UK reviews

[spidergawd]

We are definitly moving forward and I agree with the minister that a royal commision is just knocking the issue into the long grass (pun intended) for a couple more years, and then by the time they report the government has changed and nobody wants to know.
The way he seems to be approaching things says to me that decisions will be made sooner rather than later.
Change for the better, or not, we shall see.

[spidergawd]

Cannabis: Science not stigma
By Deej Sullivan

NORML UK Medical Campaign Director, Clark French, appeared on Sky News today (15/01/14) as part of a special report on cannabis.

The report came after a Sky News Correspondent gained access to a cannabis ‘factory’ in London, where he spoke to a dealer who claimed that the drug was being sold to primary school children. The dealer, who for obvious reasons was not named, explained that his operation employed 30 people and made £750,000 every three months just from selling cannabis. As well as this he briefly mentioned how different the laws are in other countries and stated his belief that the cannabis trade in the UK should be legalised “so we don’t have to hide what we are doing”.

Naturally the response to this story has been mixed, with many focussing on the claim that primary school children are able to buy and consume cannabis. Clearly this is not a good thing, and nobody in their right mind would argue that children should smoke recreationally. However many commentators seem to have missed a very important point – cannabis being so easily available for young and vulnerable people is a direct result of prohibition.

Leaving the control and supply of any product in the hands of criminals ensures that no regulations will ever be enforced by those who sell the product. It has repeatedly been shown that in countries where the laws surrounding cannabis have been relaxed, underage usage has gone down.

Sky News got a typically bland and unimaginative response from Crime Prevention Minister Norman Baker to this story, who told them – “Those who grow and supply cannabis face up to 14 years’ imprisonment. Production of cannabis for personal use is also illegal.

“We are determined to bring the criminal gangs who trade in cannabis to justice.”

However he did also mention that he is “leading a study of drugs policy in other countries”, so perhaps there is a chance he will look at the issue differently to his predecessors.

To counter the views of Baker and others who had their say, such as The Daily Mail’s perpetual perpetrator of Reefer Madness Peter Hitchens (who spouted his usual claims that cannabis is already decriminalised, presumably in an attempt to shift more copies of his ‘book’), NORML’s Clark French was invited to be interviewed live on air.

Clark gave a series of passionate and thought provoking answers to the questions put to him by Kay Burley, and attempted (and succeeded) to put down some of the many myths surrounding cannabis. Most importantly, Clark, as a medicinal user, was able to highlight the genuine need he has to be able to access what for him is a vital medicine.

Hopefully Clark’s interview will have planted a seed in the mind of some of Sky News’s viewers, and will spur them on to do some research of their own and question what they have been led to believe. As he puts it in the interview – “We need to stop basing our policy on stigma, and we need to start basing it on science.”
- See more at: http://norml-uk.org/2014/01/clark-frenc ... Q8nw0.dpuf

[treetop]

Drugs minister refuses to rule out legalisation of cannabis

Norman Baker tells MPs'weshould be prepared to follow the evidence' in first appearancebeforeparliamentary committee

Tuesday 26 November 2013 19.01 GMT

Norman Baker, Lib Dem MP for Lewes and recently appointed drugs minister, has been a controversial figure in parliament.

The new Liberal Democrat minister responsible for drugs policy, Norman Baker, has refused to rule out a policy of legalising cannabis but said that it is not his prime objective in the job. "I think it needs to be considered along with everything else. It is not my prime objective and I am not advocating it at the moment. We should be prepared to follow the evidence and see where it takes us," he said. The drugs minister has opposed a royal commission on drugs, saying that while superficially attractive it would be expensive and take a long time. He is currently completing a year-long Home Office comparison of international drug policies and is due to visit the Czech republic and Switzerland next week as part of his research. Baker was making his first appearance on Tuesday as drugs minister before the Commons home affairs committee. MPs were keen to press him over whether he still held to his previously expressed personal views on drugs and conspiracy theories now he had a job in the Home Office. At one point the radical drugs policy campaigner and Labour MP, Paul Flynn, asked him whether it was necessary to have a lobotomy before he could do his job given his previous views. Baker memorably replied: "Had I had had a lobotomy I wouldn't be able answer that question." His response was immediately nominated as quote of the day by Westminster blogger Paul Staines, aka Guido Fawkes. MPs were also keen to press Baker on his position on the recent ban on the drug, qat, which is widely used in the Somali and Yemeni communities against the advice of the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs. Baker confirmed that despite being the drugs minister, the home secretary, Theresa May, has ensured that the ban is being taken forward not by him but by the security minister, James Brokenshire. Baker explained that the decision to ban the mild stimulant had been taken in July before he joined the department and mainly on the grounds that there was a serious risk that Britain could become a regional hub for illegal trafficking as the majority of other northern European countries had already banned it. He said that it was therefore more a matter for the security minister than the drugs minister. Baker is in charge of the Home Office international study on drugs which was started by his Lib Dem predecessor, Jeremy Browne, in response to the Commons home affairs inquiry recommendation that it was time to set up a royal commission to consider all the alternatives to Britain's failing drug laws, including decriminalisation and legalisation.


