12/01/2008 00:00:00
UK: The Reasons Behind Gordon Browns Marijuana Madness
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The governments constant referrals to the "social problems" caused by
cannabis have been put firmly into perspective for what they are this
week, as new figures released by the Department of Health have shown
what can only be described as a "catastrophic" rise in the numbers of
young people being treated for alcohol abuse, or dying as a result of it!
People are literally drinking themselves to death as a result of this 24
hour availability of alcohol.
A drug which suffers far more widescale abuse than cannabis ever has, a
drug which brings with it far more social implications than cannabis
does, as well as being a drug which kills far too many UK citizens every
single year and without fail.
These are the facts, no matter how the government attempts to spin them
and no matter how the Labour-supporting press reads otherwise.
But with increasing pressure from the big spending 'alcohol lobby', who
feed literally millions of pounds per year into the Exchequor, the
government seem ill-prepared to do anything at all about it.
Alcohol is a cash-cow for the government, which essentially encourages
people to drink as much as they possibly can, fuelling the running
battles we must suffer in our towns and city's every single night.
2007
One of Prime Minister Browns first speech's when he took control of the
government back in the summer of 07, referred to the possible social
issues caused by the change in law which allowed pubs and clubs to stay
open for 24 hour drinking.
At this stage its worth noting his "Personal approval rating" - a
measure of UK citizens who think he is doing a good job versus those who
think otherwise, was at +48%, with Conservative leader David Cameron
showing at +20%.
Gordon Brown said he would take another look at the effects the new
licencing laws were having on society in the UK, and act accordingly.
But towards the end of 2007, Mr Brown took a hasty U-turn on the issue,
saying he was happy the 24 hour drinking laws should remain, "with just
a "tweak" needed here and there." I'll say it is, Mr Brown!
No Confidence
This, allied to the "lost driver details" scandal, the Police pay
dispute, NHS cutbacks which saw hospital ward cleaners in South Wales
forced to serve patients meals, which became a pre-cursor to an MRSA and
Clostridium Difficile epidemic , as well as the Labour Party donations
scandal which Peter Hain is about to be hanged over and the prison
officers dispute, has seen Gordon Browns personal approval rating
plummet, to -26%, which is a massive vote of "No Confidence" from the
British public.
As Prime Minister of the country its fair to assume Mr Brown had access
to the Department of Health figures regarding alcohol long before they
were released for the consumption of the general public.
Spin-Monger
Which may go someway to explaining the massive spin campaign the
government has undertaken on the reclassification of cannabis?
A substance which to date, has yet to kill a single person as a direct
result of consuming it. FACT!
But regardless of the facts, the press in the UK, doubtless fed by the
Labour party 'spin bowlers', has constantly refused to pick up the story
of the widescale abuse of alcohol, choosing instead, to concentrate on
the cannabis issue, a substance which governments across the European
Dis-Union and the rest of world, are decriminalising wholesale.
Yet here in the UK, the government are seeking to reclassify cannabis as
an answer to what?
In 2004, when then Home Secretary David Blunkett initially declassified
cannabis from a Class B drug, to a Class C, he did so with the backing
of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).
Mr Blunkett commented "The reclassification of cannabis will allow the
police to concentrate on the scourge of Class A drugs such as heroin and
cocaine. A deadly and lethal white tide which is sweeping the nation."
Today, in 2008, ACPO has again come out in support of the government
reclassifying cannabis BACK to Class B substance, which brings with it
tougher jail sentences and higher fines.
Chief Constable of Humberside Tim Hollis told the Association of Chief
Police Officers (ACPO) in Cardiff : “In light of what we know about
confusion for young people about how serious the drug is — some thinking
it is legal — and increasing medical evidence about the disproportionate
harm to young people of strong cannabis there are persuasive arguments
in our view to support the re-classification debate."
Thats rubbish Mr Hollis, as well you know and in the meantime has the
"scourge" of Class A drugs been dealt with?
No it hasn't. In fact, the problem is worse today than it was back in
2004. A lot worse in fact, showing the abject capitulation on the part
of the police to deal with a problem which is proving to be a bit more
tricky to get to grips with than cannabis ever has.
2007 saw for the first time, children as young as 13 years being treated
for heroin addiction. Thankfully this only came to light in my home area
of South Wales and not in Humberside.
What say you on this issue Mr Hollis? What do you plan to do about it?
The answer, is you plan to complain how bad cannabis is for our youth,
and in doing so, side step the real social issues of 2008.
Heroin and cocaine are cheaper and more widely available today than they
have ever been before and when you add to that the epidemic in
prescription pill abuse, a substance which is manufactured by the
pharmaceutical industry, from the same base ingredient as heroin in a
lot of cases, the mist clears on why ACPO, and the government are so
insistent on keeping cannabis firmly in the hands of organised criminals.
Without cannabis to bolster law enforcements drug results, there are no
results.
