Cannabis is just as harmful as cocaine and crack and should be classified as a Class A drug, police chiefs have warned

Cannabis is just as harmful as cocaine and crack and should be classified as a Class A drug, police chiefs have warned. 

A group of police and commissioners (PCCs) will demand that the drug be put on a par with crack and cocaine.

If adopted, the change would see the maximum penalties for possession increase from five to seven years, and the maximum penalty for supplying cannabis would increase from 14 years in prison to a life jail sentence.

David Sidwick, the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, said there was .

Calling it a ‘gateway’ drug used by county lines gangs to lure in users, he warned: ‘No child ever went to a drug dealer for heroin for their first deal — they would all have started with a bit of weed.’

The proposal is also being backed by Alison Hernandez, PCC for Devon and Cornwall, and Avon and Somerset’s police and crime commissioner Mark Shelford.They will present their plans at the Conservative Party Conference alongside academics. 

<div class="art-ins mol-factbox news floatRHS" data-version="2" id="mol-f621f130-411d-11ed-9091-7960c525ebb0" website &apos;is as harmful as cocaine should be classified as Class A&apos;