http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... f-cannabis

You can thank UK420 for this, the home of the ACD refugees

Lol you got that last bit right. Great forum. Great people.

OK I'm cynical tonight. The Lib Dem appointment to an ultimately powerless position is just window dressing for the next election. While Theresa May is home secretary nothing will change. She is as blinkered as that berk Oppelstien in NL.

[A Leprechaun]

Drugs minister refuses to rule out legalisation of cannabis

Norman Baker tells MPs'weshould be prepared to follow the evidence' in first appearancebeforeparliamentary committee

Tuesday 26 November 2013 19.01 GMT

Norman Baker, Lib Dem MP for Lewes and recently appointed drugs minister, has been a controversial figure in parliament.

The new Liberal Democrat minister responsible for drugs policy, Norman Baker, has refused to rule out a policy of legalising cannabis but said that it is not his prime objective in the job. "I think it needs to be considered along with everything else. It is not my prime objective and I am not advocating it at the moment. We should be prepared to follow the evidence and see where it takes us," he said. The drugs minister has opposed a royal commission on drugs, saying that while superficially attractive it would be expensive and take a long time. He is currently completing a year-long Home Office comparison of international drug policies and is due to visit the Czech republic and Switzerland next week as part of his research. Baker was making his first appearance on Tuesday as drugs minister before the Commons home affairs committee. MPs were keen to press him over whether he still held to his previously expressed personal views on drugs and conspiracy theories now he had a job in the Home Office. At one point the radical drugs policy campaigner and Labour MP, Paul Flynn, asked him whether it was necessary to have a lobotomy before he could do his job given his previous views. Baker memorably replied: "Had I had had a lobotomy I wouldn't be able answer that question." His response was immediately nominated as quote of the day by Westminster blogger Paul Staines, aka Guido Fawkes. MPs were also keen to press Baker on his position on the recent ban on the drug, qat, which is widely used in the Somali and Yemeni communities against the advice of the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs. Baker confirmed that despite being the drugs minister, the home secretary, Theresa May, has ensured that the ban is being taken forward not by him but by the security minister, James Brokenshire. Baker explained that the decision to ban the mild stimulant had been taken in July before he joined the department and mainly on the grounds that there was a serious risk that Britain could become a regional hub for illegal trafficking as the majority of other northern European countries had already banned it. He said that it was therefore more a matter for the security minister than the drugs minister. Baker is in charge of the Home Office international study on drugs which was started by his Lib Dem predecessor, Jeremy Browne, in response to the Commons home affairs inquiry recommendation that it was time to set up a royal commission to consider all the alternatives to Britain's failing drug laws, including decriminalisation and legalisation.


http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... f-cannabis

You can thank UK420 for this, the home of the ACD refugees

Lol you got that last bit right. Great forum. Great people.

OK I'm cynical tonight. The Lib Dem appointment to an ultimately powerless position is just window dressing for the next election. While Theresa May is home secretary nothing will change. She is as blinkered as that berk Oppelstien in NL.

spot on treetop

[Dark-side-of-moon]

There's much more intelligent informed discussion over Drug Policy these days (in U.K.).
Admittedly in the past you would have got more sense out of a rock (both stoners and War-On-Drugs proponents)

[Repeat'O'fender]

Some very interesting stuff to read through. Its time things changed for the better no more living in the past.

