Gotta start somewhere

In more ways than one...

This forum was looking all lonely so I thought I'd make a post to set the ball rolling (mwahahaha, I'm really trying to get the first post in as many forums as I can... JOKE :p )

I can't really comment on activism outside the UK, but there's plenty going on here. For anyone looking to get involved, good places to start are http://www.lca-uk.org/default.php . I'd advise anyone intersted in cannabis issues to join the LCA today. I recieve email updates regularly (in the past coupla weeks I've been getting 4 or 5 a day, due to the trials of the Worthing coffee shop owners, one of whom sadly received a custodial sentence & the Rhyl medical cannabis supplier - who by the way was found not guilty at Chester crown court :D ). And when you join you get flyers to copy (a particularly good one about the dangers of soapbar included), no victim no crime stickers, and a free copy of freeweed, a pretty goog growing magazine. Go on, join - you know it makes sensi!

Another good site is http://www.ukcia.org/activism/linksactivists.htm

Finally, one thing we can all do - Email Tony Blair & let him know what we think of his 'declassification'. Here's the website http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page1.asp
I realise Tone himself won't see it, but if enough of a noise is made...

Like I said, gotta start somewhere - here's the Email I sent :

I am pleased that cannabis will be reclassified to a class C drug on the 29th January. However, I am extremely disappointed that your government keeps disseminating the same tired old lies and half-truths regarding cannabis. Only last night a representitive of the west midlands police appeared on a Radio 5 live phone in. It was patently obvious that this man did not have the vaguest clue. He kept spouting the same discredited 'gateway drug' argument that your government is choosing to hide behind, together with the spurious links between cannabis use and mental health problems.
I myself am a regular cannabis user, both medically and recreationally. I use the herb recreationally, since I am a sober alcoholic (not had a drink for almost a year). I cannot drink alcohol, I am an alcoholic, if I have a single alcoholic drink it can lead to week long drinking binges, it's a problem I have, recognise I have, but I still need to wind down at the end of the day, and cannabis allows me to do that. I also suffer from bipolar disorder (manic depression) - which, by the way, manifested itself way before I ever smoked a spliff. As a consequence of my illness, I have to take 800mg of Lithium every day. Lithium is an extremely nasty, toxic metal salt, with an interesting & amusing range of side effects, from severe stomach cramps to dizziness and confusion. Smoking cannabis alleviates these side effects to such a degree that I find myself unwilling to take my tablets without a smoke, the side effects are just too severe. But since your government, just as previous governments, seems to feel it is their right to criminalise a substance without which my quality of life would be far less. How you think you are morally justified in criminalising a plant is beyond me, but if it was merely that, I could deal with it. But to also cause otherwise law-abiding people, like myself, to have to break the law and associate with criminals, is something I cannot reconcile.
Mr Blair, do you realise that the prohibition of cannabis is a direct violation of one of our most basic human rights - the right to dominion over one's own body. The public health issues are irrelevant, the only relevant fact is that it is my god-given right as a human being to decide what I do and do not put into my own body, and your drug laws are in direct contravention of that right.
The United Kingdom prides itself on being a free nation, but how can you consider a people free when a large proportion of the population are criminalised for doing something which is neither morally wrong, nor harms anyone but possibly the user.
I sincerely hope when the next general election comes round, you will see the power of public feeling - the type of people, lefty students etc, who would normally provide your party with a large number of votes, will show their opinion of your drug laws en masse, voting for the Lib Dems, the Green party or (as I shall be doing) the Legalise Cannabis Alliance.
Oh, and I haven't even touched on the economic benefits of legalisation, but I'll leave that point for someone more qualified to talk economics than myself.

Its a shame to see that nobody has left a repliy to such a great thread so here
it go's keep up the great work and i will be posting an e-mail to no 10 to give them mps a piece of my mind but nothing like the great mail you left them well done.
peace

Nice one, mate. Why not join the LCA while you're online, you can join without making a donation if you're not flush, that's what I did. I see you're in B Right On too, watch this space, I've been in contact with Don Barnard at the LCA with regards becoming press contact for Brighton, & I'm considering registering as the Brighton & Hove candidate for the general election, if I'm up for it medically.

Cheers Boojum,i,ve just joined the lca.Thanks for that link,i think its a great idea that you should stand for B,s canidate for the lca.Another thing im gona try and get as many people as i can to sign the pertition (i dont think i,ve spelt tht right) for Chris Baldwin, as i was a user of both the cafes in Worthing.
The only thing is where should i post a thread.

