cannabisnews.com: UN Attacks Blunkett's New Cannabis Law UN Attacks Blunkett's New Cannabis Law Posted by CN Staff on February 25, 2003 at 22:25:52 PT By Alan Travis, Home Affairs Editor Source: Guardian Unlimited Britain's decision to relax the cannabis laws has led to "worldwide repercussions" including undermining African efforts to curb cultivation of the illicit plant, a UN drug agency claims. The International Narcotics Control Board, which is charged with enforcing the treaties that ban drugs, says it is concerned at David Blunkett's decision to reclassify cannabis, because it "sends the wrong signal" to the rest of the world. The INCB's Nigerian president, Philip Emafo, says in its annual report published today: "It is important that consensus prevails in international drug control. No government should take unilateral measures without considering the impact of its actions and ultimately the consequences for an entire system that took governments almost a century to establish." The report says the home secretary's decision "could lead to increased cultivation of cannabis destined for the UK and other European countries". A conference held by African law enforcement agencies in Nairobi in September was told that Mr Blunkett's decision would "undermine the efforts of governments of African countries to counter illicit cannabis cultivation, trafficking, and abuse". The INCB report claims there is "widespread confusion and misunderstanding" of the policy, with most British schoolchildren believing cannabis is now legal or even some type of medicine. The reclassification had also caused confusion among other countries over Britain's attitude towards the international drug laws. The INCB conceded yesterday that Mr Blunkett's limited move, meaning simple possession of cannabis will no longer be an arrestable offence for most drug users, did not amount to legalisation and did not violate any international treaties. Indeed the prohibitionist UN agency goes much further in attacking the Swiss government's proposals that the prosecution of cannabis offences will no longer be a priority, as it would not be compatible with drug control treaties. Hamid Ghodse, an INCB member and professor of pyschiatry at London University, also claimed yesterday the UK's relaxed law could in 10 or 20 years' time result in Britain's psychiatric hospitals being filled with people who have problems with cannabis. In his annual report Mr Emafo not only attacks the "missionary zeal" of those who support legalisation, but also criticises the "harm reduction" policies of most Western European countries, arguing that they amount to "proclaiming that there are safe ways to abuse drugs". A Home Office spokesman rejected the charge that the policy amounted to decriminalisation, or that the policy was confused: "It does make clear the distinction between cannabis and class A drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine, which are the drugs that cause the most harm and tear apart our communities." A British drugs charity, DrugScope, also criticised the UN report as flawed. Its chief executive, Roger Howard, said: "Throughout Europe, Australasia and Canada, scientific experts and a growing number of politicians agree that very strict regimes for cannabis cause more harm to society than the harm caused by the substance itself." Special Report: Drugs In Britain: http://www.guardian.co.uk/drugs/0,2759,178206,00.htmlNote: Reclassification 'undermining Africa's efforts to curb drugs' Source: Guardian Unlimited, The (UK)Author: Alan Travis, Home Affairs EditorPublished: Wednesday, February 26, 2003Copyright: 2003 Guardian Newspapers LimitedContact: letters guardian.co.ukWebsite: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Related Articles & Web Site:DrugScope UKhttp://www.drugscope.org.uk/International Narcotics Control Board http://www.incb.org Cannabis Law Sends 'Wrong Signal' http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15564.shtmlNarcotics Production Harms Poor Nations http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15561.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by afterburner on February 26, 2003 at 10:19:45 PT: Africa, Take Another Look! The International Narcotics Control Board, which is charged with enforcing the treaties that ban drugs, says it is concerned at David Blunkett's decision to reclassify cannabis, because it "sends the wrong signal" to the rest of the world. They almost got it right: UN classification of cannabis as schedule 1 "sends the wrong signal" to the rest of the world.“Appeal to reform the UN Conventions on Drugs” http://www.radicalparty.org/lia_paa_appeal/index_en.phpA conference held by African law enforcement agencies in Nairobi in September was told that Mr Blunkett's decision would "undermine the efforts of governments of African countries to counter illicit cannabis cultivation, trafficking, and abuse".Considering the multitude of medical conditions helped by medical cannabis, the longevity of the historical medical use, and the extreme poverty of African countries that cannot afford the patented "super" medicines of Western medical technology: caring Africans would be advised to take another hard look at the benefits of medical cannabis and stop the prohibition lies and propaganda. The INCB report claims there is "widespread confusion and misunderstanding" of the policy, with most British schoolchildren believing cannabis is now legal or even some type of medicine. The reclassification had also caused confusion among other countries over Britain's attitude towards the international drug laws. Cannabis is a medicine. The "confusion" is created by DEA propaganda, national and international hysteria, and mistaken UN scheduling of this healing substance. The so-called "confusion" is the long-overdue debate of free minds of free individuals in free countries countering the "dead, but not yet buried" [-Einstein] propaganda.ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question. “Appeal to reform the UN Conventions on Drugs” [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by CorvallisEric on February 26, 2003 at 03:10:26 PT Africa and corruption It's time to once again introduce a good resource, the Corruption Perceptions Index, a list of country ratings compiled from several surveys of business people, academics, etc. Each of 102 countries is rated between 0 and 10, higher = cleaner, lower = more corrupt. The list is partly down the linked page after some explanations.Nigeria and Kenya (whose capital, Nairobi, is mentioned in the article above) are both near the bottom of the barrel. Most of the "liberal" European countries being complained about, as well as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, are near the top.I'm not drawing any conclusions from this, just presenting it for your curiosity. Corruption Perceptions Index 2002 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment