Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
For All Those Small-Minded, Revisionist Students Who Don’t Understand History Is About The Past.
For background see: ‘Manchester students deface poem by ‘racist’ Kipling’
Credit: ‘SlaW’ @Coleslawta http://meddlesum.com/
Definition of Antisemitism
I fully support the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism:
“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
However, I do not support and I strongly oppose the examples given by the IHRA which are nothing to do with Jews or Judaism but are about support of the war criminal state of Israel. Specifically:
“Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.”
This is nothing to do with antisemitism, Jews or Judaism. It is, sadly, an entirely appropriate, justified and accurate comparison of the conduct of the Israeli state with the conduct of the Nazis. It is particularly ironic and cruel that the state established as the homeland for Jewish people, who suffered such dreadful persecution, should conduct itself in such similar fashion.
The Conservative Party Is Destroying Britain. It Must Be Stopped. #AndImATory
Theresa May is in charge and her party is causing immense, possibly irrepairable damage to Britain. She must be called to account and her party must be stopped. This is a grave national emergency which in some countries would provoke a military coup. Who can say that in the interests of our nation this is not justified? I’d trust one of our senior military officers to act more responsibly than any member of the cabinet, any day.
Sadly, I cannot see a heavily armed band of brothers seizing Downing Street and carting Mrs May off to HMP Belmarsh but something close to such drama is urgently needed. If there is anyone left in the Conservative Party who puts the national interest before their own, they need to step forward. I can see no way ahead except a general election.
That may cause an inevitable crashing out of the EU. Article 50 has been activated and we are on a predetermined timetable. If we haven’t done a deal by the next March we will exit with all future trade on WTO terms. My view is that would be a very good thing. It woud deliver what we voted for in the referendum and we would be forced to make it work.
All the bleating, hand-wringing from the treasonous Remainers would be hot air, dispersing into nothingness that it was all along. I wish that the vile, whining cabal of Chuka Ummuna, Anna Soubry, Ken Clarke, Chris Leslie and others would resign. They have campaigned relentlessly against the people’s decision, they have sabotaged our nation and they are no longer fit to be in Parliament.
But no one bears more responsibility than Theresa May. The Brexit supporting MPs are rightly insisting that Brexit must be implemented and she has deceived, cheated, procrastinated, double-crossed and betrayed. No consequence can be serious enough for her but I will be content provided she is removed from office and public life for ever.
Two Years Of Conservatives Procrastinating Over The EU At Britain’s Expense. How Much Has That Cost?
Ten billion? A hundred billion? I have no idea but I’m sure there’s some overpaid civil servant in the Treasury who can work it out. What we should then do is send an invoice to the Conservative Party. It has dithered and argued amongst itself, destroyed the huge opportunity that Brexit offered and seriously damaged the economy and our society, all for its own self-indulgence.
The government should issue the invoice, perhaps with a covering note pointing out that it and the party are two entirely separate legal entities. The government acts on behalf of the people of Britain and does not fund the Conservative Party except as laid down in statute, as is available to all parties.
If the Conservative Party isn’t prepared to pay the invoice, then the Treasury Solicitor should be instructed to issue a claim. I’m sure leading counsel, at our considerable (but relatively insignificant) expense, can find a way to make the claim stick. If it’s not settled then the Court will reach the appropriate judgment and we can then commence insolvency proceedings against the Conservative Party. That will sort out a large part of the country’s problems at a stroke.
Whatever happens in the next few years and however we get there, we will almost certainly have to endure a few years of a Labour government and faux socialism. It won’t last long and in the meantime British politics, particularly of the right, will have to rebuild itself afresh
What really matters and however we do it, we must bring down the Conservative Party, punish it severely and ensure it can never inflict its internal problems on the country again. There is no higher priority #AndImATory.
Theresa May And The Conservative Government Are Both Treasonable And Corrupt.
We have a government which is pursuing policy not in the interests of the nation but solely in the interests of the Conservative Party. This is corruption. It is no better than taking bribes. It is grubby, dishonest, self-serving and directly contradicts the purpose of our democracy and the basis upon which MPs hold office.
