Archive for the ‘cannabis’ Category
June 5th, 2009 | 
Author: 
Nice people take drugs (courtesy Release)
That’s an actual photo of a London bus advert placed by Release, an organisation committed to reforming UK drug laws.
Here’s Release’s mission statement, from their website:
“Release is the national centre of expertise on drugs and drugs law – providing free and confidential specialist advice to the public and professionals. Release also campaigns for changes to UK drug policy to bring about a fairer and more compassionate legal framework to manage drug use in our society.”
Release have launched this new public awareness campaign, please visit their site for more details. Its sensible, logical and very true.
And click here for the The Guardian’s take on the campaign.
Could this be the first step in the right direction? Let’s hope so!
Update 10th June 2009:
Since posting this a few days ago, the ad campaign has been censored by advertising regulators and taken down. Click here to read more.
If you’re not familiar with 420 (four-twenty), click the above link. Its practically a national holiday in America and if we’re lucky, it could very well catch on here in the UK.
America is usually several steps ahead of the UK and the US’s attitude to cannabis is a great example of this fact. Its where the pointless “war on drugs” began and it just might be where it ends too.
Since Obama got hit with a “legalise cannabis question” from an overwhelming number of people online, all of America is rolling with frenzied momentum towards legalising this hippy’s favourite plant.
The O-man shouldn’t have been so dismissive of such a serious and relevant question, but he’s a popular politician so he can’t be seen to be soft on drugs.
That hasn’t prevented Senator Ron Paul, who is also a popular politician, from calling for an end to the war on drugs, but he is a hero and libertarian and not afraid to express an opinion.
American Conservative magazine can see the pace of change regarding cannabis laws in America. And the conservative right seem down with it too.
Even the mainstream press is getting in on the act, with Time Magazine asking and answering, “Why Legalising Marijuana Makes Sense”.
Not only that, Time Magazine also asks and answers, “Is Pot Good For You?” Of course it is!
Why the sudden shift in America?
Two things right now are forcing people to rethink their stance on cannabis in the states, one of which already applies here in the UK.
Its the economy, stupid.
With this whole recession/depression nonsense, can anyone disregard the effect a legalised cannabis market would have on a nation’s GDP?
Legalising weed, in an instant, would create legitimate jobs that would be taxed, not to mention a tax on the actual product itself. It would raise a lot of money and fast.
Wait, let me revise that. It would bring an already established and thriving black market economy into the mainstream. Ka-ching!
Its been said that if weed were legal and 420 were a proper holiday, it would have the same sort of effect on the economy as xmas. Ka-double-ching.
Weed smokers would willingly be taxed in return for not being criminalised, so says Salon Magazine. I sure as hell would be ready to pay tax on my dope, if I didn’t have to worry about being arrested for toking!
The other problem in America is one that hasn’t reached Europe yet, but it could in the future and that is gang related violence.
The southern border of America is where the real drug war is taking place, but not between law enforcement and criminals, but between rival drug gangs. Police on both sides of the border have been ineffectual and possibly corrupt, when they’re not getting caught in the crossfire. The death toll is sadly, quite high and its bad for business on both sides of the border.
The trouble on America’s border is forcing people to realise that the drug market should be under some sort of government control and regulation, for without that, it leaves criminal gangs running the show.
Just as the prohibition of alcohol in the states in the early part of the last century created gangsters like Al Capone, the prohibition of drugs created Pablo Escobar and those like him who control the industry today.
America’s finally grasping that legalising cannabis would solve more problems than it could ever create. By legitimising an existing industry, America will reap the rewards financially and it would help create a new stability along the Rio Grande.
Check out this report from the very respected Cato Institute, which looks at the positive effects of the decriminalisation of all drugs in Portugal. Its very enlightening and worth a quick read.
