 Cannabis users protesting in London in 2002 If you are one of the millions of perfectly normal, well adjusted people who use and enjoy cannabis in the UK and who never do anything to hurt anyone else, it may come as a surprise to you to learn that you're a criminal. Indeed, in theory at least, you run the risk of penalties greater than those for rape or violent assault if you share cannabis with someone else.
This MoD act is based on "The Single convention", a UN treaty drawn up in 1961 which sets out to prohibit drugs which "have a high potential for abuse". By "high potential for abuse", it actually means any non-medical use of the substances, such as recreational and spiritual, as well as to seek escapist oblivion. Yes, using cannabis to chill out and listen to music is "abuse" in the eyes of the law. In addition, cannabis was prohibited from being used as a medicine, despite having a long history of being used as such. It also effectively closed down the hemp industry, thus freeing up the markets for cotton, but that's another story, or perhaps it isn't... But what about the legal drugs, alcohol and tobacco? Interestingly, the Single convention (and hence the MoD act) didn't include alcohol or tobacco, which of course were the drugs used by the white, Christian western governments who drew up the original UN convention. Protests from countries such as India, where cannabis was a very established part of the culture and religion, were simply ignored. In any case, alcohol prohibition had already been tried in 1920's America (for puritanical, not drug control reasons) and it had failed badly, leading to all sorts of problems such as:
If all of the above sounds familiar, it's because the same problems are happening today with all the illegal drugs, and for the same reason - Prohibition. The fact that some of the above, such as addiction problems and deaths, don't apply to cannabis is down to the relative harmlessness of the plant, cannabis simply can't cause these problems even under prohibition. But it's in this mess that cannabis exists and has done for over 30 years. So what danger am I in? Well, an interesting question. When the MoD act was first introduced, the police went on the offensive, raiding peoples homes looking for even the smallest trace of cannabis. Many people were locked up for several years for no more than a blim. The result was to overload the legal system and it became impractical to continue. Over time the police came to issue cautions rather than pressing charges and increasingly they simply had to turn a blind eye. Cannabis use increased massively in the 30 years 1971 to 2001, the law was utterly unable to contain this growth in popularity and, despite an attempt by the Conservative government in the mid-90's to clamp down by increasing the penalties, the law sunk further and further into contempt.
So is that it? No, you're in more danger than that. As we mentioned above, the law sets out to control cannabis by prohibition. This means that, because the cultivation and supply of the plant are illegal, there is no control over it. Unlike with legal substances which are properly regulated, you've got no protection under the law whatsoever. It's a strange way to control something. In practice this means that sometimes cannabis is supplied by organised crime, gangsters in it for the money and nothing else. Getting mixed up in this scene can and does lead people into big problems. The most common danger users face is from polluted hash, so-called "soap bar", the most available form of hash in the UK is often badly contaminated, as we warn here In addition of course, criminal gangs also supply all the other, far more dangerous and destructive substances in the same uncontrolled manner, and these guys would far rather you bought stuff like heroin or crack, because the profits are much higher. Any more? Well, because the market for cannabis is totally unregulated you've got no real idea of what you're buying. Apart from the risk of contamination, strengths can vary from mild to powerful. If this were alcohol it would be like not knowing if you were getting a beer or a vodka. Fortunately cannabis is far less dangerous than alcohol in that it's not a poison and you can't overdose, but for a minority of vulnerable people this can cause big problems. As always in this sort of situation there is nothing to protect children or vulnerable people because of the policy of prohibition. So what can we do? Over the years there have been many attempts to get the law changed, but so far only one thing has worked - contempt for the law. It's only because the law had become unenforceable that the 2004 reclassification happened and, sadly, it seems the only way it will change further will be because more and more people continue to ignore the law. The result of all this law breaking of course is a double edged sword: One the one hand, the public is getting familiar with cannabis. Gone are the days when admitting you've used it would cause outrage. The more this happens the less respect there will be for the law and the more likely that further change will have to happen. On the other, less respect for the law is unlikely to be focused on simply the cannabis laws, leading to a loss of respect for the police and thus to more draconian laws, this is already happening. In the meantime, be careful. Learn about cannabis, what it is, what the hazards are to avoid and what the possible dangers of using it are. This is one of the main functions of UKCIA, we have perhaps the biggest library of information about all aspects of the plant that's accessible by the public. The possible dangers are: 1: Problems with the law.
Although it may mean more trouble with the law, the best solution is to grow it yourself, grow kits are widely available now (many growshops are listed in our contacts database) and although it's not quite a lazy mans hobby, growing good quality cannabis isn't that hard, see the UKCIA growguide. Do remember though that growing cannabis is illegal and may be classed as dealing, so don't grow more than you need. 3 Polluted supplies In the UK this mostly means rip-off "Soap bar", made by pressing low quality cannabis with stuff to bulk it out but it can also mean herbal cannabis which has been sprayed with weedkiller by police authorities engaged in eradication programmes. Sadly, the government doesn't care if it's war on cannabis kills people, you are the enemy remember. So far though, poisoned grass isn't a problem in the UK, but again it's safest to buy from friends who grow their own, or to grow it yourself. 4: Smoking and tobacco Probably the biggest health risk for the vast majority of users is the way it's used - smoked in joints mixed with tobacco. There's no need to do this and the fact that it is still the normal way to smoke is probably down to the lack of information caused by prohibition. See UKCIA Toke pure and also our Culture section How to smoke cannabis and how to eat cannabis 5: Harm from using cannabis For a long time the legalisation campaign insisted cannabis was "the harmless herb", whilst the government insisted it was the first step to needles in the eyeballs style drug addiction. The truth, of course is somewhere in between and much nearer the harmless herb than the needles in the eyeballs. On the whole cannabis is a pretty safe substance if used in a safe way, in moderation by adults. See UKCIA risks section for more information. Is there nothing I can do? There are several campaign groups around the country you can join, or you can do things yourself. One tactic increasingly used is the "picnic". Unidentified people seem to be advertising "Smokey bears picnics" in local parks, where people are invited to "bring what they expect to find" as well as bigger demos around the country, especially the Ganja day in London. See our archive section "What you did" for photos of past events. The most effective campaign in the UK now is Transform who campaign for a total review of the drugs laws, not just cannabis. And of course, help UKCIA to spread the word. Join in the debate on our forum or join out Activist mailing list and keep informed with our newsfeed, either by joining the e-mail newslist or using our RSS service. But most of all, be informed, use the information on UKCIA to counter the lies put out by the government and its prohibitionist friends. Knowledge
is power and it's the one thing the prohibitionists fear most. Welcome
to UKCIA.
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