"Marijuana affects your brain. THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) affects damages the nerve cells in the part of the brain where memories are formed, making it hard to remember things. "~~ Health.org

I know of people in their early 50's who have smoked since 13. They can remember all important things. I have not seen long term memory loss, yes you lose memory of certain things while under the influence, but the same as for alchohol. It is a drug aswell, and if abused, can be bad.



Marijuana affects your lungs. There are more than 400 known chemicals in marijuana. A single joint contains four times as much cancer-causing tar as a filtered cigarette. ~~ Health.org

Their are more chemicals in cig. and those are still legal, so why do we have legal cig. and alchohol?

Marijuana is not always what it seems. Before it is sold, marijuana can be laced with other dangerous drugs without your knowledge. "Blunts"-hollowed-out cigars filled with marijuana-sometimes have substances such as crack cocaine, PCP, or embalming fluid added to them.

Which is why if weed was legal, it would be factorized, causing it to be illegal to lace or combine substances without the listed ingredients on the package.

Marijuana can be addictive. As with alcohol and many other drugs, not everyone who uses marijuana becomes addicted, but some users do develop signs of dependence on the drug. They may experience such withdrawal symptoms as loss of appetite, sleep problems, weight loss, and shaky hands. In 1995, 165,000 people entered drug treatment programs to kick their marijuana habit. ~~ Health.org

Not everyone, true. I have many friends who quit cold turkey and never had problems, the only reason they wanted it was whenever they were bored, depressed, or needed help sleeping. How many people do you know that could give up weed quicker than cig.?

Stay informed. It has not yet been proven that using marijuana leads to using other drugs. But, the fact is very few people use other drugs without first using marijuana. Teens who smoke marijuana are more likely to try other drugs, in part because they have more contact with people who use and sell them ~~Health.org

I have never used any other drug other than marijuana. I have no intentions of using anthing higher either. The only reason people move to different drugs is because once you get high, you can never become that high again, it takes more and more. But itf you wait awhile before using again, you will feel the effects again (the same as a cigarette, if you smoke regularly, and stop for 2 days, the next time you smoke, you will def. feel it)

Look around you. Most teens aren't smoking marijuana. According to a 1997 study, four out of five 12- to 17-year-old youth had never even tried marijuana. ~~Health.org

Which is exactly why we should have our own choice. And not everyone will admit to using it either.

Reasons why it is illegal in the States they say?
Organized crime, gives all control over selling and distribuiting to criminals, prevents state taxes.

What a laugh, and it still continues since it was outlawed in 1937 because people from mexico were smuggling in that time.
In that era the United States were experiencing a depression, so the outlaw of it did make sense. Now, we have people who can easily factorize it.
They say people will just grow it. Ha! Yes they will, and would they rather waste their time trying to find all the people to sell it to, rather than sell it to a factory for quick money?
It also takes alot of time to grow and take care of those plants so not that many people are going to sit and grow their own plant when they can go to the local gas station and pick up a pack.

Their would also be less argument over drug prices and such, for it would no longer be considered an illegal deal, no one would have to hide it anymore, and would want to be more public to make a greater profit. In some states you can aquire a license to grow , you renew it every year, but you are not allowed to distribute, so it seems they have bent the rules just a little bit.

I read an ex-Narc's (undercover narcotics officer) testimony. He went on and on about him, and his "friends" (victims used to get in and out) were in the position to be killed many times. The druggies, for the right to smoke, the Narc, trying to stop him. At what point does this make sense?

Over half the world experiences depression, and marijuana can make things much more enjoyable (but they do have different effects on certain people.) People will not confess to their doctors that they use drugs, in which if they have a potential disease that can be bad when combined with THC content of marijuana cant be bad. This would also help people to be more open, weed is the most commonly used drug i know of so far besides hemp (or hash).

It also says it produces famine which I find ironic. I could eat grass with mustard if I was high, it also speeds you metabolism up. You will waste almost no food when high.

