cannabisnews.com: Lilley Renews Cannabis Call After Hash Cafe Tour Lilley Renews Cannabis Call After Hash Cafe Tour Posted by FoM on July 14, 2001 at 13:27:30 PT Editorial Source: London Evening Standard Mr Lilley chatted with holidaying Britons as they smoked pot in the city where the drug is sold in regulated outlets. Afterwards, he said his first experience of seeing people getting stoned was "about as exiting as a coffee break at a convention of accountants". He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I certainly don't want to encourage anyone to take cannabis, and what I've seen certainly doesn't encourage me to do so." But he said the tour had reinforced his belief in the importance of "breaking the link" between the supply of cannabis and the supply of heroin and cocaine. "The police that we met in Amsterdam said the number of heroin addicts had declined since this break in the two markets was established. They are able to devote their resources to tackling hard drugs or other crimes, instead of wasting their time arresting cannabis users and then setting them free again. "In the UK, by putting both drugs in the same illegal channel and merging the two worlds we encourage people to move from one to another. I want to discourage this by separating them out and providing some legal outlets for cannabis." But Mr Lilley opposes setting up Amsterdam-style hash cafes in Britain, arguing instead for a licensing scheme. "One of the advantages of having legalised outlets is that people can be told of the health risks from taking cannabis, and on the packet there can be a health warning. At present, because it's illegal, there is no way of informing the users of what dangers there are. Shadow Home Secretary Ann Widdecombe has responded to Mr Lilley's call by warning that legalising cannabis would lead drug barons to push even more hard drugs, and Tory leadership contender Kenneth Clarke - who has also visited Amsterdam - has said he isn't persuaded of the merits of legalisation. Note: Former Tory Minister Peter Lilley has renewed his call to legalise cannabis after a tour of Amsterdam hash cafes. Source: London Evening Standard (UK)Published: July 14, 2001Copyright: 2001 Associated Newspapers Ltd.Contact: letters standard.co.ukWebsite: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/Related Articles:Lilley Calls For Soft Drug Legalisation http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10235.shtmlDutch Border Town Plans Drug Drive-Throughs http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9994.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - UKhttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=UK END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by kaptinemo on July 15, 2001 at 15:24:30 PT: Another important point Remember when Barry-the-Liar travelled to Holland, supposedly to surveil the Dutch drug policies, but instead blathering on and insulting long time and trusted allies with his lies about the Dutch murder rate linked to their cannabis policies?He travelled over 4,000 miles at taxpayer's expense...but never set foot in a single 'coffeeshop'. Where he would have learned the truth in an instant. (Presupposing, of course, that that was his intent. Meself, I rather doubt it. Also, he would have been recognized and accosted by those Americans there who would have been happy to tell this bald-faced liar in front of an international clientele that he and his anti friends are flaming poepjegaaten.)Yet this Brit hops the ferry, makes a stop in Amsterdam, has a look around, gets an eyeful of the success of the Dutch...and goes home and tells the friggin' truth. What's more, he keeps on telling it.I am really beginning to wonder if our pols have anything in their nether regions besides methane. Ball-less, gut-less wonders of nature. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by J.R. Bob Dobbs on July 14, 2001 at 16:55:02 PT By God, I Think He Gets It >>One of the advantages of having legalised outlets is that people can be told of the health risks from taking cannabis, and on the packet there can be a health warning. At present, because it's illegal, there is no way of informing the users of what dangers there are. Don't forget, buying under prohibition is inherently riskier. Smoking moldy weed is bad for you, and there's a lot of other things that can happen in transit as well which you'll never know about thanks to the black market status. Once cannabis is legalized, a lot of people will discover they've been ingesting the herbal equivalent of spoiled milk... but once it's legally available, they never will have to again. They also won't have to treasure it, and ingest it in the most efficient ways because it's so expensive. People could vaporize, eat, or even make cannabis beverages, depending on what system of ingestion worked best for their needs. And people could learn about all this without the fear of reprisal from their own government and police. But this is a minor point in an otherwise ground-breaking article. "Foreign government official visits cannabis coffeeshop in Amsterdam and -listens- and -learns-" is the kind of headline I've been waiting to see for a LONG TIME. And it couldn't come at a better time for the UK... Coffee Shop links [ Post Comment ] Post Comment