Would you call in a panel of experts and then simply ignore what they say? Cannabis and Drugs.

Today the press is full of the UK Drug Policy Commission (UKDPC) conclusion that the Government's attempts at reducing drug use and drug harm has failed - and the Government's simply insisted its approach to tackling drugs is the right one. 'Drug usage is at it lowest level since records began,' a spokeswoman said.

About 42,000 people in England and Wales are sentenced each year for the possession of drugs, with 160,000 people given cannabis cautions, according to the commission.

The penalties for drug misuse should be relaxed so that possession of small amounts would no longer be a criminal offence, the government has been urged.

The recommendation comes in a report from the UK Drug Policy Commission, which undertook six years of research.

Its detailed report concludes the UK is wasting much of the £3bn it spends each year on tackling illicit drugs.

In fact - ask your MP - it is now considerably more than that every year and the majority of arrests are still for cannabis.

The report, called A Fresh Approach to Drugs, says the annual estimated cost to England and Wales of class A drug use is £15bn.

The commission called for parliament to 'revisit the level of penalties applied to all drug offences and particularly those concerned with production and supply. However, it stopped short of calling for the decriminalisation or legalisation of most drugs.

Commission chairwoman Dame Ruth Runciman said: 'We spend billions of pounds every year without being sure of what difference much of it makes.'

The Home Office says drug use is falling and it does not plan to alter its approach.

So, OK, so the Government is going to insist that their present approach is the correct one, despite the cost to the taxpayer and despite the fact that it is obviously not working.  Of course we need to arrest those that harm others or their property, or pose a risk, but the use of a drug, whether possession and sale is allowed or banned, in itself harms nobody except possibly the user.

And of course addiction creates problems for families and communities, as does fund-raising crime.

The Government's approach to SOME drugs is different to others; for example, alcohol is well known to cause illness, violence, vandalism and absenteeism, is SOME people - those responsible for the violence, vandalsim etc, are punished by the courts - those that get sick are helped by the medical profession (if they seek it).

Yet with "drugs" (plants" like cannabis, and "drugs" like heroin and cocaine, ALL USERS are arrested and punished, if caught, with anything from a warning to a court appearance, a fine to prison - even those that use cannabis to their medical benefit

Who pays for the police and courts - we do - the taxpayers - whilst those that make the law get paid a fortune to arrange for panels of experts that will not be listened to unless they support present policy - remember Prof David Nutt, the head of the Government's previous ACMD (Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs) who was sacked after he stuck by his panel's conclusion that policy was failing and that cannabis ought to be downgraded to class C again - Nutt was simply sacked.

Meanwhile, most of the press, stuck in prohibition, continue to write bad reports about bad consequences of drug use - seldom covering claims from those that drugs have helped, in particular cannabis, referring to growers as some sort of social menace even if they are growing only for their own medicinal use.

Where are the reports of the countless lives ruined by drug prohibition laws,  those with criminal records yet no victims - banned from some overseas travel, some jobs, some insurance policies - and for what?

For nothing more harmful and dangerous than would be opening a bottle of beer or wine at home and often less dangerous than drinking a bottle of whiskey - something that many of our MP's are probably good at, considering so many subsidised bars in the House of Commons.

Come on Britain - lead the way to a common sense approach to drugs and take control - stop punishing victimless users and start protecting consumers through properly regulated outlets for adults with accurate and credible advice, tax on profits, and separation from the world of crime

Drugs Experts Call For Major Policy Review
http://www.ccguide.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=18172

Decriminalise drug use, say experts after six-year study 
http://www.ccguide.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=18173

Cannabis 'no worse than junk food', says report 
http://www.ccguide.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=18174

Possessing small amount of drugs 'should not be crime' 
http://www.ccguide.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=18175

UKDPC Urges Decriminalization of Drug Use 
http://www.ccguide.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=18177

Britain's £3bn war on drugs 'waste of time and harms lives' says watchdog 
http://www.ccguide.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=18178

Light drug users 'should not get criminal records' 
http://www.ccguide.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=18179

Mob-handed police called in to search school children based upon a rumour

Rob Haring, school principal, said: "It was a very quick operation, we wanted to check a rumour and there was nothing substantive in it."

So they call in police to search schoolchildren based upon a rumour that was obviously unfounded and then tell the kids it was a one-off - bet the kids will be pleased as punch

what total nonsense - how much did this cost the taxpayers.

Ivybridge College uses sniffer dogs to search for drugs
BBC News, 12 October 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-19906668

The headmaster of a Devon school has defended using ten police officers and a sniffer dog to search pupils following rumours about drugs.

Ivybridge Community College searched 2,000 students but no drugs were found.

