Peter Reynolds

Ask yourself, why would anyone go to such lengths to discredit me?

Why, at a time when the cannabis campaign is enjoying more success than ever with thousands of people joining together as never before, why do a few individuals go to such extraordinary lengths to smear my reputation.?

Out of 477 articles on my personal website, written over a period of three and a half years, two articles have been held up and misrepresented in the most despicable and dishonest way to accuse me of being a racist and a homophobe.  Laughably I’ve also been accused of being a member of the EDL, attending an EDL demonstration in Weymouth and of selling Nazi memorabilia on a Swansea market stall!  These are lies and nonsense.

Of course, in a civilised, adult world what people do in response to articles they disagree with is post comments and discuss – and some of those discussions become pretty heated.  I’ve been accused of being anti-Muslim, anti-Jewish and for and against just about every issue you care to mention.   My writing was intended to be provocative and controversial.  Cannabis was only one of the subjects that I covered on my website and when I was elected leader of CLEAR I wrote:

My thoughts here will be few and far between now. My focus is on CLEAR and I am learning to moderate my opinion because I have chosen a single issue. If  I strike out in a particular direction I divert my own and others’ energy from the cause.

The accusations of racisim and homophobia are entirely false.  I could present a host of evidence to prove my “innocence” but the trolls and liars twist everything.  My oldest and best friend IS a Jamaican.  If Terry got his hands on some of the individuals that have been making foul slurs against me, they would not enjoy Jamaican justice.  Two examples though – I used to live on a road called The Chase, just off Clapham Common.  When the Gay Pride event was held there in, I think it was 95 or 96, I was a steward.  When more recently I lived in Notting Hill and all my friends and neighbours were black, they used to call me a “wigga”, a “propa black white man”.

So, I say again, ask  yourself why would anyone go to such lengths to discredit me at a time when under my leadership, CLEAR is achieving so much success?  Why would they set up websites, multiple Facebook pages and groups and engage in hours and hours of trolling, abuse and misrepresentation?

I’ll tell you why.  It’s because the individuals behind this are big time growers and dealers who rely on prohibition to maintain the ludicrously high price of cannabis and fill their own greedy pockets.

They pretend to be pro-cannabis because they seek to subvert, disrupt and undermine the cannabis campaign.  They’ve been doing it for years.

Many believe that the main protagonist has an even more sinister role because he appears to be teflon coated when it comes to the criminal justice system.  For all the times he has been arrested and charged, he has always walked away while others round him have been sent to prison.

He claims not to live in Britain anymore but the man is a liar and a fraud.  He lives off his past reputation when he claims to have been growing and providing cannabis to medicinal users free of charge (a good cover story!).  This is false.  I have several emails from people who he used to supply who tell me that he used to charge them £5.00 per gram plus, believe it or not, next day delivery and packaging charges. At the time that price was top whack if not more.

It is extraordinary that over many years, every single time there has been disruption and conflict in the cannabis community he has been there, goading, provoking and fermenting divisiveness.  Back in 2010 , when I managed to get MPs, members of the House of Lords and even the government’s chief drugs advisor to sign up to the BMCR medicinal cannabis initiative, he waded straight in and did all he could to destroy it by snide insinuation, bickering and negativity.

The man is a charlatan.  Why would anyone go to such extraordinary efforts and lengths to disrupt the CLEAR campaign?  Now you know.  Grass is an old term for weed but perhaps one that is most appropriate in this case.

Tribalism Is the Enemy Of Reform

Some of the more gullible members of the cannabis community have been taken in by these attacks against me but I am greatly encouraged that by far the majority have not.  The messages, emails and comments supporting me have far outweighed those against.  Thank you to all.  I WILL stay strong.  I will stay focused. The idea is to distract and divert me from the campaign.  That is not going to happen.

Being at at the centre of a trollstorm during the season of goodwill has not been pleasant.  My mother and my sons have been very upset to see the abuse, lies and hate filled propaganda about me and my leadership of CLEAR posted on the internet.

These people aren’t engaged in campaigning for cannabis.  They’re pursuing their own selfish, jealous and truly pitiful agendas by attacking the success that CLEAR has achieved under my leadership.

The cannabis campaign has failed to make any progress over the last 10 years.  A lot of this is due to sheer incompetence and laziness.  When I was elected leader I discovered that literally nothing was being done by the LCA and any initiative that was proposed was shut down by the “co-ordinator” he that “does not want to lead and does not want to be led”.   The darker, subversive forces set out to fragment and cause conflict within the campaign and that suits their wallets very well indeed, thank you very much.

Most of all though it’s about tribalism.   This is what has held us back for so long.  The idea that if you’re in favour of cannabis being legally available then you must be on the left of politics, you must be anti-Thatcher and you must have at least three piercings – oh and you must not, under any circumstances, wear a tie – plus many other ridiculous prejudices.  These people think they’re cool and hip and smart but they’re not, they’re dumb, bigoted and prejudiced, just like a Daily Mail journalist only they’ve got a joint hanging off their lip.  Not so much Andy Capp, more Hopeless Hypocritical Hippy.

This is why so many were confused when back in Cardiff at the Million Marijuana march in May CLEAR launched the idea of “Hippies in suits”.  These politically incompetent and naive people don’t really want you to be able to smoke a joint if you wear a suit.  They are in fact as prejudiced and discriminatory as the attitudes they pretend to fight against. CLEAR welcomes members and supporters from all points on the political compass. We aim to be mainstream, not “alternative”.

All my life I have stood for liberty, truth and justice and against prejudice, discrimination and bigotry.  Unlike the trolls I am a strong believer in freedom of speech and expression.   However, the foul language that was posted on my and CLEAR’s Facebook page was horrifying. These are people who can’t express themselves without using disgusting swear words.  They are as much victims of the mendacious individuals behind this hate campaign as anyone.

To those who feel offended by my opinions. I don’t mean to cause offence so I am sorry if I have. That doesn’t mean that I retract them though! I am entitled to my opinion as is everyone else.

There are of course many more honourable and decent people who have been involved in the campaign in the past rather than those who work against it but it is this tired, destructive tribalism that has ruined their efforts.

So tomorrow Britain returns to work and so do I.  I shall not make any further comment on the dreadful events of the last few days and I advise all of you not to feed the trolls.  That is the only thing that gives them any power.  Ignore them.  I will fight tirelessly to end the prohibition of cannabis, most particularly for those who need it as medicine.