Thursday, September 1, 2011 -

    Press Conference – “Taxing The UK Cannabis Market”

    CLEAR is calling a press conference on 14th September to announce the publication of the report “Taxing The UK Cannabis Market”, commissioned from the Independent Drug Monitoring Unit (IDMU).

    With the assistance of the Labour MP Paul Flynn, we have been able to book the Jubilee Room, just off the 900 year old Westminster Hall, right in the heart of the Houses of Parliament.  This is as big an opportunity to get our message across as the British cannabis campaign has ever enjoyed.

    IDMU is an authoritative and universally respected source of expert information on drugs.  It has previously been commissioned by the UK government, the BBC and has provided expert reports for defence and prosecution in the UK courts.  The accuracy and credibility of its work is beyond doubt.

    The report itself is embargoed until 2.00pm on 14th September.  At that time it will be published on this website and available in hard copy at the press conference.  Its conclusions are quite astonishing and if drugs policy were based on facts and evidence it should cause the government to sweep away the present disastrous regime. It is clear that a tax and regulate policy would massively reduce all health and social harms, protect children, eliminate illegal “cannabis factories” and contribute billions in new revenue to the exchequer.

    The press conference will be chaired by Peter Reynolds.  We hope to have cross party support as well as speakers from IDMU, science, medicine and law enforcement.  The main objective of the conference is to apprise the media of the extraordinary range of benefits of a tax and regulate policy on cannabis.  Government ministers, MPs and senior civil servants  are also invited.  Anyone may attend but space is limited and you should arrive at least 30 minutes early in order to clear security.

    This is, we believe, a very significant step forward in the campaign for a safer, more responsible and intelligent policy on cannabis.

    Watch this space for details of speakers and those attending.

    Print Friendly Version of this pagePrint Get a PDF version of this webpagePDF

    Related news:

    1. Email To David Burrowes MP, 9th May 2011
    2. Students For Sensible Drug Policy
    3. Cannabis Question In the House, 9th May 2011
    4. Does Cannabis Make You Mad?
    5. Cameron And His Cronies Are The Real Drugs Gangsters
    • stevester

      What effect are you hoping it will have on the Government Peter if they even listen ? 

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

      I feel as if I’m very much stating the obvious here but I hope they will consider introducing a new policy of tax and regulation of the cannabis supply chain.  This can all be done by ministerial order under the MoDA 1971.  There is no need for new legislation.

    • stevester

      If they are scared to even debate the subject of drugs i couldnt see them taking an interest no matter how much evidence is put in front of them but ive my fingers crossed for you Peter . Good luck  .

    • alan.

      Yes best of luck Peter.
      It does seem quite obvious when the tax question arises.
      Which model do you see working in the UK?

    • Noodle

      Well done, best of luck.

    • Tim

      Why not suggest other tax cuts that this can support. Tax cannabis and lower fuel duty for example. It is not as outright simple as that but it may help get more support and even from non cannbis users as they can see a benefit too.
      Good work!

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

      You’ll be able to read that in the report Alan

    • alan.

      Looking forward to reading it peter.
      Just to add to ur figures mate- it could be a good idea to keep a note of the values of ‘cannabis farm busts’ put on them by police over say the next 2weeks, 1farm=400k bust= 40k in tax.
      Just so u got a figure to work with to wave under the treasurys’ nose.

    • Cshaws

      Peter – i don’t know if there is a problem with the CLEAR site or my PC but I am unable to post any replies except for this one topic – strange. 
      Anyway – after reading your Cameron thread I have been looking at some of the nonsense that Charles Walker has been spouting and couldn’t help sending him the following (might not help but it got it off my chest). I wanted to reply on your Cameron letters thread but I can’t and this is the only place I can post it!

