So many decisions to make so much advice to ignore seems to be the motto of Gordon Brown at the moment as the UK prime minister seems set to over rule advice about the upgrading of Cannabis from group C to group B class drug. It was Gordon Brown himself who asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to investigate whether or not Cannabis should be upgrade to class B. The council have come back and recommended no change in the classification but Mr Brown is all set to ignore their advice and move it back up to a class B drug. So what are the reasons for the change?
Whether you actually agree with the change in the classification or not, there is no doubt that like any substance, over use of Cannabis does have the potential to cause both short term and long term problems. Many people who abuse the drug are at great risk mental health issues, and while the drug itself does not instil these issues into the person, it does help to bring them to the surface with often horrific side affects.
The problem which many people have in the UK is the fact that the last Labour government, of whom Gordon Brown was a major element, went ahead with a controversial downgrade of Cannabis from class B to class C, meaning that police forces were spared the expense of arresting everyone caught in possession of the drug for personal use. There were many complaints at the time with many repeating the age old adage that Cannabis was a stepping stone to harder drugs for many.
Quite where the forthcoming change will leave those who actually use Cannabis for medical purposes, such as arthritis, etc, remains to be seen but a situation which was for many years crystal clear is now as hazy as the smoke fumes which they produce!
April 7th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
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There are an untold number of companies that would simply cease functioning without well trained networking mental coaches. Others told me that maintaining focused websites will help me as a mental coach. Do you think the use of websites like yours wil…
May 8th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Irrelevant of the potential (and seemingly subjective) damage cannabis causes, the key words here are “choice” and “democracy”.
Cannabis is the subject of a genocidal campaign that exists on a global scale, and the justification for attempting to kill off what is arguably the most useful and resilient plants known to man?
Well, we’re all still waiting for a concrete answer. It seems that a plant we’ve been in contact with since before the birth of Christ is still one of the most mysterious, a discussion further distored by the hazy line drawn between Cannabis, the herbal form of the weed, and Skunk, its enhanced artificially assisted cousin.
I’ll leave you with some quotes from Harry J Anslinger, who was the keystone of Cannabis prohibition back in the 30s, following his failed attempt to ban alcohol.
“There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others.”
“…the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races.”
“Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality, and death.”
“Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men.”
“Marihuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing”
“You smoke a joint and you’re likely to kill your brother.”
“Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind.”
In the end, I can only repeat the most important and relevant phrases to any facet of the Cannabis debate: Fear is a mind killer.