Committees

E-petition debate on the legalisation of cannabis

9 October 2015

The House of Commons debates an e-petition calling on Parliament to "make the production, sale and use of cannabis legal". The petition was started on petition.parliament.uk.

The debate, led by Paul Flynn MP, a member of the Petitions Committee, will start at 4.30pm on Monday 12 October, in Westminster Hall. The debate is on the motion: "That this House has considered an e-petition relating to making the production, sale and use of cannabis legal."

The petition, which has been signed by over 200,000 people, was considered by the House of Commons Petitions Committee at its meeting on Tuesday 8 September.

The Committee has the power to schedule debates on e-petitions in Westminster Hall. In deciding which petitions should be debated, it takes into account how many people have signed the petition, the topicality of the issue raised, and whether the issue has recently been debated in Parliament.

What will the e-petition debate achieve?

Debates on e-petitions in Westminster Hall are general debates about the issues raised by the e-petition. MPs can discuss the petition and, if they wish, ask questions about the Government's position on the issue or press the Government to take action. A Government Minister takes part in the debate and answers the points raised. These debates help to raise the profile of a campaign and could influence decision-making in Government and Parliament.
 
E-petition debates in Westminster Hall cannot directly change the law or result in a vote to implement the request of the petition. Creating new laws, or changing existing ones, can only be done through the parliamentary legislative process which involves a number of debates, and detailed consideration of the law in draft, in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. This process is normally started by the Government, although there are some ways in which individual MPs or members of the House of Lords who are not in the Government (known as "backbenchers") can ask Parliament to consider new laws. 

Further information on how laws are made

Get involved

Watch the debate online

You can watch the e-petition debate live from 4.30pm on Monday 12 October:

After the debate, the video will be available permanently from this page. A transcript of the debate will also be available and appear on this page a couple of days afterwards.

Attend the debate

All debates in Westminster Hall are open to the public. Please note that spaces are limited and allocated on a first-come first-seated basis.

Contact your MP

You could contact your MP to tell them why this debate is important to you and suggest any points you would like them to raise.

Start your own petition

Further information

Image: iStockphoto