Tuesday, January 24, 2012 -

    Definitive Daily Mail Disinformation – Gutter Press Plumbs New Depths

     

    Lie After Lie After Lie After Lie...

    “Killed by cannabis: Boy, 16, dies falling down stairs while high on skunk … and proves Sir Richard Branson is wrong about drugs“, The Daily Mail, 24th January 2012

    This story and its blatant and malicious dishonesty sums up the Daily Mail.

    The headline starts “Killed by cannabis…”.  Then, within the body text the coroner is quoted saying:

    “The awful events that took David’s life weren’t directly related to the fact he had taken cannabis”

    Frankly, I believe this should be a resigning matter for Paul Dacre.  It is disgraceful, shameful and a slur on every journalist everywhere.

    Of course I shall be making a PCC complaint but I can tell you, with certainty, what will happen.  The headline will be changed in the online edition but there will be no apology or correction in the print edition and the PCC will do nothing about it.

    Need I say more?

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    • http://twitter.com/lazaroumterror LazarouMonkeyTerror

      I guess all we can do is blitz that message board with a little bit of the truth. I almost feel sorry for the poor bastard moderating that tonight!

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Derek-Williams/1072934911 Derek Williams

      Thing is, even if the comments don’t get through, they will be read. But it does have to be remembered of course that no-one had ever fallen down stairs before the hippies invented cannabis in 1967, then look what happened…

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dan-Ford/1450969824 Dan Ford

      Yup, I am sending plenty of comments.

    • Anonymous

      To all of those that didn’t submit an entry to the Home Affairs Committee . . .

      You still have a chance. The deadline has been extended to 7th Feb.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Tim-Morton/100002114691648 Tim Morton

      Were you encouraged by Vaz’s sentencing guidelines? They strike me as a minimal concession to “victims” and med. users, nothing more. I suspect his next conclusions have already been decided. To assuage my guilt, I will try.

    • Anonymous

      This is the message I posted to that disgusting  article, which wasn’t published of course.

      It’s disgraceful that the Daily Mail should continue it’s anti-cannabis campaign using this tragedy. It’s also a straw man argument, which is the best the DM can normally manage. Sir Richard isn’t calling for cannabis to be legalised for children. This poor boy was only 16 and wouldn’t be able to buy cannabis in a regulated system. It was ILLEGAL cannabis he took, the status quo the Mail and other unthinking hysterics want to maintain. Nobody ever falls over drunk, do they, DM? I’ll not buy another copy of your paper.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dan-Ford/1450969824 Dan Ford

      DAILY MAIL WEBSITE CRASHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      Comments have started to go up this morning, including many “plugging the gaps” from last night. Also the comments that were up last night on this one have got green votes of 1500 upwards. The sheer weight of activity has brought Goliath down. Of course if we were all to lay off on leaving comments and voting up/down the comments that would give the Daily Mail IT guys a chance to catch up and get it working again.

      Or, alternatively……………………………

    • http://www.peter-reynolds.co.uk Peter Reynolds

      No you can’t blame (or praise) the rumbustious Keith Vaz for the guidelines!  He had nothing to do with them.  That’s the Sentencing Council:

      http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/about/council-members.htm 

    • Anonymous

       Blimey! My message has appeared. I thought I’d been banned again.

      It’s phil s, Northolt, UK, 24/1/2012 18:43

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_CDO5E7CXVEUUQ2JUHFP254YJ5A Kevin

      I really feel for David Norkett’s family and am truly sorry for their loss. It is absolutely disgusting for the Daily Mail to use the unfortunate circumstances of David’s misadventure in this way.

    • http://twitter.com/WeedBaker Mark Baker

      The Home Office have stated it has “no intention of liberalising our drugs laws”.”
      THEN WHY THE HELL HAVE AN INQUIRY?? If nothing comes of this I think we need to lodge a complaint that it was a complete and utter waste of taxpayers money (like so much of what they do!).

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dan-Ford/1450969824 Dan Ford

      Well this statement will keep the D.M. scaremongers at bay, whilst they do indeed get VERY tough on the Cannabis black market, tougher than anyone has been before, by taking the entire market back from them and placing it in the hands or responsible licensed traders.
      At least, that’s what I hope the outcome will be.

    • Anonymous

      I couldn’t believe this comment when I saw it: “but potentially fairly innocuous substances – alcohol being another obvious example – may not in themselves cause death but may impact upon behaviour in ways that put lives at risk.” It is about the most irresponsible thing I have ever read.

    • Anonymous

      Peter, there must be a good case for another complaint after that alcohol comment.

    • http://www.peter-reynolds.co.uk Peter Reynolds

      That’s a quote from the coroner which, unless they reported it inaccurately, is an absolute defence.  The DM is entitled to publish what he said.

    • Anonymous

      Ah yes, I have reread it and understand. However it is rather strange for a coroner to describe alcohol as innocuous.