Home Secretary David Blunkett said cannabis would be downgraded from a Class B drug to a low-risk category C drug. The Class C designation puts the drug in the same category as anabolic steroids and growth hormones.

Use or possession of a small amount of a Class C drug is a non-arrestable offense. But the revised law would increase the sentence of those dealing in the drug from five to 10 years.

Blunkett said the reclassification of marijuana would enable police to refocus resources on harder drugs and their dealers. Research shows that relaxed cannabis laws would save Britain $77.1 million a year and free up the equivalent of 500 police officers.

An estimated 5 million people in Britain regularly use cannabis. Government data shows use of the drug has risen sharply over the past two decades.

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