We have a government that by a vote in Parliament was ordered to determine our future membership of the EU by a referendum. The result was that we should leave. Now, through corrupt self-interest the leader of the Conservative Party, at enormous cost to the nation, has used her position as PM to subvert the result of the referendum. This is treasonable.
Democracy has been entirely extinguished in the UK. Your vote means nothing. We are ruled by diktat from a corrupt, self-serving elite. There is no longer any law, only the pursuit of self-interest and the forcible repression of dissent.
It is time for a revolution. The nation should take up arms and rise in justifiable revolt against the criminals in government.
An ‘Expert Panel’ On Medicinal Cannabis Without A Single Expert On It?
Dr Michael McBride, Chair of the Cannabis-based Medicines Expert Panel
To be fair, the members of the expert panel are hardly a surprise. It’s the medical establishment writ large. The chairman, Dr John McBride, was, according to Charlotte Caldwell, “instrumental” in stopping Billy’s medicine being prescribed, despite the original prescription coming from a consultant neurologist specialising in paediatric epilepsy.
A government which has denied any medicinal value in cannabis for nearly 50 years needs ‘cover’ for its long overdue U-turn. Surely though, there needs to be at least one member of the panel who has some expertise in the subject? It’s doubtful that any of the members have ever seen a vaporiser or could tell the difference between weed, hash and a concentrate. They’d probably just call them all ‘skunk’.
Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer
The intention is probably to turn ‘medicinal cannabis’ into a pill or a bottle of medicine, a nice square peg that these bureaucrats can slot into their square hole. Such servants of the status quo are incapable of considering that modern medicine might have anything to learn from traditional, plant-based medicine that has been used successfully for millennia, instead of barely a century of the simplistic, reductionist theory that they represent. Of course it shouldn’t be a matter of either/or, we should use the best of both theories because both have much to offer to the health of the nation.
It’s instructive that Professor Dame Sally Davies managed to find “overwhelming” evidence of the medicinal value of cannabis in about 24 hours flat. The evidence has been wilfuly ignored by every government and the self-serving individuals who have held the role of Home Secretary since 1971.
It’s astonishing though that in her review, delivered at lightning speed, she’s come up with this pejorative term “grown cannabis” yet seems enthusiastic about synthetic cannabinoids on which there is precious little clinical research and strong evidence of severe, even life-threatening side effects, totally different from the natural product.
Dame Sally writes: “Cannabis has many active chemicals and only cannabis or derivatives produced for medical use can be assumed to have the correct concentrations and ratios. Using other forms, such as grown or street cannabis, as medicine for therapeutic benefit is potentially dangerous.”
Where else does cannabis come from if it isn’t ‘grown’? It has to be synthesised in a lab. Why on earth would Dame Sally want to go down that route when no other jurisdiction enabling legal access to medicinal cannabis has done so? Bedrocan products are grown specifically for medical use and standardisation of “correct concentrations and ratios” is exactly what the company is focused on.
This is a clash between two different approaches to medicine which, as I say should be regarded as complementary, not contradictory but we cannot possibly move forward if the only ‘experts’ have no expertise!
To be fair, this is all unfolding at breakneck speed. Imagine Theresa May hovering in the wings, the hard line prohibitionist eager for any opportunity to kick this back into touch. As it stands, the expert panel will fail, it’s bound to. We have to give Dame Sally a chance to adjust to the new reality. With the assistance of Professor Mike Barnes, CLEAR will be keeping a close watch on progress and we will keep Dame Sally apprised. We have already written to her twice this week setting out our concerns and we will do so on a regular basis.
Deranged Politicians Interfering In The Oldest Profession Will Only Cause More Harm.
Sarah Champion MP
Even though she’s a Labour MP, I generally admire Sarah Champion but having caught her speech in the debate on prostitution yesterday, I’m bemused. Her ideas are absurd, opposed to human nature and will cause, not prevent harm. It’s not called the ‘oldest profession’ for nothing.
