Facebook has closed down the page for my book saying it is against their community standards. The page does not encourage the use or sale of any substances deemed illegal to possess under UK law.
The book is available on Amazon https://amzn.to/4eXOjok and all Amazon sites
also on Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Time-Cannabis-Prison-Years-1991-ebook/dp/B015E1RCIC/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Cannabis-Prison-Years-1991-ebook/dp/B015E1RCIC/
I was thinking of starting a campaign to arrest all the people in the UK that defy the law and grow their own cannabis or possess and consume cannabis even in their own homes ....
Cannabis and the Misuse of Drugs Act
The inclusion of
cannabis in the Misuse of Drugs Act raises several questions:
First
consider cannabis itself.
Cannabis itself is neither legal
nor illegal. It is human activities that are prohibited, limited or
licensed, not the substance itself. That is the possession,
cultivation and supply, by certain people. Universities,
pharmaceutical companies, research establishment and indeed some
farmers are permitted under license to cultivate cannabis for
specific reasons; police, forensic scientists, court officials and
other authorities are permitted to possess in or pass it to others
(supply) as part of their jobs.
Legislation was created by
Parliament and can be changed by Parliament. Its application is a
matter of policy and is often left to the discretion of the police
which varies around the country. Prosecution is at the discretion of
the Crown Prosecution Service and the Courts. The matter of “guilt”in the trial of supposed or alleged offender is a matter for magistrates, juries
and judges
Cannabis is a natural plant, not a substance
manufactured rf synthesized in a laboratory or even a kitchen, like
most substances included in the Misuse of Drugs Act. It grows
naturally, with or without help from humans (cultivation) – it will
grow almost anywhere. It exists in nature and existed before human
beings. It is not a narcotic, a stimulant (although it may increase
drowsiness or stimulate, depending on the circumstances) or cause
hallucinations (different to illusions) . It is non-lethal – that
is there is no amount possible to consume that will cause death. It
is far safer than most plants that grow in our parks and gardens or
even in the wild.
Let is consider the term “misuse”.
It is different from “muse” and “abuse”.
misuse
verb
use (something) in the wrong way or for the wrong purpose.
"he was found guilty of misusing public funds"
Similar:
put to wrong use, misapply, misemploy,
Noun
the wrong or improper use of something.
EG: "drugs of such potency that their misuse can have dire
consequences"
So we may ask: what is the “purpose” of cannabis? With most manufactured substances and articles that would mean why was it made? With plants we must ask why did nature or God produce it and for what reason does man cultivate or possess it. Of course the first question is largely a matter of philosophy or beliefs. The second question is a matter for the person (or persons) cultivating, possessing and using the plant.
Cannabis has been around humans and used by humans for many thousands of years. It was once a common plant used by almost everyone, commonly called, in English, Hemp..
In the work Culpeper’s Complete
Herbal of 1652, it was written:
HEMP
This is so well known to every good housewife in the country, that I shall not need to write any description of it.
Time. It is sown in the very end of March, or beginning of April, and is ripe in August or September.
Government and virtues. It is a plant of Saturn, and good for something else, you see, than to make halters only. The seed of Hemp consumes wind, and by too much use thereof disperses it so much that it dries up the natural seed for procreation; yet, being boiled in milk and taken, helps such as have a hot dry cough. The Dutch make an emulsion out of the seed, and give it with good success to those that have the jaundice, especially in the beginning of the disease, if there be no ague accompanying it, for it opens obstructions of the gall, and causes digestion of choler. The emulsion or decoction of the seed stays lasks and continual fluxes, eases the cholic, and allays the troublesome humours in the bowels, and stays bleeding at the mouth, nose, or other places, some of the leaves, being fried with the blood of them that bleed, and so given them to eat. It is held very good to kill the worms in men or beasts; and the juice dropped into the ears kills worms in them; and draws forth earwigs, or other living creatures gotten into them. The decoction of the root allays inflammations of the head, or any other parts: the herb itself, or the distilled water thereof doth the like. The decoction of the root eases the pains of the gout, the hard humours of knots in the joints, the pains and shrinking of the sinews, and the pains of the hips. The fresh juice mixed with a little oil and butter, is good for any place that hath been burnt with fire, being thereto applied.
