The Home Affairs Committee has extended the period for submitting written evidence to 7th February. If you haven't already done so, please tell them what you think of the prohibition of cannabis
Cannabis
History
Listening
to the politicians you might be forgiven for thinking cannabis is a new drug being
introduced by evil pushers. The truth couldn't be more different as the history
section demonstrates
Indian
Hemp And The Dope Fiends Of Old England Sean Blanchard and Matthew Atha.
The drugs history of colonial Britain, is examined in this article, including
the rise of the prohibitionist movement, and their battle with the free-trade
movement. Also featured is the background to the famous Indian Hemp Drugs commission.
Marijuana
- The First Twelve Thousand Years Ernest L. Abel The complete history
of the cannabis plant and it's relationship with mankind The Consumers Union
Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs Edward M. Brecher and the Editors of Consumer
Reports Magazine, 1972 Drug prohibition, an examination.
Law
Library
The
UKCIA law library contains the full text of the most important legislation governing
the use of drugs, including cannabis in the UK. Please note this information is
given for guidance only and should not be taken as authoritative. If you have
legal troubles, please do not rely on the information given here for your defence.
Please
consult a law professional for any questions on the legislation and interpretation
of drug laws!
Misuse
of Drugs Act 1971 The main Act governing the usage of 'illicit' drugs
in the UK. Updated to take into account changes in legislation.
Human
Rights Act 1998 This is the Act which a number of people have been trying
to use as a defence against punishment for cannabis possession. Is it compatible
with the 1971 MoDA? (86k)
Misuse
of Drugs Regulations 2001 The regulations banning cannabis from being
medically prescribed under any circumstances, despite its proven effectiveness.
The
UKCIA research library contains links to important articles and reports on subjects
relating to cannabis, it's one of the largest publicity accessible collections
of cannabis research in the UK.
In
the interests of truth and objectivity, we are attempting to present the available
research without bias. The intention is to spread knowledge about cannabis because
we believe that knowledge is the best weapon against prohibition.
We
hope the result is a useful resource for researcher and campaigners alike.
After
the war on Drugs - A blueprint for regulation.
The
highly respected drug law campaign Transform have just published their latest
report looking at options for the regulation of a legal drugs trade. Worth a look.
Perhaps
the most important cannabis use information there is - DIY harm reduction: say
"no" to tobacco! Tokepure
Pot
Culture
By Russell
Cronin
Cannabis
and popular culture
This
is a major article on the influence of cannabis on music from the 30's to the
90's, from the days of "Reefer madness" to the Acid house dance culture
revolution at the end of the 1990's.
The new sentencing guidelines for cannabis "offences" have been released and represent potentiall very good news. UKCIA will give more information about how this will all work when the dust settles a bit, but for now see this excellent summary from the IDMU - New Sentencing Guidelines for Drugs Offences in England & Wales
UKCIA Newsblog
News
and comment on the unfolding story of cannabis law reform
Latest Entry 5th February 2012
Reply to Anne Milton re Tokepure – Safer Use Campaign . Following the frankly stupid reply from Anne Milton at the Dept of Health regarding my request that the government runs a campaign similar to TokePure, I've just sent this to my MP. Don't hold your breath.
Toke Pure – More Ann Milton madness. The continuing saga of my request that the government run a campaign similar to TokePure designed to encourage cannabis users not to mix cannabis with tobacco. Honestly, you would think was asking for something terrible. Instead, guess what. The party line is more important then honesty, so it seems
The Lancet: Three papers worth a read Pt 3.How well do international drug conventions protect public health? - Just how well has all this prohibition madness worked? Not very well is the answer, actually it's worse than not very well...
The Lancet: Three papers worth a read Pt 2. Drug policy and the public good: evidence for effective interventions - it is hardly a ringing endorsement of current policy
The Lancet: Three papers worth a read. As the Home Affairs Committee investigation into UK drug laws gets underway, the Lancet has three very interesting papers about drugs and drug policy, well worth a read. This is a review of part 1: “Extent of illicit drug use and dependence, and their contribution to the global burden of disease” as it applies to cannabis.
The cause of Reefer Madness V2? (and no, it’s not skunk) - The Daily Mail is not alone in its misreporting of the cannabis debate, but it stands out as the worst offender - and it's very influential. Read all about it and try not to go psychotic...
Reefer
madness returns?
RETHINK, the mental health charity are back again with their cannabis campaign.
They were largely responsible for what became known as "Reefer madness V2",
with the claims of "Skunk" being 35 times stronger and all the rest.
Will it be any different this time? It could be.
Stupid,
scared of the Daily Mail or corrupt? Well, what is it? Why are the government
so unwilling to listen to anyone when it comes to drug policy? Yet again it has
ignored the advice of its own expert committee - the ACMD. Is it really that our
politicians are just plain stupid, or is there something else driving drugs policy;
corruption of some sort?
COMT;
another “wrong” result for the reefer madness hype. - One of the
big planks of the reefer madness scare has been undermined by a new study - the
COMT genetic weakness. 25% of us are not, in fact, at increased risk from cannabis.
All around us essential services are being cut as we enter a new age of austerity. Everything, that is, apart from the insanity of the War On Drugs, But it's certainly been an interesting year.
Part 3 June - October - The prohibitoin argument gets more extreme, CLEAR gets a new website editor (me) and we realise the PCC is close to useless.
Part 4 - October - December - COMTP bites the dust and, destroys one of the main pillars of Reefer Madness. More government stonewalling and and exposing the Daily Mail
---------------------------------
TokePure
- a campaign whose time has come - CLEAR launches TokePure as a major new
cannabis law reform campaign campaign. This is how it started and why it's so
important.
A
growing collection of online videos about cannabis and law reform here
Cannabis
- the real risks Stereotype
warning: Using cannabis makes you listen to loud music, wear jeans and hoodies
and grow long hair!
- for rather more honest information about what cannabis might do, see UKCIA
Risks Section