We should have a united vote, on if weed should be legal and factorized as to help the economy, depression, insomnia, and the rights of the human being to do to his body as he wishes. Everyone will run to the poll to give their opinion. Lets see how many yes's we get over no's .

first lets all call it what it is "a drug,".but caffeine is one too,ect

legalize it for docs to help people out with
for adults to enjoy with moderation(as with booze)
cant figure how they got this anti cig shit going on while its feeding the coffers tax dollars and im sure as hell addicted to cigs,
yet still cliam weed is this big evil thing.
hell it has saved my life,
can stop weed on que,,,,,,,,cigs,,,hahaha u dont want to see me if ive not had one for a day or two,last time i tried to stop cigs,actually had withdrawls pians from
so they can truly bite the big one ,
so they can kiss my ass calling me a criminal for smoking it
or growing it or whatever they want to do if they happen to find me standing in field of it admiring its smelly goodness.while smoking a fat doobie
i am a med user first
recreational second
and down right tired of them fucked up laws they got the USA by teh balls with,practically killing each other over a weed

and by that i mean THEY (the united states goverment,)
are killing us( by depriving some of their meds)
killing some by locking up in cells and sucking what life they had out slowly year by year cuase

they make it much more valued,,by keping illegal
so it be high demand /low supply=$$$$$$$ for those who can grow it,
prohibition learned america only one thing
money is made when you take away things people want and need.
they took booze off market,,look what happened
like They are making lil AL Capones, all over the usa is one way to secure jobs for every cop and prison guard out there.


to any law enforcement officer who may happen to read this
if you think im a criminal ,for smoking a jiont cuase the lil BOOK says it be bad
then you must decide on whats right ,if you want to arrest me
your a moron programmed for the bush regime,
and why the fuck aint you out there catching
the rapist and killers all the fuking pedofile molesters and those types of sick ass fuckers,people like me who would beat the shit out of if we found one among us .they lucky enough to be given to the police,
yaw just turn em lose agian ??
and call me a bad person cuase i smoke a jiont for whatever reason i smoke it for.

oh well i roll one on that.

Nice one mrxthethcman, Chris has been released on a tag & curfew, but the more signatures the better on the petition, even though he's no longer actually in prison doesn't change the injustice. And yeah, I agree with both of you bongboy & nowhereman. Thing is in the US & UK there's motives for the continued illegality of herb, it's just they have nothing to do with justice or the good of the people, they just try and disguise it by attempting to take the moral high ground. Thing is if you actually examine their so called moral reasons, as you obviously have, you realise the foundations are based on nothing, there's absolutely no moral basis for the illegality of herb, in fact it's illegality is morally wrong. What we need to do as tokers is try and get all the non-tokers we know to see that, even if they themselves don't want to do it, there's no harm in us doing it.

Well I am listening, what do we have to do. I made a small commercial about the effects of the prohibition of drugs. It was actually meant for a comedy, but could be taken serious with afew slight edits. If you want to see, just email me at [email protected] . The file is like...860 Kbs. You need Flash Player to view it. But it does make sense, I looked up facts about how kids are depressed between the ages of 7 to 15, we have world hunger, drug wars, and all because of the illegaty of the "bad drug"

and my elected officials know exactly how i feel

they send me excuses ,same old line of bullshit mostly
one changed his ways so progress was made i guess.
he stopped the "gateway drug "shit he spouted off at me
when i ask him prove it and sent him info on its uses as a medicine
ask him what doctor every said for anyone smoke a cigarette
or a 12 pk of budwieser
would he like a list of doctors who would tell him the benifits of cannabis

and he now says he is 'not opposed to med use at least thats is a start
so i will say now NICK RAHALL II get ya ass in gear and legalize it
stop being a uptight refer madness sufferer and making folks suffer over your
MIS IMFORMED political ass,west virginia has enough problems.
your making one for your self here when you could in fact help millions of people and save huge sums of money you spend wiasting valuable police resources over weed.

when you could create a way to generate revenue thru
new jobs and sales of a very needed medicine



THEY say at the end of the letters
if they can be of any service to me, to let them know !!!


morons,
i just did exactly that
and they say same ol crap in reply

we got to make it important to them is all it is

and ya know what
that would take one thing
MONEY

think on that just a second or two then say fuk it and roll ya one
cuase i am gonna do just that right now

yea im down with legalisation and ive jus joind the LCA i think the government are fuking bonkers for not legalising weed and other hemp products cuz jus think of the profit they are loosing on this suff. and every damn pot smoker and med user in the us and uk no the world would be a better place if they freed the weed. does anyone no of any coffeshops in the uk.

peace

There's one called Purple Haze, in Edinburgh, and another called Beggars Belief in Rhyl. They're the only 2 I know of (at least the only ones with an open door policy). Buddies in Worthing was the highest profile one, but Chris Baldwin & others ended up doing custodial for their association, so I doubt they will be starting up again. If you want to get involved, though, check out the LCA candidates page to see if there's a candidate running near you in the local elections in June (Norwich is the place, I think we've got a candidate for every ward in the city). I'm hopefully gonna be helping the Worthing candidate with her campaign - see if you can help near you, just an afternoon delivering flyers will do, and it's only a few hours.