Legalise Cannabis, says musician Sting

London: Rockstar Sting has called for the legalisation of marijuana, saying that the money used to jail users of the drug should be channelled to tackle poverty and global warming. The `Desert Rose` hit-maker feels that marijuana users are imprisoned for a crime that doesn`t hurt anyone, reported Daily Mail online.

The 58-year-old singer wrote on his blog that because of the outdated laws, people who need marijuana for medical purposes can`t access it. "The `War on Drugs` has failed but it`s worse than that. It is actively harming our society. Violent crime is thriving in the shadows to which the drug trade has been consigned. People who genuinely need help can`t get it. Neither can people who need medical marijuana to treat terrible diseases," said the `Fields of Gold` singer. "We are spending billions, filling up our prisons with non-violent offenders and sacrificing our liberties," he added. Sting called for people to support the Drug Policy Alliance, an activist group who campaign for those jailed for non-violent drugs offences to be released from prison. "For years, the `Drug War` has been used as a pretext to lock people in prison for exorbitant lengths of time, people whose `crimes` never hurt another human being, people who already lived at the margins of society, whose voices were the faintest and whose power was the least. Meanwhile, resources to fight genuine crime - violent crime - have been significantly diminished," wrote Sting. PTI