Last week, YouGov released new polling on British attitudes on cannabis and wider drug policy. As a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, I feel compelled to reflect on what these results tell us.

The key figures are not surprising. Fifty-six percent of the UK public now support at least the decriminalisation of cannabis. As YouGov frames it, this means the removal of criminal sanctions for the “sale and possession” of the drug, instead treating it like a minor civil offence, akin to a parking ticket. For many politicians, who still approach drug reform with visible anxiety, this level of public support may come as a surprise. It should not. Similar polling has pointed in this direction for years.

Yet the survey also reveals a familiar problem: lack of precision. Decriminalisation is widely understood to apply to personal possession and use, not to drug supply or commercial sales. Conflating sale and possession in the same question muddles the debate.

That distinction matters. Millions of people have received lifelong criminal records for possession alone. Decriminalisation would finally end these ineffective and unjust punishments, whilst also reducing obstacles to more effective health responses. This is why decriminalisation – of all drugs – is supported by the World Health Organisation and the UK’s Royal College of Physicians, amongst many other authoritative voices.

But decriminalisation of possession, whilst a vital step, does not address the harms of the illegal market – which will persist unless the cannabis supply is legalised and regulated. Seen in that light, another YouGov finding is particularly revealing: 47 percent support legalising cannabis supply, while 43 percent oppose it. And this is just the latest polling showing support for legalisation nearing or exceeding 50 percent – despite no party of government ever advocating for it.

Once again, the absence of a clear explanation of what legalization means in practice creates room for misunderstanding. Legalisation is just a process – the legal pathway to regulation of an adult access market. And regulation can take many forms, some responsible, others reckless.

I don’t know anyone who argues that drugs are safe. All drug use carries risks. But illegality has made those risks far worse. In an unregulated market, criminal producers will do everything to maximise profits without any regard for consumer safety. In a world awash with illicit drugs of unknown strength and potency, the most realistic ambition is not a drug-free society, but a safer one. And that requires tightly regulated supply chains and markets, recognising that legalisation and regulation must go hand in hand.

Thankfully, the UK doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel. There are decades of experience regulating alcohol and tobacco, alongside a growing body of international evidence from cannabis regulation that offers clear lessons.

When the state of New York allowed the sale of recreational cannabis before adequate regulation was in place, it led to a messy free-for-all. High-potency edibles, irresponsibly packaged and marketed like sweets, became widely available on the grey market in hundreds of corner stores. Whilst these problems have since been addressed, they fuelled public concerns about youth access and the often-cited mental health harms of high potency cannabis products.

Canada, on the other hand, opted for a much tighter form of regulation and adopted strict controls from the outset: plain packaging, clear labelling and health warnings, and a ban on advertising. To be fair, illicit supply still accounts for roughly 20 percent of market, and teenage use remains a challenge. But 80 percent of Canada’s recreational cannabis consumption now takes place in a taxed, regulated, adult‑only system. That is preferable to the UK’s current situation, where 100 percent of the market remains under the control of organised crime.

Any model of responsible regulation delivers better results than the status quo. At a time when more people are dying of drug overdoses in the UK than anywhere else in Europe, none of this should be surprising. As in most of the Western world, illegal drugs remain easily available, despite billions spent on futile attempts to eradicate them.

Policy makers must confront this reality. Drugs are part of our societies, and the choice is not between use and non‑use, but between chaos and control. Public opinion is already there. What is missing is political courage.

Leadership means catching up with the evidence – and with the public – and acting before more harm is done. The sooner that happens, the sooner the UK can move towards meaningful reform that improves health, safety, and justice for all.