People are always going on about the dangers of illegal drugs, but precious little gets said about the abuse of pharmaceutical medications. Since the death of actor, Heath Ledger, that’s starting to change.

Check out THIS ARTICLE from today’s Observer newspaper, please.

The only quote I’m going to reproduce, is a small bit from the tease at the top of the page:

“…misuse of over-the-counter pills now kills more Americans than illegal drugs.”

I have to put my hand in the air and admit I didn’t know that. Did you?

Of course I know pharms are dangerous, any drug can be dangerous if used irresponsibly or recklessly, but I didn’t realise that they were killing more Americans than street drugs.

The only prescription drug I’ve really taken recreationally is Valium and that was usually to make the come down from other drugs easier. And that’s it. In other words, I don’t have much first hand experience of recreational pharm use.

I certainly can see the temptation though. Swallow a pill, get high. Simple, clean and effective.

I also know that prescription pills are fiercely addictive. And I know that taking too many can lead to death.

People turn to legal drugs, well, because they’re legal. They’re also cleaner and less likely to be cut with any old rubbish. The dosages are consistent, the manufacture controlled and regulated and the distribution, if you have a prescription, is from a nice, well lit shop selling them at reasonable prices, along with loads of other useful goods. Why not pick up a handy home First Aid kit, while you’re there?

People also turn to pharms because what they might prefer, is illegal, possibly cut with any old rubbish, with inconsistent dosages, poor manufacturing conditions and sold by some creepy guy in the back of a pub or on a street corner in the bad part of town, at night.

Do you see where I’m headed.

If proper recreational drugs, like my beloved weed were legal and a safe supply was available, then more people would smoke dope and less people would abuse pills, ergo: less people will die prematurely.

The illegality of preferable substances is the main thing driving decent folks to abuse what’s in their medicine cabinets.

If you piss-test positive for cannabis in a work-drugs test, you’re fucked. If you come up positive for opiates, you just say you have a “bad back” and no one blinks an eye.The fact that you go home and pain pills with a litre of Stoli is your little secret…until your body is discovered lying in a pool of sick, in your bed and you’re not breathing!

Look, no drug is safe, but all drugs can be made safer if you have the right information and don’t fear seeking it out. Crossing the street’s not safe, but we make it safer by learning to look both ways. “Harm reduction” is what its called and with drugs too, you can reduce the chances of problems with a little bit of knowledge.

In light of this tragedy taking place in America, I am issuing an open call to all lawmakers there to set an example to the world and legalise all recreational substances! Let’s reduce the number of Americans who are dying from the effects of prescription drug abuse and give them the choice of safely enjoying the goodies of their choosing!

Who am I kidding? America will just declare war on chemists or doctors, or the prescription meds themselves. That’s the more their style. There’s more of a chance of them doing that, than anything remotely sensible…

Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, or “Richard and Judy” as they are known to their legions of fans in the UK are very popular and influential celebrities in this country. When they recommend a book or a wine, it becomes a big seller overnight. What they say to the nation, can change the course of the nation. They hold a lot of sway.

For those of you not residing here in Blighty, I should explain a bit. The couple I’m talking about have been fixtures on our daytime TV screens for many, many years. They are married and after starting out in regional telly, moved on to hosting a national daytime chat show in the mornings on ITV. After many years on ITV and in a well publicised and expensive network coup, made a high profile jump to Channel 4. That’s where theyremain, hosting a programme that goes out weekdays 5pm-6pm.

Normally, I find their views on the conservativeside and in some instances extremely so, which meant I was quite surprised when someone I know drew my attention to a recent Richard Madeley’s column in the Daily Express newspaper.

Yes, the Daily Express of all places!

Rather than tease you with this, I’ll just cut to the chase with the salient quotes:

“RICHARD: How awkward it is to have to begin the new year defending the apparently indefensible… in the form of eccentric police chief Richard Brunstrom’s latest headline-grabbing “gaffe”. I refer, of course, to his call this week on Radio 4’s Today programme for the legalising of drugs.



