PCC Complaint, Lancashire Evening Post, 28th February 2011
“Teenage Drug Use Rises”, Lancashire Evening Post, 28th February 2011
I wish to make a complaint concerning the above article which is still available online at: http://www.lep.co.uk/news/local/teenage_drug_use_rises_1_3126043
I make the complaint on my account but also in my capacity as the Leader of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance, a political party, of P.O.Box 674, Salfords, RH1 9BN. For the purposes of correspondence, please use my personal address as below. Please acknowledge receipt of this complaint.
1. This article breaches the Editors' Code Of Practice clause 1.i) in that it publishes inaccurate, misleading and distorted information.
2. The article contains a quote attributed to Samantha Jones of the Lancashire Drug and Alcohol Action Team:
“We know that, far from being a ‘safe’ drug, cannabis can be very destructive and lead to mental illnesses. Not only does it cause short-term memory loss and lethargy, which can have a negative effect for young people studying at school or college, but it also increases the risk of cancer and lung disease.”
3. I have been in touch with Ms Jones and she contends that she was not responsible for this statement and that the newspaper has confused her words with those of another unnamed individual from the Central Lancashire NHS Trust.
4. In any event, this is a seriously inaccurate and misleading statement which distorts the facts. The pre-eminent expert on the subject, Professor Les Iversen, the government's chief drugs advisor, is famous for his article in The Times "Cannabis. Why It's Safe". In fact, the latest evidence is that cannabis is at least 100 times safer than alcohol and 1000 times less toxic.
5. Clearly any psychoactive substance has the potential for harm, particularly if used by children, but the mental health/psychosis scare is vastly exaggerated. In 2009, Professor Glyn Lewis of the University of Bristol reviewed all the published research and concluded that 96% of people can use cannabis with no risk whatsoever and in the remaining 4% the risk is “statistically tiny”. in fact all the evidence is that using cannabis is very, very unlikely to lead to mental health problems.
6. The suggestion that cannabis "increases the risk of cancer and lung disease" is absolute nonsense. The facts are that cannabis has been shown to have a protective effect against lung damage and cancer, even inhibiting the carcinogenic effects of tobacco smoke. See the Tashkin/UCLA 2006 study for details.
I would be grateful if you would deal with this complaint at your earliest convenience. I shall be happy to provide any furrther information required or to give oral evidence in support.
Yours faithfully,
Peter Reynolds
Saturday, 9 April 2011
Cannabis Law Reform - PCC Complaint, Lancashire Evening Post, 28th February 2011
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