Labour MPs took to the House of Commons to discuss the impact of antisocial behaviour in the West Midlands on the 29th of April 2025. The discussion quickly raised concerns about people smoking cannabis in residential streets, much to the dislike of neighbours who protest the distinctive smell. 

The MP for Halesowen, Alex Ballinger has raised concerns about antisocial cannabis smokers enjoying a spliff on the street they live on. He admitted that the local police force and the council did not think it was worth the beat time, but that the police did eventually intervene. He refrained from saying what action was taken. 

“I recently spoke to one of my Halesowen constituents who faced problems with antisocial behaviour. Somebody frequently smoked cannabis outside her property, and although she reported it to Dudley council and the police, little was done. In fact, it was only after my office became involved that something happened. Does my Honourable Friend agree that although that might seem a minor incident to the authorities, it is really important for our constituents, and it is absolutely imperative that they strive to tackle antisocial behaviour?”

Neighbouring MP Sonia Kumar of Dudley who raised the discussion of anti-social behaviour in the commons, responded to her Labour colleague with a “please think of the children” take on the matter, suggesting that there needs to be more done to prevent antisocial behaviour like smoking cannabis in public. 

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“I agree,” she said. “Many people have said to me that the smoking of cannabis and drug dealing across the constituency is causing them not to want to go out, and they are really worried about their children. It is also just wrong, and we need better rehabilitation services. A question we should reflect on is why people have such high levels of antisocial behaviour. I would like to highlight the crucial role of prevention in tackling antisocial behaviour. Effective prevention is about not just responding to incidents after they occur but addressing the root causes and stopping them before they start.”

In the UK, cannabis is already a controlled substance as a Class B, but that is not preventing people from using it. The problem here is not the fact that people use cannabis, but rather where and how they use it. The smell is the issue for members of the public rather than the behaviour of people smoking cannabis. 

It seems that a much more sensible and pragmatic approach would be to give cannabis smokers a place to go and consume cannabis legally, out of the way of the public who may find it offensive. That’s why we’ve been advocating for legal cannabis social clubs in the UK since 2011. Cannabis Social Clubs are a discrete, non-offensive, non-invasive solution.

Cannabis prohibition stinks

This raises another issue though – that of the smell of cannabis. The smell of cannabis is natural and very much cultural – and since 2018, the smell of cannabis is also medical. From India to Jamaica, there are cultural and spiritual connotations and connections between people and cannabis. For Rastafarians, of which we have a recognised culture, religion and community in the UK, they use cannabis as a sacrament and a way to become closer with Jah and the Holy Spirit. For patients prescribed medical cannabis flowers by a doctor, the smell is a byproduct of the vaporisation administration process as directed by the specialist consultant that wrote the prescription. 

So when Sonia Kumar says that using “[cannabis is] just wrong… we need better rehabilitation services”, it comes across as insensitive and outdated. 

The idea that “cannabis is wrong and needs rehabilitation” is a bit like calling for homosexual conversion therapy. What are we going to suggest next? We amputate people’s lungs so they can’t smoke? We used to chemically castrate gay men, and it didn’t work, people are still gay today, and we see how evil conversion therapy was. It is not practiced now, and it is even illegal. 

People can choose rehabilitation if they choose to, but social prohibition always backfires because people rebel against the denial of their autonomy. Outlawing cannabis hasn’t worked because people are naturally drawn to it and feel it is a natural part of who they are. Or because they need it for the safest form of pain relief. Most people who use cannabis do so without any negative consequences. The worst thing that happens to us is usually getting caught by the police and having to worry that our neighbours report us for a smell.

In 1950’s Britain many people used to say they were offended by the smell of curry, complaining about their new Indian and Pakistani neighbour’s cuisine. Today in 2015, 70 years later, curry is Britain’s national dish and favourite take away food with approximately 8,000 businesses serving the spicy delight. 

To put it simply, the smell of cannabis is as antisocial as curry. Which is to say, not at all. Cannabis use isn’t a moral issue, in the same way homosexuality isn’t a moral issue. 

People taking the opportunity to smoke cannabis outside is far better than smoking indoors around children and filling the home with smoke toxins. 

On a scientific level, cannabis is known for containing THC, the primary active ingredient, but the different scent profiles (caused by terpenes, thiols esters and aldehydes just like you find in craft beer) of each cannabis variety are what deliver the distinction between its medical application for specific symptoms and diagnosis. So with this in mind, being offended by the smell of medicine is a little weird, fuelled by ignorance. To those that benefit from the effects, the smell is a symbol of good health. 