      Mr Walker As the topic of cannabis legislation is likely to come to the fore in the near future,before you contribute to any further debate on drugs legislation can you please, as an elected representative of our great democracy, read up on the subject and educate yourself. Especially on the subject of medicinal cannabis. I appeal to you to stop repeating the hysterical rantings of the gutter press and the diatribes of cruel, agenda driven cynics like Hitchins of the daily wail.Please consider the evidence, listen to the experts and read the paper referred to at:http://www.drugscience.org.uk/drugharmpaper.html (Drug harms in the UK: a multicriteria decision analysis by the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs)Look at Granny Storm Crow’s medical marijuana list http://clear-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Grannys-List-Jan-2011.pdf and familiarise yourself with, at least, some of the science.and, at the very least, listen to the hundreds of thousands of medicinal users in this country,(who don’t need educating about cannabis) who are being cruelly demonised by the law and socially stigmatised because of the ill informed public rhetoric of our elected representatives like yourself. Please base any future statements you make on facts and supporting evidence rather than the uninformed rhetoric of late. Your boss Mr Cameron is also guilty of the same sort of appalling behaviour by repeatedly and deliberately spreading fear uncertainty and doubt by cherry picking specific (very sad cases if true) in order to misrepresent the truth, in a public arena. Actually the nonsense that is continually regurgitated by yourself and others does make a stronger case for rescheduling, researching, controlling and taxing(?) because this is the only way you will be able to address the perceived problem. Prohibition supports terrorism, patient victimisation, prisons full of victimless criminals, organised crime, people/child trafficking, massive deforestation while, at the same time, allowing GW Pharma to monopolise, distribute and profit from the exact same drug (it’s Cannabis steeped in alcohol) you, the government, are depriving hundreds of thousands of otherwise law abiding, upstanding citizens the benefits of this ancient, beneficial plant. Enjoy your next G&T or St Emillion Grand Cru but be careful – in 2009 there were 8,664 alcohol-related deaths in the UK. Probably the same this year but that doesn’t include the wife beating, the street violence, the child abuse, the growing incidence of pancreatic cancer, cirrhosis of the liver or heart disease and the fact that approx 80% of alcoholics have some form of mental disorder. Maybe I should also mention the 140,000 deaths a year, the huge costs to the NHS of those that are inconsiderate enough to die slowly, from tobacco which, unlike cannabis is highly addictive to boot.

      PS A pint of good gin is eight times stronger than a pint good ale. I know that because I am a moderately intelligent person. When I first tried gin after drinking beer for years I didn’t have a pint of it. I’m sure the same can be said for the majority of the population of this country. PPS I’m a 59 yr old, father of six, retired civil servant, grandad of one and unlike yourself, experienced first hand the joys of 60′s and 70s so I am familiar with my subject.

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

      Great stuff cshaws!  He is such a tit.  Actually, I believe he is well intentioned but has been completely duped by Mary Brett.  If Charles “cocaine for kids” Walker wasn’t so dangerous, he’d be hilarious.

    • Cshaws

      Tongue firmly in cheek but, actually, he might have a point. I gave the following to all of my six when they were rugrats:

      Calpol contains Paracetamol.  Paracetamol toxicity is the foremost cause of acute liver failure in the Western world, and accounts for most drug overdoses in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New ZealandBonjela – Times – April 2009 – Children under 16 should not be given the ulcer treatments Bonjela or Bonjela Cool mint gel because of potential health risks, the medicines watchdog warns today. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a precautionary alert on pain relief gels for the mouth that contain salicylate salts. These have the same effect on the body as aspirin, which is not recommended for those under the age of 16.  (the formulation has now changed but it still contains lindocaine)Kaolin and Morphine – Boots website this morning –  Each 5 ml of oral suspension contains Light Kaolin 20% w/v, Morphine Hydrochloride 0.0092% w/v. Also contains: purified water, sodium bicarbonate, sucrose, chloroform, ethanol (0.45 vol %), black treacle, liquorice liquid extract, ether, peppermint oil.Gripe Water – The original Woodward’s Gripe Water contained 3.6% alcohol, dill oil, sodium bicarbonate, sugar and water. (alcohol removed in 1992 when my youngest was born)

      Amazingly all my kids are very fit and very well.

