{"id":38678,"date":"2020-01-21T13:07:40","date_gmt":"2020-01-21T13:07:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?p=38678"},"modified":"2020-01-21T13:07:40","modified_gmt":"2020-01-21T13:07:40","slug":"cannabis-ban-is-the-biggest-hypocrisy-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2020\/01\/21\/cannabis-ban-is-the-biggest-hypocrisy-of-all-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Cannabis ban is &#039;the biggest hypocrisy of all time&#039;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The most vulnerable in society are hardest hit by prohibition, says  Cardiff campaigner<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"690\" height=\"437\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Cannabis-smoking.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-38689\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/Cannabis-smoking.jpg 690w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/Cannabis-smoking-300x190.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/Cannabis-smoking-500x317.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/Cannabis-smoking-293x186.jpg 293w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"690\" height=\"437\" src=\"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Cannabis-smoking.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-38689\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/Cannabis-smoking.jpg 690w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/Cannabis-smoking-300x190.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/Cannabis-smoking-500x317.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/Cannabis-smoking-293x186.jpg 293w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>Image: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>IT was\n8pm on a cold, uneventful Sunday evening when Dylan picked up the phone and\ncalled me using a withheld phone number. He\u2019d been tied up for the last few\ndays with the day-to-day running of a family but was finally able to talk \u2013\nalbeit discretely.\u202f\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Dylan lives\nin Cardiff.\u202fHe has a job, a\nfamily, suffers from arthritis, and apologised for any background noise as he made\ndinner for his kids.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>He also\u202fgrows\u202fand\nsmokes\u202fcannabis to help with\nhis arthritis \u2013 something which, if caught\u202fand\ntried, could see him facing\u202fbetween seven and 16\nyears in prison.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Online, he runs a blog called Cardiff Cannabis Caf\u00e9. Assuring me that it isn\u2019t actually an Amsterdam-style caf\u00e9, Dylan outlined his work dedicated to the legalisation of various currently illegal substances.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Speaking via\u202fheadset\u202fso he\ncould continue cooking, Dylan began:\n\u201cPeople talk about medical\ncannabis. There\u2019s no such thing. There\u2019s just cannabis.\u201d\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Currently a class B drug, cannabis possession carries severe legal penalties. However,\u202fpublic and official opinion on the drug is relaxing \u2013 with the legalisation of cannabis-based prescriptions last November.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>I asked Dylan\nif there are different strains for medical use. \u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Dylan responded,\nwithout hesitation:\u202f<strong>\u201c<\/strong>The\nfirst legal import of cannabis to the UK was Jack\u202fHerer\u202f\u2013\ngrown in Holland. Jack Herer is a cross\npollination of skunk.\u201d\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>\u201cMost cannabis grown in the UK is from GW Pharmaceuticals, who have a licence from the Home Office. They grow a strain derived from skunk.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Skunk,\u202fa strain of cannabis\u202fhigh in the main psychoactive\u202fingredient Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has a particularly bad name in popular culture due to its association with antisocial behaviour.\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Dylan continued:\u202f\u201cThey claim medicinal cannabis is different to the skunk you buy on the street. Cannabis with high THC and low CBD is seen as bad for you.\u202fTheir\u202flegal stuff is somehow good for you \u2013 guess what, it\u2019s no different.\u201d\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/marijuana-3065611_960_720.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-38687\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/marijuana-3065611_960_720.jpg 960w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/marijuana-3065611_960_720-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/marijuana-3065611_960_720-770x513.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/marijuana-3065611_960_720-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/marijuana-3065611_960_720-370x247.jpg 370w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/marijuana-3065611_960_720-293x195.jpg 293w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/marijuana-3065611_960_720.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-38687\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/marijuana-3065611_960_720.jpg 960w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/marijuana-3065611_960_720-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/marijuana-3065611_960_720-770x513.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/marijuana-3065611_960_720-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/marijuana-3065611_960_720-370x247.jpg 370w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/marijuana-3065611_960_720-293x195.jpg 293w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>Cannabis, like any plant, comes in different &#8216;strains&#8217;. Image: Pixabay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Cannabidiol (CBD), the other main chemical in cannabis which does not get people &#8216;high&#8217;, is legal to sell and use in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>The NHS in Wales, and across the UK, recently started issuing\u202fits first cannabis-based medicines &#8211; but at a far slower rate than private providers.<\/p>\n\n\n<p> This has led to both children and adults <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-wales-49500046\">paying thousands of pounds<\/a> to relieve chronic pain and conditions like epilepsy \u2013 or losing out altogether.\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut\u202ftheirs\u202fis\u202fmedicinal!\nIt\u2019s good for you,\u201d Dylan joked.\u202f\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>The debate on cannabis legalisation is often dismissed as hoodies wanting to smoke, or hippies wanting a cultural comeback. <\/p>\n\n\n<p>Dylan disagrees:&nbsp;\u201cWhy\ndoes it matter? It matters because it\ncan help so many people. Why should MS, epilepsy, arthritis patients\nbe criminalised?\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Sighing, he added that his use of cannabis to self-medicate has saved the NHS much-needed money.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<p>\u201cI feel let down by politicians. It\u2019s f&#8212;&#8211;g inhumane for people like me to\u202fhave to worry that our doors are going to be smashed in.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s\nworse for others, it\u2019s\ncruelty,\u201d he continued. \u201cWithholding medicine to a child suffering from\nepilepsy, as has happened, is abuse. I don\u2019t care what you say, it\u2019s abuse.