MPs have said cannabis could be legal in the next five to 10 years after a group of them went on a 'fact-finding mission' to Canada, where smoking marijuana is permitted.
David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham, and Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk, Sir Norman Lamb believe the class B could be available over the counter within five years.
However, conservative MP Jonathan Djanogly said he thinks it will take another 10 years before the UK sees the drug being sold.
The government officials' admission comes as they were filmed for a Radio 1 Newsbeat documentary called Legalising Cannabis: Canada's Story.
Mr Lammy's pro-legalisation stand goes against the Labour party's current official stance on cannabis, which is that it should be illegal in the UK for recreational purposes but can be prescribed for medical reasons.
Speaking to the broadcaster after returning from their trip to Toronto, Mr Lammy said: "I want the market legalised, regulated and taken away from crime gangs.
"For young people not to be criminalised by use and properly educated. I want to see the strength of the stuff reduced, labelled and properly organised in this country."
Meanwhile, Sir Norman had made no secret of his and the Liberal Democrats party's decision to back the legalisation of cannabis.
During the 'fact-finding mission' to Canada, the MP admitted to taking a cannabis oil that included the compound that gets people high called THC, which is illegal in the UK, on the return leg of his trip.
He is now believed to be the first serving British MP to openly take a cannabis product but insisted he didn't feel high after taking the product but rather it helped him fall asleep.
The MP told the Newsbeat: "I slept incredibly well. I took the drops and I slept very well on the plane home, I actually slept through breakfast."
While all three MPs believed that the UK would follow Canada's lead on the legalisation of cannabis in the next decade, Tory MP Jonathan Djanogly shared his reservations and said the UK "has got a lot to learn" before decriminalising the drug.
Despite the trio's support for the legalisation of marijuana, a Home Office spokesman told BBC that legalising the drug wouldn't "eliminate" the crime associated with it.
A spokesman said: "The legalisation of these substances would not eliminate the crime committed by the illicit trade, nor would it address the harms associated with drug dependence and the misery they can cause to families and society."
Currently anyone found in possession of cannabis faces up to five years in prison.
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