Brunstrom reckons all currently banned substances – everything from Ecstasy to heroin – will have been decriminalised inside 10 years. He added that Ecstasy is “safer than aspirin”, for good measure.


“Idiotic”, “Mad”, and “Captain Calamity” were just some descriptions of the head of the North Wales force the following morning. Parents of young people who died after taking Ecstasy queued up to castigate him – quite understandably. If my child had perished because of drug abuse, I would be first in line calling for Brunstrom’s head.



Which doesn’t mean I would be right. It is pointless here to get into a statistical debate about the dangers of aspirin versus Ecstasy.  Both preparations can kill: Ecstasy by fits following dehydration and other factors, aspirin usually from internal bleeding.



Ecstasy kills around 50 people every year – although many more have a close encounter with the Grim Reaper in their local intensive care unit.



But considering the colossal number of (mostly) young people who swallow Ecstasy tablets in nightclubs up and down Britain every night of the year, the toll is comparatively small when set against those killed or maimed in drink-driving crashes.



Don’t get me wrong, I think taking Ecstasy is stupid. 



Prolonged use may well cause memory loss. But being against the law hasn’t stopped it from becoming endemic – which means the criminal supply of Ecstasy and other drugs is endemic too.

This is at the root of the gang culture that grips virtually every city in Britain and is largely responsible for the proliferation of guns on our streets. The analogy with Thirties prohibition era Chicago is inescapable.

Personally, I’d feel safer taking a palmful of aspirin than even one Ecstasy. But as a social policy, the criminalisation of drugs must surely be recognised for what it is:  an abject failure. Cocaine, heroin, speed and, yes, Ecstasy, have never been more widely available or cheaper to buy. Their illegal sale on an industrial scale nourishes a huge, sprawling and hydra-headed criminal underclass.

All Richard Brunstrom – with,  by the way, the broad support of his police authority – is really asking is for a sensible debate on how we move on from the failed drug policies of the past.



He may be a ridiculous honorary druid with an irritating penchant for speed cameras and absurdly sensitive to weak jokes about the Welsh, but he’s doing something rarely seen in our chief constables.

He is thinking out of the box. That is brave and bold and deserves thoughtful consideration, not calumny.”

Please do click this link to the original article, it starts about 1/2 way down the page.

I was stunned.

I was flabbergasted!

I’m never flabbergasted.

I’m not certain what flabbergasted even means!

Sometimes, common sense comes from very unlikely sources and I must say there was no more unlikely source of these sagely words than Richard Madeley.

I’d like to applaud Mr. Madeley’s bravery and genuine courage for coming out in support of Richard Brunstom and the Police Authority in the pursuit of truth and honesty about drugs.

The next time you’re discussing legalising drugs with someone, quote Richard. Seriously, even to your parents. People really dig Richard and Judy, if you quote him, they will think twice about their beliefs and perhaps even start to question them. Try it and you’ll see what I mean, attaching his name to the cause will give it a new level of respect.

If Richard Madeley supports a complete re-think on drug policy, perhaps there IS something to it!

If more people were willing to stand up and speak out, perhaps things would be better for responsible adults like myself and those of you out there who choose to indulge in the use of unsanctioned substances. There are so so SO many of us out there, who lead productive, normal lives, yet enjoy things other than alcohol and tobacco.

We have too much to lose. That’s the problem, our normalcy and responsible lives don’t meet society’s stereotypes of what a drug user is. If we did step out of the closet and proclaim proudly that we smoke weed, or snort a bit of charlie, or neck a few pills every weekend and it wasn’t destroying our lives, people who disapproved would find a way of destroying our lives for us.

Next week is the public consultation on reclassifying weed. I’m sure people braver than me will attend and speak out eloquently on the subject, before they’re ignored completely and the government just reclassifies it anyway. But that’s not why I’m not going.

I’m not going, because I have too much to lose. As open as I am about my drug use to friends, family, work colleagues, strangers I sit next to on the bus, I don’t know how I’d feel about my name and address being on record with this government in relation to the status of weed and specifically my constant intake of it.