This is exactly the same as the drugs issue, arrogant, out-of-touch politicians trying to impose their personal opinions on society and create new laws that will massively increase harm. Prostitution needs legal regulation, just like drugs. It will protect sex workers and make the trade, which will never go away, safer and healthier for everyone.
Why do politicians think that laws are the answer to everything? It’s hubris of the highest order.
Nick Hurd MP, The Times. ‘Out-of-date rules must not come before compassion for those who need medicinal cannabis’
Nick Hurd MP
This article by Nick Hurd MP, the Home Office Minister, is re-published from the Times of Friday, 29th June 2018.
It is the most significant recent government statement on cannabis.
“Out-of-date rules must not come before compassion for those who need medicinal cannabis
There are times when life presents a situation for which the status quo is no longer viable; when the case for compassion stands in direct challenge to the rules of the day. This is perhaps no better illustrated than in the case of two young boys and their need for a medicine current legislation does not allow within the UK.
The laws restricting access to cannabis-related medicine in this country have stood for decades. The highly emotive cases of Alfie Dingley and Billy Caldwell have brought home the urgent need to reconsider those rules.
It is impossible not to feel huge empathy for parents expressing their desperation at the difficulty of accessing a treatment they consider essential to the health and wellbeing of their children. I am very aware that behind those high-profile cases stand other families and individuals experiencing the same frustration at the current restrictions.
The home secretary and I are in the process of reviewing the case for rescheduling cannabis-related medicine. This review will be evidence led and should be completed in the autumn.
If medicinal and therapeutic benefits are identified, the intention would be to reschedule cannabis-related medicine as a treatment available through GPs. Whilst recent cases in the media have involved epilepsy this would be open to patients suffering from all illnesses where such treatment is identified to benefit them.
While we await this review, we are confined to working within the existing rules which require a licence. I am delighted that we were able to issue one on behalf of Alfie Dingley — the first ever licence for the long-term treatment of an individual using cannabis-related medicine in the UK.
However, this process took too long and I want to thank Alfie’s family and the clinical team for their patience in working with us to reach this landmark.
We have also issued an emergency licence to treat Billy Caldwell at the request of his clinical team at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. I have assured Ms Caldwell that Billy will continue to have access to the medicine should his medical team request it and have made clear that we will do what we can to facilitate a long-term licence application for Billy.
We have worked intensively to put in place a much better route for clinicians to secure licences on behalf of their patients until a decision is taken on rescheduling. An expert panel of clinicians will advise Ministers on individual applications. I want to reassure those involved that we are determined to strip this process of any unnecessary bureaucracy. As such, any application can expect to receive a final decision within two to four weeks.
We also want to remove anxiety on fees and are committed to urgently reviewing the fees paid for licences that are awarded as a result of the advice of the expert panel.
The bottom line is that we do not want people to suffer needlessly because of rules and processes that no longer feel fit for purpose.”
Cannabis for Medical Use And How The Royal College Of GPs Is Letting Us All Down.
The last couple of weeks have brought an enormous breakthrough for those who need cannabis as medicine but with the release of the government’s interim measures for licensing, the difficulties of how this will work in practice are obvious.
Unless doctors are properly informed and educated about cannabis many patients are going to remain without any help and forced to continue in the illegal market.
The Royal College of GPs was supposed to have issued guidelines to all GPs by the end of 2017 but evidently politics have interfered. It seems that either there has been external pressure from government to hold back or there’s been internal wrangling with some senior doctors opposed to any information being released.
What is astonishing is that this directly contradicts a resolution of the RCGP Council last September when it resolved (unanimously according to reports) to publish guidelines on the use of cannabis as medicine. This raises very serious issues about the governance of the Royal College and also an ethical issue in failing to enable doctors to fulfil their professional duty to patients.
