THE decision to relax the laws on cannabis is long overdue but should go that extra step further.

The announcement that possession of the drug will no longer be an arrestable offence effectively legitimises what many police forces have put into practice for some time. There has been a groundswell of opinion that the substance is no more or less harmful than other Class C drugs such as anti-depressants and steroids.

The justification for legalising the use of the drug is to take its supply out of the hands of illegal gangs and dealers. Decriminalising cannabis in practice but not law does nothing to break the supply chain of criminals who have such a lucrative monopoly.

One other effect of downgrading possession of cannabis to a non-arrestable offence would be to send crime figures plunging - it currently accounts for two thirds of all drugs offences.

Recategorising cannabis shows that the Government recognises that cannabis is not an unacceptably dangerous substance. The next logical step is to legalise the drug.