And with this government, how long would it take them before they lost the list and it ended up in the hands of, oh I don’t know, the police maybe! Making cannabis class B means the penalties are worse for the end user; what if they decide to ‘round us all up? They’re building an awful lot of new prisons!

Oh and by the way, the penalties for production and distribution of cannabis, ie growing and dealing, are exactly the same under class B as class C, so it’s really only those of us who might get caught with a small amount who are seeing the penalties change. Thanks, Gordon. Thanks, Jacqui.

What’s worse is that it will only drive those of us who wish to speak out, further underground, while allowing the criminal element to continue ruling the trade, with no additional risks. Who really benefits from this change in status?

That’s an easy question to answer. Who benefits from the reclassification of cannabis?

No one at all.

A few days ago, I learned of a public consultation that’s to be held on the subject of the “possible” reclassification of cannabis. It takes place in London on the 5th of February.

This government has apparently decided the outcome of this consultation and Jacqui Smith has already leaked their decision to put cannabis back into Class B from its current status of Class C.

It widely known that the government has chosen this path for one simple reason, to appear “tough on drugs.” They identified this issue as one which Tony Blair and David Blunkett left them vulnerable to criticism that could be easily changed without much public outcry.

They’re correct on that score. How many dope smokers do you know that would attend a government-held, public consultation on cannabis, and confess to regularly breaking a law, which is about to become a lot harder on people who enjoy weed?

Let’s not bullshit around this…a change in classification from C to B means only one thing and that is to further criminalise people who smoke a bit of dope. The penalties for production and distribution of cannabis are exactly the same under class B and C - exactly the same! The difference is on the otherwise law abiding citizen, who partakes of this plant - the penalties for simple possession are significantly harsher.

Why would the government wish to criminalise so many people? Could it have to do with building new prisons and needing people to fill those places? Dopeheads aren’t dangerous or violent, you would have a prison population that was cheap and easy to manage!

Think that’s a bit “conspiracy theory” even for me? Ok, have you got a better explanation?

Just about every think tank, policy group and genuine expert feels it should be left class C, decriminalised or legalised completely. Many cops believe this too, and so do a fair few MPs and ministers, but many are afraid to voice their opinions for fear of the wrath of the Mail/Express/Telegraph set.

I considered attending that consultation on the 5th of Feb. I thought long and hard about going, stating my real name and reading a selection of entries I’ve written on this subject so near and dear to my heart. And then I pussied out.

Look, either we all go, or none of us go! That’s right, all 6 million (estimated) regular cannabis smokers have to register to attend. Every last one of us. I’ll go, if you’ll all go. They can’t put us all in jail, can they? If they try, we can just seek asylum in the Netherlands!

Here are a few interesting and related links:

This is from the cannazine and talks about the 5th Feb consultation and how they are ignoring the experts in the decision to regrade
Click Me.

This one is from the Independent, it’s the same story, only with some questionable mental health details thrown in to confuse the issue
Click Me.

This is from the Times and talks about how the government should base its policies on science, not emotion. It sites the cannabis “debate” as an example
Click Me.

And here again is my cannabis truth series, which is worth reading if you want to know the real story and not the twisted shit they want you to believe!
Click Me.

I’ve read a bit about Republican presidential candidate. Ron Paul and his rather sensible, if controversial views, but seeing him effortlessly field questions about drugs with rational, intelligent, informed replies is a wonder to behold.

My brother sent me this YouTube clip of Mr. Paul being interviewed by American television network, ABC’s John Stossel and the first two minutes are well worth your valuable surfing time:

I hate to say it, but this guy hasn’t got a hope in hell of winning. I know he’s got loads of support, I know he makes sense, but the powers that be will never allow anyone who talks that straight anywhere near the White House! If it looked like he had a chance, they would cook the election again. Anyway, the chances of him getting the nomination from the heavy christian-fundamentalist-ruled Republican party are slim to none.

It’s a real shame, because it sounds like Ron Paul could make a real difference and America would never let someone with that capability to run the show. Maybe we should all just elect him president of the world instead?

I know, I know. I haven’t been here in a fair few days.

