Nick Clegg will pledge that his party will bring forward plans to decriminalise possession of drugs . Nick Clegg will today press ahead with plans to decriminalise possession of all drugs – despite charities warning the move will wreck thousands of lives . The Lib Dem leader is to pledge that his party will bring forward plans to ensure those caught with drugs for ‘ personal use ’ will no longer face criminal prosecution . Instead , the maximum penalty would be a fine . The move covers the powerful ‘ skunk ’ strain of cannabis and hard drugs such as crack cocaine and heroin , as well as ‘ soft ’ drugs including marijuana and amphetamines . Mr Clegg will use a joint event with Virgin boss and long-time pro-drugs campaigner Sir Richard Branson today to claim that the move will spare thousands of young people a criminal record . But experts last night condemned the move , saying it will push thousands of youngsters into addiction and mental health problems . A poll of 100 charities by the Centre for Social Justice found that 69 per cent of charities in the field would be concerned if the Government decriminalised cannabis . More than half – 56 per cent – said cannabis use would increase if its use was decriminalised . Christian Guy , the think tank ’ s director , said : ‘ Drug addiction is ripping Britain ’ s poorest communities apart . Our network of 300 front-line charities sees this on a daily basis . Many are right to be worried that liberalising cannabis laws will lead to more people taking drugs and developing harder use . ‘ Politicians need to listen to these experts . They are the people who witness the devastating impact of drugs in our poorest neighbourhoods day in , day out. ’ Mary Brett , a trustee of the charity Cannabis Skunk Sense , said there was a ‘ severe contradiction ’ between the policy and Mr Clegg ’ s concern for mental health . She said : ‘ Nick Clegg demonstrates complete ignorance of the facts on drugs like cannabis and skunk . There is overwhelming evidence of a link between skunk and mental health problems like psychosis and schizophrenia . ‘ If you decriminalise or legalise drugs then children will think it is okay to do , that it is safe . It is deeply irresponsible. ’ Mr Clegg will use a joint event with Virgin boss and long-time pro-drugs campaigner Sir Richard Branson to claim that the move will spare thousands of young people a criminal record . Mr Clegg ’ s intervention comes weeks after a major academic study found that use of powerful skunk cannabis trebled the risk of having a psychotic episode . Under the Lib Dem proposals – which have been vetoed by David Cameron in government – drug users would no longer face prosecution if caught carrying drugs deemed to be for personal use . The maximum penalty would be a fine , with no criminal record . Persistent drug users would be referred for treatment or put on education programmes . A spokesman for Mr Clegg said the Deputy Prime Minister believed drugs should be treated as a ‘ health issue , rather than a criminal justice issue ’ . ‘ Nick is anti-drugs , ’ he said . ‘ But just throwing people into the criminal justice system isn ’ t working – skunk use is going up. ’ Mr Clegg speaks during a visit to church in 2010 after revealing he is no longer an atheist . He had seemed happy to be considered an atheist . But it appears Nick Clegg has had a change of heart – and admitted he is warming to God . The Liberal Democrat leader yesterday spoke of the ‘ great joy ’ he experiences when attending Mass with his Catholic wife Miriam . He told Premier Christian Radio he was now uncomfortable being labelled as an atheist . ‘ I now accompany Miriam and the children , and do so with great joy , to Mass pretty much every weekend , ’ he said . ‘ I sometimes think it must be the most wonderful thing to be infused with faith . It ’ s not something that ’ s happened to me , it ’ s not happened to me yet . I would embrace it. ’ In 2007 , Mr Clegg was asked if he believed in God and replied simply : ‘ No. ’ He later said he had ‘ enormous respect ’ for people of religious faith but was not an ‘ active believer ’ . Mr Clegg has always said he is happy for his children to be brought up as Catholics . His eldest son Antonio now attends the London Oratory , one of the country ’ s leading Catholic state schools .
Nick Clegg will bring forward plans at event with Richard Branson 2007 . He 'll say those caught with drugs will not be prosecuted but face a fine . Move covers powerful 'skunk ' strain of cannabis , crack cocaine and heroin . Experts condemned move , saying it will push thousands into addiction .