Saturday 7 December 2019

Saturday 30 November 2019

Inside My Hat and Other Heads, Artists and Writers ISBN 9781916310704

on AMAZON

Have you ever considered reading poetry and then thought what have poems to do with the real world?Inside the covers of this book are real life poems from real life poets.So what is a poet? Just a human, that isn’t only being but also saying and doing.OK, so what is a poem? Just words telling a story in a short rhyming or otherwise burst,words and images from inside our heads.Hope springs eternal and visions will spring from the pages herein.

by Mr Alun Buffry (Author), Ms Ariadne Snail (Author), Ms Melissa Doordaughter (Author), Mr Rocky van de Benderskum (Author), Ms Sarah Davis (Author), Ms Sarah Sativa (Author), Mr Winston Matthews (Author), Mr Phil Monk (Author), Mr Steve Cook (Author), Ms Jacqui Malkin (Illustrator)

Wednesday 2 October 2019

C’est N’est Pas Cher, Man by Alun Buffry (1977)

C’est N’est Pas Cher, Man
by
Alun Buffry (1977)

Mirhleft is a village grand,
Made of pink rock and yellow sand.

It’s good to lay besides the sea,
Or sit and watch, just you and me,
The sunset or the street outside,
Where nothing changes with the tide.

I dream that we can ride a bike,
Or catch a bus, even hitch-hike,
Up the valleys, over mountains,
In search of rivers deep and magic fountains.

Then I return into this room,
Where all the morn and afternoon,
We can lay and smoke and play,
Yet in this place one has to pay

Five dirhams a gram,
“C’est n’est pas cher, man!”

KATMANDONEIN by Alun Buffry (Nepal 1985)

KATMANDONEIN
by Alun Buffry
(Nepal 1985)

Now we've been in Katmandu a while.
Is it just the highness makes us smile?
Is it the atmosphere makes us light?
Or the mountains within our sight?

Lesley reckons people here take bigger steps!
Maybe they are all secret tantric cult adepts?
Anyway you look at it, they're hapy
Even if their ways are sometimes crappy!

How come everything here seems so cheap?
Yet money seems so hard to keep?
Don't seem to spend alot in any place
Just drifting round the city in a space.

Decided to stay here a few more days,
Smoking trying not to get out-hazed.
In the morning here if there is no sun,
Read a local Tantric yoga boo, it could be fun.

Monday 30 September 2019

PRAYING FOR A BUS by Alun Buffry (1985, India)

PRAYING FOR A BUS
by Alun Buffry (1985, India)

We left Delhi 4 P.M. today
To Kathmandu by bus
But midnight whilst still on the way
We stopped without a fuss.

It had been quite a bumpy ride
Through places without names
The seating wasn't very wide
No sleep, it was a shame.

Half day upon this bus we are
Frying in the heat,
This is no delux bus by far
It is a lying cheat.

Another bus soon coming here,
Well. that is what we're told,
Exactly when is not made clear,
No Indian is that bold.

Then still we're waiting on the bus,
Later on that day,
A Foreign girl invited us
To come along and pray.

"We'll do some prayers and puja chants
And maybe sing a song,
If that don't work we'll maybe dance
And bus will come along."

The bus to Kathmandu we think
Will much improve our mood,
And on the way, perhaps a drink,
And then a plate of food.

"Oh bus! Oh bus! Show us your magic!
Come and save this day,
For this trip we're on's become quite tragic..."
Oh! Now we're on our way!

Rajasthan Desert Song by Alun Buffry, 1985

Rajasthan Desert Song
by
Alun Buffry

Lesley and I went down to Rajasthan
Desert, with Salima, a camel riding man.
Through a morning trotting on,
Just the sound of Salima's songs.
Peahens, crows and tinkle bells,
Crowds of men at water wells,
Telling tales of who-knows-what
While we're wishing it not so hot.
Stop for lunch, a shady tree,
Eat some vegetable chapatti,
Drinking some chai, hot and sweet
Try to avoid the deadly heat.
All around us golden sand,
Shrubs and cacti about this land.
"Be careful please, where you sit,
"Cos desert's full of camel shit."

DIVISION: a poem by Alun Buffry, 1977

DIVISION
by
Alun Buffry (1977)

In this world, division
Makes one desire decision,
As if one were almighty God
Seeing all through mindless fog,

As if the choice we make is ours
To pick or simply smell the flowers,
Whether left or right to turn,
Whether to sleep, rest, play or learn.

Why can't we see that we are His,
He breathes,
He thinks
He moves
He lives.

TRYING TO FLY AND WONDERING WHY: a poem from Veranassi, 1985

TRYING TO FLY AND WONDERING WHY
by Alun Buffry (1985)

Varanasi airport is quite a dump.
It's run by a man who is quite a chump.
Now we cannot board the plane,
Later we will miss our train.
Money flowing down the drain,
India Airways fucked my brain.
Seems the way here is to cheat,
So the system you can beat,
Just don't let them squash your feet,
Push for schedules try to keep.
"Baksheesh - don't say that word here sir,
"We're all paid well by Indian Air
"And you don't know the system here."
"Well I think it fucking weird!"
In India, it's different, so we're told,
Totally corrupt since times of old.
No problem sir, your seats been sold,
Paid in Karma but now with gold.

Annapurna For Sale, a poem from Nepal 1985

Annapurna For Sale
by Alun Buffry (Nepal, 1985)

The calm serenity of Annapurna
Sweeps lazily over the town Pokhara;
People here have more time to smile,
Occasionally to come chat a while.
"Namaste, hello, good morning" they say
Then to business or change money.
Still, at least themselves they try to keep,
Yet their starting price is steep
"American, French, where you from?"
Like the opening line of a Nepalese song,
Which they teach in their local schools,
To say to tourists who like fools,
Are parted from their cash to soon,
As "Better prices before afternoon,
Or "First business I make today with you,
"So if you like one, why not buy two?"
Whether beggars or hallsres or honest men,
Want dollars, pounds or even yen.
As much as mountains beautiful
WE all need a living our stomachs to fill.
"Here we are, no problem way of life,
"Is she your friend or is she wife?
"You want charas or marid-u-are-na,
"Opium, mushroom or brown sugar?"
"What you want buy?", so often heard,
As if just looking is absurd.
It would be good to walk one day,
Without these offers filling our way,
To absorb life's energy so obviously close,
But then that's part of it, I s'pose.