No excuses, except for my catch all; “I’m rubbish”. Further explanations will not be offered.

I’ve squandered a fair bit of time this week, being a bit of a tech-geek, sorting out some things around the house. One of those things was my Slingbox, which is now reliably working on my home network, but I still haven’t sorted viewing outside of the house. More on this later.

I’ve also had a bit of a play around with Logic Studio, or rather the bits of it that I have installed. I still haven’t received my replacement installation DVD, so much of the included extra content is out of my reach. Today’s post hasn’t come yet, so there’s still a chance it might arrive before the day is out.

Add to that the normal bullshit I have to do every day and you’ll see that I’m pretty busy most days.

I did get to screen an excellent film yesterday, “American Gangster” and I can highly recommend it. It’s the story of Frank Lucas, a Harlem based businessman, who’s business was heroin importation, marketing and distribution. Lucas basically re-invented the heroin trade in the late 60s/early 70s in a very innovative and creative way. He was also quite brutal, but only out of necessity.

If Lucas had used his considerable intelligence and business skill in any other industry, he would probably be starring as the boss on the TV show, The Apprentice, as he was truly an entrepreneur, but he didn’t. He chose heroin and the film does not shy away from showing the harm that smack does to its users, but it also makes the point that the anti-drug stance is almost as big an industry as the drugs trade and if black market trade in illegal drugs went away, so would the associated law enforcement and other ancilliary businesses.

The film tells a complex story in many shades of grey and certainly you will admire a lot about Lucas, though his brutal outbursts never let you forget the path he chose. It opens here in the UK tomorrow, if you get the chance, it’s worth seeing.

It comes back to something I’ve said on here more than once, that the world wide black market in drugs is capitalism at its most basic; simple supply and demand. There is a huge, never-ending demand for substances which alter your consciousness, always has been, always will be. Cigarettes and alcohol, the legal drugs, just don’t cut it for some people and where legitimate sources don’t deliver, illegal supply lines will emerge. As long as people want something, someone will be there, ready to provide it. This is about as basic a truism as you can find about capitalism.

Our economy and political system is build upon the foundations of capitalism, yet when it comes to the issue of illegal drugs, we are in deep, orchestrated denial. Prohibition doesn’t work and if I can site the usual example of when America banned liquor, the result was an organised crime structure that still exists today. People wanted booze; people got booze. They’ll realised then, you couldn’t stop free trade, so they opened the doors to a regulated, taxed and legal system.

If heroin were legal, Frank Lucas would have been on the cover of business magazines as a hero and legend, in almost the same way that Starbucks reinvented coffee. He also probably wouldn’t have shot all those people in the head. It’s something to think about. Well, for me anyway.

Perusing the internet, as I do, seeking inspiration and of course, cannabis related news, I stumbled upon this little gem, which can be found on quite a few news sites. I’ve opted to use a link to the Reuters News Agency website, as news agencies, especially Reuters and AP, are normally the most unbiased organisations.

Here’s the topline of the report:

“A study of more than 5,000 youngsters in Switzerland has found those who smoked marijuana do as well or better in some areas as those who don’t, researchers said on Monday.”

I told you it would do your head in! Just imagine how hard it will be for governments around the world to spin this one away!

The evidence in favour of cannabis continues to mount, as witnessed in my “cannabis truth series”, but the fuckers with the power have no interest in truth and seek only to suppress it. Luckily for you, you’ve got me and “truth” is my middle name.

Ok, I don’t have a middle name, my parents couldn’t be bothered. See how goddamn truthful I am!

(Read the northlondonhippy’s cannabis truth series. Go on, learn something cool!)

As well as relaying my own personal experiences with cannabis, I’ve been keeping track of the truth and the lies surrounding my favourite plant for quite a while now. I thought it would a good time to put links to some of my more relevant posts together on one page. I did something similar, but with a more limited scope a couple of months ago, and I left quite a few older entries out.

I’ll aim to update this listing again, in the future, as I add more related content.

