Cannabis remains overwhelmingly the most widely available controlled drug in Northern Ireland. The demand for it is exploited by organised criminals and paramilitaries who use the profits from the trade to sustain their other criminal activities. While the committee welcomes the increase in the penalty for supply of Class C drugs, it is unlikely that this action alone will be a sufficient counterbalance to the opportunities for extending criminal activity which the reclassification may provide.

Northern Ireland is different from Great Britain, both in its choice of controlled drugs and in the problems associated with its drugs trade. It has a relatively small population and at present it does not have a large scale of hard drug abuse. The Government must keep this in mind and monitor closely what happens in Northern Ireland following the reclassification of cannabis. The committee calls on the Government to reaffirm, clearly and publicly, that the supply of cannabis remains a high priority for law enforcement in Northern Ireland. The Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive, must intensify their efforts to communicate the fact that the use of cannabis remains illegal, and harmful.