CEREDIGION AM Elin Jones has called for the use of cannabis for medical reasons to be scrutinised before legalising the drug for recreational use.

She was speaking in the light of a national debate sparked by former Tory leader William Hague who called for recreational use of cannabis to be decriminalised.

Miss Jones said: “I support greater availability of medicinal cannabis and I am certainly aware of people with complex chronic health needs who would benefit from being able to legally access cannabis for relief of medical symptoms.

"I believe that steps should first be taken on medicinal cannabis that could then inform any future proposal to decriminalise cannabis for recreational use.”

Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn said: “Similarly to Elin, I personally feel considerable learning will follow from the legalisation of cannabis in Canada and some US states but as yet there is limited details available on what arrangements would be introduced to regulate a UK cannabis market to allow me to provide an informed and useful comment.

“However, the wider availability of such prescribed treatments where there is a medical need, as proposed in the Home Office review, can only be a good thing for suffering patients and I therefore welcome this development as outlined in the Home Secretary’s statement.

“Currently, the enforcement activities of Dyfed-Powys Police and other forces in Wales are prioritised on those involved in the supply and distribution of illicit drugs concentrating on Class A drugs such as heroin and cocaine although where local information is received that substance misuse is impacting a local community, this information will be acted upon.”

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones has already called for cannabis to be sold in off licences and for safe spaces” where drug users can inject themselves.

Ben Lake MP said: “We do need to consider how best to prevent the supply and distribution of illicit drugs – along with the criminality and violence that it sustains – and also the well-being of individuals who consume such substances. I very much doubt that there can ever be a ‘silver-bullet’ answer to this issue, and I would expect a holistic approach would be needed.

"However, we are fortunate that there is increasing evidence of alternative approaches from around the world that we can learn from, and if they are found to reduce the number of people finding themselves in either the health or criminal justice systems, then the Government should look closely at the measures introduced.

“Hague’s intervention is timely of course, coinciding with both the call for a new drugs policy from the Police Federation and Canada’s decision to decriminalise the recreational use of cannabis. The Home Secretary’s response to Hague suggests we will not see similar proposals explored in the UK, but it is right that we debate whether or not our present approach to tackling drugs – based very much on the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 - is still the most appropriate and effective, particularly when the Police Federation is calling for a new policy on drugs.”