    • Anonymous

      Eye of the tiger peter!(can’t believe I just wrote that!,sorry.)
      Good luck mate, the only way is forward from now on.
      Will you be putting forward the case for legitimised home personal grow licences or whatever they are called.I personally would be happy to pay up to £100 per year for a licence.That’s less than £9 a month.I’m sure there are many more out there who would not mind paying that for the legal right to grow, for medical or recreational use (or both).
      The likes of Mary ‘reefer madness’ Brett and Charles ‘Charlie for kiddies’ Walker are just brainwashed prohibition puritan’s, crying out heresy and spouting gibberish about a subject they have no knowledge of, or refuse to believe the facts about when they are right in front of their own eye’s.
      If Cannabis has no medical value, why are more and more country’s starting up medical Cannabis programs?Are they all wrong.
      The latest is Israel, who’s government have stated that Cannabis does have medical benefits and will even be used in paediatrics as well as for the elderly.I wonder if Mr Cameron would be so quick to suggest to Mr Netanyahu that he is allowing his people to be poisoned with a toxic substance and is giving them huge mental health problems for the future?
      Unlikely.
      Once again, good luck and give em hell!

    • Anonymous

      So what do you think home brewers would make of having to pay £100:00 a year to make some beer? With items they have bought and paid a tax on already?
      A grower needs to buy equipment and pay tax on it, then pay for the electricity, paying a tax on that too.Just pointing out similarities.

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

      That may well be true and you highlight an unfairness but in order to make change happen we need to bite this bullet.

    • Anonymous

      Well maybe you need to bite that bullet but I don’t, I want equality. I don’t want people coming onto my property to make sure everything is safe and I am paying my license etc.
      It should be viewed the same as beer brewers or wine makers, full equality under the eyes of the law.
      Tax people that cannot be bothered to grow their own, [and there would be many] like people pay tax on beer or wine bought at a store.

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

      You’re free to stick to your point of view but I doubt that is the sort of attitude that will create change.

    • Anonymous

      I wish we were in a position where politicians did actually care about it’s people but they simply don’t.Quite a few people are paying up to £10 per gram for weed.A dealer doesn’t care if it’s for medical use or recreational.In an ideal world no one should pay for the right to grow a plant.We live far from an ideal world, so the need to put across the point that we would rather be giving the government a few quid in tax in order to join a regulated market as opposed to the high prices and unknown quality of a non regulated market is the only realistic position we can put forward.I strongly believe that those who have a serious medical need should have regulated Cannabis either free on the NHS or for the price of a prescription.Those disabled with an ailment should be able to grow their own medicine for free if they so wish or have a nominee to grow it for them.
      The reason that home brews are not licensed is probably because most people just go to the supermarket and buy cheap booze anyway.Maybe because they don’t want to wait for the fermentation process or because it may work out cheaper for them to buy booze on the weekend as they don’t drink on weekdays.Home brew kit’s start at only £20-£30 and still not many people bother(yet).Most wine drinkers would rather buy their favourite wine than attempt to make it themselves.If Cannabis were legal to buy in an off-licence type premises, then I’m sure that at least half would buy from their local shop instead of grow, as long as the price was reasonable.After all, even if you are growing your own, that still takes at least 3 month’s.What will you smoke in the meantime…?This also opens up the way for new jobs and businesses to open up and compete.But to be fair I do agree with your point.I do not feel we should HAVE TO give over any money in order to grow a plant that has been around since before mankind.It’s a trade off. Meeting the greedy buggers half way and speaking in a language they can all understand.CASH!
      Sad but true…

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1200910295 Tommy Mason

      I’d happiley cough up upto £100 for a card (AND a bit more if it gave us permission grow like 2-3).

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Lewis-Pritchard/1189234658 Lewis Pritchard

      Peter, please could you organise a live stream of the conference?

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

      A great idea Lewis but not really viable. It’ll be on YouTube.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Lewis-Pritchard/1189234658 Lewis Pritchard

      That’ll do. Thanks Peter.

    • http://twitter.com/SkylonRow Ben Orrin

      If I was paying £100 I’d want at least upto 15 plants. 2 or 3 isnt that financially viable.

    • George R :]

      Good Luck with this Peter, I think you are attacking this subject from the correct angle,
      The government really does need to wake up to what is really going on in today’s society, i would much rather be paying tax to the government and helping contribute to this mess we are in, in today’s current economy, than paying my local idiots who sell other substance which i do not want to associate with, for mediocre over priced cannabis, who all sign on the dole, claim housing benefits and also drive around in flash cars….. put a stop to this waste of government money.

