AN ATTEMPT by two South Wales Labour MPs to legalise the sale of cannabis has been condemned by a leading member of the Assembly.

Newport West MP Paul Flynn and his colleague in Cardiff Central, Jon Owen Jones - the former Welsh Office minister - are attempting to pass a Private Members Bill through parliament, which would allow farmers to grow and sell cannabis legally.

The Conservative leader in the Assembly, Nick Bourne, said: "Jon Owen Jones and Paul Flynn are demonstrating an absurd lack of priorities. Making drugs available in such a way will do nothing whatsoever for our society and will only promote the use of drugs on a wide scale.

"Their constituents must be livid at the thought of these Labour MPs investing so much of his time on this ludicrous passion, rather than concentrating on the needs of the area he is supposed to represent.

"Mr Jones defends his stance saying that the current underground drug culture is making large profits for organised crime. Throwing in the towel in the fight against drugs is not the right way forward."

Mr Jones argues that the evidence across Western nations points to the failure of prohibition.

He said: "All over the world it is becoming clear that cannabis use is a fact of life and trying to deal with it through the criminal justice system is absurd."

The Private Members Bill has little chance of being passed, but it will help to keep the issue in the public eye. Plaid Cymru became the first mainstream political party to support legalisation at its recent autumn conference. Members voted to adopted a pro-legalisation policy - much to the consternation of senior party figures.

AM Dr Dai Lloyd, the party's health spokesman, argued passionately during the conference debate that cannabis could have a damaging effect on individuals. Younger party members carried the day in a close vote.

Official Home Office figures show that one in three adults in England and Wales have used cannabis.