Nowadays, around the world,
cannabis is widely accepted to have many medicinal uses; that is
cannabis with or without large THC: CBD ratios. Those medicinal
uses include the amelioration of many aches and pains caused by mild
or serious illnesses and injuries, reduction or cessation of muscular
spasms and epileptic fits, reduction of intraocular pressures that
cause glaucoma, easing
breathing in asthma sufferers, aiding
sleep and boosting appetite, counteracting the negative effects of
chemotherapy and not least reduction of stress, one of the biggest
causes of illness, absenteeism, violence and premature death. It is
used to treat mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and
psychosis (especially CBD extracts). Cannabis is also claimed, with
mounting evidence, to cure cancers and tumours. Cannabis is widely
used to boost inspiration and creativity by artists and musicians; to
enable and improve socialisation. It
is used simply for fun, recreation or to created good feelings and
moods.
Cannabis is now cultivated by Pharmaceutical
companies such as GW Pharmaceuticals who produce Sativex sprays
supplied to sufferers of, for instance, Multiple Sclerosis: Sativex is a
full cannabis extract in alcohol with an added peppermint flavour; in
The Netherlands it is prescribed by doctors in herbal form,
granulated and standardised and produced by Bedrocan. The supply of
cannabis medicinal products on prescription was “legalised” in
the UK just a couple of years ago. In fact, the UK is one of the
largest exporters of cannabis for “medicinal purposes” cultivated
by British Sugar Corporation (BSC). Incidentally, whilst the sick
and healthy are daily raided by police and dragged through the courts,
the spouses of MP’s such as Theresa May (ex-Prime Minister) and
Victoria Atkins (Drugs Minister) are major investors in GW and
BSC.
But the use of cannabis do not stop there. It
includes its use as a sacrament in many religions and beliefs, their
practices, rites and rituals, including
Rastafarianism, Coptic Christianity, Hinduism and Jainism, Sufism,
Buddhism and many new age religious movements.
Cannabis
and Hemp (cannabis with low THC content) has many industrial uses as
a source of fibre and fuel. It can be used to make fuel capable of
running our homes, our cars and even our planes. It can be and is
used in the production of paper, building materials such as bricks
and shelving, furniture, plastics, canvas for sails and artist's
paintings, clothing, oils for lubrication or for paints etc, The list
is almost endless.
The seed fro m the cannabis plant is
one of the most nutritious seeds on earth:
The
Nutritional Contents of Cannabis Seeds and Their Health Benefits
There is no real nutritional difference between hemp seeds and cannabis seeds, even if the latter ends up growing into a plant that contains high amounts of THC.
This is because cannabinoids such as THC, the compound known for its psychoactive properties, do not exist in the seed. These compounds are only present in the stem, stalk, l eaves and flower of the plant itself.
The same applies to other cannabinoids such as the popular CBD, as well as flavonoids, terpenes, etc. This is why cannabis seeds on their own aren’t used for therapeutic purposes. But what they lack in that department, they make up for in nutritional contents and general health benefits.
The nutrition contained in a cannabis seed is quite frankly incredible. Starting with protein, cannabis seeds provide a complete source of the nutrient as they contain all nine essential amino acids. Since your body cannot produce these nine acids, it needs to obtain them from external sources. Very few plants are complete sources like cannabis seeds.
On the outer shell of a cannabis seed, you’ll find most of its firer contents. Around 35% of a cannabis seed is composed of essential fatty acids, including omega 3,6,9 and GLA.
As if that wasn’t enough, cannabis seeds also contain iron, copper, potassium, zinc, magnesium, folic acid, manganese, vitamin E and a number of B vitamins, including riboflavin, folate, thiamine and vitamin B6. Furthermore, cannabis seeds are highly digestible. You can eat them cooked, raw, shelled, unshelled… the sky’s the limit.
Taken from https://www.medsnews.com/health/nutritional-contents-of-cannabis-seeds/
This article could be expanded to
many pages to show the many uses of cannabis. For further reference
please see:
https://ccguide.org/uses.php
https://ccguide.org/seeduses.php
https://ccguide.org/industry.php
https://ccguide.org/forfuel.php
I think it is safe to conclude that
CANNABIS HAS VERY MANY USES, both on an individual and industrial
level.
