A thinktank has called for under-18s caught dealing cannabis to be treated as potential victims rather than criminals, citing a rise in prosecutions of young people for supply offences. The drug policy campaign group Volteface said official data showed a 14.5% increase in prosecutions of under-18s for supplying cannabis between 2012-13 and 2016-17, while adult prosecutions fell by 16.4%.
Figures released by the Ministry of Justice under freedom of information laws also revealed a 25.6% rise in convictions of young people for supplying cannabis, compared with a 1.4% increase for adults. For possession with intent to supply, prosecutions of under-18s rose by 5.5% and convictions by 5.1%, while adult prosecutions dropped by 22.1% and convictions by 10.6%.
Steve Moore, former chief executive of David Cameron's Big Society Network, said the trend could indicate that more young people are being exploited by adults to deal cannabis on their behalf. He cited cuts to youth services, lack of opportunities, desire for money and social status, and social media connecting young people with dealers as factors making them vulnerable.
Volteface recommended that dealing cannabis as a young person be considered a potential indicator of vulnerability rather than criminality, and treated as a safeguarding concern, similar to child sexual exploitation. The group noted that while 'county lines' grooming for class A drugs has been reported, this model has not taken hold with cannabis, but young people are still being targeted by adult dealers with explicit or implied coercion.