Looking more broadly at the issue of cannabis smells, several police forces in the UK have announced they will not be responding to reports due to the smell of cannabis, with the latest being Avon and Somerset just this week. It seems that operational policing decisions are basing this on evidence rather than moral and legal outrage. 

Dank Discrimination

Under-Secretary of State, Jess Philips MP added her comments; first telling a story about her mother dealing with her older brother’s antisocial behaviour by leaving him at a zoo as a child as an example of how to deal with people (questionably antisocial and abusive in itself) before saying, “We all know from our interactions with constituents that antisocial behaviour causes distress, concern and fear among residents, communities and businesses. It plagues town centres and neighbourhoods. It spoils people’s enjoyment of parks and other spaces. Let us get it right: antisocial behaviour is not low level, trivial or minor. To minimise it in that way is an insult to the many people who suffer every day as a result of the selfish actions of others.”

Equally, not having sensible cannabis laws in 2025 is an insult to mature people that use cannabis responsibly. Jess Philips words echo the campaign message that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer verbalised about cannabis. Sir Keir will be familiar with the fact that cannabis cases have been clogging up the criminal justice courts for some years now, causing great delays to “swift justice” promised by the CPS that he used to run.

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Progress is within reach

Leading up to the last general election, Sir Keir shifted his position on cannabis from believing we should stop criminal sanctions to saying that smoking on the streets is antisocial and “isn’t low level crime – it’s ruining people’s lives”. 

All of these issues and problems that MPs have raised here are resolved with the solution of decriminalising and regulating cannabis sales in the same way as Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands or Spain. Cannabis Social Clubs for adults that check age ID give people a place to consume out of the way of the public, and provide safer, tested products to willing consumers. 

Not only does the Cannabis Social Club remove cannabis smoking from the streets, it also removes cannabis dealing on the streets and therefore the number of children being offered cannabis or being made to sell it. 

Germany has just celebrated its first year of legal adult cannabis. The cannabis smoking laws in Germany permit adults over the age of 18 to purchase cannabis flower from a legal cannabis social club, which they can consume at home or outside in public after 8am. The restrictions on where adults can smoke cannabis are governed by zoning laws. You cannot light up a joint within 200 meters of a school or children’s nursery, for example. 

Take Action

What can we as cannabis consumers do to try and restore sensible balance to these political conversations? Write to your MP now – don’t wait. Strike while the feeling is there. Tell them you think a sensible approach to perceived antisocial cannabis activity is to provide safe spaces for people to go to if they want to buy or consume it. You can also ask to meet your MP in person, which we highly recommend – and if you get an appointment, let us know, we are happy to send someone along to help! 

Getting our communities dialogue heard by our MPs is important, if we are just voices on the outside they can never represent our views. If, however, MPs refuse to represent their constituencies’ views (the cannabis communities) we also need to know this so we can be activists and do the work that’s needed. 

“My Hon. Friend Alex Ballinger mentioned cannabis. I am sure that everybody here has heard the same complaints about kids and adults constantly smoking cannabis outside their houses. That is why tackling illegal drugs is key to delivering the Government’s mission to make our streets safer, to halve knife crime, to crack down on antisocial behaviour and to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime.” – Jess Philips MP

Cannabis prohibition is directly creating this dynamic, and the UK is spending £2 billion of taxpayer’s money a year trying to curb people’s use. It is not working. We should be collecting this money in tax revenue to spend on real education and progressive youth facilities, rather than throwing it away on ineffective police enforcement. And we know it isn’t effective because we are still talking about the problem. 

Jess Philips also uses the term “illegal drugs” and anyone that has actually read the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 will know that drugs aren’t illegal – people’s actions are. There is a seriousness to the importance of this distinction because plants don’t get a criminal record, people do. If the cannabis laws aren’t already preventing what is considered antisocial behaviour, then a different approach is necessary. We can make people’s actions legal and improve the relationship the public and consumers have with cannabis in a way that isn’t possible whilst under the current policy. 

Cannabis Social Clubs already exist and operate in the UK, and there is a great need for many hundreds if not tens of thousands more of them to meet the needs of not only the people that like to consume cannabis, but for the benefit of the public who would prefer people did it away from their open windows where their children are sleeping. 

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