Cannabis Education at 12 years of age? Someone is on drugs . . .

[Dragonfan]

CannaZine

 

According to news reports the authorities in New Zealand, no doubt mindful of the fact they have a shocking record, which sees 38% of the population admit to using cannabis, would like to start teaching children about the 'dangers' of cannabis abuse from the age of 12 years.

 

According to Bill Stone at the Cannabis Lobby , "This entire report is complete and utter rubbish and I'm frankly surprised a normally high quality publication like "STUFF.CO.NZ" has subscribed to it at all."

 

Education or Marketing?

Increasing the amount of 'drug education' under prohibition is only going to ADD to the fact New Zealand lags behind only the US in the amounts of its citizens who admit to using cannabis, with 41% and 44% respectively according to the WHO.

 

Meanwhile in Holland, where cannabis is legally available on every street corner, and has been for over 30 years, the percentage of population who admit to using cannabis is way lower, at only 19% and this is only the tip of the iceberg.

In the UK, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs actually recommended cannabis remain a class C substance in fitting with the risks associated with other, class C drugs, but the ruling Labour government decided to upgrade cannabis use anyway, and against the advice of the experts, bringing with it the risk of a 5 year jail term for simple possession, (knife crime brings with it a risk of a 4 year sentence), and 14 years for trafficking, (rapists are generally released in under 5 years).

 

During the same period the United States held a ballot in Michigan, and won it convicingly 2 to 1, making Michingan the 13th US state to implement a medical cannabis program, and New Jersey is about to attempt to become the 14th state.

 

What this means in real terms is under the say-so of a doctor, over 25% of the United States, (pop. 305 million and a country where 1 in 99 of its citizens is in prison on a marijuana charge), may now use marijuana legally.

 

Its safe to assume in the most litigious society in the world if there were any risk AT ALL, of cannabis treatment for cancer, glaucoma, Irritable Bowel Syndrom causing health issues as a result of the treatment it would never have been legalised.

 

What we need to do is draw the attentions of our respective legislators to this data, which disproves out of hand, all of the scare mongering and sensationalistic reporting as is displayed in the news report above.

 

Staying with the facts, and with almost half the population of the US admitting using cannabis, shouldn't the US be in the grip of a cannabis psychosis epidemic? Yes it should but the truth is, its not.

 

Psychosis rates in the US currently run at around 1% of the population, as it does in the UK, and elsewhere in the world.

 

Exposing ever younger children to cannabis serves merely to increase the amounts of our young people who decide to experiment with cannabis. This tack doesn't work nor has it ever.

 

In the UK we have politicians who admitted they used cannabis as students. In the US Barack Obama admitted he did too, and he's not done so bad for himself has he?

 

Whilst the Cannabis Lobby agrees cannabis is not an entirely safe, benign drug which should be available for everyone, we also believe sending millions of people to prison for consuming a drug which is only illegal at the behest of one or two big industries, (alcohol, oil, petroleum) is inhumane.

Whilst a great many medications work perfectly well for MS, Cancer etc, cannabis also works for some, so threatening to send MS sufferers (eg) to prison for growing their own cannabis is barbaric.

 

During a time of huge global economic crisis, spending billions of pounds/dollars/euros on further anti-cannabis policing, when we can prove at every turn it actually has no effect, is bad government and only you can change this, so use your votes wisely.

 

With thanks to Bill Stone

http://forum.cannabislobby.org