The Psychoactive Substance Bill is part of the Conservative push for tighter restrictions on legal highs, a hotly debated issue in the ongoing war on drugs. Decades have passed since current British drug laws were created, and the bill proposes a more conservative approach to modernization.

Liberal Democrats in the House are offering a series of amendments to the bill that would legalize medical cannabis in the UK. As the fourth largest party in Parliament, the Lib Dems will have to garner the support of members of parliament whose party values do not necessarily align with the issue, at present. Lord Brian Paddick, the the Lib Dem spokesman and chief proponent of the amendments, hopes that they will offer support to the ill as well as the war on drugs, which would lose a significant punitive weight if cannabis were to be decriminalized for patients.