Canvassing for Opinion - Blairs Brain on Cannabis

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Human Rights a Drug War Casualty
2008-07-20 05:35:00
Image via Wikipedia The drug war's dirty washing is exhibited everyday in popular media, absent scrutiny or oversight from academic or civil society.I suspect all those living in this institution we call New Zealand would be generally appalled if it were argued that by our collective (in)actions we were held to be unfit members of the UN, yet everyday we incarcerate and continue to deprive the freedom of thousands of people in the name of compliance with one UN "Single Convention" - and to what end?I have on many occasions raised the glaring human rights anomaly with government select committee and commissions including the NZ Human Rights Commissioner Rosslyn Noonan.It has been the character of the response that 'drugs are illegal' and that people may choose not to consume them, thus consumption or possession is not a 'rights issue', rather society has the preeminent right to be protected from drugs' harms and consumers. Else why the law?This is wrong. It doesn't matter how...
More About: Human Rights , Casualty , Drug

Obama's "Rolling Stone"
2008-07-18 20:47:00
Obama "on the cover of the rolling stone"Barack Obama on the horrendous human and financial cost of mass incarceration of non violent drug offenders. 'It's expensive, it's counterproductive and it doesn't make sense'"Anybody who sees the devastating impact of the drug trade in the inner cities, or the methamphetamine trade in rural communities, knows that this is a huge problem. I believe in shifting the paradigm, shifting the model, so that we focus more on a public-health approach. I can say this as an ex-smoker: We've made enormous progress in making smoking socially unacceptable. You think about auto safety and the huge success we've had in getting people to fasten their seat belts.The point is that if we're putting more money into education, into treatment, into prevention and reducing the demand side, then the ways that we operate on the criminal side can shift. I would start with nonviolent, first-time drug offenders. The notion that we are imposing felonies on them o...
More About: Stone , Rolling Stone , Rolling

School shooting: It's when, not if.
2008-07-17 05:20:00
(Police address to School Trustees Annual Conference)Police are pushing for schools to implement an emergency response strategy in the event of a shooting similar to those that have happened overseas.On radio today, police were interviewed and this media release suddenly become the "P" [methamphetamine] problem... [yet another 'meth-con'?] sad but true! / BlairThe New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA) holds its annual conference in Christchurch from tomorrow and police say it is a good opportunity to discuss the realities of a shooting."Like it or not, it's not a matter of whether a shooting could happen in a school, but more of a matter of when," Superintendent Bruce Dunstan said.Mr Dunstan, commander of the police national tactical group, said such an event could involve anything from a person carrying a firearm to someone shooting one or more people.While schools had plans for emergencies such as earthquakes, flooding and fires, few - if any - were prepared for an ar...
More About: Shooting

No dope in dem cookies, just dopey Police.
2008-07-16 01:42:00
The Cookie Crumbled   No drugs in cookies teen gave Lake Worth police, lab finds.   LAKE WORTH – The case against a teenager accused of delivering drug-tainted cookies to police crumbled Thursday after scientific tests revealed no traces of narcotics.Christian Phillips, 18, became a cookie monster and the butt of jokes around the globe following his arrest Tuesday after he left a basket of treats at Lake Worth police headquarters. Authorities said then that "field tests" they conducted on the cookies showed traces of marijuana and LSD. But Blue Mound police Lt. Thomas Cain said Thursday that while he respects and accepts the medical examiner's report, he is sure he smelled dope on the home-baked Toll House treats. "They did have a pungent, rancid odor," Lt. Cain said. "They did have the odor of marijuana. I got within two feet of it; I could smell it." see media story that hangs the young guy! It was also reported in New Zealand....
More About: Police , Cookies , Dope

WHO Says US/NZ Drug Policies "a failure' ?
2008-07-15 22:17:00
The World Health Organization Documents Failure of U.S. Drug Policies Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 / By Bruce Mirken The United States has some of the world's most punitive drug policies and has led the cheering section for tough "war on drugs" policies worldwide, but a new international study suggests that those policies have been a crashing failure. A World Health Organization survey of 17 countries, conducted by some of the world's leading substance abuse researchers, found that we have the highest rates of marijuana and cocaine use. The numbers are startling. In the United States, 42.4 percent admitted having used marijuana. The only other nation that came close was New Zealand, another bastion of get-tough policies, at 41.9 percent. No one else was even close. (more)So? Whats new about this unremarkable fact? Could it be that the "MethCon's" and "Kiwi Party" think we can incarcerate our way to a drug free society. Perhaps the media might have liked to print the following attribut...

