VOTE
FOR CANNABIS
The LEGALISE CANNABIS ALLIANCE is now a registered political party in the UK
** CHECK
OUT THE LCA 2004 LOCAL ELECTION CANDIDATES **
The Legalise Cannabis Alliance was formed with a purpose of
giving the cannabis user and legalise-campaigner a voice.
We are aware of two political barriers that we must remove
before we can ever achieve legalisation.
- Persuading the main political parties
that legalisation is NOT a vote losing policy.
- Getting supporters of legalisation to
vote at all!
Our message is simple -
WE, THE PEOPLE, WANT CANNABIS LEGALISED AND UTILISED
UK
Political Parties' views on cannabis
(The Observer, 25
March 2001): "Labour remains firmly opposed to the legalisation or decriminalisation
of any currently controlled drug. The scientific evidence is quite clear about
the harmful effects of cannabis, both long term and short term."
Tony Blair
(Reuters, 14 October 2001): "There is a debate about whether you
decriminalise cannabis or legalise cannabis. I am against it,"
Jack Straw and John
Prescott (Daily Mail, 11 October 2000 - 'Straw and Prescott hard line on
drugs.'
"TWO senior
Cabinet ministers yesterday joined forces to warn against the dangers of
legalising cannabis.... Mr Prescott said: "The Government is absolutely
right. I am a hardliner on drugs. I think cannabis leads to use of other drugs
and I am against that." Straw: ""The long-term effects
include a very severe exasperation of mental illness and cancer. It is reckoned
that cannabis is between two and four times as carcinogenic as tobacco."
In Labour's
manifesto they say:
"One of the biggest contemporary drivers of crime is
drugs. Access to effective treatment is essential. Prisoners are already
subject to compulsory testing and offered treatment where necessary, which has
led to a 50 per cent cut in the number testing positive. Drug Testing and
Treatment Orders ensure people punished in the community stay drug-free.
"We are pledged to raise spending on drug treatment by 70
per cent by 2004. We will roll out drug testing to cover offenders at every
stage of the system. People in prison for drug-related offences will have to
kick the habit before they are free from supervision on the outside. Drug
dealers will be required to register with the police after leaving prison.
"We will simplify the law on extradition to target
organised crime including drug traffickers. The Criminal Assets Recovery Agency
will target their ill-gotten gains. We will follow the money trail, through
bureaux de change to offshore accounts, to convict them, and remove their money
and passports.
"Our ambition is to mobilise every neighbourhood against
drugs. We will therefore ensure that crime-fighting partnerships, covering
every locality, get over £200 million over the next three years to fight crime
and drugs."
COMMENT: There is
no mention of cannabis because they 'tackle drugs together'!
Reply received from Lib Dems, November 2004
The
position is complicated by the UN Conventions on drug trafficking (known as the
Vienna Conventions), which require signatory countries like the UK to make
selling cannabis a crime. Our policy of legalisation is thus subject to
securing international agreement to renegotiate the conventions.
In
the meantime we advocate a policy of not prosecuting people for personal use,
cultivation for personal use, or social supply of cannabis.
I
attach our policy paper on the subject.
07/12/2001: Policy Papers: Honesty,
Realism, Responsibility
Best
wishes,
Christian Moon
Head
of the Policy Unit
Liberal
Democrat HQ
08/09/2003: Policy Papers: Justice and the Community
From the Office of the Leader of the
Opposition, November 2004
Michael
Howard has asked me to thank you very much for your recent email regarding the reclassification
of cannabis.
You will
be aware that the Government has made a decision to liberalise the drugs laws
and effectively remove the fear of prosecution from adult cannabis users. Under
new guidelines issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers with
Government backing, which came into force on 29th January 2004,
cannabis is downgraded from Class B to Class C.
People
caught by the police with the drug will escape with a warning and confiscation.
It is a policy which Home Secretary David Blunkett claims will make UK drugs
laws more credible, and enable the police to focus on abuse of more dangerous
narcotics.
Mr Howard
believes that the Home Secretary's decision represents the worst of both
worlds. The reality is that he is giving control over cannabis to the drug
dealers, with the police turning away. He has failed to explain why it is right
to tell one set of people that it is half permissible to take cannabis, but to
tell another set of people they may be put in prison for 10 years if they sell
it.
It is for
these reasons that a Conservative government would reverse Labour's decision to
downgrade cannabis to a Class C drug. I believe that it is very important
indeed that this country maintains tough drug laws.
Once
again, thank you for taking the time to write to me. Please let me assure you
that I fully intend to address the failures of this Government's drugs
policies.
With best
wishes
Ian Philps
Office of the Leader of the Opposition
UK: Tories To Restore Hard Line On Drugs: Sunday Telegraph, 21 July 2002
UK: Tories Pledge Cannabis Rethink: BBC News, 14 July 2002
Daily Mail, 20
September 1999: "WILLIAM HAGUE slapped down Peter Lilley last night
after the former deputy
Tory leader indicated he will call for the decriminalisation
of cannabis." ... "a spokesman for Mr Hague tried to distance the
Tory leader from the embarrassment. He said: "William's position is
perfectly clear. He is firmly opposed to all forms of illegal drug taking. We
are opposed to the legalisation of cannabis.""
The Guardian, 9 October 2000:
"Ann Widdicombe, the shadow home secretary, was
yesterday forced to backtrack on her pledge for zero tolerance against cannabis
users after seven of her shadow cabinet members mocked the policy by admitting
they had used the drug in their youth."