Monday 16 September 2019

WAKING IN NEPAL a poem by Alun Buffry (1985)

WAKING IN NEPAL
by
Alun Buffry (1985)

Outside

Is a cloudy sky, bright sun between, a slight breeze,
The sound of one man chanting.

And all elsewhere a few notes on some type of magic flute -
A strange cacophony of bells and horns and clattering.
No two horns seem to sound the same.

A mother engine? sounds like a tractor - probably a bus!
Beep, beep, beep.

If I look out of the window I see tin rooftops,
Blimsen Tower, a glorious white standing before the blue;

And there - a temple, a pagoda, a woman sitting with washing lay out to dry,
Pigeons coo-ing, crows a-crowing, gardens growing,
Potted plants that people tend,

A bicycle rickshaw, a cow, a man with a bundle of wood on his head!
A cockerel crows as another motorbike passes 3 men trying to move a fridge,

Young girl, proud, staring into space,
Three boys rolling rubber wheels of glee amidst the rubble,
Whilst more look on admiringly.

Yet another dog - a tempo (three-wheeler) barking as two boys, hand-in-hand,
Laugh at a goat.

Cock crows, horns, far away mountainous silences
Surround the Monkey Temple,

Like a golden palace on the hill.
Behind - another hill.
Shame about the dusty haze.

Sunday 15 September 2019

The Cell, a poem by Alun Buffry, Cardiff Prison 1991

The Cell
by Alun Buffry

The cell was cold, dark, empty and bare.
The walls screamed to themselves - there was nobody there.
The bars in the window stood firmly and strongly.
The cell was alone, rightly or wrongly.

The door to the cell was locked up tight.
It stayed that way all day and all night.
No-one came in to this lonely cell,
To make sure the walls and the windows were well.

The cell, itself, was just doing it's time.
It could have been your cell, or even mine.
It waited the years just doing it's best,
Wanting for little, but a prisoner guest.

One day, the door was opened, by a man with a key.
Even then this one cell never really felt free.
The warder looked in, said "Is all OK?",
Slammed the door shut and just went away.


But this cell was so lucky, if only it knew,
For amongst so many it was one of a few.
For thousands of others were imprisoning men,
Bleeding their hearts out, again and again

The cell next door, which was much the same,
One man inside it, I forget his name.
One night the cell door was finally banged.
Next morning the man was found to be hanged.

Cardiff Prison, 1991.

Time for Cannabis The Prison Years 1991 to 1995

Saturday 14 September 2019

Join the legal fight for British patients to access medicinal cannabis

HELP LEZLEY HERE, PLEASE

Lezley Gibson wrote:

I'm a long-term Multiple Sclerosis sufferer who successfully uses cannabis manage my condition. Yet, like thousands of other British patients, I've been unable to access medicinal cannabis through the NHS, even though it is legal and doctors agree it helps control my condition.

Now my family and I are being prosecuted for growing cannabis to manage my MS. This case isn't just about me. It's about fighting for better access to medicinal cannabis for all British patients who can benefit. Please join my legal challenge by contributing now and sharing this page with your friends, family and on social media.

Although struggling with poor health, I am determined to fight against this prosecution using a medical necessity defence and drive forward changes that will open up access to medicinal cannabis for British patients.



Case Background

In January 2019, Cumbria Police raided our house and seized 10 baby plants. I was charged with the possession and production of a class B drug. If found guilty I could face up to 14 years in prison – despite the fact that I have a UK prescription for medical cannabis to treat my MS.

When medicinal cannabis was legalised in Germany, patients there experienced similar barriers to obtaining cannabis-based medicines. Legal battles on home cultivation were key to transforming this situation - the court cases resulted in Germany's Medical Cannabis Law being passed in 2017, allowing all doctors to prescribe cannabis-based medicines and making it affordable through their healthcare system.

This court case has the potential to improve access to medicinal cannabis for British patients – but only if we can raise money enough for the legal costs.



Legal Challenge

I urgently needs to instruct a criminal defence and human rights legal team to help change the law and policy on medicinal use of cannabis.

I've got one chance to beat my prosecution. During my trial I am going to prove to the court that my use of cannabis was for medicinal reasons and that it was necessary for me to use cannabis in this way.

The law is not very sympathetic to my situation, but I hope to change the way that the law deals with medicinal use of cannabis through this trial. I believe this case has the potential to help lead to widespread patient access to medicinal cannabis in the UK and to the decimalisation of its medicinal use.

Polling shows that the public has no interest in criminalising and prosecuting patients who have been forced to resort to obtaining their medicine through illegal routes, because they are unable to legally fill their prescriptions in the UK.



Should we really be criminalising people for wanting to be well?

My prosecution represents a failure of the British political and healthcare system, rather than criminal behaviour on my part.

It highlights the logical incoherence and lack of compassion within current British law and practice on medicinal cannabis. Doctors, science, and British law recognise that medicinal cannabis can be helpful in managing and alleviating symptoms for Multiple Sclerosis sufferers, epilepsy, and other conditions such as chronic pain and nausea arising from chemotherapy.

I have a legal UK prescription for medicinal cannabis yet, along with thousands more British patients, I can't access my medicine via the NHS, or afford a private prescription costing over £1000 a month.

Ordinary British patients and families deserve fair and affordable access to medicines that allow them to best manage long-term health conditions and improve their quality of life.


How much am I raising and why?

My legal costs will cost a minimum of £30,000. If you care about fair access to lifechanging medicines in the UK, please donate what you can to fund an expert legal team in what could be a landmark court case for improving medicinal cannabis access for British patients.

I am back in court in early December and my trial begins shortly after, so we need to move fast.

Please contribute to help Lezley pay for the legal costs of fighting against criminalisation of the medicinal use of cannabis and for fair, affordable access to life-changing cannabis-based medicines in the UK for all British patients.

Thank you for you support.

RIVER ALIVE, a poem by Alun Buffry, Kashmir 1981

River alive!


Whether we laugh, or whether we cry,
the river of life goes rushing by,
down the hills and mountain sides,
into valleys, long and wide,
towards the ocean that is its goal,
its journey travelled by our soul.

When I was but little boy,
the river rippled and dashed with joy,
and as I grew and longed to learn,
the river for the ocean yearned.