On the Take, and other media myths
2008-07-14 05:29:00
Half truths layered on half truths couched in the pejorative. Notably NZH's Marketplace [below] is addressed to the reader in Any-City, Any-Town New Zealand and reveals more insight into the real drug problem.Nine million contributors to last weeks Vienna NGO meetings highlighted the systemic failures in drug policy overlooked by drug warriors and its followers the anti-drug league. This report proves the case, availability of drugs of concealment and horror are a product of bad policy, while overlooking the real plague (up to 70%of the entire health vote according to the UK NHS) ... legal alcohol.It is notable too that the drug consumer is the only person asked and the inferences drawn from those answers applied to a general populace (by city). There is a dangerous inference that 'everyone is doing it' but in reality the figures indemnify the cannabis consumer who by far are under represented in this data set but who are, by slight of manufactured consent, made to appear next to...
More About: Media , Myths

Dispatches from Vienna NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs
2008-07-11 21:13:00
Now this is worth cracking a beer for! /BlairDispatch from Vienna , Day Three: A Global Consensus for Drug Policy Reform The first-ever meeting of ordinary people, representing the entire globe and discussing the state of the world's drug policy, concluded today in Vienna with a unanimous, united call for a new approach to drug control policy. Here are the highlights of our resolution:We recognized "the human rights abuses against people who use drugs" We called for "evidence-based" drug policy focused on "mitigation of short-term and long-term harms" and "full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms"We called on the U.N. to report on the collateral consequences of the current criminal justice-based approach to drugs and to provide an "analysis of the unintended consequences of the drug control system" We called for comprehensive "reviews of the application of criminal sanctions as a drug control measure"We recognized harm reduction as a necessary and worthwhile response t...
More About: Drugs , Committee , Dispatches , Narcotic

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition NZ Tour
2008-07-09 05:55:00
Founded on March 16, 2002, LEAP is made up of current and former members of the law enforcement and criminal justice communities who are speaking out about the failures of our existing drug policies. Those policies have failed, and continue to fail, to effectively address the problems of drug abuse, especially the problems of juvenile drug use, the problems of addiction, and the problems of crime caused by the existence of a criminal black market in drugs.SplashCast "Law Enforcement Against Prohibition " to your pageBlair AndersonJudge Jerry Paradis New Zealand Tour 2008 facilitator.phone 03 3894065, cell 027 265 7219Related articles by ZemantaMilestones in Drug Policy, Homegrown Solutions Are Best.LEAP NZ Tour 2004Get Blairs Brain on Newsfeed... http://feeds.feedburner.com/BlairsBrain-C anvassingForOpinion

Cannabis grower denied home detention
2008-07-06 23:54:00
A year for pot, fur krise ake! $200 tonnes or more is dispatched benignly, the social harms are weak, and harms to self, while also 'very weak' who the hell cares? Judge Harding has just added about $100,000 to the 'pterodactyl prevention' budget. Further, this man will probably never work again and who could blame him. No doubt the Police could equally argue that they have saved the community Millions.... Puke! /BlairCannabis grower denied home detentionMonday July 07, 2008Home detention was "inappropriate" for a man who had been growing cannabis to supplement his sickness benefit, a judge said today. It was precisely the sort of offending Lawrence Frederick Williams had been committing from home, said Judge Christopher Harding in Tauranga District Court.Williams, 43, was jailed for 12 months when he appeared for sentence on four charges - cultivating, possessing and supplying cannabis, and possessing methamphetamine.He had converted a bedroom for growing cannabis, a drug he ha...
More About: Detention

UN Conventions Unintended Consequences & HR
2008-07-06 20:45:00
Image via Wikipedia Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Vienna, 10-14 March 2008 Thematic debate on the follow-up to the twentieth special session of the General Assembly: general overview and progress achieved by Governments in meeting the goals and targets for the years 2003 and 2008 Amongst the usual and expected flatulence of the UN Office of Drug Control about the drug war success there are many gems that highlight the failings of the UN Conventions , these include....Unintended Consequences The benefit of hindsight is the insight it offers us to evaluate the present and enrich future policy. Looking back over the last century, we can see that the control system and its application have had several unintended consequences – they may or may not have been unexpected, but they were certainly unintended. The first unintended consequence is a huge criminal black market that now thrives in order to get prohibited substances from producers to consumers. Whether driven by a 'supply push' ...