You’ll notice in all of debate and discussion in America, there hasn’t been any talk of cannabis-induced psychosis or schizophrenia, nor the demonisation of the stronger strains of cannabis known as “skunk”. That’s because its all spin and bullshit created here in the UK to allow our politicians to use weed as a political football that scores easy own-goals with the ill-informed electorate.
In the states, stronger weed is prized and celebrated for being particularly “medicinal” and is seen to be more beneficial, not less. There are no “cannabis hysteria mums” and no mention of unproven links to mental illness. Remember, a former Surgeon General in America (C. Everett Coop if memory serves), called marijuana “the most therapeutically beneficial substance known to man”.
Confusion continues to reign where cannabis policy is concerned here in the UK, with random, pointless changes in classification and penalties every couple of years whether we need them or not.
Even the government’s own drug counselling service, Ask Frank, is telling younger callers that “cannabis is safer than alcohol.” Its completely true and in line with what the experts say, but its inconsistent with the government’s own stated policy, which of course, ignores the advice of the aforementioned experts they employ.
There are already whispers in Whitehall, many politicians here can see the scrawl on the wall, but are wondering how to right all of the wrongs of the last few years. The government has used the media to paint a totally false picture of the dangers of cannabis, so how do they turn it back around?
Simple, just let the lies quietly fade away and replace them with the promise of cold hard cash.
Is it going to take open gang warfare on the streets of Britain for our leaders to deal with cannabis responsibly? I hope to god it doesn’t come to that, but I don’t see any other way for them wake up and start dealing with reality.
The Guardian published a great report last week, which states that ending the prohibition on drugs would save the UK around £14 billion pounds. That’s an amount that can’t be ignored, especially in these difficult economic times. Law enforcement, the penal system could all be overhauled and the resources could be redirected to actual crimes with victims and everything…!
They’re searching for the green shoots of recovery, perhaps cannabis is literally the cash crop greenery we’ve all been seeking.
And maybe one day, we’ll all be able to openly commemorate 420 in the manner appropriate to the event. And that’s exactly what this hippy is going to do right now, as I spark up a juicy, skunky spliff.
The Economist, a rather conservative publication, has come out strongly in favour of the legalisation, taxation and government regulation of drugs.
All drugs.
The article I am referring to is RIGHT HERE and is well worth a few minutes of your valuable surfing time because it lays out a very rational, sensible and persuasive argument for this radical suggestion.
As the UN meets in Vienna to decide the next decade’s drug policy, why won’t they listen to the experts?
There are so many intelligent, educated, thoughtful members of respectable society who believe legalisation is the only solution. There are loads of senior policemen who believe this, many civil servants and politicians do too, but they are too afraid to speak up because of the false hysteria surrounding the issue.
David Cameron, most likely the next Prime Minister of this country is sympathetic to the idea of radically changing our approach on the subject as mentioned in this, another well written and thoughtful piece on the subject from politics.co.uk
I’ve always thought we’ve had more of a chance of changing the laws under a conservative government, because it takes a strong party to take decisive action.
If David Cameron would take one key step in that direction, he could have my support.
Mr. Cameron, I implore you to shift your public position based on facts and science. Please consider decriminalising or legalising cannabis as soon as you are in power.
Finally, a government drug policy I agree with completely…
Illegal factory-style cannabis farms should be closed down.
Check out THIS REPORT from the BBC.
Factory cannabis-farms are often set-up in rented accommodation, with the landlords none the wiser until they receive a phone call from the police telling them their income property has been trashed.
Illegal cannabis farmers steal electricity from neighbours or from the an energy supplier; either way its theft and its wrong. Safety is ignored and fires are not uncommon. And saddest of all, they are frequently staffed by illegal aliens trapped in a type of hellish indentured servitude.
Where I split from the government is their choice of solution; police raids won’t make the problem go away, it will only make it relocate to yet another unsuspecting venue. The trade is far too lucrative for those involved to give it up. Raids are simply a calculated risk balanced against a very rewarding return.