As young man travelled round the world,
the river twisted, turned and twirled,
eager to find its resting place,
eager to travel in time and space.

And as the seeking man grew older,
the river found the bigger boulders,
but on it travelled without care,
it knew its destiny's not there.

The rushing water's now quite slow,
the river old has nothing to show,
it's happiness is calm and deep,
as old man takes his final sleep.

The ocean that is never ending,
is to the sky its waters lending,
to rain again on mountain top,
to make sure life's rivers never stop.

The rivers message lies in this
Ocean of Mercy, Peace and Bliss

POSITIVITY, a poem by Alun Buffry, 2015

POSITIVITY

Always to be found in this the same place,
Throughout our universe of time and space,
On I will travel, at my own pace,
Can you now see it, in my face?

Never to question how or why,
Upon this earth I find I,
Content and amazed beneath earth's sky,
Yet soaring above white clouds on high.

Hidden within us there is a clue.
It looks like I, it looks like you
For once we were one and that is true,
Now one of so many amongst quite a few.

There is a Love, there is a Light,
Forget any guilt, ignore any fright,
Focus within on a wondrous sight,
The future is now and it's ever so Bright.

NINE MONTHS a poem by Alun Buffry (1991)

NINE MONTHS

After nine months a baby was born,

And it's name was hate and its heart was torn,

Never to be seen a smile on a face,

Of men waiting so long in this goddam place.

God help the world if it only knew

What hate would become if it ever grew

Into an adult and then got free

To destroy all, believe you me.

For after the beasts had had their way,

Lied and deceived to lock men away,

The Magistrates fine all turned their blind eyes,

Whilst inside at night the chaplains all cried.

Month after month they stay on remand,

Listen in mystery to conspired bad plans,

Never allowed just one word in defence,

The law in this country just don't make much sense.

So locked up these men at country's expense,

Guilty or innocent they sit on a fence,

Awaiting the trials on some distant days,

When men either walk free or get thrown away.

After nine months inside, away from the sky,

The birds and the trees and the friendships that die,

the children, the lovers, the life that won't wait,

Innocent and guilty share hearts full of hate.

PUT IT RIGHT YOURSELF

PUT IT RIGHT YOURSELF
by Alun Buffry

Look down for a moment at this Human race,
From origins to now, changes we trace,
That 'though most of the time we didn't want war,
We let politicians and military men store
Our weapons of hate - or protection they say,
In case we have enemies to strike at one day.
So, now we all stand facing each other,
Knowing all die if man strikes his brother.
Some people here shout about nuclear power;
The atoms are split not to make enemies cower;
Used instead to make heat, movement and light,
But some people feel radiation ain't right.
The burns, they tell us, will start with an itch,
Yet daily we continue to push down the switch,
For the sake of economy and to ease our lives,
To amuse the children and appease the wives.
None of us want deadly fumes in our heads,
Yet most of our cars are still pumping out lead,
And carbon monoxide and satanic gases
Which surround the globe and will choke the masses.
See - we all need to travel and warm up our homes.
It's so far from us that strange ozone.
The scientists, we hope, the solution will find,
While we run round like mad men to satisfy our minds.
We hide away the old, the mental, the spastics,
We dig our big holes and fill them with plastics,
We flush down the toilet with all kinds of shit,
Polluting the rivers and oceans with it.
The fish, they are dying, some species are lost,
We all say we're sorry but won't pay the cost;
Won't give up our luxuries, take care how we tread,
On this our planet, and live gently instead.
There up the road is a chemical factory,
The products, we think, are quite satisfactory.
The pollution it's causes around us, us bugs,
But it's all in the creation of bottles of drugs,
To cure all (they say) of illness and sores,
Forgetting to tell us the factory's the cause.
Ask how can we stop it, make the guilty atone,
When we are all using the same economics at home?
So, next time you notice the rivers all stink,
Remember at home what you put down the sink.
Next time that you feel that the air is impure,
Remember the fumes and the smoke that we pour,
Out of our chimneys and cars. Think of the mammals!
Remember each one of us is in essence an animal.
And if you choose now not to swim in the sea,
Remember the nasties were put there by thee.
One thing we all know in our heads is for sure,
A Huge sacrifice is needed and maybe much more.
We must think of the things that we use and we trash,
What we burn and destroy will have a backlash:
Poisoned air, water and radiation kill slow,
And the poor Human race has nowhere to go.
Unless each person can get into their head,
That the cause and effect will make it all dead.

AUDIO read by Winston Matthews

HOW MANY TIMES

HOW MANY TIMES
by
Alun Buffry

(to tune of Blowing in the Wind – thanks Bob Dylan)

------------------------------------------------------

How many times must a man be afraid

of the sound of a knock on his door

Yes 'n' how many times must he live in fear

of those who uphold the law

Yes 'n' how many times must the public pay

to take themselves to the courts

Yes 'n' how many times must a mother watch

her innocent children caught?

The answer my friends, is blowing in the wind,

the answer is blowing in the wind.

How many families will be split apart

when a father is sent to jail

Yes 'n' how many times lives must be lost to bad drugs

because of a law that fails

Yes 'n' how much pain must be felt by a man

that could be eased by a plant

Yes 'n' how suffering will not be cured

because of the drugs that can't

The answer my friends, is blowing in the wind,

the answer is blowing in the wind.

How many years must be passed while we wait

to be free to smoke the good herb

Yes 'n' how many times must we see the judge

before we get the rights we deserve

Yes 'n' how many drugs must a doctor sell

before we can grow our own ease

Yes 'n' how many drugs must a patient take

when cannabis can cure the disease

The answer my friends, is blowing in the wind,

the answer is blowing in the wind.

How many fines must the people pay

before they're allowed to get high

Yes 'n' how many times will a Government hide

before they will legalise

Yes 'n' how many lives will be spoilt by a law

when the law is meant to protect

Yes 'n' how many cells will the prisoners fill

for the good of a law that's suspect

The answer my friends, is blowing in the wind,

the answer is blowing in the wind.

IN THE BELLY OF THE BEAST OF BABYLON

IN THE BELLY OF THE BEAST OF BABYLON

by

Alun Buffry


They bin trying to curb

The free use of the 'erb

They don't give 'em no bail,

They just sling 'em in jail.

