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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Cannabis crusader shows support for Halton Lib Dem's regulated market call
Runcorn and Widnes Weekly Thursday 20 Oct 2011 A POLITICAL party which wants to legalise cannabis has expressed support for a Halton councillor's calls for decriminalisation. Peter Reynolds, Clear leader, said a regulated cannabis market would provide massive tax revenue, create jobs, reduce harm from super-strength strains and free users from being criminalised. His comments came after Halton Lib Dem deputy leader Cllr Mike Hodgkinson backed his party's calls for decriminalisation of all recreational drugs, including a regulated cannabis market, in the Weekly News two weeks ago. Mr Hodgkinson said illegal substances do 'tremendous harm' that could be reduced if the Government controlled supply. Mr Reynolds, a former journalist, agreed with the general crux of Cllr Hodgkinson’s argument but said cannabis is less harmful than alcohol, tobacco and 'many foodstuffs' in terms of toxicity, mental health impacts and hospital admissions. He referred to an Advisory Council On The Misuse Of Drugs report which measured cannabis to be 3,000 times less harmful than alcohol. The scientists assessed the substances according to toxicity, hospital admissions and propensity to cause psychosis. Mr Reynolds said his party's priority is to legalise the use of medicinal cannabis because depriving sick residents of a substance that could alleviate their symptoms is 'obscene'. He said fear of a media backlash from publications such as the Daily Mail has stifled the political will for reform. Mr Reynolds said the pro-prohibition movement is fraught with bad science, racism and prejudice. In recent spats he has taken on a regional newspaper which taglined five out of six cannabis offenders as 'jailed' and the sixth crook – the only black member of the group – as 'caged'. He also slammed an article by columnist Peter Hitchens, who called cannabis a 'sinister poison'. Mr Reynolds complained that there was no grounds to call the substance a poison – a point which was defended by saying that the word 'poison was used as a metaphor'. An attempt to broker a deal to import medical marijuana from Holland is under way, and Clear has stated it will take the UK Government to court if it prohibits residents with a prescription from using the medical variant. Mr Reynolds also expanded an argument Mr Hodgkinson made with regards to tax from legalised cannabis sales. He claimed decriminalisation would bring in £6.7bn in annual tax revenues. One deal currently being brokered by a US company and the UK Government to create medical marijuana in Britain would create 100,000 jobs, he said. Clear intends to stand candidates in the next general and local elections, and Mr Reynolds also exclusively revealed to the Weekly News that he plans to nominate himself as a police commissioner, when the role becomes appointed by vote. He added that some members of the police also favour decriminalisation because they see heavy drinkers as a bigger problem. Mr Reynolds said: "Cannabis farms are a scourge on society but the harms aren't caused by cannabis, they are caused by the laws against cannabis. "And to buy alcohol you need ID but the only ID you need to buy cannabis at the moment is a £20 note. "Legalisation would stop the high-THC strains of cannabis being sold, in the same way that when alcohol was legalised in America, people stopped drinking moonshine and went back to wine and beer. "Cannabis is harmful but anything is if you have too much, like coffee and paracetamol. "Our immediate priority though is to legalise use of medical marijuana. "I have known people for whom it doesn’t just alleviate their pain, it transforms their life. "With it they can live a productive life. "It's obscene." www.runcornandwidnesweeklynews.co.uk/runcorn-widnes-news/runcorn-widnes-local-news/2011/10/20/cannabis-crusader-shows-support-for-halton-lib-dem-s-regulated-market-call-55368-29622503/#.TqBJmnQuJTo.facebook
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