Rob Haring, school principal, said: "It was a very quick operation, we wanted to check a rumour and there was nothing substantive in it."

Vicky King, a parent, said she thought it could have been handled better.

She said: "I was quite shocked. I would have preferred to have known."


'Not mob-handed'

Mr Haring said: "It's about education, about students being informed and knowing what's right and what's wrong and there being a very clear message that we won't tolerate things that aren't right.

"It certainly wasn't mob-handed."

Ten police officers, teachers and a sniffer dog were involved in the unannounced search on Friday.

Philip, a teacher at a Plymouth school who did not provide his surname, said: "As a parent and teacher and being a recovered alcoholic and drug addict this is a necessary way to deal with the problem."

It is the second time this year the search has been carried out at the school. The first resulted in action being taken against a student.

Sgt John Livingstone from Ivybridge Police Station added: "It was a one off and there's not the intelligence to suggest that it would warrant it [again]."

Sheriff Prefers People to Suffer Rather Than Use Cannabis

Can somebody please point me to any Justice in this case?

So a man grows a few cannabis plants in his own home for his own use in topping up his prescribed medication to try to ease the pain in his back (spondylitis), and the Sheriff forces him into unpaid work and tells him “I trust you now realise you can’t do this."

Then, on top of the unpaid work, he gives him £100 fine for £150 worth of cannabis and one plant.

Where are these judges, sheriffs and magistrates at?

What are they thinking?

Have they no compassion?

For some cannabis, this may just be a fine and forced labour - for others they get the fine, the labour and the pain.

I ask again - can anybody point me to the justice in these cases - or is it simply an attempt to make people stay within an unjust law?

Man grew cannabis for health reasons
Oct 12 2012 by Colin Rutherford, Kilmarnock Standard

A Kilmarnock man who grew cannabis for health reasons has been ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

At Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week, 28-year-old Michael Boland pleaded guilty to producing the class B drug at his home in MacKinlay Place last month.

He was also fined £100 for possessing cannabis on the same occasion.

Scott Toal, prosecuting, said that police went to Boland’s home at 9.40am with a search warrant.

He was asked if he had any drugs in the house and “told police that he was a user and had some personal”.Boland pointed to a box and said that he had some more in a cupboard.

Police found cannabis in a box in the livingroom and discovered more in a plastic tub and in two jars.

Said Mr Toal: “The rest of the house was searched and items used in the production of cannabis recovered.”These included plant food, lights and a foil growing tent.

The cannabis found was worth a total of £150.

Boland was interviewed at Kilmarnock police station and accepted that he had grown the cannabis that police had recovered.

Said Mr Toal: “He said he used it as pain relief for a medical condition.”

Paul Gallagher, defending, told the court that his client had suffered from the back condition spondylitis for around three years.

“This is a case where he has been topping up with medication not prescribed,” said the solicitor.
His position was that he grew only one plant at a time.

Rather than have to go out and look for the drug, “he took matters into his own hands”, said Mr Gallagher.

Sheriff Iona McDonald noted that Boland had no similar previous convictions, with only one minor matter on his record, and told him: “I trust you now realise you can’t do this.”

http://www.kilmarnockstandard.co.uk/ayrshire-news/news-east-ayrshire/kilmarnock-news/2012/10/12/man-grew-cannabis-for-health-reasons-81430-32004753/

Recorder says Vietnamese man was slave and sends him to prison to for 8 months

A Recorder at Bolton Crown Court described the cultivation of cannabis by an illegal Vietnamese immigrant as "slavery" but still sent him to prison - where is the Justice in that?

Recorder Stephen Bedford heard that Tien Bui, aged 19, was smuggled into the country by people traffickers, and then got involved in growing the drugs to pay back debts that he owed.   Tien Bui was found sleeping on a mattress in a house with 105 cannabis seedlings, and 86 small plants.  He had
pleaded guilty to producing cannabis at an earlier hearing.

Mr Bedford then told him: ""I understand the difficulty you found yourself in. What you were doing was a form of what can only be described as slavery that I rule is at the bottom end culpability."I put it to you that Mr Bedford did not understand the difficult at all, and did not understand that the only victim in this case was the man he sent to prison.

 http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/9975645.Jail_for_Vietnamese_cannabis_grower/

UK: Jail for Vietnamese cannabis grower


thisislancahsire

Wednesday 10 Oct 2012
A VIETNAMESE man who was caught growing £60,000 of cannabis at a house in Westhoughton has been jailed.

Tien Bui, aged 19, was smuggled into the country by people traffickers, and then got involved in growing the drugs to pay back debts that he owed.
Bolton Crown Court yesterday heard the house was raided by police on September 13 and Bui was inside transferring plants from small pots into bigger pots.
There were 105 cannabis seedlings, and 86 small plants.
The court heard the house appeared to be lived in, as a single mattress and food was also found.
Antony Longworth, defending, told the court he came here illegally when he was aged 17.
He said: "As a teenager illegally in the country he was vulnerable to exploitation. At first he found employment with a Vietnamese family as a housekeeper.
"He owed $20,000 and in two years he paid off $5,000. He was targeted and recruited by a criminal gang. He did not realise how criminal the activity was that he was involved in."
Bui, of Manchester Road, pleaded guilty to producing cannabis at an earlier hearing.
Recorder Stephen Bedford jailed him for eight months.
He said: "I understand the difficulty you found yourself in. What you were doing was a form of what can only be described as slavery that I rule is at the bottom end culpability."
The court heard at the end of his sentence he could be deported.

This happened under prohibition - we need to legalise sales of cannabis to adults to protect the kids

Quote: "Jade, 16, gave up her habit after her mother discovered she had been meeting a local drug dealer on a regular basis"

Just about sums it up - so nobody knows the strength or purity, what it was cut with, how much she bought or smoked / ate.

Of course had cannabis shops been allowed for responsible adults with accurate and credible advice at point of sale, indications of strength, age restrictions etc -- this may have never happened - such shops would take many dealers off the streets and make it much harder for 13 year-olds to buy.

Jade was lucky if her street dealer-profiteer did not offer her any harder drugs as she would have had a more serious problem ...

and of course lucky she did not get into alcohol as she may well be dead.

and it's LEGAL to give alcohol to c a child over 4 in the home - although of course totally irresponsible.

Lastly, irrespective of those that claim to have benefited and those that claim to have been harmed, through cannabis, there is NO REASON TO PUNISH people for possession or cultivation of a plant if they have done no harm to others or put them at risk.

If there is NO VICTIM, then there ought be NO CRIME

"Cannabis made me a monster" warns teen
DAILY ECHO, OCTOBER 3 2012
http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/9962495._Cannabis_made_me_a_monster__warns_teen/

A TEENAGER from Poole has made a television film to warn other young people about the dangers of cannabis - widely regarded as a “soft” drug.
Jade Clement started smoking cannabis when she was 13 and had become addicted by the time she turned 16. Now drug-free, she says: “I don't want anybody going through what I went through.
“Cannabis turned me into a monster. I was selfish, paranoid, and ultimately hurting the people I love and who love me.”
Jade, 16, gave up her habit after her mother discovered she had been meeting a local drug dealer on a regular basis. “When my mum found out, it hit me that I must give up,” she says.
“I was stealing money from her, distancing myself from her, and just destroying my relationship with her. I had already lost my friends, and it looked like I was losing my mum too.”
She became a “fixer” under a Public Service Broadcasting Trust scheme funded by the Big Lottery. It helps youngster of 16-25 take action to change things for the better with creative help from media professionals to make their own promotional material.
Jade's story will feature on ITV's Meridian Tonight at 6pm tomorrow. She also hopes to take her film around Poole, with talks and workshops for groups of young people who may be exposed to cannabis.
“If I could put just one person off trying cannabis, then I will have done my job,” she says. “It is quite an easy drug to get hold of, but that does not mean the effects are easy to deal with.”
Mental health professionals have long warned that cannabis can contribute to mental health issues. In vulnerable individuals, just one use has been known to trigger psychosis, or serious mental illness. Habitual and prolonged smoking of cannabis also increases the risk of developing lung disease, including cancer.

Man bought cannabis to ease crippling arthritis pain" (Sept 30) - leave him alone!

Sirs, I refer to your report "Man bought cannabis to ease crippling arthritis pain" (Sept 30).
In defence the lawyer is reported to have said "He doesn't want to keep attracting convictions but he has to weigh up the balance between being in agony and unable to move and taking cannabis."
So the magistrate sentence shim to a conditional discharge - gives him the very same choice again.
Well I ask you, the reader, if given the same choice, what would you choose - pain or a plant that eases it far more effectively than dangerous pills with unpleasant side-effects.
There is a third choice - allow him or his carer to grow a limited number of plants at home for own use.
If he is not hurting anyone, it ought not be a matter for the police and the taxpayers ought not to be footed the bill for taking people to court when they have done no harm.
Alun Buffry
address
Norwich


You can write to: stephen.stray@jpress.co.uk
subject "Letter to the Editor" - include your name and address and refer to title of article and date (30 Sept)

http://www.bostonstandard.co.uk/news/crime/man-bought-cannabis-to-ease-crippling-arthritis-pain-1-4314777