So to return to the original issue: what is the
“Misuse” of cannabis? How is it used for reasons other than for
intentional beneficial use? What are the misuses? To get high? To
feel good? To harm others?
To me it us abundantly clear
that the inclusion of cannabis as a scheduled classified substance of
misuse in the Misuse of Drugs Act and the prohibition that goes along
with that, its origins and application, are at best erroneous and
smells of corruption, infringes upon Rights to a Private Life and the
Choice and Practice of Belief (and other Articles), nationally and
internationally, wrongly favouring big industry over the individual,
unjustifiably flying in the face of evidence and fact, and
CANNABIS SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE ACT WITHOUT DELAY.
As regards cannabis and the law:
I do not have a new
stance, it is a matter of semantics.
In the "old"
way I used the words, my stance has not changed - I want cannabis
removed from the Misuse of Drugs Act, I still believe that the use of
cannabis ought to be a matter of choice and no victim no crime. I am
against licensing for personal cultivation, I support collective
grows and want consumer protection for customers.
What has changed for me is that I now see the law applies to people not substances, therefore I focus on human activities.
I believe what a person does in their own homes and as part of their chosen belief should not be against any law so long as they do no harm to or put at risk other people or their Rights..
I believe that legalisation of possession is not necessary, removing the office from law is essential, hence decriminalisation of the activities of personal possession, non-profit sharing, cultivation for ow use or collectively or by a carer, should not be offences and hence my support for WTU challenge against the statutes as they are unjustifiable and the application is contrary to human rights.
Neither do I support civil punishments for the same reason. When it comes to supply, legalisation is the word, that is bringing the supply within the laws to allow consumer protection, taxation on PROFITS, accurate labelling, wights, purity, with age restrictions and that would require some sort of register or licensing of suppliers,
That is legalisation of the ACT of supply, decriminalisation of the act of possession and non-commercial cultivation. So I do not see that my stance has changed at all. I support the petition because it calls for a halt to prosecutions of cultivation in private - that does not mean that I am against collective grows or CSCs, coffeeshops or cannabis shops, social sharing or in fact that I think that possession of other "drugs" should remain offences in law.
I am not a "member" of any group except facebook groups and have not been since leaving LCA. And I don't want to be; I do not want to speak for or represent other groups: I have no faith in UKCIA, UPA, NORML UP, CISTA or CLEAR
I can assure you that it is simply the words I use and the meaning that may have changed, not my stance or opinions, and I am not asking anyone to follow me, certainly not following anyone else.. that is the trouble with words, even written words
Regarding calling
for total “legalisation”, just look and see what has happened in
Canada - they have certainly legalised it which means it is now in
the hands of government and pharmers.
I say just leave us
alone, with our choices, so long as we harm nobody, the only problem
with that "illegal" and uncontrolled supply leaves it also
in the hands of unscrupulous and untaxable dealers, as well as decent
ones. In Spain they allow clubs, but there are still dealers on the
streets because it is restricted. In Portugal they have
decriminalised possession without any legal supply routes. In Holland
they have tolerated supply of cannabis but not for other substances
ie drugs, so there are still dealers on the streets.
In
the UK it's all heading to give pharmaceutical businesses the
monopoly. I hope you understand what I am saying.
I never asked for Human Rights, they were given to me even
before I was born.
I only ever demanded that my Rights and
the Rights of others be protected by law.
Human Rights are
not subject to or limited by laws.
Laws are subject to and
limited by Human Rights, the higher law.
Human Rights were
written down and signed by many nations in the late 1940's in order
to limit and stop tyrannical and unjustifiable laws created by
Governments, in the name of the Brotherhood of Mankind. They
were incorporated into UK law as late as 1999.
Governments
cannot put their own interpretations, limits or conditions upon our
Rights. In fact Human Rights put restrictions on Governments
and their statutes, although there is some interpretations on how
Rights can be ignored, clearly specified in the Articles, that is in
the interest of Public Health, Public Order, National Security or the
Rights of Others, but it the onus should always be on the authorities
to prove those criteria are satisfied.
Ultimately the
European Court of Human Rights has the final say on whether or not a
Government or Authority has contravened Human Rights although taking
a case there can be along and difficult process which can be thrown
out without reason and with no Right of appeal at the administrative
level before a case can even get to court. They are the
obstacle.