In the Belly of the Beast of Babylon

And dem people they's a-crying

And all a-wondering why-ing

No drug, no harm, no pain,

And then there be no gain,

In the Belly of the Beast of Babylon

Law won't let 'em people's high.

Them there makes them famlies cry,

And the years are gonna pass,

For 'erb smokers there on mass,

In the Belly of the Beast of Babylon

Them there law-abiding judges,

That bear all freedom people grudges

They gonna rest so calm at night?

When they know them people's fright?

In the Belly of the Beast of Babylon

For to man freedom did God grant,

To reach Him how they want,

And inside just like out,

The 'erb is all about

In the Belly of the Beast of Babylon

And them people's gonna know,

And the spliffs are gonna glow,

And dem prisnors they get high,

And dem Beast are gonna cry,

In the Belly of the Beast of Babylon.

H: An Alliteration by Alun Buffry (1977)

H:
An Alliteration
by
Alun Buffry (1977)

Transparent butterflies flit amongst the transient stars
as bouncing bubbles burst on broken moonbeams.

Rainbows run around the rippling rivers
fumbling over faithful fountains.

Sparkling shadows seep between the sunsets
whilst whistling weepers wave from windows.

Many millions mourners make a martyr,
standing somewhere silently beyond space.

Loosely rhyming lines of lullabies
gag the gorgeous gems of galaxies,
never noticing the numbered nomads,
driving dozens dromedaries down deserts,
purposely persuading passers by to pay,
countless crispy notes and coded coins -
before the beautiful beholder is belittled.

Frequently the foolish faulty fiddlers
only offer ornamental oodles,
very vaguely valued vibrants,
ever aiming for an endless evening,
questioning the qualities of quanta.

Yet the yellow yodellers yearn
as all the armadillos answer
zealous zebras zimmering in zoos.

It's intelligence involving inhibition,
exalting in exciting extras ever.
And all the world is in an atom - H.


Friday 13 September 2019

God's Ganme, a poem from Marrakesh 1976

GOD'S GAME
by
Alun Buffry (1976)


Left Marrakesh today, to Fez, but on the way,
Felt a lacking of some sort - forgotten my passport!
Got off the bus again, cursing my damned brain,
Went back to where we'd stayed. God's little game was played.
Amidst all this goddam fuss, in little Hotel 'Mus',
I got the passport back! But my head's about to crack!

It's started now to rain. I think I'll catch the train.
'Cos lover must be there and I wish I was with her!
Not possible this time, to use the railway line.
So I sit in sorrow, waiting for tomorrow,
When I hope that I can go, if rain don't turn to snow.
Well the money goes so quick, I'm gonna have a fit.

I want to smoke some stuff and call the devil's bluff.
Illusions all around, and my head aches from the sound
Of rains and cars and mules and stupid tourist fools.
But writing down these lines has made me feel quite fine.
It's just that I couldn't half do with a long hot bath,

And get rid of the dirt, and wash my only shirt,
And jeans and socks and all, and go and have a ball,

In Fez.

GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN

GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN
by
Alun Buffry (1995)
Dedicated to Prem Rawat

Two thousand years ago, a child was born.
A king He was, a Crown he should have worn.
Yet in a humble stable, in amongst the beasts,
Wise men and shepherds bowed their heads unto His feet.

The child, He grew and travelled forth to learn,
To find and teach the Secret that we yearn,
And Master took from men disciples few,
Though many more would follow if they only knew.

So Master's all-too-short life had to end,
Disciples had to struggle for their lives to mend,
Through faith and hope, they tried not to stray,
From Master's unsophisticated way.

Then men had visions onto paper that they wrote,
Along with Master's words and stories that He spoke,
So men, religious, later read about that wondrous age,
When God Almighty manifested as a sage.

Alas, the words, though, all had double-meanings,
The Truth is not quite always as it's seeming,
And in 2000 years divisions grew,
Of those who thought, had Faith, and those who knew.

If Master only came to us but once, it is a shame,
For men in ignorance need to see Him once again.
Besides the stories of the manger and the crèche,
We need to see The Master in the flesh!

Friday 6 September 2019

LOOKING FOR NEW YEAR (1985) Kathmandu

LOOKING FOR NEW YEAR

by

Alun Buffry


Kathmandu: morning mist, disappears, mountain view...

Clouds spreading, sun shines, sky turns sealess blue.

Magic palace on the hill, silver morning light,

As the haze clears away, giving city sights.



Street below slowly wakes, dogs with horns and bells

All the homeless people there, washing at the wells.

Today is Nepalese New Year, should be celebrations,

Where they are is not too clear, to our mild frustration.



Maybe dancing in the street, or are there parades?

No-one here seems able to tell, where New Year's Day is made.

Life goes on as usual, everywhere you glance,

New Year doesn't seem like here, the spirit to enhance.



Where would we go in England,

If New Year we were there?

Down a pub or round a house

Or down Trafalgar Square?



I guess that from outside, it'd look all much the same,

Like we don't celebrate New Year, they'd think it was a shame.

So maybe here in Nepal, because I cannot see,

There's celebrations all around, invisible to me.

Tuesday 20 August 2019

Cannabis: Survey for Case Studies

If you have had any experience with cannabis please complete this survey which may be used as part of the WTU case against the Government.

It takes just a few minutes but will help the case a great deal. Just scroll down the page at


https://www.wtuhq.org/survey-for-case-studies/


We The Undersigned Have a Human Sovereign Right to Cannabis.

Thank you for choosing to contribute your “CannaJourney” as one of several case studies used to support the WTU legal challenge against the political policies of cannabis prohibition and its inclusion in the Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971 and its subsequent amendments.

WTU seeks to issue a Declaration of Incompatibility between the MoDA and the Human Rights Act, so is gathering as many case studies as possible to demonstrate the wide variety of uses and benefits cannabis provides, including nutritional, medicinal, therapeutic, social, relaxational, recreational, spiritual, creative, industrial and environmental.

There is no right answer here, just a chance for you to tell your truth about your experience with cannabis.

Gathered information will ONLY be used to SUPPORT the WTU legal case and contact details will NOT be shared.

Many thanks for your contribution in our struggle for freedom and equality for all the CannaCommunity in British law and society.
PLEASE NOTE – YOU WILL NEED TO COMPLETE THIS SURVEY IN ONE SITTING – THERE IS NO SAVE FUNCTIONALITY – SO GET YOURSELF A DRINK SIT COMFORTABLY AND SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES.
THE CLOSING DATE FOR THIS SURVEY IS 1st SEPTEMBER 2019

Saturday 10 August 2019

Letter to Chloe Smith MP Norwich North - why do you not reply?


