Legalising cannabis would raise millions in tax, says government study ... Leaked Treasury study, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats while in coalition, says the move would also save £200m a year in court and police costs ... In a debate ... pro-cannabis MPs argued that the UK should draw on the experience of US states that have legalised the drug ... Legalising cannabis could save £200m in court and police costs and raise hundreds of millions of pounds in tax each year, a leaked government study has revealed. – The Guardian

Dominant Social Theme: There are plenty of reasons not to legalize cannabis. It may even be a gateway drug. Let's keep it criminalized.

Free-Market Analysis: We can see from the above article excerpt that the proverbial tide may be turning in Britain when it comes to legalization of cannabis. A government study has come to the conclusion that legalizing cannabis would be a tax windfall and also save £200m a year in various enforcement costs.

The pressure is apparently building in Britain to legalize, license and otherwise regulate cannabis consumption. It has become a political issue now, after a "cross-party group of MPs called for the liberalisation of cannabis laws during a Westminster Hall debate."

The debate was called after 221,000 people signed a petition to legalize the "drug." Labour MP Paul Flynn is quoted in the Guardian article as saying, "[Cannabis has] been tried and tested by tens of millions of people for 5,000 years. If there were any problems with natural cannabis it would have been apparent a long time ago, but all we've got is this wall of denial by governments who are afraid of the subject."