PLEASE SUPPORT CLARK and leave comment and RATE those good and bad already there

PLEASE SUPPORT CLARK and leave comment and RATE those good and bad already there

http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/reading/articles/2012/09/30/63118-a-sword-in-the-side-of-prohibition/

my comment:


Well done Clark French for standing up and telling the honest truth - and to those that try to contradict that truth by saying cannabis causes this or that, you miss the point.
Most medicines have side-effects, and often the pills from the doctor need more pills to counteract the side-effects - those side effects that are possible are often listed on the sheet that comes with the pills, in small print - they range from paranoia, through drowsiness to depression, even suicide tendencies, impotence, rashes, sleep and digestion problems, constipation --- well, look for yourself.
Secondly, not ever medicine works for every person that uses it.
Clark was brave enough to try a PLANT product that helps him - that does not mean that he suffers from any side-effects, apart from maybe a "high".
Other people have said they have had bad effects from cannabis - that does not mean that they or those that benefit should be punished - and THAT is what the law is about
We have a choice here: first we must accept that cannabis is one of the most widely used substances / drugs,. possibly excluding beer, and caffeine drinks - that both have serious side-effects and are a risk to health.
People are not allowed to grow their own even in their own homes for their own use.
Therefore the only access is illegal dealers where there is no consumer protection, no quality control, no age restrictions, no credible advice, no tax on profits and possible exposure to other drugs and crime.
On the other hand, the Government could do its duty and stop spending tax-payers money chasing growers, users and dealers, and set up a system of legal distribution for adults - outlets that are controlled and the profits taxed.
Cannabis use will continue in this country because so many people find so much benefit for so many terrible ailments, conditions and pains.
We can either remove the control from criminals and protect the consumers that do no harm - or else boost the illicit market and continue to spend billions annually in the so-called "war on drugs" - which is in fact a war on people

My message to Adam Lotun, independent candidate in Corby by-election

my message to Adam Lotun, independent candidate in Corby by-election 

 I think you will make a mistake by limiting your call for law change to people with certain illnesses or conditions or by saying that they should get doctor's permission to be allowed to possess or use cannabis for their own use in their own homes.

TWO points - sick and hail people should have equal rights - the issue ought to be the question has their possession, use, cultivation - done any harm to or put at risk other people or their Rights, property etc - if not then they should all be left alone by the authorities - in fact they deserve the protection of the law when buying cannabis from licensed premises where quality is assured, credible information provided, and PROFITS taxed.

secondly, cannabis has a great vale as it relieves stress - it is a preventative medicine for all users - stress being one of the biggest causes of illness, violence, absenteeism and even premature death - why should well people be banned from such a substance?

I believe you would do well to STAND UP for all victimless cannabis users - in fact all victimless drug users - and also to promote the CANNABIS SOCIAL CLUB proposal:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cannabis-Social-Clubs-Proposal/145368762174099?v=info&edit_info=all#!/pages/Cannabis-Social-Clubs-Proposal/145368762174099?v=wall

Good luck in the election - please be our voice in the name of freedom of choice



Adam Lotun's Manifesto on Drugs

• It is my opinion that there should be a Royal Commission set-up to investigate, once and for all, the question of drugs use in our society, with it being clear that current prohibition through criminal sanctions is not working. In the interim, I call for an immediate suspension of all prosecutions for cannabis possession and use where it can be shown to be used for treating an illness where cannabis is recognised as a beneficial treatment, i.e. MS, Fibromyalgia, Cancer, Aids, neurological pain, Glaucoma & Epilepsy, (the list goes on). This can be done before primary legislation is passed by recommendations to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). It is morally wrong that a person should be persecuted and prosecuted for their choice in using what is proven to be a safe and effective alternative medicine for their illness, i.e. with Sativex, a tincture of cannabis plant extract that is licensed for medicinal use is so expensive that many PCT’s refuse to fund prescribing it. (Sativex is a cannabis derivative that is no different to what can be cheaply produced in any home kitchen).
• There needs to be more “honest” education in schools and public information about drugs and the changes in recreation drug use. Much of what is currently taught about drugs is propaganda, and not evidence based truths.
• There needs to be a change in the Law on Alcohol, so that the sale of Alcohol can only take place between 11am to 3pm and 7pm to 11am in local community public houses, clubs, supermarkets and off licences. There will be an argument for some venues that will continue to hold special all day licence, but this move will mean that local communities will not be subjected to drunken anti-social behavior at all hours of the day.
• It is my opinion that there should be smoking and non-smoking pubs and clubs, so that people can make their own choice as to where they go and what they choose to do or not do. Expanding the Royal Commission remit to look into all addictive drugs would help to ensure that a balanced view and cascading of educational information to support such ideas.

