Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
An Appeal To Andrew Lansley
Dear Mr Lansley,
Medicinal Cannabis
I am writing to you about the urgent necessity to permit the prescribing of medicinal cannabis by doctors.
Please do not refer me to the Home Office. Its intransigent position on the subject amounts to a scandalous denial of science and cruel mistreatment of hundreds of thousands of British citizens. This is a health issue which requires your attention and care for those in pain and suffering.
There is now an overwhelming body of peer reviewed, published research that proves beyond doubt the efficacy of medicinal cannabis for the treatment of many conditions. Britain is becoming increasingly isolated as a place where patients are denied access to the medicine they need. Utterly absurd is that patients from the EU can bring medicinal cannabis into Britain under the protection of the Schengen Agreement but British residents risk prison for using exactly the same substance.
Every country in Europe except France and Britain now has some form of medicinal cannabis provision. 15 US states now permit medical marijuana on a doctor’s recommendation and Israel has a fast expanding programme. There are huge cost savings and benefits to be gained and enormous reductions in harm from side effects of poisonous pharmaceutical products.
There are already many instances in Britain where MS patients have been refused Sativex on cost grounds and so have been forced into illegal purchase or cultivation and have then been prosecuted as criminals. This is a shame and disgrace on our nation and I appeal to you to take steps to end it.
Perhaps you do not realise the transformational effect that medicinal cannabis can have on some people’s lives? Almost miraculous results are being achieved, particularly with MS, Crohn’s and fibromyalgia. People who would otherwise be trapped by pain and disability are able to lead productive lives with the help of medicinal cannabis.
Please Mr Lansley, will you arrange to meet me and a delegation of people whose lives are literally saved by the use of medicinal cannabis? This cruel and demeaning policy cannot be allowed to continue in the face of overwhelming evidence. Safe, high quality, standardised dose cannabis is now available from Bedrocan in Holland, the Dutch government’s supplier and is exported all over Europe to fill doctors’ prescriptions. How much longer must British citizens wait?
Co-ordinated action is already underway for dozens of patients to take the Home Office to judicial review for its refusal to grant import licenses for Bedrocan. This is at huge cost in public money and people’s lives. You could take steps to end this suffering now. You could enable the NHS to start making huge cost savings immediately. This issue is not going away.
CLEAR is a new team of committed professionals that is determined to bring this issue to the top of the political agenda. Please arrange to meet me and learn at first hand how much good you could do by a change of policy that is, in any case, inevitable. Don’t make those people in pain and suffering wait any longer.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Reynolds
Send a copy of this letter to your MP. Download and print here.
Cameron On Cannabis Part 4
You can see the previous instalment here: Cameron On Cannabis Part 3
I received a further reply from Mr Cameron’s office.
Click To Enlarge
As a reminder, there are four crucial issues involved:
Mr Cameron, Do You Care?
Mr Cameron said that cannabis is:
1.”incredibly damaging”
2. “very, very toxic”
3. “and leads to, in many cases, huge mental health problems”
And then, with regard to medicinal cannabis, he said:
4. “That is a matter for the science and medical authorities to determine and they are free to make independent determinations about that.”
These are all inaccurate and false statements. Mr Cameron should correct them immediately.
So I have written to him again.
Dear Mr Cameron,
Since I wrote to you about your Al Jazeera YouTube interview and your statements about cannabis, the Legalise Cannabis Alliance has changed its name to Cannabis Law Reform (CLEAR) and registered as a political party.
We are determined to put cannabis back on the political agenda and to expose the misinformation and propaganda that maintains prohibition. We are a new, energetic team of professionals. We know the media and we know the science. We are not going to put up with the irrational and scaremongering attitude to this issue which has persisted for so long.
The statements you made about cannabis in your interview were inaccurate and misleading. That is incontrovertible fact. You must correct them. You are the prime minister of our nation and you must speak the truth.
