Brake Bids to Make Sale of Cannabis Seeds Illegal

12.41.38pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 8th Jul 2008

Tom Brake, Lib Dem MP for Carshalton and Wallington and Home Affairs Spokesman, launches a bid tomorrow in Parliament to make the sale of cannabis seeds illegal with his Cannabis Seeds (Prohibition) Ten Minute Rule Bill.

Currently the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 covers cannabis and cannabis resin but not the sale of cannabis seeds.

The opening of a shop called 'Your High', complete with large pictures of cannabis leaves in the windows, around the corner from a local primary school in Wallington, in Tom's constituency, prompted Tom to investigate the law as it applies to drugs paraphernalia and cannabis seeds. He was astonished to find that a shop can trade perfectly legally in goods which are principally used in the consumption of illegal drugs.

Tom said, "The Government want to re-classify cannabis from a class C to a class B drug because of their concerns about cannabis use. Yet at the same time, they allow the sale of drugs paraphernalia and cannabis seeds to go on openly in shops around the country. This is astoundingly inconsistent."

He added, "My Bill, if accepted by Government, will first make a simple change to the law, rendering the sale of cannabis seeds illegal. As the second step, I will be working with the Association of Chief Police Officers to find ways, either within existing legislation, or by drawing up new legislation, to tackle the sale of drugs paraphernalia."

Tom's bill has received all party backing including that of the Labour MP, the Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, senior Conservative Member Gary Streeter MP, and Lib Dem Bob Russell MP and who are all sponsors of the Bill.

Without Government support, the Bill is unlikely to become law.