The law is not only an ass…

Posted on December 16, 2006
Filed Under Politics, Rants |

…it is cruel, counterproductive and dangerously idiotic.

Guess which law I’m talking about. You get the satisfaction of knowing me and my hobby horses better than you might want to if you get it right.


Ok game over. I am of course talking about the current legal status of Cannabis Sativa, known by many names across the world (see here) and available in many forms, from the actual plant matter to the more refined (and easier to transport if not as strong) resin blocks which many users in the UK will be familiar with. This post is in respoonse to this story (BBC) which has been all over the Beeb in the last couple of days and is, in my opinion an example of everything that is wrong with current drug legislation.
Use of cannabis has long been known to alleviate the symptoms of a great many chronic conditions including Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Glaucoma, and the side effects of many chemotherapy regimes. It helps AIDS sufferers and cancer patients retain their appetites (and gives them a little something to giggle about).
It is also ancient, the psychoactive and medicinal properties of marijuana have been known about and exploited for millenia, though not by assassins, thats a common misconception. Evidence has been found of neolithic use of marijuana and descriptions of the plant and its uses have been found in a chinese medical compendium thought to date from 2700BC. The plant was also used by various cultures in religious ceremonies including, but not restricted to, Hindus, Persians, Assyrians, and the cult of Dionysus, thought to originate in ancient Thrace. The modern Rastafari movement considers the smoking of cannabis (called ‘Ganja’) as a sacrament which cleanses the body and mind and often accompany smoking with bible study and meditation.
These are, however, not good arguments for blanket legalisation. They are merely examples of how Cannabis has benefitted human civilization over the millenia. There are many arguments for legalisation though I think that the one which makes the most impact is the monetary argument. If Cannabis was legalised, regulated, and most impotantly taxed, not only would a major source of income be stripped from the various criminal organisations currently involved in its supply, but a major new source of tax income would be made available to the government. Now I don’t agree with taxes on principle, but they are one of lifes inevitabilities at the moment. Taxing Cannabis use would be comparable to taxing alcohol and tobacco and may, if the government were willing, allow the easing of the tax burden in other areas. If this isn’t convincing enough then the regulation of Cannabis supply (as distasteful as any other government regulation) could be used to guarantee quality, strength, and (in the case of prerolled joints) dosage. As it is when you buy a block of ‘Soap Bar’ (low quality street resin, most commonly purchased form of hashish in th UK) you have no idea what it has been cut with. Everything from boot polish to brick dust has been found in blocks of soap bar, additives which are used to bulk up the weight and improve the dealer’s margins. Personally I wouldn’t smoke boot polish, it must be doing really nasty things to your lungs.
Another argument that will often be used is the comparison with alcohol and tobacco. Alcohol is dangerous, so is tobacco and yet they are legal. Nicotine is an addictive carcinogen, it is harder to quit smoking than it is to quit a heroin habit simply because it is legal to smoke. Tobacco kills 114,000 people a year (ASH) in the UK alone and more than 5 million world wide (BBC). In comparison only 754 death certificates mentioned heroin as a factor in 1999 (BBC) 7 mention cannabis. Tobacco is the only legal drug which can kill you if used exactly as intended.
Alcohol is not as obvious a villain and most of the bad things that can be said about it are caused by irresponsible use or over use. I live in the center of a small town and I know from experience that alcohol use is the main cause of anti-social behaviour (not in the government’s new catch-all sense but real anti-social behaviour, like having a violent domestic dispute in the street at 4 am, and singing out of tune at around the same time, the list could go on but I don’t have the time). The problems associated with drunk clubbers are well known across the country and the evidence can be seen at any A&E department on a Friday and Saturday night. Drink driving is another well known problem and in my opinion people who drive while under the influence of any psychoactive substance are idiots and deserve to feel the full force of the law. Alcohol also has many psychological and physiological dangers associated with it, it is known to damage brain cells with unknown effect, it also causes liver damage. The same can be said of Cannabis. Adolescents who smoke marijuana are more likely to develope psychological problems later in life. If they already have a tendency towards schizophrenia the likelyhood of their developing it later on increases dramatically if they smoke in their youth, cannabis has also been said to be a factor in the developement of clinical depression though there is some debate as to whether the tendency has to be there to begin with. A big deal is made of cannabis psychosis (UKCIA) though and many of the effects associated with it only develope out of continual heavy use, much like many of the symptoms of chronic alcoholism. It can be argued that milder manifestations of the symptoms (paranoia, disorientation, amnesia, loss of balance, etc) are the main point of smoking in the first place and tend to go away after a few hours. The longer you use cannabis, and the stronger the cannabis used them more severe the symptoms become. Having had a friend who suffered from this (and he smoked alot of very strong grass) I have some experience of dealing with it. Thankfully his friends realised what was happening to him and convinced him to get some help, and after a few months in an institution (voluntarily) he was fine and doesn’t smoke anywhere near as much as he used to. Information regarding cannabis and its long term effects is scarce due to its legal status and the difficulty in obtaining funding for research, much of the coverage in the media is based upon hearsay and anecdotal evidence and the few studies that have been done.
Another argument is that the time and resources of the police could be put to better use than pursuing recreational drug users who have committred no other crime. The declassification of cannabis from a class b narcotic to class c, and the tendency of police to overlook possesion for personal use in the case of adults (intent to supply, cultivation and of course smuggling are still prosecuted quite harshly) has gone some way to alleviate the police’s workload but there is still a long way to go. With all the fuss about terrorism, people trafficking and organised crime you would thnk that the government would want the police concentrating on these things.
The pragmatic argument is most often used but does not hold any water against the proponents of prohibition. Prohibition simply does not work. Cannabis use has been on the increase for years in spite of frankly draconian penalties. Prohibition does nothing to prevent the supply of cannabis (or other drugs for that matter) it merely keeps it in the control of criminals. Prohibition allows the proceeds of drug deals to be used to fund other, more reprehensible, criminal activities. Criminals use drug money to subsidise other things like illegal guns, people trafficking, and i some cases terrorism. Prohibition does not protect our children from drugs it merely makes them more attractive to rebellious teenagers and less likely to be discussed in an open and frank way. Prohibition is the cause of alot of the problems associated with drugs, the mere fact of their illegality makes them harder to control and regulate. It was said once that the man who can destroy a thing, controls a thing. We cannot destroy drugs with prohibition, and we certainly have no control over them.
Finally there is the libertarian argument. Its my body and I will do with it whatever I please. The state has no right to dictate the use to which I put my body, which is ultimately my property, as long as it does not infringe upon the rights of others. If I’m smoking a joint in the privacy of my own home, I’m not forcing anyone else to smoke it, I’m not even asking for their approval. What I do with my body is my business and nobody elses.
All of these arguments have been made time and time again, time and time again they have been dismissed and fended off with the “Drugs are bad, n’kay” bleating of an establishment unwilling and unable to admit that they’ve got it wrong. Drugs are not bad, like guns, they rely upon people to put them to use. The laws regulating drug use currently do far more damage to our society than the drugs themselves. The three people convicted the other day of manufacturing and supplying cannabis laced chocolate bars to MS sufferers have broken no other laws. They didn’t even provide funds to the criminal undrworld by buying street drugs, the cannabis used was home grown. They could each face a maximum sentence of 14 years for trying to help people who are ill, suffering and in pain. During the course of thier trial some of those they supplied with the chocolate were compelled to appear as witnesses against them, threatened with contempt of court if they declined to appear and thereby forced to travel to court. These are sick people, people in pain, people suffering from a debilitating and chronic condition, its barbaric. The three ‘criminals’ weren’t even doing it for profit, they were supplying the 150g bars of chocolate free of charge and were reliant upon donations to keep them going. In my eyes these people have done nothing wrong and the jury whould be ashamed of themselves.