In your reply dated 7th March you said that “…the Home Office is best placed to respond…” but you spoke the words and we have determined by Freedom of Information request (Home Office reference CR17931) that you were not advised by the Home Office on this question. These were your words and yours alone. Please Mr Cameron, will you now meet with me so that I can explain to you the scientific facts and the awful injustice, particularly to the sick and unwell, as well as the waste of billions in public money that your government’s policies sustain?
It cannot stand that our prime minister can speak untruths without correcting them. Please deal with this Mr Cameron. This is not going away. Cannabis is used by millions of British citizens every day, in many cases for the very effective relief of illness. We are reasonable, responsible, respectable citizens and we demand that you give this issue proper attention!
Please meet me Mr Cameron. Authoritative research proves that a tax and regulate regime for cannabis would produce a net £6 billion per annum benefit for Britain and massively reduce all health and social harms.
Most importantly though, please correct the inaccurate and misleading statements you made on YouTube.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Reynolds
Many thanks to my commenter, Bob the Wisemaster, who made the FOI request. The full response from the Home Office, disavowing any knowledge of Mr Cameron’s words can be seen here.
What next? More letters to Mr Cameron please. Write to him again. Tell him that he must correct his inaccurate statements. Keep up the pressure!
These Are The Trolls And Liars
These are the identities (aliases and pseudonyms no doubt), IP and email addresses of the people who have been spamming my site with abuse, accusations of belonging to the EDL and just about any sort of foul allegation you can imagine. Some of them have attempted to post their lies up to 40 times.
The pathetic names they’ve used reveal their state of mind. The really sad ones are the multiple identities at the same IP address. It’s interesting that there do seem to be at least four individuals at different IP addresses co-operating on the peterreynoldsmonitor site. It takes four of them to make a bad job of trying to discredit me?
Anyway, draw your own conclusions.
(I have removed these details as they are now evidence)
A Tale Of Two Conferences
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”
A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens.
It was at its best as the brave Clark French and Cure Ukay gave their personal testimonies as medicinal cannabis users at the European Student Drug Policy Reform Conference. It was at its worst when Peter Hitchens confronted me and Sir Ian Gilmore at the University of Bedfordshire “A Ceasefire In The War On Drugs?” debate.
The Cannabis Panel
I am so proud to have been associated with both Clark’s and Cure’s contributions at the Manchester conference last weekend. There were tears in the audience as first Clark, who has MS, then Cure, who has Crohn’s, explained the reality of their daily lives and the relief that cannabis provides. The following day, Clark had a relapse and he hobbled to the front to explain, his legs in spasm. He went outside to take his medicine and literally skipped back into the conference hall. It was like watching Christ telling someone to take up his bed and walk. It was intensely moving. It refreshed my enthusiasm. It reignited my rage. They are both warriors for the cause of great courage and dedication. They are my inspiration.
The conference was a worthy and well-organised event. Lembit Opik gave a barnstorming speech which had them whooping and cheering in the aisles. There were fascinating contributions from Sebastian Saville and Niamh Eastwood of Release, Darryl Bickler of the Drug Equality Alliance, Chris Hallam and Tom Lloyd of the International Drug Policy Consortium. There were very practical workshops on campaigning and an engrossing lecture from Chris Rose of Campaign Strategies. I know I’m biased but I think Clark and Cure were the stars of the show!
And so to London on Wednesday evening for the debate at Kings College University, near Waterloo. As I walked into the lecture theatre, there was Peter Hitchens chatting with Sir Ian Gilmore. I marched straight up and introduced myself, explaining to Hitchens that I am responsible for the four Press Complaints Commission complaints that he is currently facing. I enquired after his brother’s health and he gave me a long and detailed explanation about Christopher’s oseophageal cancer. He was extremely courteous to me. I took my seat directly in front of him.
Ceasefire In The War On Drugs?
Hitchens spoke first. He is the arch dissembler, presenting facts in such a way that he draws you towards a false conclusion. To be fair, he is a fine speaker but at the heart of his argument is an intellectual vacuum.
