Posts Tagged ‘cannabis’
Cameron On Cannabis Part 6
Cameron On Cannabis Part 5 is here.
David Cameron’s mistakes about university places, immigration and cannabis have been on my mind over the Easter holiday. Given the huge resources he has to ensure that his information is correct, it’s not really acceptable for our prime minister to be so error prone. If the problem is that his attempts at spin are not working and he’s deliberately telling untruths but being caught out, well perhaps that’s even more worrying.
Whichever may be the case, and I’m ready to give Mr Cameron the benefit of the doubt about his sincerity, we are entitled to call him to account. I decided to give him another prod about the errors and mistakes he’s making about cannabis.
Dear Mr Cameron,
I refer to my last letter of 5th April 2011.
The statements you made about cannabis in your Al Jazeera YouTube interview were inaccurate and misleading. Please will you now correct them?
“Incredibly damaging…very, very toxic…leads to, in many cases, huge mental health problems”
This is simply not true Mr Cameron. Professor Les Iversen, chair of the ACMD, your chief drugs advisor, is on the record, repeatedly, stating that cannabis is very, very low in toxicity and relatively safe. Furthermore, all the experts agree that the risks to mental health are very, very small, certainly much less than alcohol or tobacco.
On the medicinal use of cannabis you said:
“…the science and medical authorities…are free to make independent determinations about that.”
This is also untrue Mr Cameron. The Home Office stands obstinately in the way of medicinal use despite overwhelming, peer reviewed scientific evidence. It denies the relief of a safe and inexpensive medicine to thousands who are trapped in pain, suffering and disability. This is a cruel policy and a disgraceful shame on our nation.
Please will you now correct these untruths Mr Cameron? They were your words. You were not advised by the Home Office. CLEAR represents the interests of at least six million regular users of cannabis in Britain, thousands of whom use it as medicine. We are reasonable, responsible, respectable citizens and taxpayers and we are entitled to insist that our prime minister speaks the truth
Recently, you also spoke misleading words about cannabis and mental health on “Jamie’s Dream School” and you said that “…if you legalise drugs you will make them even more prevalent than they are”, yet this too is contradicted by all the evidence in Portugal, Holland and the USA. Even the No 10 Strategy Unit Drugs Policy Project reported in 2003 that “There is no causal relationship between availability and incidence…problematic drug use is not driven by changes in availability or price.”
This time though you were talking directly to young people, those who your government says it is most important to send the correct message to. Mr Cameron, the only message that government consistently sends to young people is that it does not tell them the truth about drugs.
Please Mr Cameron, we are entitled to expect that you tell the truth and that you correct errors when they are made. These statements were not matters of opinion nor of interpretation, They are determined by scientific evidence. Will you please now correct them?
Yours sincerely,
Peter Reynolds
Cameron On Cannabis Part 5
You can see the previous instalment here: Cameron On Cannabis Part 4.
I am still waiting for a further reply from Mr Cameron.
In the meantime, the subject of cannabis cropped up again on “Jamie’s Dream School” a Channel 4 programme in which a group of young people are given a second chance at education. Mr Cameron was challenged by the inspirational, 17 year old Henry Gatehouse, who proposed legalisation and a £1 per gram cannabis tax.
Oh Yes?
Mr Cameron responded:
“We concluded it would be wrong to make cannabis legal for two, I think, quite good reasons. One is, there is a link between that and mental health issues so it’s not harmless. And I think the second thing is that if you legalise drugs you will make them even more prevalent than they are. So I don’t think legalising is a good idea.”
Another inaccurate and misleading statement from Mr Cameron. This time though I think we should be even more concerned. Successive governments have stated that their main concern about drugs policy is children and young people and that they must be careful to “send the right messages”.
Nobody's Fool
In fact, the only message that governments have successfully delivered to young people again and again is that they never tell the truth about drugs. While the Home Office throws millions every year at the Talk To Frank campaign, the only thing it achieves is for ministers to pat themselves on the back and for the self-serving drug support industry to soak up more public money. Frank is held in complete contempt by young people. The misinformation and untruths told about, in particular, cannabis, ecstasy and mephedrone are a scandal and a grave disservice to young people.
Of course, for children and young people, the use of any psychoactive substance in a still-developing brain has the potential for harm. Cannabis should only be used by adults. Cameron is distorting the truth though. The links between cannabis and mental health are trivial compared to those with alcohol, cigarettes or even energy drinks. It is dishonest and irresponsible to give such a misleading answer to a young man who has clearly done his research and knows the truth.
Cameron’s second reason though has no basis in fact at all. All the evidence is that where a system of regulation of drugs is introduced, use goes down. This is clearly proven in Holland, Portugal and the USA. Cameron’s assertion is entirely false and, I regret to say, he must know that it is. In Britain, which now has one of the most repressive drug policies in the world, young people’s consumption of drugs is one of the highest anywhere.
Once again, Cameron reveals the dishonesty at the heart of his government’s drugs policy. This time though he is misleading and misinforming our young people. What greater mistake can he make?
The Inane Incompetence Of A Prohibitionist Politician
On the back foot all the way through, desperately trying to dig himself out of a hole, eventually breathing a sigh of relief as he thinks he’s blagged his way through it.
The utter hypocrisy, lack of sincerity, evident embarrassment at the idea he has to support but he doesn’t know why.
In fact, Stephen Harper, prime minister of Canada, your stumbling, faltering, clumsy words are as eloquent as it is possible to be AGAINST prohibition!
CLEAR Opens For Membership
Today, Cannabis Law Reform opened for membership.
We aim to end the prohibition of cannabis, urgently enable the prescription of medicinal cannabis by doctors and introduce a properly regulated supply chain that will minimise health and social harms whilst protecting children and the vulnerable.
The harm caused by prohibition and the colossal amount of money wasted is a disgrace that stupid, careless politicians refuse to face up to for fear of the tabloids.
They are cowards. Self-serving, manipulative, science-denying, grovelling in fear that the Daily Mail might challenge any intelligent reform.
It is our duty and responsibility to fight against this terrible, misguided, destructive policy.
To join CLEAR will cost you just £5.00 per annum and only £1.00 if you are a student, on benefits or a senior citizen. If you can give more then please do so because we need all the funds we can gather to fight against the alcohol, tobacco and Big Pharma lobbies. Aside from MPs’ ignorance and fear, they are subject to aggressive and lavish dissuasion from these vested interests. We have formidable enemies to contend with.
Please join CLEAR today. We welcome members of all other political parties, all persuasions and beliefs. Our single issue is cannabis. We respect all your individual opinions on other issues but join with us on this.
Please join CLEAR today. Go to our website and sign up now.
www.clear-uk.org
Paedophiles Walk Free. Cannabis Farmers Go To Jail.
Teesside Crown Court
Hall Of Shame
This is the state of Britain today.
CHILD SEX PERVERT 1 has 80,000 images of children. See here.
CHILD SEX PERVERT 2 offers £100 for sex with underage child. See here.
CHILD SEX PERVERT 3 sends obscene texts to child. See here.
THREE CHILD SEX PERVERTS WALK FREE!
Christopher Olds grows £1,389 worth of cannabis.
He goes to jail for 15 months. See here.
Every one of us should hang our heads in shame that this is the way justice is served in Britain!
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!
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!
Peter Reynolds 