Its going to take a long time but i agree that we as users should be able to buy our cannabis at a secure safe location ending all the gangs/dealers that are litterally milking us dry and making a huge profit.

The medical side of things for me is the pinnicle of this, if we can crack that we're onto a winner.

Does anyone know where there may be any info on uk dates for voicing your opinions etc ?

Great forum this

[spidergawd]

Can you bring an ounce of weed into Britain?


UK Border Agency: do not arrest passengers for small amounts of weed.
By Greg de Hoedt.

Border Agency staff told ‘Passengers entering Britain caught in possession of cannabis should not be arrested’, it has emerged.
Instead of getting the usual caution or even being arrested for cannabis smuggling, those caught with under one ounce of cannabis will be let go. It is not yet known why there is to be more leniency at international borders than there is for citizens and residents already within the country.
Could it be that officials are expecting an influx of tourists from one of the increasing number of cannabis friendly administrations around the UK, such as Colorado and Uruguay? (I’ve heard the quality and deals are better there than in Britain). Or is it that so many people are found coming through with such low amounts that there is little time and resources for the UK Border Agency to police these matters? It would be terrible if officers were cavity searching an old lady for accidentally bringing back some Nederhash from Amsterdam and some terrorists waltzed through security now wouldn’t it?
Or is it even simpler than that?

UK Border Agency says possession of small amounts of Class B drugs should not lead to arrest
It could be down to poor management and funding say bosses who have drawn attention to the potential security breaches. A lack of staff manning immigration and passports meant “These resources are important both to detect smugglers and provide a deterrent to others.”
In a report from an official immigration officer at Stansted Airport it was revealed that a passenger was found in possession of a small quantity of cannabis, was arrested and then dearrested and released as it was assumed he was still under the influence – something that is not actually against the law. Staff involved were criticised as this went against earlier orders to not arrest passengers under these circumstances unless there was aggravating factors.
The advice to UK Border Agency staff has not been limited to cannabis and includes small amounts of amphetamines and mephedrone in quantities considered for ‘personal use’.
While those found with what are still illicit drugs on them will not be arrested and detained, they will still face having the substances taken out of their possession. Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, John Vine, two years ago released a similar report detailing passengers flying into Gatwick who had had drugs confiscated and no fine or other legal action was taken.
Last year Theresa May was scrutinised for dropping security measures at UKBA allowing passengers to enter the country unchecked.
A UK Border Force spokesman said: "Our message is clear: Importing cannabis is illegal and our officers will seize it and other illegal drugs if smugglers try to bring it into the UK.
"Like the police, UK Border Force officers have powers to deal with small seizures of Class B and C drugs, in quantities consistent with personal use, without referring the matter to court.
"Since we split the UK Border Force from UKBA, it has been making significant improvements in its performance - security has been strengthened and excessive queues are gone."
Non flying passengers were also able to take advantage of the duty-free deals due to a fault in the airport layout, making it possible to buy products such as cigarettes and alcohol at prices usually only available to travellers. This was only brought to staffs attention when one customer came back twice in one day!
It looks like it doesn’t matter if they are legal or not there’s something not quite normal going on at Stansted Airport when it comes to drugs.
The spokesperson continued “Transforming all areas of the UK Border Force will take time but I am confident that we are making the right changes with security now at the heart of everything UK Border Force does.”

UK Cannabis Social Clubs and NORML UK would like to make it clear that this is not a free pass to try and smuggle back small quantities of cannabis – but good luck if you do.

[spidergawd]

This e-petition is to support Caroline Lucas MP. in her effort to raise the issue of UK Drugs Policy and Laws to be debated in Parlaiment.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/uk_epetition/?bbCBPbb&v=35792

Theres just a couple more days, at the moment it's about 81.000. I think it's important whatever the outcome to maintain momentum at this time, and keep it as a live issue. This e-petition remains open to signatures and will be considered for debate by the Backbench Business Committee should it pass the 100 000 signature threshold.

Interesting read:- http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/do ... 7/8567.asp

[spidergawd]

Caroline Lucas MP’s drug petition reaches 100k signatures

MPs forced to look at drug laws
By Greg de Hoedt

A Downing Street online petition calling for an Impact Assessment on the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 has finally reached its target of 100,000 signatories.