Sir Ian Gilmore, ex-president of the Royal College of Physicians went next. He was quiet and dignified and presented a very scientific approach to harm reduction. Finally, Tim Hollis, Chief Constable of Humberside, stood in for David Blunkett. He was an entertaining speaker. I always rather like intelligent policemen. They have a difficult job to do and I think the good ones are very valuable to society.
So to questions…and I was fidgeting in my seat with impatience! I had my go, talked about the harms of prohibition, about taking the more pragmatic approach with a regulated system and the evil injustice of the denial of medicinal cannabis. Right in front of me Hitchens was visibly seething. When I pointed out that his brother is a passionate advocate of medical marijuana he snapped. He pointed at me, glared and shouted “Leave my brother out of it!”.
Steve Rolles from Transform spoke as did Harry Shapiro from Drugscope. Tom Lloyd, who had also spoken in Manchester contributed and there were many other intelligent observations and comments. Hitchens was clearly unhappy.
We went back to the panel and Hitchens was aggressive in his response, gesturing at me and talking of “idiots” and accusing Sir Ian of talking “drivel”. I heckled him. he promised to “deal with you later” with another Alan Sugar-style stab of the finger. Sir Ian was next and he rather politely suggested that “Peter has his head in the sand” – at which Hitchens exploded!
He grabbed his coat and bag and made as if to leave. It was a very deliberate flounce in high dudgeon. Later it was suggested he did it for dramatic effect but no, it made him look foolish. He was flummoxed by the opposition.
The chairman, ex-BBC presenter John Silverman, skillfully restrained him and persuaded him to stay. In his closing statement Hitchens quoted some statistics from Portugal in an effort to disprove that country’s success with decriminalisation. It would be against the rules for me to accuse him of anything more than dissembling but no one in the room recognised any truth in his figures.
It was an entertaining evening and a good opportunity to raise the profile of CLEAR. I’m back next week for another session entitled “How the World’s View of the Drugs ‘war’ is Changing”.
Evidently My Work Is Succeeding!
I have my very own hate website! Somebody has gone to a great deal of time and trouble to put up a site all about me, seeking to… well I’m not sure what actually but you can judge for yourself: http://peterreynoldsmonitor.wordpress.com/.
I am hugely flattered and inspired by this. Why would anyone go to all this trouble if my work wasn’t having a real and significant impact?
And this hasn’t been put together by some numpty. I’m afraid it’s way, way beyond the ability of the LCA old guard. Whoever the author is, he or she can write, spell and even construct a coherent sentence. The site is well put together.
Of course it is abusive, defamatory and infringes my intellectual property and copyrights from beginning to end. I will be writing to WordPress asking them to take it down for those reasons – but not just yet, please allow me to revel in the flattery and attention just a little longer!
I think we can all recognise that this is a mark of progress. For someone to use their evident intelligence and ability to attack me like this means I am succeeding.
I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I never have been. All my experience of life teaches me that it’s cock up then cover up that is the reality behind most conspiracy theories. However, I have been persuaded recently that there may well be undercover police or intelligence activity in the cannabis community. It was the revelations about the undercover cop in the climate change movement that convinced me. I mean the cannabis lobby has made so little progress and there’s been so much infighting. How can so many people campaign for so long about something that is so self-evidently wrong and make no progress at all?
So this could well be undercover activity promoted by a government that wants to defend its policies. I’ve been accused of being an undercover cop myself. Derek Williams of UKCIA has enjoyed laying into me and questioning my past but I don’t think this is Derek. It has some of his hallmarks and he has the ability but I give him credit for more integrity than that and he’s been very supportive to me about CLEAR and recent developments.