The Public Must Pay for An Unjust Law

"Does anybody really think that locking this man up will help him or anybody else.

"So he tried to overcome his grief with alcohol which made him violent, so replaced it with cannabis that made him non-violent, then he gets locked up?

"And how could the cannabis have been worth any money unless she intended to sell it, yet the Judge accepted it was not for sale!

"It is a shame that this man is locked up and it is a shame the taxpayer will have to pay - EVERYONE loses except the police and court officials of course, who earn part of their living out of this sort of injustice"

The Sentinel, September 14 2012

Grief-stricken son set up drugs farm after parents died

GRIEVING Daniel King has been jailed after setting up a cannabis factory in his loft.
The 27-year-old turned to drugs following the death of his parents, and grew cannabis plants at his Joiners Square home to avoid contact with dealers.
But police raided the Cornes Street property in December and found 22 plants and equipment such as heating lamps, transformers and hydroponics trays.
They also discovered that King had bypassed his electricity meter in order to power the farm.
King was jailed for 16 months at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court after pleading guilty to producing cannabis and abstracting electricity.
Prosecutor David Bennett told the court that King's factory could have produced cannabis worth up to £3,500 in a single crop, while the stolen electricity was valued at £1,743.
Mr Bennett said: "At 10pm on December 14 police officers attended the address after being told there was a burglary in progress at the premises. They could smell cannabis, and saw a trail of cannabis leaves leading from the rear living room up the stairs.
"In the loft area they found a greenhouse-like structure with three hydroponics trays and 22 cannabis plants. The officers left the premises and when the defendant returned they arrested him in the street outside."
Mr Bennett told the court that at the time of King's arrest he had a suspended sentence of six months hanging over him.
This dated from a conviction for assault occasioning actual bodily harm from 2010.
Angela Berrisford, mitigating, said King had struggled to cope with the death of his parents and had suffered mental health issues.
She said: "His parents died in relatively quick succession and he has struggled to deal with that. His mental health deteriorated and he has suffered from depression and psychosis.
"What he realised following his conviction for assault is that he was drinking too much. Unfortunately he did not go back to get medical support, but effectively substituted the alcohol with cannabis.
"He didn't want to associate with the people who supplied him with cannabis, and so he decided to produce the cannabis himself. He undertook limited research on the internet, but a lot of the equipment was not set up, as he did not have the knowledge to work out what went where."
Judge Robert Trevor-Jones sentenced King to 12 months for growing cannabis, three months consecutive for abstracting electricity, and activated one month of his suspended sentence.
He said: "You clearly and deliberately set about establishing sufficient equipment at your disposal to successful grow a crop of cannabis in the loft of your home.
"But I accept that the cannabis was for your own use."

No Victim, No Crime

The issue about cannabis has always seemed simple to me - two points:

1.  If there was nobody harmed or put at risk, then why punish a person in possession or cultivating the plant cannabis?

2.  If the user / grower has no victims then they should be getting the protection of the law - just like victimless alcohol drinkers - not punished by it.

The Antigua Observer, September 14 2012 
Decriminalise cannabis? Public weighs in

ST JOHN’S, Antigua – OBSERVER Media has taken the debate about decriminalisation of marijuana to the streets of Antigua & Barbuda, getting the viewpoint of the people of the nation.
Walking the streets in town, surrounding Heritage Quay, OBSERVER media reporters asked the timely question, “What do you think about the prospect of decriminalising small amounts of marijuana on island?”
The responses from everyday people were as varied as those pundits, lawyers, detractors and politicians that weighed in on the debate last week on the Voice of the People.
A middle-aged woman working in vendor’s mall said that relaxing the laws that currently prohibit the use of marijuana could be a Pandora’s box for the nation, saying as a Christian, she cannot support such an initiative.
“I don’t think that it should be legalised in Antigua, not at all. I don’t believe in any type of drug … I know it does a lot to the brain because of smoking it and they are mixing it with other substances.”
She added that it might be the gateway to more crime in the nation, saying, “I do believe it will (cause more crime) when they smoke this drug. The high can be very dangerous. It is going to be very, very bad if they legalise it.”
However, a security guard in the area said that decriminalising the drug would help “heal the nation”, stating that is has healing purposes and a calming effect on the youth.
“I don’t think it is a threat to nobody’s life or any craziness about people getting crazy. They should leave it alone and don’t charge anybody for it. But ask people to use it accordingly, don’t smoke it but boil it (as a tea),” the guard said.