There is much debate over the legalisation of cannabis in this country right now, because a young boy who has severe and life-threatening epilepsy has been denied a prescription of the THC variety of cannabis oil - the only stuff which helps. The Home Office has granted a special licence which will probably save him from having a heart attack caused by 120 seizures a night, but the oil remains illegal to everyone else.
CBD oil (which lacks the active ingredient, THC) is currently legal under UK drug laws. I have some in my vape right now in the hopes it will help with arthritis. You do not get high from CBD.
A dim-witted member of the House of Lords has thrown a spanner in the works by proposing that all cannabis should be made legal, even for recreational purposes. This man has been a career politician all his life, and obviously does not know the difference between the genetically modified 'skunk' variety and the ordinary weed which has been safely used for hundreds of years.
Skunk often causes episodes of psychosis. I know this from experience, but not mine. I tried it once and I hated it. I have seen many hitherto peaceful and sane people become paranoid and violent through the habitual use of skunk. It should remain illegal in my opinion, even - or especially - if the ordinary variety is allowed for recreational use. The widespread use of ordinary cannabis - such as hashish - may put a dip in the nation's productivity levels, but that's it.
If the Home Office think that all cannabis should be outlawed as dangerous even for medical purposes, then - by the same token - they should also ban all the opiate pain-killers such as morphine and codeine. Unlike cannabis, they are known to kill if not administered correctly. A hospital in Gosport, Hampshire, is currently under criminal investigation for killing over 600 people with morphine.
By their reasoning, do they think that a if a blanket ban were to be imposed on medical opiates, all the junkies and dealers would be driven off the streets? Even if it were so, it would be a high price for everyone to else pay to make their crime statistics look good on paper.
Great post, well said.
ReplyDeleteMy Husband has Pulmonary Fibrosis, this gives him a cough. CBD oil is helping him and luckily we are able to obtain the best stuff. This though makes us feel like criminals.
Yes, skunk is in a different class, again my husband had a really bad experience with this stuff years ago when he tried it for his migraine.
I don't even feel criminal when smoking the real thing.
DeleteCanada is next in line to legalise Cannabis. It may bring in some extra tax revenue for their government, but I doubt if they'll notice much other difference.
ReplyDeleteExperience in the USA suggests that it doesn't stop street dealing. Why should it when people have private farms?
DeleteLegalization of pot passed last night. People can grow for personal use. We'll see how it goes.
ReplyDeleteYes. I like that Canada is giving the finger to Trump.
DeleteWhen I was working in Children's Services, up until last summer, almost all the scenes of domestic violence and/or child neglect through poverty involved parents who had alcohol in plenty and smoked cannabis. This was in almost all the reports I typed up from the Police to be given to the social workers. It seems like the Police have just about lost, or given up, the battle on cannabis and prosecutions are more likely to involve those supplying rather than those caught in possession at home. I am not sure what I am saying but it would seem that whether it is legal or illegal makes little difference to smoking at home and obtaining it. For the child who needed it for medicinal purposes in the press this week then there should be a way that this can happen legally.
ReplyDeleteA distinction between medicinal use and recreational use is all it would take. Simple really.
DeleteTom, if you're particularly interested in reading about the near miraculous effect that CBD oil can have on children with seizures, you should take a look at the blog on my sidebar called "The Moon, Worn As If It Had Been a Shell". Elizabeth is the main caregiver of her 20 year old daughter that has been suffering from seizures since birth. She writes extensively about cannabis and seizures, and it's made a HUGE difference for her daughter, Sophie.
ReplyDeleteThe states here in the US that have legalized marijuana have been raking in tremendous amounts of tax revenue. I wish South Carolina would be the first southeastern state to follow their lead; we have terrible poverty in rural counties where tobacco farming used to be the main economic driver. All those abandoned farms, barns, equipment could be put back into use and the money would flow back in.
I will look.
DeleteWhere are reason and sanity and a steady hand on an even keel. I sometimes mentally check out.
ReplyDeleteBritain is very hot on law and the strict application of it. It takes a country like Canada to tell the USA to fuck off - reasonably. We are steeped in tradition, and tradition here can be solidified in around one year, after deliberation by Parliament of around 50.
DeleteI've never heard of skunk. I smoked pot for more than twenty years. It is ridiculous to be illegal when alcohol is not. The beer and alcohol companies are giving millions of dollars to sway the politicians to vote it down. My sister with Cancer has to obtain the edible kind in another state where it is legal.
ReplyDeleteSkunk originated from Holland, where Dutch scientists messed around with DNA to increase potency. We bought the seeds and now produce 45% of the entire output of Europe. It is called 'skunk' because it stinks even when lying dormant.
DeleteI am of the age where none of us tried cannabis - just before it becamse fashionable. In fact I didn't hear of it until the so-called swinging sixties by which time I was a teacher and a mother - so that age passed me by. I must say that the more I hear of it the more I ampleased it did.
ReplyDeleteYou just didn't mix in those circles, Weave. It has been smoked everywhere for yonks. I don't think you missed too much though, and that is the whole point.
Delete{ use cannabis if I'm going through a particularly painful episode with my MS. Luckily it doesn't happen too often, but it's great to know I can control the pain. My doctor prescribes morphine for me, but it doesn't even touch the pain. I have tried skunk, but it didn't do anything for me. I first started using it when I was living in the US in the 'swinging' sixties. I don't smoke so I ingest it. It takes longer to work, but the pain relief lasts a lot longer.
ReplyDelete