Putting People in Prison For Their Genes!
2008-07-06 09:16:00
Image via Wikipedia Addiction Largely Determined By Our Genes - Annual Meeting Of The Royal College Of PsychiatristsThe mystery of why one person becomes hooked on alcohol, heroin, sex or gambling, and another remains free of addiction, lies deep in the brain and is largely determined by our genes - [Medical News Today, UK]This, should anyone consider it to be true, makes a mockery of the Misuse of Drugs Act's Class C and B with the duress of prison sentencing for ingestion of any kind of cannabis. (possession is logically even more irrational) Targeting of minority's based on genetics is an abrogation of common decency and a violation of human rights. It is time that disability legislation dealt with this matter ASAP.(no decision about us, without us.)Cannabis Law is defacto Eugenics -'bioethicists should be on the look out for those subtle social forces which canundermine the voluntariness of people's choices and consents.' - Eugenics and the Criticism of Bioethics, Ann Kerr ...
More About: People , Prison , Putting

Pro's and Con's of Kiwi Med Pot
2008-07-06 09:05:00
Medical Cannabis, people and research links for New Zealandie:David M. Fergusson PhD - Medical Marijuana - ProCon.orgJun 30, 2008 ... "Tests of Causal Likages Between Cannabis Use and Psychotic Symptoms," ... E-Mail: david.fergusson@chmeds.ac.nz Website: University profile ...Searching for Otago turns up some useful links as wellBlair Anderson ‹(•¿•)›ph (643) 389 4065 cell 027 265 7219Get Blairs Brain on Newsfeed... http://feeds.feedburner.com/BlairsBrain-C anvassingForOpinion
More About: Kiwi

Shrooms Good? Can't be, they are OUTLAWED!
2008-07-05 19:38:00
"Spiritual" effects of mushrooms last a year?By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor WASHINGTON (Reuters) Wed Jul 02 2008The "spiritual" effects of psilocybin from so-called sacred mushrooms last for more than a year and may offer a way to help patients with fatal diseases or addictions, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.The researchers also said their findings show there are safe ways to test psychoactive drugs on willing volunteers, if guidelines are followed. In 2006, Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and colleagues gave psilocybin to 36 volunteers and asked them how it felt. Most reported having a "mystical" or "spiritual" experience and rated it positively. (also see Finding God in the Brain: That Psilocybin Study /Blair)More than a year later, most still said the experience increased their sense of well-being or life satisfaction, Griffiths and colleagues report in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. (The body of science research into Mu...
More About: Good

Skunk 'psychosis risk' warning
2008-07-04 21:42:00
BBC NEWS Health Skunk 'psychosis risk' warningPeople who smoke the strongest form of cannabis - known as skunk - may be more at risk of psychosis than those who use milder forms, UK researchers claim. (but they dont ask, how does prohibition help, nor explore how unregulated and criminal markets induce madness? /Blair)In a study of 300 people, those who had suffered an episode of psychosis were 18 times more likely to have smoked skunk than other cannabis users. A Royal College of Psychiatrists meeting heard they were also more likely to use cannabis every day.But experts urged caution over the interpretation of the findings. The evidence on the link between cannabis and psychotic illness such as schizophrenia has been inconsistent. We should take a cannabis history in a more detailed way like we do when we take a history of cigarettes smoking to establish risk of lung cancer - Dr Maria Di Forti Earlier this year the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs concluded there was a pr...
More About: Warning , Risk

MedPot, Unresolved in NZ, Sorted in Washington
2008-07-03 16:50:00
Medical Cannabis 'bud' OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- After meeting with law enforcement leaders, Washington 's Health Department has cut its suggested two-month supply of medical marijuana by nearly a third - a change that riled patients' advocates and sparked threats of a lawsuit.On Tuesday, the state Health Department laid out its suggestion for a 60-day supply of medical marijuana at 24 ounces of usable pot, along with six mature plants and 18 immature plants. That mirrors the limits used in Oregon, and is a significant drop from the 35 ounces and 100 square feet of growing area the agency was considering after gathering volumes of comment from people around the state.If only New Zealand had this dilemma!Despite the woeful ignorance of many politicians who believe the crap Police dole out to them when they mockingly have declared "there is no one in jail for cannabis!", Medicinal use remains unresolved. A bill before the 'house of representatives' has been languishing for years und...

