Wake up and smell the weed!

Interesting to see Sky News this morning run a story on Cannabis production in the UK and whether or not the time has come to legalise it.
http://news.sky.com/story/1195251/gang-sells-weed-to-primary-school-children

Unfortunately, despite raising many good points the report also continued the false negative propoganda by branding Cannabis as "an addictive substance". I'd like to see the scientifc study that Sky News are citing when they make this assertation. The fact is, there is none!

While I welcome the opening of the debate by Sky News, it is time now that the correct facts about Cannabis are put before the British public. The fact that it is one of the least toxic substances known to mankind with a higher LD50 than other commonly consumed substances such as Coffee. The fact that it has many proven health benefits and was the basis of 50% of all medicines prior to prohibition in the 1930's. The fact that it is a non addictive substance, unlike alcohol or tobacco. If we are to have a proper debate then people need to know and understand the facts. Many people worry that Cannabis is dangerous to health - if they understand that far from being dangerous it is actually benefical then many would think very differently about their attitude towards it and their stance on its legalisation.

The other point the Sky News report raised that had many viewers concerned was the fact that Cannabis is being sold by criminal gangs to primary school childern. The official response from Norman Baker, Minister of State at the Home Office, was that selling Cannabis carries a 14 year jail sentence and that the UK government is committed to cracking down on it. UH!! When will our elected representatives wake up and smell the weed! Prohibition does not work! It doesn't stop the supply and it doesn't stop the demand. All prohibition does is allow the government to abdicate their responsibility for the proper regulation of the market. If you really want to stop Cannabis being sold to primary school kids then legalise it and regulate it. It's easier for kids today to buy Cannabis than to buy alcohol or tobacco - stop spending £3bn annually on a drugs war that is a proven ineffective policy! Legalisation and regulation is the only solution.

Unfortunately, our political leaders are not actually leaders, they are followers. Followers of public opinion. If they were true leaders then they'd recognise the failed drugs policy as it relates to Cannabis, they'd recognise the many proven health benefits of Cannabis, they'd disregard the false negative propoganda, and they'd listen to the advice of their own advisory council on the misuse of drugs. However, they are too scared about what it might mean for them at the ballot box - so they continue to hold to an out of date party line. The only way we'll see a change is if ordinary people, who quite frankly have much better things to do with their lives, start to speak up and let the politicans know that enough is enough. That it's time to stop wasting billions of pounds of tax payers money on a failed drugs policy.

It's good to see the debate move more to the mainstream media and I congratulate Sky News for this, but, urge them to get their facts correct moving forward. The debate needs to move on and it needs to become a debate that is informed by the truth about Cannabis as a substance - not the false negative propoganda that is so often associated with the issue.

Let's hope that in 2014 our politicans finally wake up and smell the weed! Let's hope we see an end to prohibition and a move towards legalisation. If it's going to happen then people need to write to their elected representatives to express their dissatisfaction as tax payer and voters. This is the only way change will be brought about. We need to make Cannabis legalisation an election issue!