It was at the end of 2016 that CLEAR first wrote to all the Royal Colleges suggesting that guidelines on the use of cannabis as medicine should be considered. The letters went out from Professor Mike Barnes, CLEAR’s scientific and medical advisor. We referred to evidence that about a million people were already using cannabis for medical reasons and particularly the explosion in the use of CBD products. We acknowledged that clearly doctors couldn’t endorse the use of an illegal drug but certainly for CBD and because of the reality of what’s actually happening they needed to be properly informed.
Professor Nigel Mathers of the Royal College of GPs took up our proposal enthusiastically. Through 2017, Mike Barnes and Peter Reynolds of CLEAR attended a number of meetings at the Royal College and detailed plans were made. A formal proposal was put to the council, the ultimate governing body of the Royal College at its meeting in September and approved. It was agreed and announced that the guidelines would be on the college’s website by the end of the year. It was even reported in The Times.
Professor Mike Barnes, CLEAR Advisory Board
Mike Barnes produced the first draft which covered the endocannabinoid system and a summary of the clinical evidence including side effects and a risk/benefit analysis. Peter Reynolds contributed a section on methods of ingestion and harm reduction.
Professor Nigel Mathers finalised the guidelines to make them compliant with the Royal College’s standards. It was his last project before retiring from his position as Honorary Secretary.
Then everything stopped. Both Mike Barnes and Peter Reynolds followed up regularly but were fobbed off, given a variety of excuses until eventually six months had passed and we came to realise that there was a determination from somewhere to prevent publication despite what the council had agreed.
The extraordinary progress of the past few weeks leaves the Royal College stranded. It has let down doctors and through them their patients. It had every opportunity to be in front of these developments and to enable doctors to offer advice that patients are now clamouring for.
Mike Barnes said:
“It is a great pity that there has been this delay. Given the events of the last couple of weeks it is now really important that the RCGP lead the way and publish guidelines for their members, as the public will be asking more and more questions about the medicinal value of cannabis.”
Prejudice against and misinformation about cannabis has been rife for many years. At last that is changing and cannabis for medical use is going to be available legitimately in the UK. We remain ready to assist the Royal College in ensuring GPs get the information they need.
Letter To Nick Hurd MP, Home Office Minister, About Alfie Dingley’s and Billy Caldwell’s Urgent Need For Cannabis Medicine.
From: Peter Reynolds
Sent: 12 June 2018 10:16
To: ‘nick.hurd.mp@parliament.uk’
Cc: ‘Charlotte Caldwell’
Subject: Give Billy back his medication.
Importance: High
Dear Mr Hurd,
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 makes specific provision within it that the Home Secretary may licence any action under it that would otherwise be unlawful.
There can be no credible excuse whatsoever for refusing to licence Billy Caldwell’s and Alfie Dingley’s cannabis medicines when they have been proven to work under the supervision of senior doctors and the medicines themselves are produced by reputable, government regulated companies.
UK drugs policy is now the most regressive, backwards and cruel of any first world nation. Specifically on the medical use of cannabis it is evidence-opposed and causing great harm, far more harm than is prevented by a policy that is based on nothing but ignorance and prejudice.
It is nothing but an excuse to argue that all drugs must be properly tested. Cannabis is the oldest medicine known to mankind, it has been used safely and effectively for at least 10,000 years. Only in the last 100 years has this diabolical experiment of prohibition wreaked havoc across the world in exactly the same way as the prohibition of alcohol.
Cannabis contains around 500 molecules and it is impossible to regulate in the same way as a single molecule pharmaceutical product synthesised in a lab. Trying to force regulation of cannabis into the MHRA process is absurd. The MHRA was designed by the pharmaceutical industry for its products. It is run by people from the pharmaceutical industry. It is not fit for the purpose of regulating plant based medicines.
This is why in every jurisdiction throughout the word where there is legal access to cannabis, it is regulated by a special system separate from pharmaceutical products. This is the nettle that the UK government needs to grasp if it is to fulfil its responsibility.
In the meantime though you must ACT NOW for Billy and Alfie. Any further procrastination will amount to negligence and dereliction of duty for which you and other ministers will be held to account.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Reynolds
President
CLEAR Cannabis Law Reform
Peter Reynolds 