Anyway, the longer this goes on the more comfort we can take that we are making progress. I certainly won’t be bothering to read the nonsense that’s being published. It’s all innuendo, suggestion and “maybe” and “perhaps” and “possibly”. In fact, it rather reminds me of reading another report on cannabis and psychosis except that the courageous seeker after truth who has written it is grovelling in cowardly anonymity. Let me be clear (!), I’ll happily answer any question about me or my past including the darker and more unhappy times (yes, I am human!) but not to some internet troll. Let the author of this hate site publish his or her name, picture, email address and location online as I do and I’ll happily answer any questions.
Of course, the real disappointment will be that I don’t have any skeletons in my closet. Oh, I have skeletons for sure but they’re all out in the open.
So that’s enough. I won’t dignify this sordid little trickster by any further comment. I am hugely flattered though, encouraged and inspired. The war on prohibition is making progress!
The Future Of Cannabis In Britain Is CLEAR
Last Thursday, 24th March 2011, the latest ballot of the membership of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance closed. By a two-thirds to one-third majority the members voted to adopt a new constitution and to change the party’s name. From that moment on we are known as Cannabis Law Reform or CLEAR.
We have moved away from the use of the word “legalise” because it is interpreted as meaning a free for all. It scares people, particularly politicians and the media and we, as a party, now understand that these are the people we need to influence if we are to advance our cause.
We have also refined and sharpened our aims and objectives. They are now simple, direct and clear:
- To end the prohibition of cannabis.
- To promote as a matter of urgency and compassion the prescription of medicinal cannabis by doctors.
- To introduce a system of regulation for the production and supply of cannabis based on facts and evidence.
- To encourage the production and use of industrial hemp.
- To educate and inform about the uses and benefits of cannabis.
Medicinal cannabis is our spearhead. We seek an end to prohibition for everyone but we demand immediate provision for those who need cannabis as medicine. It is an obscene and evil shame on our nation that so many who suffer are in fear of arrest and prison for using a medicine that transforms their lives.
We will build a new and effective brand and campaign. We are reasonable, responsible, respectable members of society from all walks of life and professions. We are discriminated against by an irrational and absurd policy. Cannabis is a wonderful thing. It is relatively harmless but it is a psychoactive substance and needs to be respected. It’s medicinal value is unparalleled but it also offers wonderful recreational, spiritual and creative nourishment. The relatively young science of cannabinoids now explains why cannabis has been treasured and used by mankind since the dawn of time. Prohibition is a ridiculous policy. The truth about cannabis is clear.
We intend to build a substantial membership. Annual subscriptions have been cut to £5.00 and for concessions £1.00. We ask everyone to make a payment of £10 towards campaign funding but money will not be an obstacle to anyone joining. Please show your support for our campaign and join CLEAR. Within the next few days we will launch a membership drive with the simplest way to sign up being payment by text message.
We will be fielding candidates in council and parliamentary elections all over the UK. We do not expect to win many seats but we intend our campaign to be given the respect and attention it deserves. We will seek electoral pacts with other parties who are prepared to sign up to our aims. If you would like to stand as a candidate, please get in touch. We also need voluntary workers all over the country.
We have exciting campaigns on the way that communicate the scientific truth about cannabis and demolish the scare stories and prejudice that is so widespread. We will never let another ridiculous tabloid story pass without challenging it. We will not allow our political leaders to get away with untruths and propaganda without calling them to account.
We will campaign for an end to the ludicrous waste of law enforcement resources on cannabis and for a regulated system of production that will exclude organised crime and the evils of violence and human trafficking that prohibition causes. We will educate users about cannabinoid content, different strains, varieties and methods of use. We will promote regulation to ensure quality, safety and restriction of sales to adults only.
We already have solid data that proves a tax and regulate regime in Britain would produce a net gain to the economy of at least £6 billion per annum, freeing up police to concentrate on real crime and massively reducing the harms caused by prohibition.
Despite the fact that most people in Britain have used cannabis to no ill effect and that between two and ten million people have it as a regular part of their lives, the cannabis campaign has failed to make any real progress. Now is when that changes. The future of cannabis in Britain is CLEAR.
We will release more details about our campaign in the near future.
The truth about cannabis is CLEAR.