So, without further delay, here is “the northlondonhippy cannabis truth series”:

A brief history of the hippy and cannabis - 29 June 2006

“Driven by moral panic” - 9 March 2007

Don’t just take my word for it - 11 March 2007

Class C = Significant Fall in Cannabis Use - 26 October 2007

Science confuses me - 25 October 2007

Acting without thinking, a policy without foundation - 21 October 2007

The rational voices are getting louder, but is anyone in power listening? - 16 October 2007

Finding truth amongst the lies - 24 September 2007

Enlisting in the battle over cannabis - 30 July 2007

Demand and supply - another angle on the status of cannabis - 30 July 2007

It’s not as black and white as they would have you believe - 30 July 2007

But what do real experts say about reclassifying cannabis - 30 July 2007

That Lancet cannabis study, the Daily Mail and the truth - 30 July 2007

Don’t just take my word for it (again) - 30 July 2007

The northlondonhippy offers to be the voice of reason, truth, sanity and experience regarding cannabis - 30 July 2007

The GUARDIAN of truth - 12 June 2007

False hysteria sells - 27 March 2007

A homegrown harvest - 13 March 2007

Brave People - 27 October 2007

Recently, I’ve been following a particular ongoing battle against cannabis.

This fight is taking place right now, between some very brave people who are running a cannabis cafe in Sussex and the police.

Here’s a report from the local newspaper, covering the case, which will give you a bit of background as well as a snapshot of where things stand today:
http://www.theargus.co.uk/search/display.var.1777072.0.cannabis_cafe_puts_up_the_barricades.php
=========================================
Cannabis cafe’ puts up the barricades

The downgrading of cannabis to a class C drug has led to a series of cannabis cafés opening across Sussex. Police have faced an uphill battle trying to close these illegal premises.

Reporter Miles Godfrey visited an alleged cannabis café in Lancing raided by officers only last week and found a steely determination to defy the authorities.

Officers smashed their way into the building in Freshbrook Road, Lancing, on October 11 using a two-tonne tractor.

They demolished a wall as they ripped a window from its frame and allegedly caused about £20,000 damage to the building and its interior.

However in a show of defiance, the café’s operators have rebuilt the wall, fortified the building and reopened for business in under five days.

The Argus gained exclusive access to the café and inspected the new defences. They include:

# Military razor wire.

# Reinforced steel girders used as height-restriction barriers to prevent tall vehicles gaining access.

# Steel posts and concrete-filled tyres surrounding the building.

A spokesman for the owner, who did not want to be identified, said: “We are back up and running. We were within days of the police raid.”

The people who run the café, which has also been fully repaired and redecorated inside, claimed the police’s “heavy-handed”

One said: “We don’t believe they did a proper health and safety check before the raid.

They have claimed that the building had a steel structure but it doesn’t. It could have easily collapsed completely with everyone inside it.

“As it was, people did get minor injuries, bumps and bruises and one woman suffered an asthma attack. We are worried about what tactics the police are going to use next.”

Those inside the building said they were horrified when officers pulled down the wall.

One said: “It was like something out of a Bruce Willis film.

Somebody could have easily been very badly hurt or even killed.”

Police said they found a “quantity” of cannabis during the raid. Those at the café claim less than four grammes was discovered, an amount they said did not warrant the raid.

The spokesman said: “The police caused about £20,000 damage inside and out during the operation. They employed numerous officers, hired a tractor and for what? They only found four grammes of cannabis so what was the point?”

Officers also found £2,000 in cash on the premises during the raid. The spokesman said the money was from the till and fruit machine and the rest belonged to four different people.

A strict over-18s policy remains in force and staff said they operated a strict ban on alcohol.

The raid was the latest in a series of battles police have had with similar businesses.

Officers have carried out a series of raids across Worthing and Lancing in the last few years as outlets allegedly selling cannabis have sprung up.

Many raids have been successful but others, like the one on October 11 in Lancing, turned up only small quantities of cannabis.

In August, 2005, more than 40 police officers were involved in a dramatic siege at premises in Victoria Road, Worthing. The officers, including a dozen riot police, forced their way through two 6in-thick reinforced doors using steel-cutting welders and a battering ram.