Dear Ms Smith,

I am disappointed that you never BOTHER to reply to my emails but then again maybe you don't want my vote.

When you were first elected, you told me that you did not think people should be punished for experimenting with drugs.

NOW I am asking you do you think it Just and Legal for authorities (police) to raid the PRIVATE LIVES and Homes of people who CHOOSE TO BELIEVE that cannabis consumption is beneficial in their lives and to their health, EVEN THOUGH they pose no risk to public health or the Rights of others?

Or do you think that of all the things people can chose to do in private but are not allowed to do in public, somehow growing a few plants is a risk to others?

Or do you think that Human Rights should be ignored or abolished?

Do you believe that you hold a seat in Parliament to represent your constituency, your Party or simply to improve your career and income?

I ask on behalf of many thousands of your constiuents that choose to use cannabis in private but live in fear of arrest, prosecution, loss of career and possibly freedom.

Alun Buffry

COPY SENT to Evening News, Norwich

Thursday 1 August 2019

Letter to Chole Smith MP Norwich North: the Misuse of Drugs Act is often in conflict with Human Rights laws.

Dear Chloe,

I am writing to express my continuing deep concern that the application of the Misuse of Drugs Act is often in conflict with Human Rights laws.

Human Rights guarantee every person the Right to choose their own religion or belief and to practice that belief alone or in the company of others. Human Rights law also guarantee the Right to a Private Life.

The criteria that allows authorities to interfere with those Rights is clearly stipulated in the law; that an activity is against the law is not enough along; the law also demands that such interference must be in the interests of public health or to protect public order or the Rights of others.

My question is: in what way does a person that chooses to grow and consume a plant, in this case cannabis, if they believe such consumption, alone or with others, for any reason, is beneficial or even essential to their well-being, when that person grows or consumes in PRIVATE, pose a risk to anyone?

It can hardly be called a "crime" when there is no harm or risk and no victims, yet a person can be sentenced to up to 14 years in prison for growing cannabis, even if for its their person medicinal or spiritual benefits?

In consideration of the comparison to the harms caused to individuals and communities by alcohol, it seems that the application of the laws against the possession and cultivation of cannabis need some justification as it ruins the lives and alienates so many people annually at great public expense (billions of pounds annually).

I look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Sunday 21 July 2019

Two arrested at Green Pride cannabis event in Brighton

Please try to understand for future reports: it is not cannabis or drugs that are legal or illegal, it is the possession, cultivation or supply by certain people that is a so-called criminal offence.

The law is directed at people; it is meant (unreasonably and unsuccessfully to limit people's choices, even in their own homes; it is meant to give an advantage to the pharmaceutical companies and others; it leaves the control of supply and quality in the hands of “criminals" that are also untaxed.

There are an estimated 300,000 people growing cannabis in the UK, anything from 3 to 6 million users, and just 150,000 police.

The war on cannabis consumers is expensive, ineffective and in fact, lost. Remember the problems that came with alcohol prohibition in the US.

Our successive prohibitionist, heartless and tyrannical governments have created those problems here: gang culture, lack of respect for law, poor quality and its bad impact on health and lack of good access to clean cannabis for people in medical or other need or desire.

And whilst the UK Government stubbornly refuses to admit to the medicinal value of the plant, certain spouses of major politicians are profiting from their shares in British Sugar who are now the biggest producers and exporters of "medical cannabis" and GW Pharmaceuticals that produce and market their expensive extracts.

The law is an ass and the people at Green Pride demonstrate that."

Two arrested at Green Pride cannabis event in Brighton

Two arrested at Green Pride cannabis event in Brighton

Emily Walker Chief reporter

The Argus

Sunday 21 Jul 2019
HUNDREDS of campaigners brazenly took drugs in front of police - but only two were arrested.

Medicinal and recreational cannabis users took part in the Green Pride event at Preston Park on Saturday.

Whilst stalls sold CBD products made from legal strains of the plant - many of the attendees took pot luck by happily sparking up in front of police.

As the pungent smell of cannabis smoke floated over the park it was clear many people were not keeping off the grass as groups made a joint effort to discuss the benefits of the drug.

The event was held to campaign for legalisation of cannabis both for medicinal and recreational purposes.

One woman who lives in the North Laine area of Brighton but declined to be named told how her late husband had used cannabis whilst dying from lung cancer.

She said: “He had chemotherapy and had been told it was terminal. I researched everything and came across cannabis oil.

“It alleviated his symptoms and meant he was able to enjoy the last weeks of his life.

“We were able to go out and do things together.

“I do smoke cannabis now and grow a couple of plants at home.

“I’m not smoking today because this is about getting the important messages across.

“But cannabis is no where near as dangerous as alcohol or many prescription drugs like Tramadol. “

Alex McDonald, 29, recently moved from Sheffield to Brighton and invited his friends to join him at the event.

“For me I use it both medically and recreationally.

“It’s a lifestyle choice rather than a necessity.

“But from a street level it is much more dangerous. It is being advertised with names like bubblegum to younger and younger children.

“I think it should be legalised so you know exactly what you are getting.

Charlotte Robey, 49, vouched for capsules of cannabis oil removing all symptoms of the menopause.

Dominic Clarke, 27, of Sheffield said: “I am a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, but since taking cannabis I have not taken any medication.

“The evidence I have from personal experienced, is that I was diagnosed before I started smoking it. Now since smoking it, cannabis has brought me back down to a base level.”

Shannon Lousie, 19, was smoking a large strong smelling roll-up which she happily admitted contained illegal cannabis. She was happily puffing away alongside a large group of friends when four PCSOs approached them - giving them leaflets warning that cannabis is illegal and would not be tolerated at the event.

However they were not searched or arrested.

Shannon said: “I have been smoking it since I was 13 or 14. I don’t smoke a lot, just in the evening to chill out.

“Everyone is smoking here and no one is causing any trouble.”

Another woman who did not wish to be named because of ongoing legal matters said she used cannabis to treat her 21-year-old daughter’s epilepsy.

She said: “She has epilepsy which means she has fit.. She has been given so many different pharmaceutical treatments and cannabis has had more of an affect than any of them.