The Moral Imperative
When innocent men, women and children are being slaughtered and we have the ability to intervene then we are obliged to do so. Anyone who stands against that, who quibbles over the difficulties and the consequences is a coward. This is an absolute.
If a man stands in front of you and puts a gun to the head of a child you must stop him. I don’t care whether his name is Gaddafi, Mugabe, Bush, Cameron or James Bond. There are times when a line must be drawn. A position that must be held, at any cost.
Our dreadful tolerance of the atrocities in Bahrain and of the violent repression in Saudi Arabia cannot be an excuse for failing to act in Libya. Why do we maintain any military if we are not prepared to use it for defence against evil?
We must reject, even despise, those that stand in the way of doing, simply, what is right.
“War On Drugs Has Failed, Say Former Heads Of MI5, CPS And BBC”, The Daily Telegraph, 21st March 2011
The “war on drugs” has failed and should be abandoned in favour of evidence-based policies that treat addiction as a health problem, according to prominent public figures including former heads of MI5 and the Crown Prosecution Service.
Drug availability and use has increased with up to 250 million people worldwide using narcotics such as cannabis, cocaine and heroin
Leading peers – including prominent Tories – say that despite governments worldwide drawing up tough laws against dealers and users over the past 50 years, illegal drugs have become more accessible.
Vast amounts of money have been wasted on unsuccessful crackdowns, while criminals have made fortunes importing drugs into this country.
The increasing use of the most harmful drugs such as heroin has also led to “enormous health problems”, according to the group.
The MPs and members of the House of Lords, who have formed a new All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform, are calling for new policies to be drawn up on the basis of scientific evidence.
It could lead to calls for the British government to decriminalise drugs, or at least for the police and Crown Prosecution Service not to jail people for possession of small amounts of banned substances.
Their intervention could receive a sympathetic audience in Whitehall, where ministers and civil servants are trying to cut the numbers and cost of the prison population. The Justice Secretary, Ken Clarke, has already announced plans to help offenders kick drug habits rather than keeping them behind bars.
The former Labour government changed its mind repeatedly on the risks posed by cannabis use and was criticised for sacking its chief drug adviser, Prof David Nutt, when he claimed that ecstasy and LSD were less dangerous than alcohol.
The chairman of the new group, Baroness Meacher – who is also chairman of an NHS trust – told The Daily Telegraph: “Criminalising drug users has been an expensive catastrophe for individuals and communities.
“In the UK the time has come for a review of our 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act. I call on our Government to heed the advice of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime that drug addiction should be recognised as a health problem and not punished.
“We have the example of other countries to follow. The best is Portugal which has decriminalised drug use for 10 years. Portugal still has one of the lowest drug addiction rates in Europe, the trend of young people’s drug addiction is falling in Portugal against an upward trend in the surrounding countries, and the Portuguese prison population has fallen over time.”
Lord Lawson, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1983 and 1989, said: “I have no doubt that the present policy is a disaster.
“This is an important issue, which I have thought about for many years. But I still don’t know what the right answer is – I have joined the APPG in the hope that it may help us to find the right answer.”
Other high-profile figures in the group include Baroness Manningham-Buller, who served as Director General of MI5, the security service, between 2002 and 2007; Lord Birt, the former Director-General of the BBC who went on to become a “blue-sky thinker” for Tony Blair; Lord Macdonald of River Glaven, until recently the Director of Public Prosecutions; and Lord Walton of Detchant, a former president of the British Medical Association and the General Medical Council.
Current MPs on the group include Peter Bottomley, who served as a junior minister under Margaret Thatcher; Mike Weatherley, the newly elected Tory MP for Hove and Portslade; and Julian Huppert, the Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge.
The group’s formation coincides with the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which paved the way for a war on drugs by describing addiction as a “serious evil”, attempting to limit production for medicinal and scientific uses only, and coordinating international action against traffickers.