Its supply and demand, the very cornerstone of our capitalist system. To ignore or deny this very simple truth, is to be blinkered and ostrich like.
There’s a better way.
There’s always a better way, but it would involve our leaders shifting their current position, which is one of disinformation and lies, towards a more open and honest approach.
Its time to legalise the industry and take it out of the hands of criminals. Its time to regulate and tax cannabis, bring the market under some sort of control.
To be against a legal cannabis industry is to be against the very heart and soul of capitalism.
Don’t let the conditioning the media has been force-feeding you colour your view on this. They’ve been systematically trying to discredit cannabis and pervert your perception of it for quite some time now.
Why?
Its easy to score points with the public by appearing tough on drugs. Also, it diverts your attention from more important issues, like Iraq, climate change or the economy.
The time is now for this unadulterated bullshit to end.
Back when Blair and Blunkett were in charge, cannabis was downgraded and they even toyed with a police policy of making arrests for possession of cannabis the lowest possible priority. Things were finally moving in the right direction, the government was listening to advisors and scientistis and using a bit of common sense.
Meanwhile in America, the “war on drugs” was still going strong, along with federal raids on medical marijuana clubs and imprisonment for possession. This wasn’t that long ago.
Under Obama, things have already changed with an end to federal raids and an official policy that secedes power to individual states with regards to cannabis.
California is now considering legalisation and taxation, because the state is nearly bankrupt. Desperate times clearly call for creative measures, this one will bring Cali an estimated annual tidy sum of $1.3 billion (with a B) dollars.
Many other states have decriminalised possession and have made it the lowest possible policing priority.
Our out-of-touch, out-of-step government is about as un-Obama as possible.
If people wonder why Obama didn’t make more time for Gordon Brown, they’re not really looking closely enough. They couldn’t be more polar opposites when it comes to genuine liberal thought and policy.
Legalising weed would create legitimate jobs, for legitimate farmers and distributors; jobs that already exist in the black economy, fuelling a rather sizeable black market that exists outside the tax and social security system.
A legal and controlled industry would insure that safety standards were met at the point of production, for the facilities, the staff and the product. You would know the weed you were getting was pure and unadulterated. You would know the person who grew it was paid a reasonable, taxable wage.
As much as I wish to see these dangerous and illegal cannabis farms closed down, I’m smart enough to realise that police raids alone are not the answer. If you really want to end the illegal cannabis trade, there is only one practical, workable solution: Legalise!
Even the UN may come to this conclusion as they prepare to finalise an agreement this week in Vienna, but as this report in today’s Guardian suggests, there are still deep divisions with some EU and Latin American countries favouring a more rational approach, with the US preferring to continue the pointless “war on drugs”.
Oh President Saviour Obama, are you listening? The “war on drugs” has been an abysmal failure and many knowledgeable and respectable people believe its been worse than the actual harm caused by the drugs themselves. Could you please call your minions in Vienna and sort this sorry mess out?
If you want to know more, please check out my Cannabis Truth Series
Promises, promises. Politicians make them all the time when they are campaigning, only to conveniently forget about them once in office, but not President Saviour Obama.
This week, US Attorney General, Eric Holder confirmed that federal raids on Medical Marijuana facilities would end and individual states could determine their own policies regarding my favourite plant. He said this is “now American policy”.
How cool is that?
This is a huge shift in the way the law deals with weed in America. I wish the UK could be equally enlightened, but the government here works very hard to be as un-Obama-like as possible.
And they don’t want to stop there either. Legislators in California are now considering taking it one step further, with a possible plan to fully legalise and tax cannabis to help bale out the financially destitute state. They say it could bring in $1.3 billion (with a B) in tax revenue to the state annually.
That’s a lot of greenbacks for a lot of greenery! Its common fucking sense! Prohibition doesn’t work, never has, never will. If you can’t beat ‘em, tax ‘em.
Obama’s motto throughout his campaign was “Yes, we can.” Now that he’s in office, the new motto is: “Yes, we cannabis!”
