The
Independent, 11th
July 2002:
I want my
children to grow up in a society where they have
access to the safest recreational drug available.
I accept that life is stressful and we all need
to unwind sometimes. But alcohol and tobacco kill
130,000 people every year in the UK. Cannabis has
never killed anyone. Think of all the lives that
could be saved if people could be encouraged to
switch to cannabis or if teenagers opted for
cannabis as their drug of choice rather than
alcohol or tobacco.
The advantages
of cannabis are not just to do with health.
Government research has shown that cannabis does
not cause a loss of inhibitions as alcohol does,
instead making people drive more cautiously, and
that there are many positive medicinal effects.
If parents want
the safest drug for their children in the future
but are concerned about cannabis, then I urge
them to find out the truth for themselves. As our
children receive better drug education you can be
sure that the truth will find them.
The
Independent, 8th
October 2002:
The imprisonment
of Colin Davies for supplying cannabis through
Britain's first cannabis cafe highlights the
discrimination against minorities who use drugs
safer than those that our government classifies
as legal. Had Mr Davies sold tobacco, a drug that
a quarter of the adult population are addicted to
and which kills 120,000 citizens every year, he
would have been allowed to profit from his drug
supply. He chose to sell cannabis, a drug less
addictive than coffee that has never killed
anyone, and has been imprisoned.
The World Health
Organisation's report Cannabis: a health
perspective and research agenda states that
"cannabis poses a much less serious public
health problem than is currently posed by alcohol
and tobacco in Western societies". Our own
Government's Advisory Committee on the Misuse of
Drugs says "Legal drugs, such as tobacco and
alcohol, are responsible for far greater damage
both to individual health and to the social
fabric in general than illegal ones".
Why then is
cannabis still illegal? Perhaps because it
represents such an economic threat to Government
finances. The Government is the biggest profiteer
from the drugs trade, benefiting from the supply
of their legal but lethal drugs to the tune of
£20 bn a year. The best quality cannabis can be
grown by anyone at home avoiding any tax revenue
demanded by Government.
Our teenagers
are growing up to join a society where they have
a one in five chance of being killed by drugs
that our government profits from. Licensed
cannabis cafes offer an opportunity for our
citizens to obtain the only safer alternative to
alcohol and tobacco without being exposed to drug
suppliers dealing in the 'hard drugs', cocaine
and heroin.
Parents Against
Lethal Addictive Drugs
The
Independent, 28th
November 2002:
The increase in
teenage usage of cannabis ("Cannabis smoking
by teenagers surges by 50 per cent", 25
November) shows that our drug education program
is succeeding. Teenagers are responding to the
statement made by the Advisory Council on the
Misuse of Drugs that "the high use of
cannabis is not associated with major health
problems for the individual or society."
Recent reports
suggesting that there may be a link between
cannabis and mental ill health demonstrate that
no drug can be completely safe. However these
health risks are minimal compared to those of
tobacco. The Scientific Committee on Tobacco and
Health report (2001) stated that "Half of
all regular [tobacco] smokers will eventually be
killed by their habit". The Department of
Health says tobacco is more addictive than
heroin. Tobacco addicts have a death rate several
times greater than those addicted to
street-quality heroin. Heroin addicts may commit
crime but tobacco addicts kill hundreds of
innocent people every year through passive
smoking.
If teenage
cannabis use increases while tobacco use
decreases then we should encourage this harm
reduction strategy. Teenagers are taking
responsibility for their own health by exercising
evidence-based informed choice.
Parents Against
Lethal Addictive Drugs
Daily
Express, 20th October 2003:
Dr Miriam
Stoppard was quite correct to highlight the
dangers of cannabis in her article Cannabis -
The Pros and Cons. However she failed to
point out that the risks involved in excessive
cannabis use are considerably less than those for
excessive use of the legal drugs alcohol and
tobacco.
The highest
legal authority on drug harm, the Advisory
Council on the Misuse of Drugs, has stated that
tobacco "smoking kills about 120,000 people
each year, and between 28,000 and 33,000 people
die annually as a result of alcohol" and
that "the high use of cannabis is not
associated with major health problems for the
individual or society."
Cannabis is a
far safer alternative to the legal but lethal
drugs that kill one in five people but are
permitted to be sold alongside sweets for
children.
Parents Against
Lethal Addictive Drugs
New
Scientist, 22nd November 2003:
Tam Dalyell
seems all too willing to accept the Home Office's
belief that heroin and cocaine are the most
harmful drugs (8 November, p 51). I doubt he has
seen any evidence that these illegal drugs are
more harmful than the legal drugs alcohol and
tobacco.
The World Health
Organisation estimates that tobacco use
contributes to 6% of deaths, alcohol 1.5% and
illegal drugs a mere 0.2% of deaths. Of course
tobacco use is more common than illegal drug use
but only by a factor of about 6.