Tories clash over cannabis cafes plan (Essex Evening Echo, 7 April
2000):
" Rayleigh MP Dr Michael Clark has branded his Tory
colleague Teresa Gorman "irresponsible" after she spoke in favour of
cannabis cafes. Mrs Gorman, the veteran Tory MP for Billericay,has added her
name in support of a controversial Commons' motion which would effectively
legalise recreational use of the drug in cafes across the UK."
Find out if your GP
candidate knows or even cares about the issue before you vote. Some don’t!
Taken from Green Party policy
DU405 Cannabis to be removed
from the 1971 Misuse of drugs act. The possession, trade and cultivation of
cannabis to be immediately decriminalised, roughly following the Dutch model,
including allowing the establishment of cannabis "pubs" (similar to
the Dutch "coffee shops"). The trade in Cannabis to be the subject of
the Royal commission (below) with a view to establishing a fully legalised,
controlled and regulated trade. Small-scale possession of drugs for personal
use would be decriminalised. The starting point would be advise to policing
authorities to caution rather than prosecute for offences of drug
possession for personal use
and to refer offenders to the health-care services
(DU411). Subsequently,
regulations would be brought forward removing criminal sanctions for simple
possession of controlled drugs for personal use. The recommended sentences for
small-scale supply would be non-custodial options. The possession of pipes made
for the use in connection with smoking of Opium would no longer be a criminal
offence . A Royal Commission or similar body to be established to review
currently controlled drug classifications, within a legalised environment of
drug use. A Royal Commission or similar body would after wide consultation
consider and recommend frameworks of social, economic and health conditions for
drug use and supply.
DU406 With the exception of cannabis, Policing
Authorities would be encouraged to focus detection resources on major drug
trafficking operations. Unauthorised production, importation and marketing of
all drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) would remain criminal
offences. Fines, confiscation of assets and prison sentences
Socialist
Alliance
This broad alliance
of socialist groups has recently added the legalisation of cannabis to their list of policies.
Socialist Alliance statement
on legalising cannabis: "As we make clear in our manifesto, the Socialist
Alliance calls for the legalisation of cannabis - with no ifs, ands, or buts -
now. The refusal of the major parties to engage in an honest discussion on this
issue is yet another example of the failure of our big business dominated
political system. Millions use cannabis. Millions more have no objection to its
use. The Socialist Alliance wants to make sure their voices are heard in this
election. The prohibition on cannabis turns millions into criminals, gives the
police license to harass young people and extends state control over all our
private lives. The same government that bans cannabis reaps billion from
tobacco and alcohol sales - priorities dictated by its friends in big business
and the media. All our candidates are committed to the legalisation of
cannabis."
The Liberal Party advocates the legalisation of all drugs.
PLAID CYMRU
September 20
2001 Plaid Cymru adopt 'legalise
cannabis policy' by Jamie Lyons, PA
Plaid Cymru
adopt 'legalise cannabis policy'
Plaid Cymru today overhauled its drugs policy and called for the
decriminalisation of cannabis - against the wishes of its own leadership.
The Welsh nationalists' annual conference voted in favour of
decriminalising the use of cannabis for recreational and medicinal purposes -
defying the party leadership which warned against the move.
Under the policy, the drug would be available legally only from
registered licensed premises.
Delegates also backed calls for a major public awareness
campaign about the dangers of cannabis use.
The party wants cannabis decriminalised for medicinal use once
''a sufficient evidence base has proven efficacy and an appropriate treatment
protocol developed as a model''.
Despite opposition from top ranks of the party, the proposal is
now adopted as official party policy.
The party has now ditched its former policy calling for a Royal
Commission to examine decriminalisation of the drug - against the advice of its
own shadow Welsh health minister Dai Lloyd and its parliamentary leader.
Dr Lloyd, a practising GP, said cannabis causes depression and
new evidence suggests it makes users violent.
He said there was no such thing as a soft drug.
The party's parliamentary leader, Elfyn Llwyd, warned smoking
cannabis could caused cancer and psychosis.
''I agree with it for medicinal purposes, but for heavens sake
unless we know definitely more about the medical problems it will cause we
should not lay open our children's future to this extremely dangerous drug,''
he said.
Leading calls for the drug to be decriminalised, delegate Robert
Hughes (Merthyr Tydfil) said it was wrong to label cannabis users as criminals.
And he said decriminalisation would stop cannabis users mixing with people
pushing more dangerous drugs.
It would also enable parents and teachers to talk honestly to
children about the harmful drugs ''that blight the lives of our young people''.
He said setting up licensed premises would also attract visitors
thereby boosting the tourism industry.
Scottish Socialist Party
THE Scottish
Socialist Party called for the introduction of Dutch-style coffee shops in
Scotland which would be licensed to sell cannabis. It issued the demand as part
of its policy on drugs which included the legalisation of cannabis for both
medical and recreational purposes. The party, which is contesting all 72
Scottish seats in the general election, also called for heroin to be prescribed
on the NHS.
Kevin Williamson,
the party's drugs spokesman, who has advised the Government on cannabis, said: "We
are the only party in the election with a policy that will succeed on drugs.
The SSP will also argue for heroin to be prescribed under the NHS on a
treatment programme."
Read Scottish MSP's
thoughts and views on drug use at http://www.the-pain.fsnet.co.uk
You can see what some MP's have said about legalisation of cannabis here.
BRITISH NATIONAL PARTY (BNP)
UK LTE: British National Party
Anti-Cannabis: Evening News, Norwich, 24 May 2003
THE ONLY PARTY TO PRIORITISE THE
LEGALISATION AND UTILISATION OF
CANNABIS IN THE UK IS THE
LEGALISE CANNABIS ALLIANCE (LCA)