08 Jan “MANY ARE UNAWARE OF THE GREAT DANGERS OF CANNABIS, IT CAN KILL YOU”
The plant has been on the scene for centuries but yet to be legalised, although it has many benefits to the country if it was to become legal, The Home Office ruled that they are not sufficient enough and could backfire
There has been an on going debate by civilians and MPs, on whether Cannabis should be made legal in the UK or not, given it already has been made legal in certain places around the world such as Amsterdam, Ecuador, Czech Republic and some states in America such as Alaska. However you will still have to be over the age of 21 to be in possession of it or even buy it.
Many of us have seen, smelt or smoked cannabis; it is a very common drug, not just in the UK but also around the world. It is so common that even a member of the Royal Family, Prince Harry has had history with the drug. Celebrities are constantly referencing the herb in a positive manner, unlike other drugs. So if the drug is already so common and people know that others are smoking, possessing and selling it despite it being illegal, what exactly is stopping cannabis from being made legal?
Although cannabis -nicknamed as ‘weed’, ‘mary-jane’, ‘pot’, ‘blunt’ and many more- is not legal in Britain and has not been since 1928. After the Dangerous Drug Act 1925 came into force, it is still a very popular Class B drug used amongst people in the UK, especially amongst the youth. There is even a date in the calendar where ‘pot’ smokers from different age groups and ethnicities, gather on April 20th at 4:20pm every year and smoke Cannabis together in many different locations. Hyde Park, London being the most popular location within the UK. However, this date was not just picked randomly, in America (where this annual trend started), 420 is the police code for when someone is found with Cannabis. People then took the number 420 and turned it into the date 4/20 to protest cannabis’s legalisation.
Other events in London such as Notting Hill Carnival, which takes place at the end of summer in August every year, is also known to gather a high percentage of ‘weed’ smokers in one place. Although in both events Police are heavily patrolling in search for people with cannabis, it has been known that they are far less serious in these events than they are in any other day in terms of arresting someone. Still, this does not mean everyone can just walk away freely as it is still a crime.
So, when exactly will a police officer arrest someone? Well, you will not be arrested straight away; being charged is the worst-case scenario as there are two other offenses before that. Police community support officer (PCSO) Susan Martin, described that “[you] could receive a warning, a cannabis warning, then something called a PND which stands for Penalty Notice for Disorder and then of course being arrested.” If you are a repeated offender this will highly affect which offense you will be charged with, you are less likely to just receive “a cannabis warning” but perhaps something more serious.
A petition circulating the Internet and created by James Richard Owen to legalise cannabis reached an astonishing 2200,000+ signatures, which of course meant that it had to be debated by the government in October 2015.
One of the biggest advantage MPs debated for legalising cannabis, is that it will raise revenue through taxation as it could bring £900million in taxes every year. However the Home Office concluded the debate with:
“Cannabis can unquestionably cause harm to individuals and society. Legalisation of cannabis would not eliminate the crime committed by the illicit trade, nor would it address the harms associated with drug dependence and the misery that this can cause to families”. The Home office also concluded that despite the tax advantage, “there would be costs in relation to administrative, compliance and law enforcement activities, as well as the wider costs of drug preventions and health services.”
Results from a twitter poll showed that 82% of people think that alcohol is more harmful than cannabis and 70% of people anonymously admitted that they will continue to smoke cannabis despite the decision made by The Home office.
Many people who smoke cannabis believe that alcohol is far more dangerous than cannabis and has a higher risk of killing you. Doctor Ikram Taha from Harrow Road Health Centre emphasised that both alcohol and cannabis are somewhat similar in it’s health risks, if they are both consumed excessively, they could either cause extreme damages to your body or can lead to death. Dr Taha said “many are unaware of the great dangers of cannabis, smoking it can cause lung cancer as it contains similar ingredients such as carcinogens that you will also find in a cigarette, therefore it can also become addictive, it can seriously affect your mental health as long term use of the drug can lead to schizophrenia, your fertility chances can be greatly at risk and of course it can potentially kill you”.
Cannabis can clearly turn into a serious addiction; however in a research it was found that the percentage of people getting addicted to cannabis in comparison to cigarettes and alcohol is far less. Cannabis is only 9%, 32% for tobacco and 15% for alcohol.
When speaking to a cannabis smoker, who wishes to remain anonymous, on whether they know about how cannabis can put their health at great risk, their response was contrary to Dr Taha’s. The cannabis smoker explained “I have been smoking weed since I was 16 and not once have I had to go hospital for it, it does nothing to my health except help me relax and zone out, and sometimes if I have a headache it gets rid of it. In terms of my mental health, all that developing schizophrenia and paranoia is bullshit, I remember one time I went into an exam so high and I got the best grades I have ever received in my life, so I started going to all my other exams high after, for good luck” he then laughed and looked at his friend.
Cannabis will still remain illegal in the UK, which in prediction, will mean drug related crimes will rise due to many people refusing to stop smoking it.
