Seed Our Future: Cannabis and the Law – No Evidence, No Crime?
Originally published on The Simpa Life October 24th 2020
A new reform campaign in the UK is seeking to fully and ubiquitously decriminalise cannabis. Seed our Future is attempting to once and for all end the failed war on drugs and to create defacto decriminalisation by showing the racist, ignorant, and financial motivations that first criminalised cannabis nearly a century ago.
Seed our Future is a reworking of the “Seed the future” “industrial Hemp” campaign that held the multi-city Hemp protest in July 2020. During which they invited the public to defy the idiotic and antiquated law and germinate a cannabis seed to take it home with them. There were events in London, Cardiff, Belfast and several more cities. The event that I organised in the Northeast was one of the most well-attended demonstrations and also saw the dispersal of several thousand Low-THC cannabis seeds throughout Leazes Park, Newcastle.
Since rebranding Seed Our Future has quietly been accumulating historic documents and evidence surrounding the origins of the international criminalisation of cannabis. In this document, the team lays out a road-map that demonstrates how willful ignorance, institutional racism, corporate greed, and political pageantry has committed one of the single largest protracted acts of criminal conspiracy, organised terrorism, and state-sanctioned torture of its citizens through the enforcement of fraudulent and fascistic prohibition policies.
From the 1925 opium convention to the 1955 WHO report to the Nixon white house through to the 1988 UN convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances this document highlights the lack of ANY foundational evidence to the scheduling of cannabis and proves that these prohibitive policies are far more about personal politics than public health.
Below I have copied the press release and cover letter that has been sent along with the document to all the major British media outlets and all of the Police and Crime Commissioners in the UK.
Simpa
Can the UK Expect a De Facto Decriminalisation of Cannabis in the Coming Weeks?
(Words by Guy Coxall, Seed Our Future founder)
For generations, the public has been consistently told that cannabis is a dangerous drug that damages our physical and mental health and is harmful to society. A drug that has no medical value, causes schizophrenia, and is a gateway to harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
You might be surprised to know that contrary to the Government’s claims, there is no and never has been any conclusive evidence to support these statements. In fact, the elephant in the room is about to charge, armed with a trunk full of evidence which will expose the truth and finally put to bed the out-dated propaganda machine which has destroyed millions of families prospects over the past half century by dragging otherwise law abiding citizens through the judicial system without one iota of evidence to back up the laws.
It is estimated that at least 20% of UK adults use some form of cannabis product and it is high time that these people are able to self-medicate and express their freedoms of choice by utilising a natural plant which is far safer than aspirin, without the fear of a knock on the door from their local bobby.
For decades, cannabis activists have been campaigning, protesting and marching in the hope of a greener future which would collectively support our health, our environment and our economy to no avail.
The cannabis community now has a ‘Trojan Horse’ campaign, appropriately named ‘Seed our Future’ who intend to use the laws of this land against the unsubstantiated cannabis laws. The campaign group has developed a report entitled: ‘Cannabis and the Law – No Evidence, No Crime?’ and this report is being sent out to every Police and Crime Commissioner and Police Chief throughout the UK, requesting that the report be disseminated to every Police Officer throughout the land. This strategy will, in effect, make it illegal for the Police to enforce the laws as they will be privy to the fact that the laws themselves are illegal (as there is no Foundation Evidence) and this could land any Officer who chooses to ignore the truth on the wrong side of the law and open to prosecution.
Will this strategy work? Everyone is expected, especially the Police to follow the letter of the law and no one can plead ignorance of the law in their defence, so we should expect the Police to use their discretion and turn a blind eye until the Government straightens out this exposed wound within our judicial system.
Have Seed our Future done their due diligence? The Campaign group sent out 45 freedom of information requests to all Police and Crime Commissioners, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Home Office, and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, requesting clear scientific foundation evidence for these laws and not one of them have been able to find it. In fact, the report looks into the history of cannabis prohibition and concludes that it was based entirely on ideological, racist, and political views. We simply cannot with any conscience allow these laws, which impact negatively so many within our society, to continue.
The elephant is out of the door and charging toward Parliament. Seed our Future Campaign are keeping the next stage close to their chests, but remember, remember the 5th of November, Truth, Unity, and Pot.
Download Seed Our Future: Cannabis and the law – No evidence, no crime?
Cover letter sent out to all police and crime commissioners today
Dear Police and Crime Commissioner,
‘Seed our Future’ is a National campaign group who are actively investigating the foundation evidence to justify cannabis being placed as a Class B controlled drug within the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and its Schedule 1 status within the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.
Following our research, we have produced a report entitled: ‘Cannabis and the Law – No Evidence, No Crime?’ (See attached) which clearly demonstrates that cannabis laws are unsatisfactorily un-evidenced and in fact based on an antiquated, ideological, political, and racist basis. This report provides a wealth of evidence which counteracts the Home Office’s claim that:
“Cannabis is controlled as a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as there is clear scientific and medical evidence that cannabis is a harmful drug which can damage people’s mental and physical health, and harms individuals and communities.”
Following Freedom of Information requests to every PCC in the UK, the CPS and the Home office, it has become clear that the ‘clear scientific evidence’ for the above statement does not exist and the inclusion of cannabis within the 1971 MoDA is entirely political and unfounded.
The report details how this lack of evidence can bring the law into disrepute as stated by the Police Federation: ‘If, as we argue, the present classification of cannabis is not justified, it follows that the response of the law is disproportionate to the drug’s harm and may bring the law into disrepute.’
The report also states that the police have to follow the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) code when carrying out their duties. When it comes to enforcing cannabis laws without carrying out due-diligence, not for the offence within the 1971 MoDA but the evidence for the law itself, they are breaching PACE Code G 1.3 as they have no justification for arrest, which would mean that evidence procedures have not been followed calling in to question any arrest under G 1.4, therefore making any arrest unlawful as per G 2.1
The damning report ‘Drug Classification: Making a hash of it?’ Published 2006 by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee’ makes it clear that the MoDA classification system and scale of harm are based on political objectives with no scientific evidence on which to draw in making policy decisions.
Police officers have authority under the Crown for the protection of life and property, maintenance of order, prevention and detection of crime and prosecution of offenders against the peace. With the imposition of central and politically set targets there are dangers that officers’ discretion and operational independence is being compromised.
Police officers must be apolitical, impartial and accountable for their actions. If not, how and what is policed will become subject to political whim and electioneering. The operational independence of our police service comes with the Office of Constable.
This would mean that Police Officers who enforce these laws may be in breach of their attestation, PACE code G and may be subject to:
G 1.3 The use of the power must be fully justified and officers exercising the power should consider if the necessary objectives can be met by other, less intrusive means. The absence of justification for exercising the power of arrest may lead to challenges should the case proceed to court. It could also lead to civil claims against police for unlawful arrest and false imprisonment. When the power of arrest is exercised it is essential that it is exercised in a non-discriminatory and proportionate manner which is compatible with the Right to Liberty under Article 5.
The attached report was released in the public domain on the 16th October 2020, it is being picked up by the media and now every PCC and Police Chief in the UK has been passed this report, we ask that this report is disseminated to every serving member of the police force irrespective of rank to ensure that every PC has the opportunity to carry out their full due diligence and operational independence.
We’re sure that you are aware that several Police Forces have already implemented a form of ‘De Facto Discretionary Decriminalisation of Cannabis Laws’ as the harms of prohibition hugely outweigh the harms of cannabis to individuals or society.
If you have any questions/feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Kind regards,
Guy Coxall (Founder)
Written For The Simpa Life by Simpa
