Cannabis convictions hit poorest, hardest

[grace]

Cannabis convictions hit poorest, hardest

PR.Canna Zine

22 June 2008

http://pr.cannazine.co.uk/content/view/410/27/

 

Cannabis convictions in the United Kingdom are hitting those with the lowest incomes hardest, and due to how the law is meted out, low-income family's will often find themselves punished for cannabis possession not once and sometimes even not twice, but three times, by the time the drug is paid for by the user, then confiscated by police, and then a fine (or worse) handed down by the courts.

 

For a substance which is inherently safer than tobacco or alcohol, something isn't right about this.

 

According to a spokesman for Pro-reform cannabis news website the Canna Zine, cannabis is not being Policed with any thought for justice or fair-play, and as cannabis is and remains a Class C drug at the present time, with all of the "lesser" punishment actions Police have at their disposal including using "cautions" as opposed to prosecutions, it does make you wonder why there are so many low-level possession cases being dealt with by the law-courts since the impending reclassification was announced by government?

 

Are you receiving the full story? Suffice to say the government are not best pleased with the majority of material the Canna Zine publish's as it goes against everything the government drugs policy stands for. As such we are censored regularly. So to make sure you receive the full story, check out the Canna Zine cannabis news website , and bookmark us.

 

For instance a man in Lincoln was this week convicted of growing 8 cannabis plants at his home. Not a commercial operation by any stretch of the imagination.

 

Apparently he was not at home when his landlord paid an unnanounced visit. According to the landlord he "heard water running" as he visited and decided to investigate. The landlord then gained entry using a spare key.

 

On entering the flat the landlord found 8 plants growing hydroponically, although it was later admitted in court 7 of them were dead.

 

The man was fined £275, which includes a £15 government surcharge. He also lost all of his growing equipment and his one surviving cannabis plant. The landlord agreed to let him carry on living at the property.

 

In another recent case, an old aged pensioner grew cannabis at his South London home, to relieve a painful Rheumatoid Arthiritis condition. He was fined £70 or two thirds of his weekly income for growing 6 cannabis plants at his home in South London, with no suggestion of supply.

 

This left the pensioner with just £35 to live on for a week.

 

Out of that he would have wished to buy cannabis which medical experts from around the world concur, is a proven treatment for his condition.

 

In the United States, in Holland, In Portugal, in Spain, in Belgium, and in the Czech Republic a Rheumatoid Arthiritis sufferer would have been allowed to grow his own cannabis. So to punish this OAP financially, because he holds a British passport and postcode, seems hugely unfair.

 

At a time when cannabis and its beneficial qualities are in the public eye surely this case begs the question of the validity of creating a criminal out of an otherwise law-abiding UK citizen? A 67 year old-aged pensioner no less, and I would be interested in hearing the comments of ACPO cannabis lead Simon Byrne, anti-cannabis campaigner Debra Bell or Home Secretary Jacqui Smith in this instance?

 

In the meantime we hear news reports from Rolling Stone Ron Wood in which he states he likes to smoke "good hashish", and he smokes it every day.

 

Yet if guitar guru "Rocking Ron" were to be caught in possession and fined £70, he wouldn't even notice that much had gone missing from his days earnings, and the same could be said of George Michael, who said recently "This stuff (cannabis) keeps me sane and happy."

 

Mr Micheal was later sentenced to 100 hours of community service and banned from driving for two years over a "drugs offence".

 

Manchester United football ace Christiano Ronaldo is said to earn in the region of £120,000 per week. Were he to be fined for cannabis possession (doubtful I know), how does a £70 fine hurt him, or someone else who sits in the "highest-earnings" bracket?

 

If the Police plan on "ramping up" their anti-cannabis activity isn't it about time some new laws were written.

 

To protect those who are most vulnerable to undue financial hard-ship as a result of a cannabis conviction?

 

Gordon Brown's cannabis "message" was meant to be a message of safety for young minds still not yet fully developed.

 

But the message the law-courts and the Police are handing out, is "We will hit the poorest members of society where it hurts most if you use cannabis".

 

After almost 9 decades of cannabis prohibition, we know this philosophy doesn't work in reducing cannabis users, as medical experts, doctors and even the governments own advisory board agreed stiffer laws were likely to make no difference at all in the war against cannabis and its users.

 

According to the Home Secretary, "We do not think it is right for the taxpayer to help sustain drug habits when individuals could be getting treatment to overcome barriers to employment."

 

But the truth is an income of between £50-£100 per week doesn't leave much for drugs. Add to that the fact 90% of all crime recorded in the UK is drug related. So fines and the removing of social benefits is only going to add oil to this particular fire.

 

The cannabis debate has become a class war, and once upon a time the labour party would have been there, fighting the corner of the working man or woman.

 

But since Gordon Brown took over, Labour have abandoned the working classes, and not just on the cannabis issue either, leaving the poorest family's looking for a new box to put their cross in come the general election.

 

Canna Zine Comment

For too long, government has used cannabis as a shield, to hide the true facts. While the nation concentrates on the high profile cannabis campaign, alcoholism is rife, and killing tens of thousands every year.

 

But the Canna Zine exists to bring some parity to the British cannabis situation so if you have a positive story of how cannabis has affected your life, or perhaps you have struggled with alcoholism and used cannabis to rid yourself of this disease, please get in touch and let us help you tell it. Rest assured your identity or security will never be compromised.

 

If nothing changes everything will stay the same, but together, as a community, we really can make things happen.

[everest]

aye it stinks mate , whats worse is the poorer sorts in the uk are forced to buy soapbar shite , and when they get bust with that shite the penalties are just as harsh and thats not even real pot . poor bastards ...

 

ev