About 30 people were marched outside after police smashed their way into the building, which subsequently closed.

There were raids at the now closed Quantum Leaf and Bongchuffa cannabis cafés in Rowlands Road, Worthing, in 2003. Pro-cannabis campaigner Chris Baldwin ran the Quantum Leaf café as a “political statement” and in January, 2004, received a six-month jail sentence for supplying cannabis.

He served just over six weeks behind bars.

The alleged cannabis café in Freshbrook Road has also been raided before.

In July this year, officers smashed their way into the building using a battering ram.

However they recovered only small qualities of the drug.

Thick black smoke was spotted rising from the premises during that raid and the most recent one.

Officers believe it may have been cannabis being burnt inside but they have been unable to secure enough evidence to bring charges.

Chief Inspector Lawrence Hobbs, Adur district police commander, said police did not want to rush in. He said: “It is early days. We want to gather some evidence, seek some legal advice and listen to how the community want us to deal with it. I do not sense there’s any physical threat to residents.”

However, since February when police first suspected the building was being for drug smoking, his stance has toughened significantly.

He was unapologetic about the damage and said: “There has to be recognition that these types of illegal enterprises will not be tolerated.”

The latest raid was certainly the most dramatic but it may not be the last.

(22nd October 2007)
==================================

Have you ever read anything more ludicrous? You would think they were staging an assault against an Al Qaeda cell, primed and ready to attack a city centre shopping district in the run up to xmas!

Do the police really have the time and budget to be targeting a peaceful, non-violent group of old stoners in such an over-the-top and unjustifiably harsh manner?

The people are continuing to operate this cafe are extremely brave and courageous, for they are taking direct action to protest an unfair and unjust law, which criminalises decent, honest, otherwise law abiding folks for nothing more than smoking a bit of dope!

The police are showing no signs of letting up the pressure, as the follow-up article in another local paper, shows. You can check it out RIGHT HERE and vote in their online poll of whether the police should continue to persecute these good people.

As of this writing, 92% of people responding to the poll, do NOT want the police to continue with this wasteful use of their resources. Or as one of the many people who commented on the article online points out:

“Interesting that the police can spend thousands on harrassing a few old stoners, but were unable to attend when my car had its’ windows smashed by vandals on Tuesday. It’s this low-level antisocial crime that is the problem, not spliff smokers listening to Pink Floyd…”

Think about it, would you rather have the police harassing a group of people sitting inside a cafe, smoking a bit of weed, or would you prefer they go after genuine criminals who might mug your granny for her pension money, or break into your car to steal your stereo?

I think the answer to that is so fucking obvious that it gives me a headache!

Most of the police officers I’ve spoken to personally would like to see cannabis decriminalised or legalised, because they know their time would be better spent tackling real crimes. Why do we disrespect our police forces so much by asking them to waste their valuable time and resources on something so utterly pointless?

Tractors for cannabis raids? Are tanks and F-16’s going to be next? Where does it stop?

I don’t know where, but I do know when. As soon as humanly possible, please!

Sometimes, this blog just writes itself and the following entry is ripped straight off the front page of today’s Guardian newspaper.

The headline reads “Cannabis use down since legal change” and it was written by their Home Affairs Editor, Alan Travis, based on the latest report by the British Crime Survey. Mr. Travis has continued to provide fair, balanced and responsible coverage of this very important issue. That can’t be easy in the current climate of fear and false information and I would like to publicly thank him for that. Please take the time to read HIS REPORT.

A few key quotes:

1) “Gordon Brown’s plans to tighten the law on cannabis by increasing the penalties for possession suffered a fresh blow yesterday as the latest official figures showed the decision to downgrade the drug had been followed by a significant fall in its use.

British Crime Survey statistics showed that the proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds using cannabis slumped from 28% a decade ago to 21% now, with its declining popularity accelerating after the decision to downgrade the drug to class C was announced in January 2004.”

