Posts Tagged ‘civil servant’
UK Drugs Policy Equivalent To A Grenfell Tower Tragedy Every Fortnight, Yet Ministers Prescribe More Of the Same.
The scandal that is UK drugs policy deepened last month as the Home Office published what must be one of the most irresponsible government reports ever.
The 2017 Drug Strategy adds nothing of any significance to the same document published in 2010. Since then, deaths from drug overdose have reached an all time high of 2,479 (latest 2015 data). There has been an explosion in highly toxic new psychoactive substances and the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 has increased harms, deaths, associated crime and potency, exactly as was predicted, warnings the government chose to ignore. The government has refused to consider or take any expert advice on introducing legal access to medical cannabis, something that virtually all other modern democracies are moving forward on. Its continuing policy on cannabis defies scientific evidence and real-life experience from places where reform has been implemented. It also supports and encourages the criminal market, encourages street dealing, dangerous hidden cannabis farms and the production of poor quality, low-CBD, so-called ‘skunk’ cannabis.
Do not doubt that this dreadful toll of death could be drastically reduced, at least halved, by a more responsible, progressive and evidence-based policy. We should treat those with the disease of addiction humanely, not criminalising them for their drug use, prescribing pharmaceutical heroin where necessary, introducing drug consumption rooms and giving far more weight to harm reduction rather than the unrealistic and ideological pursuit of abstinence. That would deal with the problem of drug deaths but millions more could have their lives improved, billions in public expenditure could be saved and many divisions and causes of conflict in our society could be swept away by a new approach to drugs policy in general.
The subsequent drugs debate in Parliament exposed the brazen dishonesty and deceit of Home Office ministers. The home secretary, Amber Rudd, couldn’t be bothered to show up so it was left to Sarah Newton, MP. Her performance consisted only of lies, deceit and trickery, the like of which I have rarely seen before. For many years, the Home Office has been systematically misleading and misinforming the public about drugs but here was a minister, clearly, deliberately and without compunction, misleading Parliament. As with so much of the wickedness enforced by the Home Office, Ms Newton is now beyond redemption. There can be no doubt at all about the depth of her dishonesty and the effect on the lives of millions of people should, surely, amount to a very serious crime. Its consequences are far, far more serious than the failure of national and local government that led to the Grenfell Tower tragedy but they are caused by the same mindset of arrogance, prejudice and refusal to listen to expert evidence.
If there is any reason behind what comes out of the Home Office on drugs then it is most certainly corrupt. It may not be plain brown envelopes changing hands but at best it is negligence, failure to act responsibly and in the interests of the public. This is corruption and there is no doubt it is firmly embedded amongst Home Office civil servants. Their reputation is in the gutter: other government departments, universities and research institutions, drug licence applicants and holders, politicians – they all report stubborn, intransigent, uncooperative conduct. While giving evidence to a Parliamentary Committee a year or so ago, I was nervous about how trenchant was my criticism of the Home Office. I needn’t have been. Every member of the panel nodded and agreed with me that Home Office is impossible to deal with.
Nothing can absolve ministers of their responsibility but after nearly 40 years I have seen many of them come and go while the Home Office remains exactly the same. There is a culture amongst the civil service that resists any move towards any drug reform using whatever methods it deems necessary. This is nothing less than subversion of our democracy and it is senior civil servants engaged in this treachery.
There is blood on the hands of Sarah Newton, Amber Rudd and, of course, the former home secretary, Theresa May. That’s on the top of the misery, deprivation, violence, poverty, crime and ill health that their policies cause.
Change is inevitable but only after many more have died and others have had their lives blighted or ruined by this oppressive, unjust persecution. Although the drugs debate was once again sparsely attended, it was better than the last time the subject was discussed and more MPs from all parties are at last beginning to see the light. The Labour Party remains disgraced. Its record is even worse than the Conservatives and despite some positive words from Corbyn about medicinal cannabis, this is not reflected in policy and flatly contradicted by John McDonnell. Diane Abbott, as shadow home secretary, was truly pathetic in the debate and she offered no real opposition at all to the government.
