MP calls to hook out 'fish bait' cannabis

A Conservative MP is demanding a change in the law after finding seeds from which cannabis plants could be grown were legally on sale.

James Pawsey, MP for Rugby and Kenilworth, in the West Midlands, is demanding action to close a loophole in the law which is being used by a company selling hemp seeds, used to cultivate cannabis legally in Birmingham. Sunlight Systems advertises the product with the slogan: "Grow your own home-grown pot plants."

Mr Pawsey said: "I find it unbelievable these seeds are being sold over the counter legally. It suggests that the law needs some amendment. It is ludicrous that although it is illegal to grow cannabis, there is no apparent reason why someone cannot buy these seeds and then grow the plants."

Mr Pawsey said he would be writing to the Home Office asking for urgent action.

Chris Meliniotis, a partner in Sunlight, which has an annual turnover of pounds 1.5m, told the Birmingham Mercury newspaper: "We sell the seeds as fish bait, but I accept some people might buy them to grow cannabis. In our advert we do state it is illegal to grow hemp."