The Independent, 11th
July 2002:
I want my children to grow up in a society where
they have access to the safest recreational drug
available. I accept that life is stressful and we all
need to unwind sometimes. But alcohol and tobacco
kill 130,000 people every year in the UK. Cannabis
has never killed anyone. Think of all the lives that
could be saved if people could be encouraged to
switch to cannabis or if teenagers opted for cannabis
as their drug of choice rather than alcohol or
tobacco.
The advantages of cannabis are not just to do with
health. Government research has shown that cannabis
does not cause a loss of inhibitions as alcohol does,
instead making people drive more cautiously, and that
there are many positive medicinal effects.
If parents want the safest drug for their children
in the future but are concerned about cannabis, then
I urge them to find out the truth for themselves. As
our children receive better drug education you can be
sure that the truth will find them.
The Independent, 8th
October 2002:
The imprisonment of Colin Davies for supplying
cannabis through Britain's first cannabis cafe
highlights the discrimination against minorities who
use drugs safer than those that our government
classifies as legal. Had Mr Davies sold tobacco, a
drug that a quarter of the adult population are
addicted to and which kills 120,000 citizens every
year, he would have been allowed to profit from his
drug supply. He chose to sell cannabis, a drug less
addictive than coffee that has never killed anyone,
and has been imprisoned.
The World Health Organisation's report Cannabis:
a health perspective and research agenda states
that "cannabis poses a much less serious public
health problem than is currently posed by alcohol and
tobacco in Western societies". Our own
Government's Advisory Committee on the Misuse of
Drugs says "Legal drugs, such as tobacco and
alcohol, are responsible for far greater damage both
to individual health and to the social fabric in
general than illegal ones".
Why then is cannabis still illegal? Perhaps
because it represents such an economic threat to
Government finances. The Government is the biggest
profiteer from the drugs trade, benefiting from the
supply of their legal but lethal drugs to the tune of
£20 bn a year. The best quality cannabis can be
grown by anyone at home avoiding any tax revenue
demanded by Government.
Our teenagers are growing up to join a society
where they have a one in five chance of being killed
by drugs that our government profits from. Licensed
cannabis cafes offer an opportunity for our citizens
to obtain the only safer alternative to alcohol and
tobacco without being exposed to drug suppliers
dealing in the 'hard drugs', cocaine and heroin.
Parents Against Lethal Addictive Drugs
The Independent, 28th
November 2002:
The increase in teenage usage of cannabis
("Cannabis smoking by teenagers surges by 50 per
cent", 25 November) shows that our drug
education program is succeeding. Teenagers are
responding to the statement made by the Advisory
Council on the Misuse of Drugs that "the high
use of cannabis is not associated with major health
problems for the individual or society."
Recent reports suggesting that there may be a link
between cannabis and mental ill health demonstrate
that no drug can be completely safe. However these
health risks are minimal compared to those of
tobacco. The Scientific Committee on Tobacco and
Health report (2001) stated that "Half of all
regular [tobacco] smokers will eventually be killed
by their habit". The Department of Health says
tobacco is more addictive than heroin. Tobacco
addicts have a death rate several times greater than
those addicted to street-quality heroin. Heroin
addicts may commit crime but tobacco addicts kill
hundreds of innocent people every year through
passive smoking.
If teenage cannabis use increases while tobacco
use decreases then we should encourage this harm
reduction strategy. Teenagers are taking
responsibility for their own health by exercising
evidence-based informed choice.
Parents Against Lethal Addictive Drugs
Daily Express, 20th October 2003:
Dr Miriam Stoppard was quite correct to highlight
the dangers of cannabis in her article Cannabis -
The Pros and Cons. However she failed to point
out that the risks involved in excessive cannabis use
are considerably less than those for excessive use of
the legal drugs alcohol and tobacco.
The highest legal authority on drug harm, the
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, has stated
that tobacco "smoking kills about 120,000 people
each year, and between 28,000 and 33,000 people die
annually as a result of alcohol" and that
"the high use of cannabis is not associated with
major health problems for the individual or
society."
Cannabis is a far safer alternative to the legal
but lethal drugs that kill one in five people but are
permitted to be sold alongside sweets for children.
Parents Against Lethal Addictive Drugs
New Scientist, 22nd November 2003:
Tam Dalyell seems all
too willing to accept the Home Office's belief that
heroin and cocaine are the most harmful drugs (8
November, p 51). I doubt he has seen any evidence
that these illegal drugs are more harmful than the
legal drugs alcohol and tobacco.
The World Health
Organisation estimates that tobacco use contributes
to 6% of deaths, alcohol 1.5% and illegal drugs a
mere 0.2% of deaths. Of course tobacco use is more
common than illegal drug use but only by a factor of
about 6.
Our current
discriminatory drug laws are based on prejudice
rather than evidence. As a result the law misleads
people - especially the young - into believing that
legal drugs are safer than illegal drugs. This
inevitably contributes to the death toll from alcohol
and tobacco.
Parents Against Lethal Addictive Drugs
Daily Post, 12th March 2002: tongue-in-cheek letter, prior to PALAD's
formation
Rhyl councillors are reasonably concerned about
the consequences of the proposed cannabis cafe in the
town. They would be wise to learn from the tragic
experience of their counterparts in Gwynedd who,
after years of dealing with thrill seekers
endangering their lives, now not only encourage it
but profit from it. Tens of thousands flock to
Gwynedd every year to pursue their 'recreational
activity', portrayed by shadowy national
organisations as 'healthy' despite the deaths and
many injuries every year.
Many users start by an apparently harmless trip to
Betws-y-Coed or Llanberis, perhaps to experiment with
'getting high', but soon the dealers there have lured
them into their premises where they are introduced to
the paraphenalia associated with this irresponsible
activity. Their first few visits to the dealers may
be just for walking boots and waterproof coats, but
displayed right next to these are the equipment
required for the most dangerous of all 'recreational
activities'. What started with a little recreational
hill-walking at weekends may quickly lead to
bungee-jumping and white-water rafting.
Gwynedd councillors failed to nip this pernicious
evil in the bud and now they suffer the consequences.
Perhaps the local economy has benefited but what of
the cost in human suffering of allowing hill-walking
to remain legal and the cost to the tax payer of the
many rescues? Thankfully Rhyl is flat and so does not
attract these reckless attempts to 'get high'.
Supporters of the cannabis cafe in Rhyl predict a
similar benefit to the local economy and point out
how much safer their activity is than hill-walking,
but surely exposing one's self to any risk is
irresponsible? Once the cafe is stopped I hope Rhyl
councillors will champion the call for prohibition of
hill-walking throughout Wales.