The fact is, if cannabis were to be decriminalised for personal
consumption, the Vietnamese cannabis farms would have to move on, as has
been proven in Holland and in Portugal, who do not have these issues to
deal with, leaving the police with a real battle on their hands as they
try to stem the dangerous and highly addictive opioid drugs.
A battle they already know is a lost cause.
There is absolutely no doubt. Cannabis brings with it certain health
risks but when stood side by side with those which come as a result of
alcohol, of tobacco and of Class A drugs, they pale into insignificance.
Yes. Insignificance.
Were this not the case, in todays litigeous society, Canada and the US,
two countries which grow cannabis on behalf of its medical consumers and
then sells it to them, would be bankrupt in a month.
Even the United States. The very country which cannabis prohibition
originated from after a lie was told in congress , allows medical
patients to possess and to grow cannabis, supported by literally
thousands of Physicians in daily practice.
US Presidential candidate Senator Mike Gravel from Alaska, speaking to
teenagers at the respected Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire,
('teenagers' by the way), said he believes cannabis should be available
in shops, regulated by the government.
He continued, ""Alcohol is a heck of a lot worse than marijuana, and I'm
sure a lot of you have tripped out on alcohol," "It's a lot safer to do
it on marijuana." VIDEO
The next President of the United States Barack Obama smoked cannabis and
when asked if he inhaled, he said "Of course I inhaled. Thats the point,
right?"
Which gives a message that whatever reasons the UK government are
choosing to continue this ceaseless war against cannabis, public health
isn't one of them.
So lets take a look at some possible reasons for this failure to listen
to reason.
Alcohol
If cannabis were decriminalised, the alcohol industry would be impacted
to the tune of billions of pounds in lost revenues every single year.
I personally fought against alcohol dependency for almost 20 years, a
problem made worse by the fact I was a truck driver, piloting 44 ton's
of angry hot steel around Europe, whilst under the influence of alcohol
every single day, and I was far from being alone in this situation.
Thankfully I, as well as every other road user I came into contact with,
escaped from out of this dangerous situation unscathed, but lots of
alcoholic truck drivers are not so lucky, with hundreds dying on
European roads every year.
As a result of substituting alcohol with cannabis, I was able to turn my
back on drinking (and truck driving) with no withdrawal symptoms and
have been dry for almost 5 years to date, losing over 5 stone in weight
in the process.
Just a single positive cannabis story among a great many I could quote
and I'm without a single doubt - cannabis saved my life!
Pharmaceutical
There's nothing worse than dealing with pain. This could be dental pain,
period pain, a bad back etc, but no matter what pain you suffer, there's
a pill you can buy, which is meant to relieve it.
Aspirin, paracetamol, Ibuprofen etc, generate billions of pounds in
"over-the-counter" pharmacy sales every year, and as the body gets older
and starts to break down, so conditions like sciatica, artheritis,
spondylosis and hernia set in, compounding our misery even further.
But cannabis is already a proven pain-killer and trust me when I tell
you it works.
Multiple Sclorosis sufferers, AIDS/HIV patients, people being treated
for cancer while at the same time being treated for being treated for
cancer, will all bear witness to the pain relieving, theraputic
qualities and benefits of using cannabis.
A pain reliever which improves the quality of life for literally tens of
thousands of patients around the world and on a daily basis. A fact the
government and the pharmaceutical industry knows only too well.
But clearly not in the United Kingdom.
NOTE: Sativex IS available in the UK, through your doctor, albeit as a
licensed drug. But you have the option to ask your doctor to recommend
it for certain conditions.
Whilst it doesn't work for everyone, it beats the shit out of getting
arrested so give it a shot.
Petroleum
Perhaps one of the most surprising reasons cannabis remains illegal is
as a result of the Petroleum Industry.
The petroleum by-products market is one of the few which could give the
alcohol and tobacco industry's a run for their money or exceed them.
Every single man-made fibre we wear, or walk on, or sit on, we drive in,
we fly in, we eat from, we cook with etc, is a by-product of the
petroleum industry.
Ever since man made fibre's and plastic were invented a little over 80
years ago they've taken over in our homes, offices and factories.
But here's a fact you probably didn't realise. Almost every piece of
plastic ever manufactured, still exists in one form or another, apart
from a very small amount which has been incinerated.
Sure a lot of it is in a hole in the ground somewhere. Bulking up
landfill sites it may be, but it still "exists".
A huge percentage of it is floating around the Pacific Ocean in
phenomena called "The Eastern Garbage patch" or the "North Pacific Gyre".
According to Wikipedia; ""The North Pacific Gyre (also known as the
North Pacific Subtropical Gyre) is a swirling vortex of ocean currents
comprising most of the northern Pacific Ocean.
It is located between the equator and 50º N latitude and occupies an
area of approximately ten million square miles (34 million km²)."