Dogs, Drugs and Deluded Authority
2008-07-02 20:45:00
Dogs in schools brings dogs into disrepute. There is legitimate reason to have grave concerns regarding this practice. Every note in circulation carries residues of cocaine and where cannabis is so widely available even to adults it is all to easy to detect in almost any scenario especially at the near molecular trace levels a well trained dog can detect. This leads to false positives where the consequences, especially amongst peers, let alone determined authority eager to justify its 'protectionist' role. Drug Dogs in schools is a dangerous social practice in which the unintended harms are rarely quantified. It portrays 'students' as being under suspicion where there should be none, and sends the message to youth that "all their peers are doing it" when this is a false and misleading impression. Of course, authority is reluctant to acknowledge that they are [ever] part of the problem.I applaud the insight given the comment "how they will handle the pastoral and press issues sho...
More About: Dogs , Drugs , Authority

Milestones in Drug Policy, Homegrown Solutions Are Best.
2008-07-01 21:43:00
Milestones in Drug Policy , Homegrown Solutions Are Best.Thirty five years ago today, on July 1, 1973, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was established, based on an executive order signed by President Richard Nixon in March, 1973.A pivotal part of Nixon's War on Drugs, the DEA was formed by merging the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD), the Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement (ODALE) and several other Federal offices. As a United States Department of Justice law enforcement agency, the DEA's primary task was to combat drug smuggling and use within the United States, and coordinate and pursue US drug investigations abroad.In 1973, the DEA employed 2775 people, 1470 of whom were special agents, and had an annual budget of $74.9 million. By 2005, the DEA boasted 10,894 employees, 5,296 special agents, and an annual budget of $2.141 billion. In 2007, the annual budget was increased again, by $71 million per year, making the total 34 times larger than the original...
More About: Milestones

Nights of extreme Stupidity in Christchurch Drug Policy
2008-06-27 23:00:00
The entire alcohol debate is gravely flawed with a suspension of any analysis around 'alcohol' being a drug. I hear it labeled so in pejorative terms by people who in so doing believe that somehow that justifies there prejudices to all drugs. Yet there in the middle of this see "Nights of extreme in Christchurch " [http://www.stuff.co.nz/print/4599551a197 43.html ] we have policeman attributing more moderate behaviors associated with the time when raves fueled by Ecstasy occurred describing "E" as a 'happy drug'.And there lies the clue. It is so obvious to anyone who looks at what drives the behavioral outcomes, the need to be part of something, to bond... "Until we accept that our national drug policy is corrupted by the idea there is 'evil vs good' drugs we never get a handle on this."Mere possession of "Ecstasy" [MDMA] was elevated to a Class A schedule (which to a young person means 'must be really excellent') with life in prison, comparable to murder. Yet, in the London p...
More About: Extreme , Stupidity , Policy , Drug

BERL, POLICE, JUSTICE and headbanging
2008-06-26 21:12:00
Image via WikipediaAside from the NZ Police 's questionable use of the DRUG HARM INDEX to self interestedly perpetuate an unaccounted policy, demanding as it were 'more resources' without any accounting for 'deliverable outcomes', it is entirely contestable in managerial let alone economic terms. The Drug Squad is in effect 'deficit funded' without as much a skerit of evidence that the resources AND priorities are allocated with ANY efficiency. This is POOR management practice. This was roundly critiqued by visiting top cop and former head of Scotland Yard Narcotics/London Metro, Chief Super Det. Eddie Ellison to the Ministry of Justice in 2004. (Eddie was also a founding member of TRANSFORM, now with UN consultative standing )"It wouldn't pass muster at Police College, let alone the Home Office. There is no room in modern policing for unaccountable deployment blindly following political directives" -(private conversation with the writer)Eddie presented to 17 MoJ Officials al...
More About: Berl

BERL's BoonDoggle
2008-06-24 23:49:00
One could send NZ's entireLSD 'problem' (10gms) inone envelope via NZ Post!and Dogs couldnt even smell it! Hardcore drugs P, cocaine and Ecstasy gave New Zealand a bill of about $546 million for social costs in one financial year. (Ecstacy "hardcore", who are these guys kidding, this is proof Accountants should stay away from drugs)They are a big part of the total $1.3 billion that drug use cost the country in 2005 and 2006.The figures come from a new index designed by economists to help police decide where drugs do the most harm and enable them to use resources more efficiently.The Drug Harm Index, released yesterday, will help police determine the socio-economic costs from drug seizures and track the value of the drug trade in New Zealand. (this is laughable - "it amounts in reality to harms from prohibition in dollars per kilo/Blair)It measures social harms related to drug use such as lost work output, health service use, diverted resources and reduced quality or loss of life....