Roseanne Barr, domestic goddess, comedian and now radio talkshow host is selling some very cool tee-shirts in America with that very slogan on them, Yes, we CANnabis.
We should all order ourselves one to show our support for this long overdue change in policy. Let’s hope that it spreads out from America to the rest of the world.
Hello. Welcome back. Did ya miss me?
Its ramble time. Woke up too early following too little sleep. Must focus.
On what?
Its a pleasant, relaxing day off, or rather it should be, but I’ve got heaps to do ‘round the house and I might even wander up to my local high street.
Do they call it a “high street” because you have to get high before you go there? No? Well, tough, because I will be high when I go.
It should be a rule that you have to be high before allowed onto your local high street. It would make the entire shopping experience more pleasant for everyone involved. The shop assistants would think all the customers were mellow and pleasant, the shop assistants would be helpful without being overbearing and I wouldn’t nearly get into fist fights with all the rude, surly people knocking into me and blocking my way.
Oh wouldn’t it be grand?
As soon as they start opening cannabis cafes around the country, this is the sort of relaxed Utopia we can expect. Until then it will continue to be no fun.
Did you see a group of former presidents from Latin America are urging the world to adopt a controlled and regulated cannabis market? Did you look here?
Even the UN is working towards this fairly obvious and sensible conclusion. In the good ol’ US of A, they are moving in this direction. President Saviour Obama has even said that federal raids against medical marijuana establishments must end and the federal government needs to start respecting laws passed by individual states.
Many states in America have already decriminalised weed. That means it is considered the lowest possible policing priority, with penalties for possession being the equivalent of a minor traffic or parking offence.
Why can’t we do that here?
We could and we were going to until Gordon Brown and Jacqui Smith started mucking around with things. These two nincompoops believe laws should be used to “send a message” to people, rather than reflect the scientific evidence or the truth.
This week the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). the body that advises the government on drug policy stated that ecstasy (E, pills, MDMA), be re-classified from its current A grade, back into Class B, to reflect its relative harm to the user. Sounds sensible enough as E is not in the same league as coke and smack.
The head of the ACMD, Professor. David Nutt went on to say that taking ecstasy is no worse than horseback riding and an equivalent number of people die from both activities annually. You would have thought that he said Jesus was secretly Satan for the drubbing he took over the comments. He was even forced to apologise and his future on the ACMD has been questioned.
Just for telling the truth!
In America, MDMA has been used by mental health professionals to assist in the therapy process. Would medical doctors prescribe something potentially lethal when their first rule is to “do no harm”? What do they know that we don’t know.
Nothing! The difference is our government uses legislation to “send a message” rather than to treat people with respect. Legislating morality never works, because people have their own moral compasses and that counts for something.
The simple fact is that anyone who’s ever smoked a joint or necked an E knows that what the government is saying is bullshit. What do you reckon that does to the government’s credibility?
It knocks it into the toilet. When a government lies about anything, we all suffer.
Drug taking is a health issue, not a moral or legal issue and trying to force it only does a disservice to everyone. If I choose to ingest MDMA, or cannabis or chocolate or even broken glass, its my body and my choice.
Criminalising millions of people serves no one. If you’re having trouble with drugs, you should be able to seek help without worrying about ending up with a criminal record. And if you are enjoying them responsibly, it should be nobody’s business but your own.
Common sense and compassion will eventually rule the day, but for now we’ll have to just keep watching our leaders screw things up more and more. Its frustrating, annoying and unavoidable, for as long as politicians can use the debate over drugs to score points with Middle England, the senseless persecution of people who enjoy something other than booze will continue.
Gee, that wasn’t as nearly as rambling as I expected it to be. Lucky you, or maybe even lucky me.