From the campaign point of view it’s very disheartening but reformers should not despair. We are making steady progress, not just among MPs but also within the media. Even the Murdoch press, the Mail and all the tabloids have changed their position. The darkest time of the night is just before dawn and I do believe that shortly we will see the first glimmers of light. We are on the cusp of change and legal access to medical cannabis will almost certainly come first.
Vote For Independence On 23rd June. Vote For The Broad, Sunlit Uplands.
The stitch-up between big business, politicians, civil servants and bankers should be crystal clear to anyone with eyes and ears. It is vital to the future of our children and grandchildren that we vote to leave the EU in a month’s time. The alternative is that we subsume ourselves forever under the yoke of transnational business, self-serving, corrupt governments intent on widening the divide between ‘us’ and ‘them’.
Intelligent people, including, to my amazement, fellow members of the Liberal Democrats, are intent on relinquishing all principles of liberalism and democracy – and for what?
All the Project Fear scaremongering, the ganging-up of the CBI, the Bank of England and all the rest of the establishment flunkies, reveals exactly what is going on. Just as we were lied to and deceived over the need for war in Iraq, we are being led by deception and falsehood into an ever-closer union that will fill the pockets and enhance the power of corporate political interests.
This referendum is not about the economy. It is about much bigger and more important principles of self-determination, democracy and freedom. I believe that such principles will also, in the end, bring us more prosperity.
Leaving the EU is most important for our children. Young people themselves must vote for opportunity. Be for Europe but not the EU. Be for co-operation but without a straightjacket. Be ourselves
The political elite wants it. The parasite outsourcing companies that suck up billions in taxpayers’ money want it. The civil servants in 28 countries want it. When you see David Cameron, Harriet Harman, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, George Osborne, Michael Heseltine all want it, ask yourself why?
It’s a stitch-up! You’re being lied to, intimidated and deceived. Independence Day is 23rd June. Make sure you make the right choice.
The Disaster That Is UK Drugs Policy.
The more harmful, dangerous and addictive a drug is the more important that its availability should be legally regulated, otherwise, inevitably, a criminal market is created with massive consequential health and social harms.
In the UK, before the Misuse of Drugs Act was introduced in 1971, we had around 3,000 problematic drug users. We now have 350,000. Yet successive governments carry on in the same direction.
The vested interests of Big Booze have been supported and encouraged by weak politicians, leading to lighter and lighter regulation of the most dangerous drug of all. Meanwhile, relatively harmless and beneficial substances like cannabis have been abandoned to street dealers and organised crime, blighting communities and involving children in both dealing and use – just as happened with alcohol prohibition in the US.
All the evidence is before us and the most effective policies for reducing harm from drugs are very clear. What we need to do is sweep aside outdated, out of touch organisations like the Home Office and dinosaurs like the present Home Secretary, Theresa May. Yet since 1971, there have been a few intelligent and progressive ministers in the Home Office. Surely it is the irresponsible and obstinate influence of senior civil servants that has prevented governments from moving forward with reform?
Drugs policy must be based on evidence, not pressure from tabloid newspapers, the alcohol industry, scared and ignorant politicians and self-serving civil servants and quangos.
Parliament is now obligated to debate Caroline Lucas’ e-petition formally to evaluate the effectiveness of current policy. We must move rapidly and radically thereafter towards a solution that will work and put aside the idiocy of the last 43 years.
UPDATE On Legal Medicinal Cannabis In Britain
My article on Jim Starr and his medicine has been bouncing around the internet for nearly two weeks now. It was offered to every quality national newspaper and The Daily Mail but none have seen fit even to cover the story. The Daily Telegraph, to its credit, covered the BMJ article about how cannabis prohibition in the US is counterproductive. Other than that all the press can be bothered with is trivia about celebrities and cannabis. The truly important news that tens of thousands of people now have legal access to the medicine they need is of no interest to the erudite editors of Fleet Street. I wonder what their readers would think?