For more information and if you wish to show your support:
THC4MS website (formerly used to supply cannabis laced chocolate to MS sufferers)
UK Cannabis Internet Activists Website
Petition the Prime minister (UK residents only)
Petition 1
Petition 2
Petition 3
Legalise Cannabis Alliance (UK political party)

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Comments

5 Responses to “The law is not only an ass…”

  1. Bill on December 17th, 2006 1:01 am

    Good article, dude. The page layout is really hard to read, though. I’d lose the right justification. It’s cute, but off-putting. It’ll lose you readers in the long run.

    WTH…none of my business.

  2. mandrill on December 17th, 2006 10:38 am

    Thanks Bill. You know you’re the first person to mention the right justification. The idea was to balance up the page visually and I’ll admit sometimes even I find it a bit jarring. The thing is Left justification doesn’t look right and throws the balance of the design off. Centering the text doesn’t work eithere for obvious reasons. If I could figure out how to get a fixed width column (left and right justified I may be better off.

    Thanks for dropping by, come back any time. Its nice to know that people are reading.

  3. Cheeseburger Brown on December 22nd, 2006 9:45 pm

    Merry Christmas!

    Love,
    Cheeseburger Brown

  4. shruti on January 9th, 2007 6:07 pm

    hello mandrill,
    good piece i must say. the arguements you have given r very strong but tell me doesnt this cannabis sativa intake by you affect your family life? I mean it must be affecting your health. please clarify my query.

  5. mandrill on January 9th, 2007 9:50 pm

    Hi Shruti, Thanks for your question, it is a valid one.
    I’ll answer each of your points in turn:
    Firstly may I say that I am not a heavy user. I rarely have anything to smoke and mainly reserve it for special occasions and/or treats. Also I don’t drink, I would think that my occasional smoking does less harm to my family life than if I was out drinking every weekend like millions of my peers. I also don’t smoke when the kids are around. So when I do smoke, which is rarely, its about the equivalent of a couple of glasses of wine after the kids are in bed.
    I’m sure that if I smoked as heavily as I have in the past, when I was young, single and carefree, there is no doubt that it would adversely affect my family.
    As to health considerations I’m probably doing more damage to myself by virtue of smoking tobacco and not eating as healthily as I could. Another thing that I have noticed (and this is only from my own experience and is not backed up by any empirical scientific data) is that I suffered less often from the cold, flu, and any other bugs that may have been floating around when I was smoking quite heavily. During my university days (both when I was a student and when I simply worked in the bar) each new influx of students in the autumn brought with it a fresh batch of viral infections which during the first weeks of the new term everyone suffered from. Except me. which was unusual in that I was working in the bar and came into contact with almost every new student (and every old student for that matter). It may just be coincidence, but I like to think that smoking marijuana gives a slight boost to your immune system (either as a direct effect of the drug itself, or as a result of being less stressed).
    Rest assured I have seen what overuse of this drug can do to someone and have been closer than I’d like to going the same way, as with any narcotic it should be trteated with respect and taken only in moderation. This goes for everything, including caffiene, alcohol and nicotine. Forgive my asking but how many cups of coffee do you drink in a day? How many beers do you drink on a night out?

    As a parting shot, the affects my smoking marijuana has upon my health and family life should not be anything to do with the state. I’m fully able and willing to take responsibility for myself and my actions and don’t need the government to poke their nose in and regulate my behaviour by making some aspects of it illegal. I resent any law which does so and it should be expected that free thinking individuals will break such laws for that reason alone.

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