“I have been campaigning to my MP and her neurologist. “

Sussex Police said they made two arrests during the event and around 30 interventions where drugs were confiscated - but added that the event caused “minimal disruption”.

Chief Inspector Chris Veale said: “We were able to actively engage with a number of groups, clubs and individuals associated with Green Pride, many of whom had travelled from across the UK.

“This enabled us to set the tone early and give people the opportunity to make the right decision based on the information provided. We made it clear that we would facilitate lawful protest, however we were also there to safeguard the public, particularly young people and children and to enforce the law, and most people responded positively to our engagement.

“There was a calm community feel throughout the day, and the vast majority of those in attendance were well mannered and good spirited. The peaceful crowd was reflected by the low level of law enforcement.”

One man was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply cannabis and one man was arrested on suspicion of possession of cannabis and are in custody.

Police made around 30 interventions where cannabis was seized from people and dealt with by various ways including community resolutions.

Five teenagers were referred to the youth outreach service and their parents contacted.

Thursday 18 July 2019

A Juror's RIGHT AND DUTY

It is a Juror's RIGHT AND DUTY to vote NOT GUILTY in any case
where they feel or think the law is UNJUST or being UNJUSTLY APPLIED, irrespective of the evidence or what the Judge says - particularly relevant in cases against the possession or cultivation of cannabis for own use in one's own Private home or religion or belief or its practice.

NO VICTIM NO CRIME

The Rights of Jurors: more info and fliers

UK authorities smash through Human Rights to arrest Gibson couple for growing cannabis to treat MS

In January this year Carlisle police ignored the Human Right to a Private Life entering the home of Lezley and Mark Gibson to arrest them for growing their own medicine.

Lezley, who suffers terrifying symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis and finds relief from the plant, has recently been able to get it on prescription, costing her over £1000 a month as opposed to tens of pounds cost of growing her own.

This is not the first time that the couple have appeared in court on cannabis related charges. Lezley was busted in the late 1990's but found not guilty based upon the then usable defence of medical necessity. The couple also appeared in court and were given suspended prison sentences in 2007 for supplying free cannabis-laced chocolate to other MS sufferers.

This time Mark and Lezley were growing just ten plants for their own use, in private, at home.

Meanwhile the husbands of Prime Minister Theresa May and Drugs Minister Victoria Atkins continue to reap in the profits from their shares in the businesses that grow and export massive amounts of plant material for "medicinal use" whilst simultaneously the Government denies that the plant has any medicinal value and continues to authorise the arrest of thousands of people in urgent need of this natural and remarkably safe plant.

Surely the Misuse of Drugs Act was not meant to punish people for growing plants that they find beneficial.

Surely the law ought to protecting our Right to a Private Life and our Right to choose and to practice our own beliefs, so long as there is no harm to others, their Rights, or public health.

Once again, it appears that in the UK there is one law for some and another law for others. Another sad day for British Justice


Carlisle couple accused of cultivating cannabis plants at home appear in court (Mark and Lezley Gibson)

MS Sufferer Cleared Of Cannabis Charge 2000

CHOCOLATE-BAR DRUGS TRIO ESCAPE PRISON SENTENCE 2007

Farce and corruption: drugs minister Victoria Atkins MP recuses herself from drugs debate 'due to my husband's business interests'

Theresa May’s Husband Set To Profit From New Cannabis Medicine After Government Relaxes Ban

How Britain became the world's largest exporter of medical marijuana

CANNABIS and HUMAN RIGHTS

Wednesday 5 June 2019

RIP Don Barnard

Don Barnard 1941 – 2019 RIP

Don was one of the longest and hardest working campaigners for cannabis legalisation in the UK

I first heard of Don in 1996 when I he defending the use of cannabis by his wife, Jackie, who was very ill. Soon after that I made contact. Don was dedicated to the cause of human rights and justice for all, focussing on cannabis. Don was one of the earliest members of the LCA, a political party focussed on cannabis; he served as Press Officer for years. He contested local council elections for the LCA in Braintree and, in 2005, the general election in Norwich South against then home secretary Charles Clarke. Don spoke at every LCA conference and attended almost every demonstration that he could. Don was steadfast, loyal and reliable, of good humour and a wise man of many words and little or no fear. He was a great inspiration. My fondest memory is of travelling from Norwich to Orkney to visit Biz Ivol on the day of her court case in 2003. I will miss him greatly.

Facebook Tribute to Don Barnard

Don Barnard website

Saturday 4 May 2019

No more Government war on the CannaCommunity - Please help with a pledge now


16 days left and still need a couple of grand to get started this legal action against the government -please make a PLEDGE and help us reach the target

PLEDGE HERE PLEASE

Message from Phil Monk, creator of "WTU Have Human Sovereign Right to Cannabis: Campaign Group"

No one should ever be criminalised for the fundamental health choice that is cannabis for any reason and WTU seeks to end this political policy of cannabis prohibition through the courts.

I have dedicated myself and, as I'm disabled my wonderful and supportive wife and children have become dedicated too, for the last year to the cause of We The Undersigned, after the overwhelming response to the invitation I made for people to Undersign to WTU, in our quest for a human rights solicitor prepared to raise a legal challenge as a United CannaCommunity against the government's political policy of cannabis prohibition.

This last year has caused me untold levels of pain and has become damaging to my health.

I never set out to seek fame nor glory.

Just the freedom for all to have the right to grow or buy their own cannabis, for their own purposes, without the extreme prejudice and malice from the State.

In doing so, I have also risked everything that I love and cherish in my life: my wife, children, home and liberty.

I was never asked to take on this role nor did I even plan to end up where WTU is today.

Your beliefs in our fundamental human rights to freedom of consciousness, expression of identity, peaceful association, private beliefs and practises in the many benefits of cannabis and our rights to be able to determine for ourselves what is best for our health, is what has made WTU grow as quickly as we have.

You are the WTU CannaCommunity.

But I have done almost all I can do to get our human rights claim before the barristers for review.

I can do NO more and now it MUST come down to YOU!

As broke as we all are, we have to find a way as a community to make this happen.

It is incredible the progress so far!

A huge thank you to all who have contributed to the crowd justice fundraiser campaign to try and make this happen.

The £3229 raised so far is amazing and we are just over half way to the initial target that we must meet in the remaining 18 days, or else the cause flops! And with it WTU!

