Source: Bath
Chronicle, UK
Pub date:
Friday, December 10, 2004
Subj: Miracle
Crop or Poison?
Author: D Lewins
Contact: d.lewins@bathchron.co.uk
MIRACLE CROP OR
POISON?
Is cannabis an
environment-saving miracle crop or something much more sinister wrapped in the
disguise as a harmless substance. In the fifth instalment of our Dealing With
Drugs series, David Lewins looks at the arguments surrounding the legalisation
of cannabis
When cannabis
was downgraded from a Class B to a Class C drug earlier this year it was
heralded by some as the first step towards legalisation. But before the year's
end, bans are being put in place to stop smoking in public places. It would
appear there has never been a worse time to get pot legalised by the
nanny-state.
For campaigner
Chris Jones, keeping cannabis illegal is nothing short of madness.
He believes
cannabis is a miracle crop, with the potential to save the planet and transform
wasteland into verdant forests.
"Momentum
isn't stopping," said Mr Jones. "The law has to change."
But it appears
the law really isn't getting in his way too much.
"There's
not a day in my life that I haven't smoked cannabis in the past 20 years,"
he said.
This raises the
question of addiction. Cannabis itself is not physical addictive, although the
tobacco it is smoked with is, and psychological dependency occurs in about ten
per cent of users.
Mr Jones said he
would be perfectly capable of stopping if he wanted, adding it had never done
him any harm.
Campaigners such
as Mr Jones decry the hypocrisy of keeping cannabis illegal, while alcohol and
tobacco enjoy legal status, despite being potentially more harmful.
Conversely,
campaigners against legalisation argue cannabis is frequently smoked with
tobacco, so the same problems with cigarettes would be replicated.
"You don't
have to smoke it," Mr Jones counters. "You can eat it, get it a cream
to rub into your skin, or there are vaporisers."
The vaporiser
allows the pot to be inhaled without the carcinogens associated in tobacco,
said Mr Jones, who lives in Bath city centre.
But the argument
to legalise extends beyond trading off vices with booze and cigarettes.
The first
argument is medical.
Mr Jones said
there was a long list of illnesses which can be treated with pot, including
multiple sclerosis and arthritis.
"I have a
friend who has MS and can't stand up because of it," said the 37-year-old.
"But she can if she's had a joint."
His second
argument is environmental. Hemp is entirely biodegradable and can be used as a
substitute for plastic.
Hemp oil is also
a fuel alternative.
"Cannabis
is the fastest growing plant on the planet and will grow anywhere," he
said.
"It is an
entirely renewable energy source, which is cleaner than burning fossil
fuels."
Mr Jones' third
argument is social. Legalisation would bring an industry which could be
strictly supervised.
The campaigner
envisages coffee houses being given strictly limited supplies, with fines for any
supplier that exceeded a daily limit - similar to the system in Amsterdam.
A regulated
industry would generate revenue, he argues, and ensure quality in the product,
which does not happen when the industry happens outside the law.
Furthermore, the
pushers who might get the cannabis users to try harder substances would be cut
out of the equation.
Finally, Mr
Jones firmly believes legalisation will win through because it has extensive
popular support.
"By keeping
it illegal the Government is creating criminals. If it were legalised it would
give the police the time to catch real criminals," he said.
Although these
aren't the exact words the Liberal Democrats would use, it has a lot in common
with the party line on pot.
It steers closer
to the middle of the road, calling for decriminalisation of cannabis, but not
legalisation.
"Legalisation
suggests it is all right to use cannabis," said Bath's Liberal Democrat MP
Don Foster.
"Through
decriminalisation what we are saying is that we do not approve, but it is an
offence for the civil courts.
"It is not
something people should get a criminal record or a prison sentence for.
"This would
give the police time to concentrate on the hard drugs and the dealers."
For this reason,
Mr Foster still backs criminal prosecution for large suppliers of cannabis, but
not the people who are in possession of a small amount for personal use.
Drugs advice and
support agencies refuse to take political stances on the issue out of necessity
to preserve their independence.
However some are
quick to point out that cannabis is not harmless.
Rethink, the
severe mental illness charity, held a conference last week to debate the
evidence which suggests cannabis is linked to mental health problems.
The charity criticised
reclassification for sending out a confusing message.
Its chief
executive Cliff Prior said the number of people who used drugs and had mental
health problems had risen by more than 60 per cent in the past five years.
"Reclassification
has sent out a confusing message," said Mr Prior.
"There is a
strongly-held view that cannabis is risk-free, reflected in the rates of its
use among young people. It is not.
"We know
that using cannabis makes the symptoms of schizophrenia far worse in people who
already have the illness."
One organisation
actively arguing against legalisation is the Christian campaigning group the
Maranatha Community.
It argues the
levels of cancer-causing chemicals, such as benzpyrene, are higher in cannabis
than tobacco, and smoking cannabis causes damage to the lungs and increases the
chance of having a heart attack.
Dennis Wrigley,
leader of the Maranatha Community, said: "The argument of the libertarians
is that people have the right to harm themselves - they ignore the immense
social burden which this inevitably creates.
"The
decision of the Home Secretary to reclassify cannabis is now seen to be a major
error.
"It is now
established beyond doubt that cannabis is in fact a 'gateway' drug, leading
young people into the use of a wider range of substances.
"The
message has clearly been given to young people that cannabis is comparatively
harmless, whereas the truth is the reverse.
"If we fail
to take urgent action now, we will be overtaken by an avalanche of drug-related
crime, a dangerously overloaded Health Service, and hundreds of thousands of
wrecked lives."