The petition, put forward by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, calls for an Impact Assessment to see if the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA71) is cost effective and value for money. In times of austerity can we afford policies that are failing? Is anyone checking to see if the current system has been too pricey for what it has delivered?

The petition:

“Drug related harms and the costs to society remain high in Britain, with a growing consensus that the current enforcement led approach is not working. In recent months the independent UK Drugs Policy Commission has highlighted the fact that Government is spending around £3 billion a year on a policy that is often self-defeating; and the Home Affairs Select Committee has concluded Government action is needed “now, more than ever” to consider all the alternatives to our failing drug laws and learn from countries that have adopted a more evidence based approach.”


Green MP Caroline Lucas succeeds in gaining the necessary 100,000 signatures to call for an independent assessment of the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act will be debated in Parliament

The petition had only reached 50,000 signatures in its last week before the deadline and it was looking like it was doomed to fail. However, in the last few days, before the petition was due to close, a staggering 60,000+ people signed, passing it through the required 100,000 threshold. This means a backbench committee of MPs will have to look at the issue and decide whether it should be discussed in Parliament.

The rise in numbers in the last week can be attributed in part to widespread sharing on social media and celebrity endorsement from Russell Brand and the website Avaaz.

Caroline Lucas said: “The Misuse of Drugs Act is hopelessly out of date. It has never been reviewed, or undergone a cost-benefit analysis. In England and Wales alone, an estimated £3billion a year is spent fighting the war on drugs, to little effect. Over half of the people in prison are thought to have serious drug problems, and yet we continue to fail to treat drug addiction as the serious health problem it is.

“I’m absolutely delighted that so many people have sent a clear message to the Government that we need a fresh approach. Today we have achieved an enormous step towards an evidence-based drugs strategy.”

NORML UK congratulates Caroline Lucas and everyone who signed it for the success with the important petition.

Reaching the target for this e-petition was important, not only to get it reviewed by MPs but to send a broader message that there is a great calling for this issue to be discussed in the UK. If it had failed it would have been evidence to those against law reform that we do not need an Impact Assessment.

We need to support the MPs that are prepared to stand up and support cannabis law reform. It is our hope the success of this petition will encourage more MPs to support Caroline Lucas in her campaign to fight for sensible drug policies.
Petition by Green MP, Caroline Lucas, passes necessary 100k threshold to force backbench MPs to discuss drugs policy in the UK.

Petitioning played a huge part in the US states that now have recreational and medical cannabis laws. Although we do not have voter ballot initiatives in the UK, the success of this e-petition shows we can influence lawmakers to at least debate the issue.

The petition at time of publishing this article had just passed 115,600, so that’s past the necessary 100k, however, if you have not yet signed, you can still do so online at Downing Street’s official web site; the more the merrier. According to the web site of No 10, only four open petitions listed have passed the 100k threshold.

- See more at: http://norml-uk.org/2014/02/caroline-lu ... scXgm.dpuf

[treetop]

This e-petition is to support Caroline Lucas MP. in her effort to raise the issue of UK Drugs Policy and Laws to be debated in Parlaiment.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/uk_epetition/?bbCBPbb&v=35792

Theres just a couple more days, at the moment it's about 81.000. I think it's important whatever the outcome to maintain momentum at this time, and keep it as a live issue. This e-petition remains open to signatures and will be considered for debate by the Backbench Business Committee should it pass the 100 000 signature threshold.

Interesting read:- http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/do ... 7/8567.asp

Done and done. Thanks for linking Spider.

[Repeat'O'fender]

Yeah thanks for the link

Although late I still got my signature in

133,166 that's a massive achievement!

Let's hope for a greener future

[spidergawd]

All this talk of a sensible approach to Cannabis seems to have fired up the anti-drug warriors.

Reefer Madness UK style

Dr Faizal Mohammed claims cannabis is laced with heroin

By Greg de Hoedt

According to the Liverpool Echo and Dr Faizal Mohammed, Liverpool black market drug dealers are lacing cannabis with heroin, methadone and diazepam in an attempt to get smokers addicted to cannabis and keep coming back. Cannabis is renowned for being a form of relaxation that is a less harmful and addictive to legally available drugs such as alcohol and cigarettes.