We all have equal Rights.
Rights are
not subject to or limited by race, religion or lifestyle; they
are not only for the wealthy and powerful, they are for everyone, for
all time.
Those Rights include the Right to choose and
practice ones own religion or belief and the Government cannot limit
that unless they can show a threat to public health, national
security or the Rights of others. Governments cannot make laws
limiting that choice willy-nilly, there is no list of acceptable or
unacceptable beliefs. The practice of those beliefs can be
alone or in the company of others.
Similarly, we have the
Right to a Private Life and what we do in that private life cannot be
limited by arbitrary or politically-motivated laws - so long as there
is no threat to public health etc.
So the fact that what a
person does in their Private Life or in the practice of their beliefs
cannot be interfered with only because a government has made it
"illegal" - it must be in the interests of law AND to
prevent a risk to public health, public order, national security or
the Rights of others - that is very clearly specified in the Article
of Human Rights.
That cannot be stressed enough - when a
Government cannot satisfy the criteria and sends its forces such as
police to interfere with our given and inalienable Rights, then that
Government and its forces are guilty of a crime and we are the
victims.
This should be paramount in any consideration of the application of laws, for example, in the possession, production, supply and consumption of some drugs by some people in their own homes.
What I would like to see:
Drugs damage cultures not just individuals
Conservative Home Blogs: The Deep End, October 31 2012
When people claim that cannabis doesn’t kill anyone, what they seem to be suggesting is that people don’t die from overdosing on the drug. In this limited sense, they may be right. But, make no mistake, cannabis is a killer.
For a start, smoking pot is a really good way of delivering a variety of toxic substances directly into your lungs. Then there’s the well-documented impact on mental health – especially among the young – triggering psychotic episodes, some of which result in suicide or violence to others. To these tragedies you can add various lower-level impacts on mental and physical functioning and the consequent toll of accidental deaths.
Determining the extent of cannabis-related deaths is difficult – it took decades of research to establish the facts for alcohol and tobacco. But the fact that conclusive studies exist for one set of substances and not another says nothing about their relative harm.
In any case, the comparison of harm done to individuals is not the only issue – one also has to consider the harm that different drugs do to entire cultures. Writing for the Telegraph blogs, Colin Freeman thinks through the impact of decriminalisation on British society:
“The working assumption for the authorities would have to be that there could be a big increase in use, as people who were previously deterred by illegality began indulging. How much punchier would market towns be after midnight on a Saturday, for example, if the average male reveller had had half a gram of coke as well as six pints of Stella?”
The mind boggles, but there’s a serious point here. Criminalisation rarely succeeds in eliminating a drug altogether, but it does limit its availability and therefore contains its use. Freeman explains why this external constraint is important:
“…the few nations where drugs, rather than booze, are the intoxicant of choice, do not make particularly encouraging examples. Alcohol is at least an honest poison: anyone who over-indulges will suffer a hangover the next day, which acts as a built-in limiter on consumption… Other substances, such as opium, marijuana, and khat, the amphetamine-filled leaf popular in Somalia and Yemen, exact no such immediate penalties on the constitution. Instead, they act in a much more insidious fashion, which can allow their use to become far more widespread.”
Mr Freeman knows Somalia well – not only as a foreign correspondent, but also as a former hostage of Somali pirates – he has therefore seen what happens when drugs take hold of an entire culture:
“…the fact that khat has no immediately debilitating side-effects – save for aching jaws for novices like me – means that Yemenis and Somalis are prone to overindulging, to the point where it has seriously cramped their work ethic. Trying to get anything done after 2pm is all but impossible, as most menfolk, rich and poor, are busy chewing…
“Yes, of course, somewhere like Yemen is very different to the UK. But if anyone wants to know what a society where drugs are an accepted part of life looks like, this is a glimpse. It may not be the end of civilisation as we know it, but it isn't exactly the pinnacle either.”
Yemen is indeed a very different place to Britain, but imagine what would happen to our culture if alcohol could be consumed in, say, pill form – and without causing hangovers. Do you think that, in such circumstances – and in the absence of legal prohibition – there’d be less drunkenness or a great deal more?