2) “…the BCS figures published yesterday showed that cannabis is beginning to lose its allure with teenagers. The proportion of frequent users in the 16-24 age group, who were using the drug more than once a month, fell from 12% to 8% in the past four years.”

3) “The decline in cannabis consumption prompted a call from the independent UK Drugs Policy Commission to take decisions about drug classification out of the hands of ministers. Dame Ruth Runciman, the commission’s chief, said: “We do not believe the credibility of the current system or the clarity of message has been enhanced when, in just the space of seven years, five home secretaries have sought one way or another to address the classification of cannabis.”

Good policymaking had been overshadowed by “politicking”, and much of the confusion among public and politicians stemmed from misunderstandings about the classification system. The commission also says there is no evidence a drug’s classification deterred use, and suggested that instead of tinkering the whole classification system should be placed outside the direct control of politicians.”

4) “Claims that “superskunk”,.. (is) dominant were also undermined by police and customs seizure figures…. (with skunk making up) less than one-third of the (UK) market.”

The significance of this report cannot be underestimated. It contradicts absolutely every lie coming from the government on their justification for possible reclassification of cannabis. It pisses all over much of the bullshit we’ve been reading the newspapers over the last few months too.

I think Dame Runciman is onto something when she says the decision should be taken away from ministers. She is so right. Drug use is mainly a health issue, and should not be confused with legal or moral arguments.

The Guardian wasn’t the only newspaper to cover this story, as you can see for yourself in The Times and the Independent. The truth always finds a way!

I’m looking forward to this Sunday’s “Independent on Sunday”, to see how they can spin this one into some silly-assed shite.

Yes, IoS, you print a hell of a lot of silly-assed shite when it comes to my beloved cannabis and I am really getting bored with it. I’m guessing a senior editor there must have a teenage son or daughter who got into trouble and decided it was easier to blame weed, then take responsibility.

The IoS campaign smacks of personal interest, bordering on vendetta. As journalists, you’re supposed to be the dispassionate observers, you’re not meant to further your personal agenda with lie after lie. I have an agenda as too, but I back it up with the truth and personal experience and am trying to do some genuine good. If the IoS continues like this, they will be exposed and no one will trust anything else they publish.

Is the reputation of your newspaper worth backing losing horse? The hypocrisy you’re showing will do you no favours. You can’t continue to ignore the hard facts and it would be much better for you to come out now with an editorial, explaining you got it wrong and revert back to your previous and long running campaign to legalise weed! We’d forgive you if you did!

I don’t see how anyone can ignore these hard facts and reliable statistics, but I’m sure our government will find a way. If they can avoid the truth to justify the war in Iraq, it will be a piece of piss to do the same thing with weed. Both of those things make this hippy very sad.

I get confused, sometimes, by all the different, conflicting bits of information offered to me on any given day.

I try to disregard as much of it as I can, but when it comes to the battle over cannabis, my ears prick up, which is markedly better than a prick up your ear.

The current lies being peddled about weed must be confusing to a lot of folks out there. The powers that be are not-so-subtly working hard to shift public perception. They want you to think marijuana is the devil’s weed; that it will turn your children in psychotic killers who are only concerned with where their next fix of dope is coming from.

This portrayal couldn’t be any further from the truth if they tried. Oh wait, they are trying and they are not in remote proximity of even a reflection in a puddle of piss of truth.

Yet, the newspaper headlines scream with outrageous anger and hyperbole over the dangers of cannabis.

Headlines can be wrong. Frequently, they are. It’s easier to parrot some make believe fact, if that fictitious fact creates fear and moral indignation.

Here’s something you won’t be reading in any respectable newspaper, any time soon. A recent study carried out by a respected Dutch university, compared the teenage brains via MRI scans of two groups of teenagers; group A were regular weed smokers, group B never touched the stuff.

Guess what? There was no discernible difference in the results, between the two groups. Or as it says in the headline of the article I’m quoting, “Cannabis not dangerous for young people”.

Could you imagine the front page of the Daily Mail or the Independent on Sunday splashing the same headline across their front page? Neither can I, but a hippy can dream and this hippy does. Far too much.