Dr Faizal Mohammed, a specialist and clinical director for Mersey Care NHS Trust’s addiction service has suggested that most young people are coming for help with withdrawal symptoms of the laced cannabis than they are seeing come in for alcohol problems, although he provided no evidences for his claims.
In any case, this would indicate that younger people are more aware cannabis is a safer form of recreation than alcohol, as the medical literature from studies has shown; however due to the lack of control of the industry that produces cannabis and the market that sells it, they are left at risk by unscrupulous dealers looking to get repeat custom.
An ex-addict interviewed by the Liverpool Echo says people “wouldn’t know what they were smoking”.

Brian Conlon from the Merseyside Cannabis Supporters campaigning for the legalisation of cannabis in the UK said, “We were shocked at the lack of facts within this story and how much was just based on hearsay of an ex-addict, the press should be promoting both sides of the story.”

The Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs chaired by prof David Nutt, also the newly appointed head of the European Brain Council, have published a chart listing drugs in their order of harm 1 being the most harmful and 20 being the lesser. While cannabis was rated at number 9, heroin, crack, tobacco and alcohol were placed between 1-4.
Any seasoned cannabis smoker would be aware if their cannabis was somehow tampered with or laced with other drugs. It begs to ask if the cannabis in question has been tested to confirm that these claims of cannabis laced with other drugs are true or not. Without testing in a lab and just anecdotal evidence at hand from unqualified consumers, there are good reasons not to believe the claims, as the article confuses matters and tries to find other excuses.
"If you are in the Mersey area please be careful if you are forced to buy your cannabis from the streets. Those with a previous history of addiction should be extra vigilant. If in doubt, put it out – or just don’t give these criminals looking for a quick penny the chance to put your health at risk in the first place."
While this public health warning is being overlooked, much of the article tries to warn people of the dangers of cannabis and how addictive it has become due to people spraying harder drugs, glass, iron and sawdust (to add weight) it fails to draw upon the most obvious causation – prohibition.

During America’s prohibition of alcohol in the early 20th century there was a rise in bootleg liquor, often contaminated with poisons and harmful chemicals to increase the intoxicating effects of the drink. People went blind, had bleeding stomachs and even died at hands of the ruthless profiteering gangsters like Al Capone. They would never have been able to cause so much damage through the dangerous drug that they were peddling, i.e., alcohol were not prohibited. They wouldn’t have gone around with their tommy guns and shoot down rival gangs moving in on their territory. We are seeing the same ruthless tactics being employed by some criminal gangs in the UK with cannabis this time.
The Liverpool based so-called drug expert, Dr Faizal Mohammed has also indicated that people are not only moving towards cannabis from alcohol, but the numbers of people using crack cocaine and heroin and coming to them for help is also declining. If this is the case then regulation would surely be a way to protect consumers and take the trade out of the hands of dangerous people that deserve to be behind bars.
When drugs are sold in an unregulated environment there is nothing to stop cannabis being sold next to crack or heroin; they all are prohibited substances and “controlled” by the Misuse of Drugs act and criminals looking to profit will happily take the risk to sell. Cannabis is a much easier drug to produce in the UK than crack or heroin, and also much cheaper. Growing cannabis takes three months minimum and for the set up cost of around £400 a profit of £10,000 could be made from a grow.

Merseyside Cannabis Supports members say they have “not heard of any cannabis laced with another drug, or even attempting to contaminate cannabis at all. Consumers are wising up to these old tricks.”
Mr Conlon added, “We at MCS believe both medical and recreational use of cannabis is a basic human right.
“The only thing that can be taken from this story is that we should have a regulated market and a safe place in which to consume cannabis.”
Cannabis sold in the legal regulated market to over 21’s in Colorado is tested in labs for purity and potency. It is grown under strict state regulations. The product is prepared safely and labelled for the consumer to be able to make a choice of what potency and what effect they want. A number of medical marijuana patients have stopped using drugs like heroin, crack, cocaine and benzodiazepines and their prescription substitute drugs, because of the safety of cannabis compared to prescribed alternatives such as methadone and subutex. They do not face the risk of being exposed to those substances through their cannabis or the way they obtain it. No other drugs, including alcohol are sold alongside cannabis. It has just been decided that $99million of the money raised from the tax of recreational cannabis sales is going to be put into substance education programs to help reduce the harms of drug use and abuse.