The feedback I have received has been overwhelming. I know of hundreds of people who have written to the Home Office asking for confirmation that they may follow in Jim’s footsteps. Many have telephoned and it seems a different story or excuse has been given to each one. What is certain is that the prohibitionists and legislators who care not one jot for others’ pain and suffering are in disarray.
I can now add further clarification and evidence in support of the rights of those who need medicinal cannabis. Surely now those cruel politicians and civil servants who are depriving so many British citizens of the medicine they need must relent. The truth is out!
1. Under the United Nations Single Convention On Narcotic Drugs, the UN International Narcotics Control Board determines the documentation required for the transport of such medicines across international borders as, simply, “a valid medical prescription”.
2. Under article 23 of the Geneva Convention (which specifically applies to all parties even outside time of war), protection is provided for the transport of medicines across borders.
3. Article 75 of the Schengen Agreement also provides protection for persons to carry their medicine throughout the EU. The UK has been bound by this since 1st January 2005. In support of this, I refer to the proceedings in the European Parliament on 1st December 2009 on the Right To Freedom Of Movement In The EU, in which the European Commission Advocate stated unequivocally that article 75 of Schengen is “binding” on the UK. I also refer to the letter from the Home Office dated 14th December 2009 to Mr Noel McCullagh concerning Bedrocan medicinal herbal cannabis.
UPDATE 9th November 2010
Noel McCullagh has asked me to remove the reproduction of the letter to him from the Home Office. He originally published the letter on this site himself but now for reasons only known to him he wants it removed. Suffice to say that in it the Home Office confirmed he was entitled to import Bedrocan herbal medicinal cannabis under the protection of a Schengen certificate.
Lord Young Talks Common Sense
If I want to do something stupid like breaking my leg, that’s up to me. It’s my life!
He was talking about the health & safety madness promoted and adored by jobsworth civil servants. See here.
Lord Young, does that mean that I can smoke a joint without the nanny state sticking its nose in where it’s not wanted?
And Evan Davis, everybody’s favourite gay gatekeeper of the Dragon’s Den, thought the same thing too.
See here.
Let’s Put Dave The Taxman On The Dole
Who is this pompous, conceited, arrogant, Boris Johnson lookalike?
He’s Dave Hartnett, Permanent Secretary at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. He’s refusing to apologise for getting tax deductions wrong for six million British taxpayers.
Just who the hell does he think he is? We’re back to Sir Humphrey and lazy, fatcat incompetence and corruption again. You’d think the civil service would have managed to drag itself entirely out of the 19th century by now wouldn’t you? Not this prize plonker. Maybe because his overgrown schoolboy, pudding basin haircut is just as messy as Boris’ he thinks he’ll endear himself to the British public? Hogwash. He’s the very opposite of Boris. He represents everything that’s bad about Britain – self-satisfied, smug, deluded, living in the past.
I say let’s get him sacked. Let’s create the biggest outcry against a useless civil sevant that the country has ever seen. Let’s lose Mr Hartnett his job. Let’s put him in his place – in the queue at the Jobcentre. Then we’ll see who’s a cocky, scruffy, little git won’t we?
Who Is The Unfairest Of Them All?
Amidst the roar of gunfire from the deliberate, calculated massacre by evil Israeli stormtroopers and the tragedy of a crazed lunatic in Cumbria, there is yet another political scandal that cannot be allowed to pass.
John Fingleton, Chief Executive of the Office Of Fair Trading, the man who let the British banks off the £40 billion they stole from British consumers, turns out to be the highest paid civil servant in the country. See here. This is the most unfair trading of all and makes a mockery of any concept of “fairness”.
He is responsible for the disastrous failure to protect British consumers from the greedy banker robbers who plundered their accounts with outrageous and illegal charges. He led the badly organised legal challenge to the banks thievery which the Supreme Court turned away as misdirected. The Supreme Court then invited the OFT to revert to them on a different basis but for reasons that have never been properly explained, Fingleton just gave up. See here for the full story.
This man is not only unfair but incompetent. No one is responsible for more unfair treatment of British consumers than he. It is a scandal that he is even still in his job let alone paid at such an exorbitant rate.