Five stars in cannabis call

Ritchie (below) and J (right) want cannabis legalised

Two members of chart-topping boy band Five have called for cannabis to be legalised.

Singers Ritchie Neville and Jason "J" Brown say they want to see a change in the law.

The pair told Sky magazine they believed cannabis to be less harmful than alcohol, although neither admitted to using it.

Many people want to see cannabis legalised

When asked whether they agreed with legalisation, Brown, 24, replied: "Yeah, it's as simple as that."

Neville, 20, also gave his backing, reasoning: "It grows, it's natural. And if you believe in God, how can anything that grows be illegal?"

Drinking

He pointed out that people smoking cannabis were less inclined to be violent than those who had been downing alcohol.

"No-one who smokes a spliff goes out and starts fights like someone who has been drinking," he said.

Brown - the boyfriend of Spice Girls singer Melanie C - insisted that he was not a drug-taker, but had no objection to people using cannabis.

"I choose not to do them, but it doesn't bother me. I wouldn't exactly walk out of a party in disgust if people were doing it," he added.

Brown and Neville are the latest boy band members to speak out in support of legalisation.

Boyzone star Mikey Graham recently said he had used cannabis and said it should be legalised for medical purposes.