On 2 Apr, 16:47, Dr John Watson <drj...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> It would appear that the assurances the ACMD were given before starting
> their third review of cannabis in as many years were lies.
>
> Cannabis use has been normal in my circle of acquaintances for over 40
> years.
>
> PM backs re-classifying cannabis
>
> 1 day ago
>
> Gordon Brown has said he is determined to send a signal to young people
> that the use of cannabis is "unacceptable".
>
> At his monthly Downing Street news conference, the Prime Minister
> indicated his strong sup****t for re-classifying cannabis again as a
Class
> B drug.
>
> His comments came ahead of the expected review this month of the
Advisory
> Council on Drugs of the decision to downgrade it to a Class C drug.
>
> While Mr Brown said that he would consider the council's re****t, he made
> clear that he believed that change was necessary.
>
> "I believe that if we are sending out a signal particularly to
teenagers,
> and particularly those at the most vulnerable age, young teenagers, that
> we in any way find cannabis acceptable, given all that we now know about
> the changes in the way cannabis is being sold in this country, that is
not
> the right thing to do," he said.
>
> "My personal view has been pretty well known for some time. Given the
> changing nature of the stock of cannabis that is coming into the country
> and greater damage that that appears to be doing to people who use it,
> there is a stronger case for sending out a signal that cannabis is not
> only illegal but it is unacceptable."
>
> http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gy4pVdbfsBf9_kLeAEqZWc0xjFNw
>
> --
> Dr John Watson
> Baker Street
It's ironic that the overall effect of this episode will be to
strengthen peoples perception that "advice" from the government is
politically motivated, and of questionable value, which will lead to
more young people ignoring it.
Going back 20 years, I and my peers were fully aware that govenment
warnings about cannabis were a crock, and proceeded accordingly. And
once you realise the government is lying to you about one thing, it
becomes much easier to believe they would lie about something else.
I don't know about other countries, but it seems in the UK we've
become so governed by soundbites and meedja that this kind of Alice-in-
Wonderland situation is happening more and more.
The UK government is speared on the horns of a dilemma of it's own
making. Hopefully it will come to the inevitable conclusion that the
only way out is to completely overhaul the entire philosphy of state-
citizen relation****p and change the way drug abuse (including alcohol
and tobacco and caffeine) is managed.
However, I can smell fudge cooling in teh kitchen, and I could almost
write the statement myself where the government thanks the ACMD for
their work, and appreciates that their recommendation comes from a
scientific analysis, whereas the classification system is meant to
handle the social and environmental effects of drug usage, and
therefore the decision to regrade cannabis is not incompatible with
their research.
I wonder which media outlets will remember that the ACMD was set up to
advise the government on the scientific, social and environmental
effects of drug usage, and re****t accordingly to the public ?
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