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Dylan was referring to cases like <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-wales-47623046\" target=\"_blank\">that of 17-year-old Bailey Williams, from Cardiff<\/a>, whose parents joined a protest last March to get access to cannabis-based medicine on the NHS.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<p>He was suffering up to 100 seizures per day and was medicating with non-psychoactive CBD-based products. He needed stronger cannaboids for his condition but the NHS would not prescribe him and 15 others, despite it being legal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey\nsay they\u2019re about the damage it\nhas on young\u202fminds. Well, do you\nknow what is really damaging to a developing brain,\u202fEdd? A\nseizure. Daily brain injuries.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Historically,\na leading justification for prohibition is that cannabis increases the risk of\nmental health conditions such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Dylan cited Professor Carl Hart, leading drug researcher based at Columbia University in the US: \u201cCorrelation doesn\u2019t equal causation.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf it did cause mental health issues then countries like the USA, Netherlands who have regulated would have seen an uptick in mental health causes and they haven\u2019t. They\u2019ve remained static.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Over in the US, where the legalise movement has more momentum, Democrat senator Bernie Sanders has been highlighting the racism in the war on drugs. Dylan was keen to show that issues of race and class are central to prohibition in the UK too.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a\nsocial justice issue. That\u2019s\nwhat drives us,\u201d he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>\u201cBlack kids are stop and searched far more than white kids. They\u2019re disproportionately\u202faffected\u202fbecause they\u2019re the ones who get done.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<p>\u201cCoppers don\u2019t walk the leafy suburbs of North Cardiff. You\u2019ve got a lovely middle class white 40-something guy in Whitchurch with 2oz of coke for Christmas and a big bag of weed in his drawer. He\u2019s not\u202fgonna\u202fget busted, is he?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut if\nyou\u2019re a young black kid who\u2019s only social interaction happens on the street\nand you happen to like a puff, you\u2019re stuffed mate.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>\u201cProhibition\ndrives the division of families \u2013 young fathers\u202fget\narrested and go to prison and they aren\u2019t around for their kids. The\nkids turn to gangs and to county lines.\u202fWe\nhaven\u2019t learned anything.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Conservative\nand Labour governments have taken hard stances\non illicit drugs: Gordon Brown oversaw the reclassification of Cannabis to a\nclass B drug, and Theresa May amplified the war on drugs.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the biggest\u202fhypocrisy\u202fof all time. May\u2019s husband has shares in GW Pharma. May tightened\u202fup the regime on cannabis and made it more punitive.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile,\nPlaid Cymru supports widespread drugs decriminalisation. Leanne Wood, ex-Plaid\nleader has led several events to that effect, including one earlier this year part-organised\nby Cardiff Cannabis Caf\u00e9.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Dylan\nended, with the sounds of pots and pans in the background, by saying all drugs\nshould be regulated and decriminalised.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe\nweight of prohibition always falls on the most vulnerable in society,\u201d he\nsaid.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p>\u201cLegalisation\nis seen as this mass experiment. No\u202fno\u202fno, the\nexperiment is happening right now, and the results are\u202fin: more\npeople are dying and being exploited because of the\nprohibition of cannabis.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The most vulnerable in society are hardest hit by prohibition, says Cardiff campaigner IT was 8pm on a cold, uneventful Sunday evening when Dylan picked up the phone and called me using a withheld phone number. He\u2019d been tied up for the last few days with the day-to-day running of a family but was finally able to talk \u2013 albeit discretely.\u202f\u202f&nbsp; Dylan lives in Cardiff.\u202fHe has a job, a family, suffers from arthritis, and apologised for any background noise as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":38686,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[23,24,25,26,27,28],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-38678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-longer-reads","tag-cardiff","tag-cannabis","tag-cannabis-prescriptions","tag-cannabis-prohibition","tag-cardiff-cannabis-cafe","tag-nhs"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cannabis ban is &#039;the biggest hypocrisy of all time&#039; - The Cardiffian<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2020\/01\/21\/cannabis-ban-is-the-biggest-hypocrisy-of-all-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cannabis ban is &#039;the biggest hypocrisy of all time&#039; - The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The most vulnerable in society are hardest hit by prohibition, says Cardiff campaigner IT was 8pm on a cold, uneventful Sunday evening when Dylan picked up the phone and called me using a withheld phone number. He\u2019d been tied up for the last few days with the day-to-day running of a family but was finally able to talk \u2013 albeit discretely.\u202f\u202f&nbsp; Dylan lives in Cardiff.\u202fHe has a job, a family, suffers from arthritis, and apologised for any background noise as [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2020\/01\/21\/cannabis-ban-is-the-biggest-hypocrisy-of-all-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-01-21T13:07:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/Cannabis-Cafe-FI.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Edd Church\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Edd Church\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2020\/01\/21\/cannabis-ban-is-the-biggest-hypocrisy-of-all-time\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2020\/01\/21\/cannabis-ban-is-the-biggest-hypocrisy-of-all-time\/\",\"name\":\"Cannabis ban is &#039;the biggest hypocrisy of all time&#039; 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He\u2019d been tied up for the last few days with the day-to-day running of a family but was finally able to talk \u2013 albeit discretely.\u202f\u202f&nbsp; Dylan lives in Cardiff.\u202fHe has a job, a family, suffers from arthritis, and apologised for any background noise as [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2020\/01\/21\/cannabis-ban-is-the-biggest-hypocrisy-of-all-time\/","og_site_name":"The Cardiffian","article_published_time":"2020-01-21T13:07:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":620,"height":450,"url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/01\/Cannabis-Cafe-FI.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Edd Church","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Edd Church","Estimated reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2020\/01\/21\/cannabis-ban-is-the-biggest-hypocrisy-of-all-time\/","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2020\/01\/21\/cannabis-ban-is-the-biggest-hypocrisy-of-all-time\/","name":"Cannabis ban is &#039;the biggest hypocrisy of all time&#039; 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