The centre of the North Pacific Gyre is relatively stationary region of
the Pacific Ocean (the area it occupies is often referred to as the
horse latitudes) and the circular rotation around it draws waste
material in.
This has led to the accumulation of flotsam and other debris in huge
floating 'clouds' of waste which have taken on informal names, the Great
Pacific Garbage Patch, the Eastern Garbage Patch or the Pacific Trash
Vortex.
While historically this debris has biodegraded, the gyre is now
accumulating vast quantities of plastic and marine debris.
Rather than biodegrading, plastic photodegrades, disintegrating in the
ocean into smaller and smaller pieces. These pieces, still polymers,
eventually become individual molecules, which are still not easily digested.
Some plastics photodegrade into other pollutants.
The floating particles also resemble zooplankton, which can lead to them
being consumed by jellyfish, thus entering the ocean food chain.
In samples taken from the gyre in 2001, the mass of plastic exceeded
that of zooplankton (the dominant animalian life in the area) by a
factor of six. Many of these long-lasting pieces end up in the stomachs
of marine birds and animals.""
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is said to cover an area twice the size
of Texas and every single one of us, no matter where we live on the
planet, add's to this when we dispose of our plastic products.
Its an ecological disaster, quite literally "fuelled" by the petroleum
industry, and one which never needed to happen in the first place, but
for the fact hemp was outlawed at the same time as cannabis.
Hemp
Hemp is a hugely useful commodity which we are not allowed to grow
because it is a distant cousin to the much maligned cannabis plant.
Yet in countries around the world such as The Phillipines and Canada,
hemp is grown, and sold to the UK and the United States as part of
cannabis prohibition.
Hemp has many uses to us as a civilisation. Not least of which is the
inherent strength the hemp fibre maintains, making it ideal for many
different applications including rope, twine, clothing, fabrics of all
descriptions including being built into the interior of luxury motor
cars including Mercedes and BMW.
As a food source the hemp seed contains the fullest spectrum of
essential omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids which the body needs to
function properly but don't take my word for it.
If you are looking for a complete food supplement to feed your children,
ask at your local health food shop about the benefits of whole, shelled
hemp seed.
Natural Plastics
Running through the centre of the hemp stalk is a material which is
composed of 100% cellulose, or plastic, in its naturally occurring raw form.
With an absolute minimum of processing this cellulose core can be
harvested and turned into any plastic object you can think of, or that
you may use today, without the need for oil derricks or platforms and as
a result the hemp plant is the only real alternative to our addiction to
fossil fuels.
As if that wasn't reason enough to demand the UK grows hemp wholesale
and as soon as possible, there's another reason you should know about.
Carbon Dioxide - Primary "Greenhouse" Gas
When it grows, hemp sequesters literally hundreds of tonnes of carbon
dioxide out of the atmosphere, per hectare of hemp grown.
Here's the science
Plants grow by using the process of photo-synthesis.
That is, active radiation (sunlight) falls upon the leaves of the plant,
and the nutrients which are transported up from the routes via the
internal distribution system, "photo-synthesize" these nutrients into
sugars and starch's, which the plant uses to feed itself, but there's
one important feature ingredient missing at this stage.
Carbon
As you will already know everything which exists, does so as a result of
carbon, and hemp loves carbon, which it uses as the building blocks to
actually build itself. Lots of it.
If we as a planet were to undertake a 10 year program of growing hemp we
could reduce the rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere drastically,
bringing our impending ecological disaster firmly into check, and all as
a result of growing a single species of plant. FACT!
Unbelievable as it may sound, its absolutely true, and it won't take too
many Google search's to find out everything you need to know.
All of which begs the question, why does cannabis (and hemp) remain
illegal in the United Kingdom?
With the reclassification of cannabis back to a Class B substance, many
thousands of British citizens will be imprisoned, and suffer the stigma
of having a criminal record to contend with for the rest of their lives,
and on what grounds?
Certainly not on the grounds of public health! The current policies
concerning alcohol and tobacco, and the millions of deaths which have
resulted to date disprove that theory once and for all.
The fact is, cannabis and hemp are illegal as a result of industry. At
the whim of a few once powerful men.
Big business, which is set to lose trillions of pounds sterling as a
result of people shifting over to more ecologically sound living and
working practices and with support of the public, we can bring pressure
to bear on governments around the world, to do away with ecologically
unsound practices of drilling holes in the earth's crust and extracting
the black stinking mess that is crude oil, because the fact is we don't
need it anymore.
Whats this got to do with the legal status of cannabis in the UK?
It has everything to do with it and any politician, or high ranking
police officer who stands in the way of this, should be removed from
office at the earliest possible convenience, as for the sake of a few
large industrialists they are commiting crimes against humanity.
Crimes which could be stopped today, but for having the balls to make a
few tough decisions.
Taxi for Mr Brown?
http://pr.cannazine.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=90&Itemid=27
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=13145
Author:
CannaZine via UKCIA
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