United Nations Driving Shapelle Mad
2008-06-22 22:06:00
attn: Blair Norton,TVNZ Reporter,Christchurch.Hi Blair,United Nations Driving Shapelle MadShapelle is depressed BECAUSE OF THE UNITED NATIONS Conventions on Narcotics. The NZ Law Commission is examining NZ obligations under these covenants and treaties this year (see terms of reference) Human Rights AND Drug Policy  is a key issue at UN Vienna meetings in July. (NZ delegation of 9 has 2 attending from Christchurch)Shapelle is serving twenty years for the amount of cannabis smoked in Australia every 60 seconds. Reporting on this issue is long on history (how many times do we need to hear what she did)  and short on insight on just how disproportionate the sentence.She was lucky to escape the death penalty. Singapore hangs people for 500gms of what Oregon State (and twelve other states =33% of USA pop) would allow as medicine. Blair Anderson  ‹(•¿•)›ph (643) 389 4065   cell 027 265 7219 Get Blairs Brain on Newsfeed... http://feeds.feedburner.com/Bla...

Tougher laws may make young taggers 'heroes'
2008-06-22 17:01:00
Friday, 20 June 2008,Newmarket Business AssociationTougher laws around tagging just passed by parliament may in fact make tagging just that much more ‘cooler’ particularly among minors, claims one Auckland business district. MPs have voted to get tougher on taggers by supporting measures such as lifting the maximum fine for tagging from $200 to $2,000 and banning the sale of spray cans to people under 18.“The legislation is a step in the right direction but the public needs to keep vigilant. These tougher laws could in fact bring on an unintended consequence – that is make taggers even bigger 'heroes' among their mates,” says Cameron Brewer head of the Newmarket Business Association..Curious that the same logic "engine of malcontent" doesn't apply to youth and cannabis. / BlairGet Blairs Brain on Newsfeed... http://feeds.feedburner.com/BlairsBrain-C anvassingForOpinion
More About: Heroes , Laws , Young , Make

Professor Dawkins on Class D
2008-06-21 08:09:00
Professor Dawkins (Otago School of Law) on Class D(recorded at the Dunedin Cannabis Week, May 2008)Blair Andersonhttp://mildgreens.blogspot.comGet Blairs Brain on Newsfeed... http://feeds.feedburner.com/BlairsBrain-C anvassingForOpinion

Crime expert: Using drugs a human right
2008-06-18 00:06:00
DRUGS should be legalised because there is a “human right” to use them, according to a new book by an Irish criminal law expert. see Crime expert: Using drugs a human right / By Cormac O’Keeffe (Irish Examiner)Paul O’Mahony also said the war on drugs had “failed catastrophically” in Ireland, and across the world.The Trinity College psychologist and criminologist said it was a “scandal” that enormous resources were being used to enforce prohibition. He said this policy had not only failed to lower drug use, but may have contributed to its increase.In his book, The Irish War on Drugs , the Seductive Folly of Prohibition, Mr O’Mahony said the campaign for abolition needed a clear, rallying idea, which would cut through complex arguments.“What is required to achieve a tipping point, a revolution in thinking, is a bold, inspirational idea to which people can subscribe as a matter of self-evident principle.“Only the concept of a human right to use drugs can fulfil thi...
More About: Human , Expert

Anderson Bay Teacher gets a Lesson in Politics
2008-06-12 16:58:00
Gmail - benson_pope.jpgIt's a pity MP David Benson-Pope didn't take the offer, it would have improved his chances!However, he will still be retiring on 80% of his salary, pity he couldnt have held on to his Ministerial portfolio's, he could have stiffed the public purse for even more! Blair Anderson http://mildgreens.blogspot.comGet Blairs Brain on Newsfeed... http://feeds.feedburner.com/BlairsBrain-C anvassingForOpinion
More About: Politics , Teacher , Lesson

