- The freeing up of police resources which are currently bogged down with the overwhelming, and far from rewarding task of prohibiting this drug. Legalisation will allow the police be able to start investigating real crimes. The problem of "hard drugs" will sort itself out to some extent, because legal cannabis would not result in a need to go to dealers who might deal in harder drugs.
- The subsequent saving of huge amounts of tax payers money, which could help educate and treat hard drug addicts. Billions are spent every year on enforcing this law. Despite this gross waste of money, there are still millions of us who break the law! The savings to tax payers through legalisation would benefit many areas of society. Primary education, public services (particularly transport, libraries, disability welfare, etc) and ecologically friendly policies should be the recipients of money saved.
- The legalisation of the drug would create employment for growers (particularly farmers and greenhouse growers). Creation of officially recognised 'centres' for consumption i.e. Coffee Shops, would also increase benefits to society, while preventing unnecessary conflicts of interest. Consumption of alcohol would no-doubt go down, and with it, associated alcohol related crime. Taxation of commercial growers would create a new source of income for the authorities, while preventing organised crime and drug barons from making huge profits.
- Medical use of the drug can begin to be formalised for the symptoms it is widely known to alleviate. These include glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, migranes and incessant pain. This would clearly reduce costs to the NHS who are at present buying expensive medicine which often does not work and creates unwanted side effects. Clearly, cannabis will compliment the many options available to GPs and the health service. Making cannabis available in a variety of forms, including the natural, unadulterated form, will allow patients some degree of control over the treatment they receive. There is overwhelming evidence that medical use of cannabis is beneficial.
- Use of the drug itself can become safer. Drug education can become more public, i.e. harmful smoking practices can be educated against. Non-potent, or contaminated crops of the drug can be removed from circulation. Mandatory testing of the product will ensure that quantities of impurities (which are at present almost expected) can be removed. The presence of substances such as fertilisers and henna in cannabis at present cause more harm to a user than the cannabis itself. The prohibition of this drug has increased the levels of unwanted additives in what is essentially a non-toxic drug.
- Cannabis has proven itself to be a rather harmless drug (see FCDA report). Far less harmful to people than alcohol and nicotine. The government try to force us to buy expensive pharmaceutical drugs rather than use a safe, cheap and altogether effective drug for illness. This is proof that money = political power. This is wrong.
- We should not be dictated to by the government on how we behave ourselves if it does not affect the rest of society. Smoking herb does not cause problems to society in a way in which alcohol does. It should be a matter of choice for adults to make if they want to smoke or not. No Victim - No Crime.
- We all know that cannabis can cause problems for those with psychological problems. We all know that drugs can be harmful and misused. Why don't the politicians, who let us as adults vote them in, let us conduct our own lives as we feel fit. We are not altering society by smoking cannabis. We are simply being turned into criminals for doing something that should be a basic human right - the right to decide for ourselves what is right and wrong when it comes to our own individual self.
The Reasons for Protesting - Ignorance and Arrogance
STOPPING ALL CANNABIS ARREST: Over 600.000 marijuana arrest a year in the United States alone! In New York City you are held until arraignment which can take days. People are exposed to TB by being forced through central booking with no regard to the matter that the New York prison system is the most significant vector for TB in the City. What is more terrifying is that sick people including HIV positive individuals with weakened immune systems who must use marijuana for medical reasons are placed at significant risk by this process.
STOP THE LIES: The Federal Government is spending Billions of dollars on slick Madison Ave. Anti Drug Commercials on T.V Radio & Print. And their message is based on lies and benefits to special interest groups! Program like DARE that have been proven to not work and send a very dangerous message that will undermine the family: Turn in your parents for there own good! Children are asked to perform acts for which they are too young to have any understanding of the consequences.
THE PEOPLE VOTE: In 5 states; California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Arizona and the District of Columbia voters used their First Amendment Right of free speach to approve the medical use of marijuana. But, the federal government refuses to accept the Scientific facts and worst of all, to deny the will of the people.
RELEASE THE MEDICINE:
Marijuana has been proven to have many medical properties!
It is valuable as an anti-nauseate for person receiving chemotherapy for
cancer and for wasting away syndrome seen in AIDS patients. It has
been shown to be specific in its use of stopping blindness caused by intraoculer
pressure of glaucoma. It is proposed for the treatment of pain,
muscle spasm found in multiple sclerosis and various
psychiatric disorders. It has been demonstrated to be effective
in treating brain damage from stoke! Prior to its prohibition in
1937, marijuana was widely used in medicine.
HEAL THE SICK: Our position is that we should do what we can to ease the suffering of those who face life-threatening illness. Isn't time to stop using our friends and relatives who may be sick as political pawns! There are over 120 medical conditions that can benefit from treatment with Marijuana, here is a list of represents citations from pre 1937 medical literature: Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Alcoholism, Opiate Dependence, Sedative Dependence, Cocaine Dependence, Alcohol Abuse, Huntington Disease, Epilepsy, Migraine, Tic Doloroux, Neuropathy, Hypertension, Arthritis Rheumatoid, Arthritis post traumatic, Arthropathy Degenerative, Anorexia, Cough, Hiccough, and Nausea.
END THE PRISON STATE: The majority of today's prisoners are imprisoned for drug or drug related crimes and the vast majority, out of keeping with the demographics of the general population, are African-American. Vast numbers of these individuals are imprisoned for the use of marijuanal, one of the most benevolent and medically useful plants known. The cornerstone that makes the American system of jurisprudence a balanced system is that it is costly for the city, state and federal governments as well as, the defendants within the system. The introduction of prisons run to make a profit would eliminate the discomfort to all parties as private industry will benefit from the growth of prisons and a larger prison population. Further, once it becomes profitable to maintain a large and growing prison population, any incentive to accomplish a harmonious society with a reduced criminal population will be removed.
Extra Links
Does the UN Convention on Narcotics (1961) prevent us from being able to legalise cannabis?
If you are still in doubt about the reasons for legalising cannabis, and adopting harm reduction policies, then please visit the document library.
Are you wondering about the people who think that cannabis should be kept illegal? Who on earth are these people?! See a list of such people here!
"only losers and idiots smoke cananbis" - find out about famous people who have tried it (the list does nevertheless contain some idiots).
To find out the cannabis laws in other European countries, check out http://eldd.emcdda.org/databases/eldd_national_reviews.cfm