Reefer Madness Creeps In

Despite the potential serious health problem facing cannabis users, if the claims are true, the article tries to focus on the harms of cannabis – not the drugs that are causing the addiction and which can be lethal, something cannabis is not capable of being. Dr Failzal Mohammed wanted to highlight that there is more high potency cannabis (often referred to as skunk) now on the market, which he says “has more THC – the harmful element”. While this “specialist” may be of the opinion that it is “harmful” the scientists at GW Pharmaceuticals have been using it to treat the debilitating spasm’s and tremors of MS patients. The medical pamphlet that comes with their drug, Sativex which can also be prescribed for neuropathic and chronic back pain issues, indicates that there are no withdrawal symptoms when patients cease using the drug. The only withdrawals cited by patients that have stopped receiving their Sativex cannabis medicine due to NHS Trust funding withdrawal are a return to the painful and life altering symptoms.
Incidentally, there is no mention of cannabis being laced with any other drug in the 2008 Cannabis Potency Study carried out by the Home Office with the help of GW Pharmaceuticals.
Dr Faizal Mohammed does in some ways appear to be unsure about his own claims though. In the quote from the Liverpool Echo article he says “There is a clear association between cannabis and psychosis (abnormal condition of the mind), maybe a causal link. Whether it can cause psychosis is not entirely clear, but there is some link with depression and anxiety.”
So in two lines cannabis has gone from being a “clear cause” of psychosis to “maybe” being the cause and then to, “it’s not entirely clear”. Does Dr Faizal Mohammed know what he’s talking about or is he just looking for media attention?

Despite people choosing cannabis for its well-known and proven track record of safety they are unaware they are, if Dr Faizal Mohammed’s claims are true, they’re being exposed to drugs that have harmful and unpleasant side effects such as anxiety, depression and withdrawal from diazepam which will mimic Indica strains to make you sleepy and relaxed. Conversely crack would produce a much more amplified version of Sativa strains giving you a more cerebral and energetic effect.
The worrying thing is, prohibition allows children to become part of the industry, both buying and selling cannabis. They can buy cannabis without ID, which is required by law in places like the coffeeshops of Amsterdam, but they may be selling it too, with such little experience and without any education of exactly what cannabis the drug gangs are pushing. These are the same drug cowardly gangs that would rather a child got in trouble with the law instead of them.
A drug user interviewed by the Liverpool Echo said “These kids of the new generation are in an even worse place than we were. Now they spray it with methadone, diazepam. They put fibre glass, sand and saw dust in to weight it. The diazepam gives you a buzz but when you stop taking it, you get mad panic attacks and it’s a scary place to be.”
“They’ll put heroin in it which shows how determined they are to keep people on the end of the line.”
While cannabis has never been proven to induce someone’s appetite for heroin or cocaine, a dealer selling all three may have learned a trick or two when it comes to enticing vulnerable or underage people into trying something else. It is a dangerous game for the Government to play when they allow the drug market to be mixed. There aren’t many people that go and buy a bottle of wine from the off-license and then think, “you know what, I must pick up some heroin on the way home”. The same is true for cannabis under regulated models such as the Cannabis Social Clubs in Spain. Club members buy their cannabis from a safe source and know exactly what it is they are getting and you won’t find any other recreational or party drugs in their clubs, so there is no temptation or anyone to temp them.

If we could, as a society, have a more open and honest debate about cannabis, its effects and its market we would be able to reduce any potential harm dramatically. If people are worried about youth consuming cannabis, we should look at ways to restrict their access. If people are worried about contamination, which is only happening under prohibition then we should regulate the industry. The methods of going after street dealers, gangs and even full scale commercial cultivation with expensive and timely police investigations and raids has not been effective and is not any having an impact on the use rates at all, which the NHS trust suggests national statistics prove cannabis use is still increasing. All we are seeing is cannabis being made more harmful than nature intends it to be.