The peers and MPs say that despite governments “pouring vast resources” into the attempt to control drug markets, availability and use has increased, with up to 250 million people worldwide using narcotics such as cannabis, cocaine and heroin in 2008.
By Martin Beckford, Health Correspondent
They believe the trade in illegal drugs makes more than £200 billion a year for criminals and terrorists, as well as destabilising entire nations such as Afghanistan and Mexico.
As a result, the all-party group is working with the Beckley Foundation, a charitable trust, to review current policies and scientific evidence in order to draw up proposed new ways to deal with the problem.
Cameron On Cannabis Part 3
This is part three of the story but, in a way, it’s just the beginning.
The story is our prime minister, David Cameron, the leader of our country and his recent interview about cannabis. It was on Al Jazeera in association with YouTube and is one of a series of interviews with world leaders. You can watch the video and read the previous parts here:
Mr Cameron, It’s You Who Needs Education About Cannabis
Don’t Let Cameron Get Away With His Untruths About Cannabis. Write A Letter!
So I wrote to Mr Cameron asking for a meeting about several factual inaccuracies in his answers. I know that many of you wrote in support.
There are four crucial issues involved:
Mr Cameron said that cannabis is:
1.”incredibly damaging”
2. “very, very toxic”
3. “and leads to, in many cases, huge mental health problems”
And then, with regard to medicinal cannabis, he said:
4. “That is a matter for the science and medical authorities to determine and they are free to make independent determinations about that.”
Now these are all inaccurate and false statements. Mr Cameron is, at the very least, misinformed. Clearly, there is an absolute obligation on him to correct these errors and to do so immediately.
When I hadn’t received a reply after about a week, on 9th March 2011 I wrote again:
Dear Mr Cameron,
I wrote to you just over a week ago (copy attached) asking for a meeting concerning your Al Jazeera YouTube interview about cannabis.
I represent a very substantial body of opinion in Britain which is deeply concerned at how inaccurate and misleading your words were. I know that you will have received many letters supporting my request for a meeting with you.
I still have faith that you do want to take account of public opinion and promote a policy that is fact and evidence based as well as having the consent of the majority. Please will you now agree to see me?
Personally, I am very worried when I see my prime minister speaking such untruths about a subject that I know about. It makes me wonder how accurate is your understanding of other issues. I hope that our economic, defence and social policy is being run on the basis of knowledge, rather than the misunderstanding you seem to have about cannabis.
Please can we arrange a meeting?
Yours sincerely,
Peter Reynolds
I had written to Mr Cameron on LCA letterhead showing the LCA headquarters address in Surrey. I was a little surprised then to receive a reply at my home address the following day!
Click To Enlarge
My response dated 16th March 2011:
Dear Mr Cameron,
Thank you for your reply dated 7th March 2011 which crossed with my letter of 9th March 2011.
With respect, this question is not for the Home Office. It is you who made the inaccurate and misleading statements about cannabis during your YouTube interview. Only you can correct the errors that you made.
In any event, I know what the Home Office will say. I could probably write their response myself so often have I seen the tired, formulaic replies they give to enquirers. I know their phrases off by heart!
Last week during the debate in the House of Lords on a Royal Commission into drug policy, every speaker condemned government policy. It was clear that Baroness Neville-Jones was embarrassed at having to defend what is an absurd and irrational policy that has little support in the country and has no basis in facts or evidence.
It is vital that the government steps back from its bigoted, wasteful and deeply damaging drugs policy. You are wasting billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money, creating and supporting organised crime and causing immense harm to our society. Specifically on cannabis, and in direct contradiction to the untruths you told on YouTube, you are denying hundreds of thousands of people access to the medicine they need.
Mr Cameron, we are respectable and responsible citizens who are being persecuted and oppressed by an iniquitous and irrational policy of prohibition. It seems that you can only defend your policy by telling untruths. That cannot be allowed to stand.
Please will you meet with me so that I can explain just how inaccurate your remarks on YouTube were?
Yours sincerely,
Peter Reynolds
Peter Reynolds 