      I work in a full time position and struggle to keep a roof over my head, keep a car on the road and try and keep hold of one of life’s pleasure’s…….. due to funding lavish lifestyles all over a plant that’s supposedly illegal.

      24 yr old male writing this stoned……. how my mind is warped by a drug i have smoked since i was 14…….  Cannabis is really that accessible for minors when will somebody listen.   

      Tax cannabis. 

      Make it less accessible for minors.

      Put a stop to contaminated cannabis.

      Rant over ;] 

    • harry

      Lol print this and take it in hes hit the nail on the head 

    • Simon

      A great idea in theory, however in reality it will never work. Lets assume Cannabis was legalized and taxable. First off who would grow? well obviously there is only one option, the same drug cartels that grow it now, simply because they have the experience, I can’t see the government setting up huge public funded cannabis farms can you! so it would have to be put out to private tender to be grow. so the government would eventually be funding the very drug cartels they have spent years fighting, much of the new funding would find its way into class A drugs and other organised crime. So for these very simple reasons it will never happen. Secondly can you imagine how expensive it would be to buy at your local shop!! because of the raise in price, more people would start growing their own.

      I have always though a different approach far better, that is to decriminalize cannabis but only if the smoker grows their own, ie a limited number of plants, sure smokers would share or sell a little that is human nature but if everyone was allowed to grow their own it would take billions of pounds out of the hands of organised crime. Also a tax could be imposed on the equipment etc used to grow it such as grow lights etc.  

    • william

      In reply to this post by john-boi

      hi all il tell you all a little about me first i am a 38 yr old male
      im married 2 children i have a very nice home job and have only managed
      to be unemployed 18 months in my life after leavin the army i pay my
      taxes i get up for work 6 days a week and do a min 60 hour work week so
      heres my problem i started using cannabis
      over 20 yrs ago i hate havin to live my life like some common criminal i
      do not like having to give my hard earned cash to some lazy drug dealer
      who wont go get a job so exploits this market to people like myself i
      hear all these people moaning about cannabis leads to stronger drugs heres just my little opinion and observation many times i have tried to buy my cannabis
      but when i get to the dealer it can go a little something like this (
      hello m8 u any puff ? no cant get it but i have some es or wizz ecstacy
      or speed in other words failing that i have been offerd coke lsd heroin
      on my visits to the dealers)im personally not intrested in these drugs
      but i have in my life time seen how these dealers reel in there clients
      and it sickens me i have lost friends to the harder drugs like heroin
      but from the dealers point of view if they cant get cannabis
      theyl take what ever im selling which means more money to the dealer
      and more misery for the rest of us as these dealers normally start of
      selling cannabis
      but move on to selling harder drugs as more money involved this has been
      a social problem for years when president nixon declared a war on drugs
      all those years ago i dont think he knew just what he was getting
      involved with i hate to point out but the war on drugs is not working it
      never has and probably never will cause as soon as the courts lock up a
      dealer theres 2 more fighting for his buisness this is a world wide
      problem the part i struggle to understand is why ? im not saying
      legalise all drugs alough that wouldnt be that drastic an idear and
      before you all jump on my back ask yourself what would be the benefits
      of that please take a moment to think mmm no drug dealers as there all
      legal so no little men or women thinkin there the next tony montana
      there would be no more gang land killings for the drug trade there would
      be no more slaves smuggled into the uk to set up cannabis
      farms in our empty houses customs officers could concentrate more on
      the illegal immagrant problems our country has at our borders our police
      resources could be used a lot more wisley as there due cut backs aswell
      which means if the drugs problem dosent get sorted soon therell be even
      less police to do anything about it and that i can see being an even
      bigger problem than what we have just now  also if all other drugs were
      made legal would it not be easier to monitor the use of them and our
      goverment to make sure that what people buy is what there getting as the
      dealers will mix the drugs with basically anything to make more money
      our goverment could do this if they really wanted and  i could imagine
      there would be less drug deaths a year as people would be buying them
      from a trusted source that havent contaminated it for there self profit
      which would to me anyway means more money going into our crushed economy
      all these drugs could be made in labs across britain which would
      certinally boost the economy but most important take it out of the
      controll of the dealers and cartels with the legalisation of cannabis
      id happily pay a shop for my product or if we were allowed to grow your
      own id happily buy my licence for it and id leave my door open for the
      police or who ever would police something like that to come in have a
      look around and make sure im sticking to the programme i think youll
      find most people would accept this way of going about it as no one
      really wants to be a criminal i know i dont but in present day i feel
      and know i have no choice so im going to leave it at this point just now
      i want to see what sort of feed back i recieve and once again my name
      is william im 38 year old married man with 2 young children i work hard
      dont commit any other crimes other than being a cannabis smoker its my body my health my money my pleasure my pain relief when will i live in a world thats truly my FREE CHOICE

