Dramatic drop in number of people charged with cannabis possession

There has been a dramatic drop in the number of people police are taking action against for possession of cannabis over the past five years.

Police charge just one in five people who they find with cannabis - a decrease of 20 per cent from five years ago.

There has also been a 40 per cent drop in the number of adults being cautioned for the same offence during that time.

And there has been a 20 per cent drop in the number of Fixed Penalty Notices given to those aged over 18.

Cannabis remains a class B drug although it was reclassified to a class C in 2004 under Tony Blair before being put back to its original B classification five years later under Gordon Brown.