01/07/2007 00:00:00
Press Release: Warning: UK Government information on cannabis contains
---
Warning: UK Government information on cannabis contains dangerous additives!
No Embargo
The UK Home Office has referred the most recent government information
document on cannabis ("Cannabis explained" released on 25 May 2007) to
the Department of health to be reviewed for factual errors (other
discrepancies). Pending the outcome of the review, the distribution of
the hard copy has been postponed. it has also remove from the FRANK Website.
The LCA applaud the Frank Team for suspending distribution, and removing
the offending document once they were made aware that some of the
information was questionable. However, we are confused why no
information for withdrawing this document from the public domain has
been given on the Government Websites."
Don Barnard of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance Said: ""The Media, Local
Drug action Teams. charities, plus a whole army of others involved in
"the war against some drugs" - including politicians, rely on FRANK as a
reliable source of information are still disseminating some of
erroneous, unsubstantiated and dubious information to teachers, parents
and children. This is completely unacceptable for obvious reasons"
Forward planning - I will be interested what the government has to say
about this when 2007 Annual Review on FRANK'S effectiveness is publish
on 16 July 2007.
(Source
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2007-06-20a.142519.h&s=cannabis#g142519.r0
>
Legalise Cannabis Alliance
PO BOX 2883
STOKE ON TRENT
S74 9EE
http://www.lca-uk.org
publicrelation@lca-uk.org
07984 255015
Editors notes:
The LCA http://www.lca-uk.org is a UK-based organisation affiliated to
the European Coalition For Just and Effective Drug Policies (ENCOD)
http://www.encod.org. (ENCOD) is a Euro region-network of 140 NGO’s,
individual experts and citizens And, the European section of an
International Coalition, which consists of more than 200 NGOs from
around the world involved in the drug control issue.
ENCOD/International Coalition contact information:
Joep Oomen
Tel. + 32 (0)3 293 0886
Mob. + 32 (0)495 122644
E-mail: joep@encod.org
The following taken from KFX Website is a good summary of the discussion
to date.
"Frankly Unacceptable" By Kevin Flemming
Frank recently published their "Campaign Update" at the end of May 2007
with their 19-page "Cannabis Explained" document. And while we can
generally expect publications from Frank to peddle the usual Government
line when it comes to drugs and their related risks, this new Update is
far worse. It has a number of ommissions and inaccuracies which suggest,
at best, some sloppy editing/proof-reading and at worse a worrying lack
of drugs awareness amongst those responsible for disseminating drugs
information across the UK.
From the first photograph on the top of page 3, the Update is a strange
affair. This graphic shows a collection of waste, trimmed and browning
cannabis leaves, looking quite autumnal but utterly unlike what anyone
would use for intoxication. Another image on page 7 shows a collection
of crack pipes, rather than cannabis equipment.
But it is the "factual" content which is most alarming. The document
makes a number of erroneous, unsubstantiated or dubious statements
including:
* that cannabis resin is made by scraping the dried leaves of cannabis
plants
* that smoking cannabis in joints is the least harmful way to use it
* that use of cannabis damages the immune system
* becoming horribly confused about defintions for herbal cannabis, skunk
and sensimellia
* relying on a set of unproven "strengths" of cannabis from a 2004
Healthwise document to "show" how strong different strains are
* failing to mention contaminants in SoapBar and glass-contamination of
herbal cannabis
Following criticism of the document from KFx, the UKCIA and other
commentators, the Home Office has written back to say that they are
reviewing the content of the "Update." However, at the time of writing
they haven't chosen to take it off the Home Office website which means
that this inaccurate, dangerous and misleading piece of work is still
being disseminated around the country.
what KFx said to Frank about the document click
http://www.ixion.demon.co.uk/Frank%20on%20cannabis.pdf
Contact Kevin Flemming
To view the document and a point by point rebuttal by UKCIA
http://www.ukcia.org/activism/cannabis_explained_frank.php >
UKCIA Contact:
Derek Williams:
01603 773044 (office)
01603 766854 (home)
For government comment: Contact Home Office Press Department - 0207 5443111
Posted 01/07/07 - No Embargo
# # #
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12656
Author:
via UKCIA
|