[spidergawd]

Copied from:- http://www.norml.org.uk

Street dealing rises in Maascricht following ‘pot tourism’ crackdown

By Chris Roach


The Daily Mail released an interesting article http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/artic ... alers.html on the 10th of March, which seems to have gone completely under the radar receiving only eight comments on it. The headline read ‘Maastricht locals complain of rise in street dealers following 'pot tourism' crackdown’.
As many of you will have heard in the past, The Netherlands has tried to introduce a weed pass to stop so called pot tourism coming to the country. While it has not been brought into affect in Amsterdam and doesn’t look likely to, it has been brought in to the southern region of the country. Due to this these cities are starting to see a rise of drug dealers come back into the cities.
We need to have a licensed market to get rid of the dealers; it’s as simple as that. Drug dealers bring misery to communities by ripping off customers on a regular basis. An ounce of weed costs virtually nothing to grow yourself, however if you are buying off a dealer, you would be lucky to get a 2-gram bag for twenty pounds. It’s one of the major downfalls of prohibition; it’s the concept of supply and demand. When something is legal the supply will tend to outweigh the demand and therefore create competition in a free and regulated market; thus providing the consumer with a cheaper price. But when something is illegal, the demand for the product outweighs the supply of it and the price can be chosen at whatever the dealer wants to set it out. I have a friend in California who pays $200 for an ounce; he laughed at me when I said I was paying $400 (£230).
The next problem is the fact that now dealers are able to go after children as customers. From my first trip to Amsterdam when I was 18, I was asked to provide I.D in every single coffee shop I went into. The rate of use of cannabis by under 18’s in the Netherlands is among the lowest in Europe, so there must be some correlation between decriminalisation and teen use.
Carol Berghmans lives close to the River Maas said ‘Now the drug runners are trying to sell on the street to anyone, they are bothering everybody.' Maastricht is a small little border town; so many people would actually not spend time there, but just get what they needed before going back to their home country. Anyone who has driven through Europe will realise the lack of border control makes things like this ridiculously easy to do. But this won’t do anything to stop the flow; these pot tourists could just drive the extra two hours to Amsterdam and get what they need.
The weed pass as well is an interesting topic: it is up to local municipalities to enforce them meaning that cities in the Netherlands can choose whether they want coffeeshops in their cities or not. We could have the same plan put into place but our government is too conservative in their ideas about what would happen. The idea arose two years ago of opening a coffeeshop in Brighton; it would be the perfect place for the government to experiment on what would happen. Do you think there would be public outcry? Would there be a breakdown in society? Of course not because we as adults should get to choose what we allow into our bodies.

The beautiful Dutch city of Maastricht has seen an increase in street dealing since they banned foreigners from the cannabis coffeeshops.
There are actually loads of coffeeshops in the United Kingdom, its just getting round the problem of cannabis being illegal. These coffeeshops run under the nose of the law, but are still very popular among those that know about them. The government could easily be making 20% taxes off each sale, but instead they continue to arrest users and brand them as criminals. The Dutch Experience in Stockport was one of the originals but was eventually raided.
David Cameron must take note. You have almost half the states in the US legal for medical use or recreational use with more set to follow later this year. The majority of EU countries have taken away criminal sanctions for handling small personal amounts including Germany, Spain and Portugal. Its not hard to see that a change is happening and for everyone reading you should be very hopeful for the future as this law cannot be upheld. We have Members of Parliament supporting our cause from Green Party MP, Caroline Lucas, to Liberal Democrat Norman Baker.
The war on drugs is essentially unwinnable, especially the war on cannabis. Being a campaigner for this fight has made me question what the government can actually do to stop cannabis as a whole and the only conclusion I could come to was that they would have to destroy every strain of the plant and wipe its genetics off the face of the planet. It’s extreme but that’s the only way they could get rid of it in the UK. We have a huge cannabis culture in the UK and it is something we should be proud of.

[spidergawd]

OK people this year we fucking get somewhere I hope. The year has started with a fair amount of lobbying going on from http://www.clear-uk.org who have a bit of a controversial leader whos rubbed a few over sensitive souls up the wrong way some times, but as a group they are very active. In particular challenging misinformation and "reefer madness" in the media.

This poster has been touring london this week on an advan.



http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2014/04/ ... ion-advert

So I think the 420 Hyde Park gathering is going to be a big one this year, we finally seem to be getting the movement....er...moving .

[Mike93]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -laws.html