But it is also disappointing to see that, although WTU has over 3600 members now, only 135 members have pledged to the campaign.

I understand about poverty, I have lived it for too many years. Hence the WTU Health and Family First Policy.

But if the campaign continues at this rate it will not have any hope of success.

So if you believe in freedom and the WTU aims please share the campaign every where you can, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, write to your favourite celebrity, magazine or newspaper.

Tell friends and family.

We need to get this out there for maximum exposure and increase hope of success.

Also, More pledges are needed, otherwise it will have all been for nought and WTU will end with the crowd justice fundraiser.

All petitions are ignored. Democracy denied.

This could be the only way to end the government driven ideological war on the CannaCommunity.

Here is the link to the fundraiser page.

Please share on all platforms and contribute what you can.

Together we can do this!

Phil Monk WTU

Monday 1 April 2019

Taken from "The Effie Enigma, The Motherless Mothers" by Alun Buffry

THE EFFIE ENIGMA

THE MOTHERLESS MOTHERS

BY

ALUN BUFFRY

Published by ABeFree Publishing: 2019
ISBN 978 099 32107 9 2

Copyright @ Alun Buffry April 2019

BUY IT - PAPERBACK AND KINDLE - SIGNED COPIES




Using portable worm holes, mind download and Pure Information Clones, led by artificial super-intelligence, mankind is ready to colonise the galaxy.

Now, after decades of sabotage against Project Outreach, ZX, FE and QT meet to uncover connections.

When future and past become entangled, they face a quandary: should they risk their very existence to prevent the enslavement of humanity for ever or let be what will be?

But who is Effie and what part did LSD play in this?



1928

My name is Effie Vierzehn and I am 18 years old, so I have recorded my birth as 1910 Earth time and these are my first impressions after my arrival in Zurich in Earth year 1928.

I awoke naked in a field. I was immediately aware of the soft, cool material against my skin. Opening my eyes, I knew that I was laying on grass. I had never seen or felt grass before. I looked up towards an amazing blue sky with wisps of white clouds.

Standing over me was a man that I recognised as one of the Cuties, probably Cutie 6 as that was the plan. But he looked much older than back on our home world.

Then I remembered that Cutie 6 had arrived at least 27 years before me so had aged 27 years in Earth time.

I got to my feet quickly and dressed in the clothes held out to me by Cutie, clothes suitable for Zurich Mother Earth, year 1928. Strange clothes with several layers. Not exactly comfortable!

Cutie 6 explained to me that he had already been living in Zurich for over twenty-five years, preparing the ground. He had enrolled in Chemistry at the University of Zurich, qualified with a top-level degree and gained a Professorship and had made contact with Hofmann. He had continued with teaching sciences at the University of Zurich and met Einstein in 1903; they had become great acquaintances although he could not say friends. It would be easy for him to introduce me.

QT6, whom I shall call Quentin, is 27 years older than me. I do find him attractive. I will always think of him as Cutie. He has grown his blond hair over his ears and has a beard.

Like all the Effie's, I am of superior intellect, as were the Cuties. SMILEY, our Super Artificial Intelligent master, teacher and provider, had assured that we all had expert knowledge in a wide range of subjects, including chemistry, physics, astrophysics, quantum mechanics and theoretical mathematics as well as philosophy, history and geography. I am already fluent in a dozen ancient languages including English. German, French, Italian, Russian and Mandarin.

I think it would be easy for me to fit in at the University, and progress rapidly to some research department where I will try to work alongside Hofmann.

As I followed Cutie Sechs to my new accommodation, I marvelled at everything.

I never expected anything like this.

First there were the trees. I knew about trees. Or at least I had read about them, it was a special interest of mine.

Such beauty!

Suddenly I spotted them. Some amongst the trees, on the grass or floating in the sky. Birds! Yes, I had seen vids of all this, but the experience of being amongst it all was so exhilarating, so inspiring, that I almost fainted with bliss.

I spotted men riding what I knew were bicycles, two-wheeled machines of transport driven by leg power. I saw lots of women, many dressed like myself, leading four-legged beasts. They must be dogs, I thought, and from my History lessons I knew that some of these people kept animals as pets, many dogs and cats and that there were also many horses that carried people or pulled carriages or carts. That was a little frightening for me.

There were hundreds of strangely dressed people on their way here or there, along stone pathways. Most of the women wore hats but I could see that underneath they had long hair tied up. I will have to grow my red hair as it was very short on everyone from my time. I want to fit in here.

Cutie pointed out various buildings, saying that some were to house families or individuals, other involved with businesses that dealt in money and others governmental or educational.

Cutie explained that Zurich was a large and busy city with an important University where Einstein lectured and Hofmann studied.

Zurich was an old city in Switzerland and Switzerland had declared neutrality in the World War that had ended a decade ago. On the one hand it meant there was no open fighting or loss of life here and it was even used as refuge. On the other hand it was a city riddled with spies from other countries, spying on each other, but all focussed a lot on research being conducted at the University of Zurich.

I saw those horse-drawn wagons and carriages and even a few ancient motor vehicles.

I am fascinated by ancient witchcraft and psychotropic experiences. I look forward to tripping with Albert. But first I have to meet him. I have to gain his trust. Then I will kill him. That would delay Project Outreach for decades; maybe that will stop the very idea that Hofmann’s LSD trips may generate; maybe I can save mankind.

This has to be tried despite the unsolvable riddle of the obvious time paradox: if I succeed in halting the project for ever, how could I have come back to stop it. I may not have ever existed ; but, right now, I do! Does that mean that I will fail?

I have decided to keep a detailed diary of my life, my meetings, my experiences and thoughts. I know from back on my home-world that already seemed so far away, as of course it was, in both space and time, through SMILEY education on earth history, that diaries were or maybe would, be, discovered late in the twenty first century and would be read by an investigative body at that time, called Connect, but what I do not know is what will be in those diaries or the consequences. Those diaries were, in my time, known as the Vierzehn-Sechs diaries and it is quite conceivable that they were, or would, be written by me!

In that case maybe, I think, they could be used to send messages and warnings two hundred years into the future, beyond my own lifespan.

I don’t even know how long I will live. I know, however, that there is no going back, or rather forward in time, for Cutie or myself.