    • william

      id just like to add i posted the message down below on the how did david cameron get it so wrong site no reply i also emailed david cameron at no 10 gave my full name and address i explained i couldnt give my full name on his site as if my boss ever read it id be sacked under the zero tolerance act on drugs which many companies have il keep sending my emails to him but il not hold my breath for a reply i shall live and hope for a change

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

      I don’t think you’ve thought it through really Simon.  Believe me there are dozens of people lining up for the queue for commercial cultivation licenses.  I have seen a proposal from a big time US investor who believes that combining hydroponic tomato growing with cannabis could create 100,00 jobs in Britain.  Why on earth would it only be drug cartels interested?  Richard Branson has already declared that Virgin would be interested.  There would be no need (or chance) for government funded farms.

    • anon

      Rather than sack lots of police/nurses, etc (i.e destroy the very fabric of society by raping our public services) I think legalising cannabis should seriously considered.

      We should cut the cost to the police and legal services of keeping cannabis criminalised, that should prevent some people losing their job .

      Also you may be able to get joe public to support the action if it might save their jobs – it might help people to re-access the importance of keeping it illegal in the first place.)

      How about – Legalise cannabis, Save police jobs !

      It would cut the link to crime that the majority of otherwise law abiding criminals have – I do not break the law at all except the cannabis law (almost daily)

      One other issue that never gets mentioned is the contamination of cannabis -  which is poisoning the very children the government always claim to want to protect when they remove our civil liberties. (the reclassification was done to ‘protect the kids..’

      The max sentence for growing cannabis is 14 fucking years – It is morally insane that **MY** tax money goes to arrest people like me – who do no harm to society in any way.

      - I would prefer if the money I spent on cannabis went to the country through tax  (which desperately needs it) rather than to scum

      - decriminalisation would improve relations and trust between youth and police (some may say this is semi urgent now…)

      - As I have a job (and have had for over 10 years) I pay my own way (and taxes)  – if I were to be jailed for cannabis the tax payer would be paying for my stay at ‘her majesty’s pleasure’ – is that what tax payers want – do you want to pay for my food and rent???

      Until they decriminalise cannabis the police are effectively at war with a large section of the citizens of this country who are otherwise law abiding.

      Ps for more info on the contamination see:-
      ——————————————–
      As far as contamination info try

      http://www.gritweed.co.uk/

      http://www.ukchatterbox.co.uk/msg/1058672

      http://ukcia.org

      http://www.420lawyer.com/Grit_Weed.html

      http://stash.norml.org/beware-the-grit-weed

      It did make it to the news too – only in wales….

      Lead contamination hospitalised people in Germany

      http://ukcia.org/wordpress/?p=6

      And check out – magic magnetic weed …   (iron contamination)

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKZUE7TlPeI

      Its done in such away you cant tell the difference with the naked eye – you need a magnifier – or to smoke it…

      Oil weed – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iMH0Sh2W7I

    • Anon, Hampshire, UK

      I wish you luck today, I’m glad to see there are people out there who share the desire to legalise Cannabis in this country.

      I have to go to court this Friday for possession of a 1/4 oz of green.  I use Cannabis for recreational use and to stabilise my Bipolar Disorder. I am personally insulted that it’s even considered a crime, let alone having to go to court for it and get fined.