The War on Drugs Has Failed - Should America Legalize Drugs?
2008-06-10 11:48:00
The war on drugs has failed;We must make peace, heal our wounds, and change our laws. Richard Burton,Chair, NAACP Prisoner Rights Sub-committee In 2005, International Activist Cliff Thornton invited me as Chairman of the NAACP Prisoner Rights Sub-committee, to participate in a drug conference in Hartford, Conn and after several years of research as it relates to drugs and its side effects, I offer these thoughts.The drug war can't be won, and we have lost. We merely repeat the mistake of Prohibition. The harder we try to stop this evil, the more lucrative we make it, and the more it spread. The war on drugs cannot be eradicated by making it more profitable and at the same time creating more jails/prisons, disparities, casualties and tax burdens. This view is shared by activists like Jack Cole a conference participant, a retired police lieutenant who worked on the front lines of the war on drugs, and who feels that prohibition causes more damage than the drugs themselves do.Accordin...
More About: America , Drugs , War on Drugs , The War on Drugs

Those Scots!, So Pragmatic about Street Disorder
2008-06-09 05:13:00
Image via Wikipedia Forum sets out radical drugs planA report published by a Scottish Parliament-backed think tank has called for radical new ways to tackle the damage done by drugs and alcohol. Recommendations include the setting up of "consumption rooms" where addicts would be able to take drugs safely, and for heroin to be prescribed to users.The report also suggested the taxation of cannabis to enable it to be more tightly regulated. The Scotland's Futures Forum was asked to look at ways of tackling addiction.The think tank was established by the parliament and was tasked with looking at the challenges facing Scotland, and seeking ways to meet those challenges.In this latest report it asked how the damage caused by alcohol and drugs in Scotland could be halved by 2025.It said drug use had been historically seen as a justice issue but should be treated as a health, lifestyle and social challenge. The report said a greater proportion of resources should be allocated to treatment ...
More About: Street

Deal with Policy Inadequacies rather than funding failure.
2008-06-07 21:29:00
Andre Bigras of the Drug Prevention Network of Canada writes critiquing Vancouver's supervised drug injection facility Insite, suggesting it to be a waste of money. Peer review analysis shows it not only saves lives of drug consumers, but significantly it has a major health benefit to otherwise innocent victims in both reducing HepC, HIV and other social liabilities due to acquisitive crimes. His misunderstanding of the goals and aspirations of needle 'services' is as misguided as his understanding of New Zealand's "supposed' consideration to introduce forced treatment. NZ legislated in 1966 to do this but like most other educated and informed countries has moved away from it due to ineffectual outcomes. He may have been referring to a recent parliamentary hearing where a former policeman, now public speaker and pseudo-educator self-interestedly called for renewing such interventions but they were roundly dismissed. Likewise, Mr Bigras misrepresents the science behind both Engl...
More About: Funding , Policy , Failure , Deal

TV documentary: Prime Time Investigates: War Without End
2008-06-07 20:55:00
An extraordinary documentary marking a new level in broadcast journalism critiquing the international war on drugs was shown on Irish TV. (3 June 2008).Filmed in Colombia, Ireland, England, the US, The Netherlands, Switzerland and many more, it includes a veritable who’s who of drug policy experts on all sides of the debate."It is absolutely unequivocal in demonstrating the futility and massive costs of fighting the war on drugs, as well as suggesting legal regulation as a viable alternative." - Emily CA must see for anyone interested in the debate.TV documentary: Prime Time Investigates: War Without End Get Blairs Brain on Newsfeed... http://feeds.feedburner.com/BlairsBrain-C anvassingForOpinion
More About: Documentary , Prime Time

Cannabis is not a cause of anti-social behaviour.
2008-06-06 02:47:00
Image via Wikipedia In the politics of drug policy in the community an emerging concern is being expressed characterised by an anti-fun, anti-youth intolerance ranging from neo-prohibitionism to a 'more rules is better than some rules' debate surrounding alcohol deficits in the community. If Cannabis is not a cause of anti-social behaviour AND cannabis is displacing alcohol and other mind altering substances it can be reasonably argued its use is ''harm minimizing" AND producing a positive social outcome.And why do those who are morally (or politically) concerned 'about drug harms' resist change (ie: "we don't need a third drug!") when cannabis is so prevalent and so benign by any comparison yet 'in their name and mine' its draconian sanction so damaging."The Advisory Council also found that cannabis use isn't actually associated with antisocial or criminal behaviour, but the public perception is that it is, because there's a lot of misleading information which confuses p...
More About: Social , Behaviour , Anti , Anti-social