Our current
discriminatory drug laws are based on prejudice
rather than evidence. As a result the law
misleads people - especially the young - into
believing that legal drugs are safer than illegal
drugs. This inevitably contributes to the death
toll from alcohol and tobacco.
Parents Against
Lethal Addictive Drugs
Support for
cannabis -
local papers
Bolton Evening
News: 'Carry on, Chris', 12th November 2002
THE prosecution
of MEP Chris Davies for possession of cannabis
while campaigning for safer drug laws cannot be
justified.
The law
prohibits the use of the safest recreational drug
known, cannabis, while allowing the most
dangerous drug known, tobacco, to remain legal.
The Government's
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs report
"The classification of cannabis under the
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971" states: "The
high use of cannabis is not associated with major
health problems for the individual or
society." The Government's Scientific
Committee on Tobacco and Health report 2001 says
"Half of all regular smokers will eventually
be killed by their habit if they continue to
smoke."
Why this
discrimination against minorities who use drugs
safer than the legal ones? Mr Davies' courage
should be applauded for his efforts.
Parents Against
Lethal Addictive Drugs
Daily
Post, North Wales: 'Anti-drug group backs
cannabis', 9th September 2003
AN anti-drug group in North Wales
last night voiced its support for a cannabis
campaigner.
Jeff Ditchfield had planned to open a shop to
help provide cannabis for pain relief.
But police with dogs searched the four- storey
premises in Rhyl minutes before it was due to
open on Saturday.
Last night, Parents Against Lethal
Addictive Drugs (PALAD) spokesman Duncan Cameron,
44, of St Asaph said: "If permitted to
remain open it will provide a great asset for the
people of Rhyl.
"A survey published last year by the
Disability Now journal suggested that a quarter
of disabled people in Britain are taking cannabis
with their doctors' approval. I just hope Chief
Constable Richard Brunstrom shows some
consideration
Mr Cameron said the group began as
an informal group of parents concerned about the
drug problems faced by children.
He said: "We decided to examine all recent
Government reports to find out what was real ly
going on and the evidence has forced us to make a
U-turn in our own thinking about drug dangers.
"There can no longer be any doubt that
tobacco is the most dangerous drug both in terms
of addictiveness and likelihood of causing death.
"Even passive smoking kills as many as
heroin. Alcohol is also more dangerous than the
illegal drugs.
"We now accept that cannabis should be
legalised. Cannabis stands out as considerably
safer than other recreational drugs by any
standard, especially if taken without
smoking."
Worthing
Herald, 18 September 2003:
Mr Stubbs need
not be concerned that cannabis is causing an
increase in psychiatric admissions (Real cost of
cannabis, September 4). It seems more likely that
sufferers from mental illness are increasingly
using cannabis to treat their condition. Evidence
of the drug's medicinal and stress relieving
properties are becoming more widely known among
patients and doctors alike.
According to a
survey published by the journal Disability Now a
quarter of disabled people in Britain are now
taking cannabis with their doctors' approval. No
one would consider that cannabis causes their
physical disability. The company licensed to
produce cannabis-based medicines is currently
looking for people suffering from mental illness
to become involved in clinical trials to find out
if cannabis is indeed a safer alternative
treatment to psychiatric drugs.
Parents Against
Lethal Addictive Drugs
Daily
Post, 12th March 2002: tongue-in-cheek letter,
prior to PALAD's formation
Rhyl councillors
are reasonably concerned about the consequences
of the proposed cannabis cafe in the town. They
would be wise to learn from the tragic experience
of their counterparts in Gwynedd who, after years
of dealing with thrill seekers endangering their
lives, now not only encourage it but profit from
it. Tens of thousands flock to Gwynedd every year
to pursue their 'recreational activity',
portrayed by shadowy national organisations as
'healthy' despite the deaths and many injuries
every year.
Many users start
by an apparently harmless trip to Betws-y-Coed or
Llanberis, perhaps to experiment with 'getting
high', but soon the dealers there have lured them
into their premises where they are introduced to
the paraphenalia associated with this
irresponsible activity. Their first few visits to
the dealers may be just for walking boots and
waterproof coats, but displayed right next to
these are the equipment required for the most
dangerous of all 'recreational activities'. What
started with a little recreational hill-walking
at weekends may quickly lead to bungee-jumping
and white-water rafting.
Gwynedd
councillors failed to nip this pernicious evil in
the bud and now they suffer the consequences.
Perhaps the local economy has benefited but what
of the cost in human suffering of allowing
hill-walking to remain legal and the cost to the
tax payer of the many rescues? Thankfully Rhyl is
flat and so does not attract these reckless
attempts to 'get high'. Supporters of the
cannabis cafe in Rhyl predict a similar benefit
to the local economy and point out how much safer
their activity is than hill-walking, but surely
exposing one's self to any risk is irresponsible?
Once the cafe is stopped I hope Rhyl councillors
will champion the call for prohibition of
hill-walking throughout Wales.