Our stupid government went ahead and reclassified weed today, against the advice of the scientists, medical experts and drug advisors. Cannabis has been returned to Class B, which means penalties for simple possession have increased, but penalties for dealing and production remain the same, sort of…
While not in place yet, a 3-strike system is to be implemented later in the week. On your first offence, you will be given a warning, on your second, you will be fined 80 quid and on your third, you will be charged. Naturally, this new penalty system is not in place today and won’t be until at least midweek. The government couldn’t even co-ordinate the change in classification and the new penalties so they started on the same day and they’ve had over a year to plan it. Losers!
So why did they change the classification?
I don’t know, there isn’t a single good reason for the change. Laws regarding cannabis are even more muddled and confusing now than they ever were!
The advice from the various government advisory boards was to leave it in Class C, but if they did that, they couldn’t score any political points with our poorly informed electorate.
Check out this BBC report for more details.
No one in the UK government is interested in the truth, or doing the right thing where cannabis is concerned. I am so disappointed and depressed by this stupid outcome, words cannot begin to express my distress.
I found this list of Cannabis Myths from a drug organisation in the US state of Indiana. Even they know more about weed than Gordon Brown and his idiotic cabinet. Please read it so you can be armed with the truth being denied us by the media and the government here.
Gordon Brown may still not be long for politics as the current economic depression (someone has to say it) may sink his career yet. If it does, it will be the one good thing to come from an otherwise bleak financial outlook. Here’s hoping!
Seven days into the brand spankin’ new year and I am already filled with optimism and hope. And by optimism and hope, I really mean depression and despair.
All my tv wants to show me is that nasty shit going on in the mideast. Why do they keep making sequels to that movie? I’ve seen it all before. That said, there’s something more upsetting about it this time. Its wholesale slaughter at an industrial scale and it sickens me.
I just wish I could change the channel but I really wanna see how it all turns out. Maybe someone could tip me off just before Rambo arrives and illustrates the pointlessness rather than glory of warfare. And by Rambo, of course I mean Gandhi.
I’m bored to the point of disgust at seeing children murdered and maimed. I can’t be the only one who has seen more than enough of this shit. Why don’t they all just stop?
Closer to home, or rather right here at home, north London has been submerged in sub-zero temperatures for what seems like a few weeks now, with each successive night providing another record-breaking low. Brrrrrrrrrrrr!
The thermometer in my car hit a rather chilly -2 yesterday, which was an all time record low for me and it hasn’t gone above +1 in over a week.
We’re not used to this sort of cold here in London and its bringing everyone down, especially with no respite in sight. All we need is some snow to complete this wintery hell and trust me, I’m not wishing for it.
And the economy is so far into the toilet it can taste the salt in the ocean.
Weed is going be returned to Class B from its present position in the more appropriate and recommended by gov’t advisors, Class C. That really sucks.
Things are indeed looking distinctly bleak as 2009 begins.
Even Apple let me down yesterday, with a MacWorld keynote devoid of any new toys for me to purchase. My credit card was revved up and ready, but it had nowhere to go.
Remember, if it weren’t for cool consumer electronics and soft drugs, I would have no joy in my life.
And its my birthday in a couple weeks, I could really do without that.
Oh moan, moan, moan, moan, moan!
I think they located some of this hippy ancestor’s in China.
Go on, clicky the linky good! You know you wanna!
(The northlondonhippy apologises for any perceived racist humour in the above post. You can’t be too careful these days.)
Why isn’t THIS WOMAN in charge of UK drug policy?
I’m talking about Lady Amanda Neidpath, the head of the Beckley Foundation, the group responsible for THIS REPORT which I wrote about recently.
Why are our elected official so afraid of the truth?
Why do we ignore experts on issues which are controversial? Certainly people with this sort of extensive knowledge and experience on any subject (including and especially drug use) should be embraced, as should their conclusions.
We don’t expect enough from our leaders, we should expect more. We should receive more too.
Let’s put Lady Neidpath in charge of the UK’s drug strategy. She’s already got my vote!
