not just for medicinal use but recreationally too.

However, Lord Stevens, a former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, told a harrowing story that made his mind up.

Speaking to Nick Ferrari, he said: "I went to Amsterdam in 1986 when cannabis and other drugs had been legalised.

"I remember vividly going into a place where cannabis and hard drugs were legalised and seeing people there who were in a terrible state.

"One woman in particular, a young girl of 17 who had come in from the countryside and was taking hard drugs. I said to the police officer there, 'What's going to happen to her?' He said 'She'll be dead in two years'.

"I followed that up. Actually, she was dead within 18 months."

Speaking of William Hague's claim that the War On Drugs had been lost and we should legalise cannabis, he said: "He's not right.

"People have been saying for many years that recreational use of cannabis should be allowed. I don't agree with that.

"I think it leads to the use of other types of cannabis. The use of skunk and spice is absolutely appalling and addictive. Many patients in mental hospitals are there because of the use of skunk and spice."

All day on Friday, LBC is hosting a series of special programmes and discussions on the decision: is it time to legalise cannabis?