On that first day, after walking for about one earth hour or so, we arrived at a small two storied house set back away from a busy road and in its own garden with grass and trees and flowers. I could hardly wait to explore it."

Monday 11 March 2019

The Effie Enigma, The Motherless Mothers by Alun Buffry

Due out on Amazon early April 2019


Using portable worm holes, mind download and Pure Information Clones, led by artificial super-intelligence, mankind is ready to colonise the galaxy.

Now, after decades of sabotage against Project Outreach, ZX, FE and QT meet to uncover connections.

When future and past become entangled, they face a quandary: should they risk their very existence to prevent the enslavement of humanity for ever or let be what will be?

But who is Effie and what part did LSD play in this?



ISBN 978 09932107 9 2

Wednesday 30 January 2019

UK Tyrants blocking medicinally beneficial CBD as a novel food product

I am deeply shocked by the news that UK tyrants are forcing non-psychoactive CBD products off the market for up to 18 months while they study it, after classification as a "novel food".

An estimated 300,000 people in the UK are using CBD products and finding them beneficial for dealing with many health problems such as anxiety, depression and pain.

This will no doubt drive people back to pharmaceutical drugs that often have possible serious side-effects and warnings on the instruction sheets.

Once again, shame upon the UK Government - and remember it is Theressa May's husband that invests indirectly in GW Pharmaceuticals who make and market expensive Sativex cannabis extracts, and Victoria Atkins, Drug Minister's, husband that holds shares in British Sugar who grow and export tons of "medical cannabis" whilst classifying it as a drug with no medicinal uses.
 Watchdogs are set to ban High Street CBD 'cannabis' oil for up to 18 months as experts probe whether it has any real health benefits 


Darren Hutchinson *** UPDATE****

Official statement from the FSA:


“As you will be aware, the classification of novel foods is determined by the European Commission and not the FSA.

“Food business operators have been unable to demonstrate a significant history of consumption of Cannabidiol (CBD) extracts in food supplements and food prior to May 1997 in any Member State of the European Union.

“As a result, under the Novel Food Regulations, these extracts are all regarded as novel foods and must be authorised before they can be placed on the market.

“Some products such as hemp seeds, seed oil, hemp seed flour, defatted hemp seed have a history of consumption prior to May 1997 in the EU and are not novel.

“When considering Hemp products, the product may be subject to other legal frameworks depending on the composition and nature of the product. If a product is considered a controlled substance or a medicine it would be outside the definition of food and regulated by those regulatory frameworks.”

“Brexit will not affect the novel food status of CBD as under the Withdrawal Act, the Novel Food Regulations will be transferred to UK law."

Thursday 24 January 2019

Pro-Cannabis or Anti-Prohibition

Please do not confuse my ANTI-PROHIBITION stance with being PRO-CANNABIS.
I am annti-prohibition because I do not believe that the possession or cultivation of cannabis should be punishable by law unless there is a direct victim.

I am pro-cannabis because I believe it is a highly beneficial plant that eases much suffering and could be used to help heal the environmenetal and other damage caused by dangerous synthetic alternatives.

Wednesday 23 January 2019

RECREATIONAL OR MEDICAL: A DISTINCTION WITHOUT A DIFFERENCE ?

RECREATIONAL OR MEDICAL:

A DISTINCTION WITHOUT A DIFFERENCE ?


What is the difference - how might we distinguish - between the recreational use of cannabis and the medical? This question is bound to be at the forefront of discussion when government representatives debate the issue of legalisation.

According to the law, until 1971 cannabis was a substance of potential therapeutic value: it could be prescribed medically. During that year however, with The Misuse of Drugs Act, its status was re-defined: it ceased to be legal. The Government had performed an about-turn.

This was largely due to British agreement with the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotics of 1961, in which cannabis was classified as a dangerous drug of no therapeutic value. The British Government claimed that cannabis was being misused as a recreational drug.

The justification of the new law has always seemed spurious, and as time has passed increasingly so.

To begin with the negative case against the ruling: cannabis is not nicotine, is not alcohol. It is incomparably less dangerous than these, if dangerous at all.

There has not been a single instance of reported death for which cannabis is directly responsible, whereas, repeatedly, studies have linked tobacco with cancer, with high blood pressure, and with emphysema and a variety of other lethal conditions. Yet it is cannabis that is outlawed, while tobacco, currently, is available in Britain to anyone over 16-years-old.

And as with nicotine, so with alcohol; and intoxication. No study has been able to establish that the 'high' intoxicated state that results commonly from the smoking of cannabis has behavioural consequences of a significantly pernicious kind. Indeed the consequences are by and large benign.

This is hardly the case - to put it mildly - where alcohol is concerned. Alcohol addiction is the world’s most debilitating and destructive disease. Yet in general, in Britain and the Western World, it is alcohol that is the socially approved and permitted option, and the legally endorsed; not cannabis.

We turn now to the more positive argument for reversing the 1971 ruling. What at once needs emphasising at this point is the unbifurcated, holistic nature of our purpose. We are not campaigning for the recreational and medicinal usage of cannabis (to bring ourselves round again to our initial question), for to state the case that way is to presuppose in our argument, or to build into it, a false dichotomy. As far as we are concerned, the recreational very largely is the medicinal, the medicinal the recreational. We are aware, for instance, nowadays, that cannabis can contribute valuably to the treatment of nausea, chronic pain, asthma, multiple sclerosis and various other ailments. Yet to affirm this baldly could conceivably mislead, by obscuring more subtle propositions. We might be truer to our cause if we began with the proposition that cannabis is a mode of self-medication. Animals, we hear, self-medicate by digesting plants and other matter. And so possibly with human beings: many if not most cannabis users (so some researchers believe) are intuitively medicating themselves for stress and / or depression. Which is a way of saying that the cannabis user is not for the most part a person in quest of a 'high', or seeking consciously the cure for an ailment, but a human being searching intuitively for recreation: the re-creating of himself (or herself). This might all seem, and in fact in part obviously is, hypothetical: the jury is still out where self-medication is concerned.

For all that, what is at stake here is an issue we cannot and should not ignore. The cannabis user does himself and his cause no favours - the established opposition being what it is, an embattled force led by people with a propensity to simplistic thought - if he himself understates the complexity and subtlety of his essential purposes.

His theme ought to be that the line between the medical and recreational use of cannabis is blurred, and probably non-existent.