Data to back up claims made about Cannabis

Thomas: Speed made this Freedom of Information request to Home Office This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was partially successful.

Dear Home Office,

In this article a claim is made by a spokesperson for yourselves: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10990921

"A spokesperson for the Home Office said: Drugs such as heroin, cocaine and cannabis are extremely harmful and can cause misery to communities across the country'."

I'm outraged that the new Government thinks it can get away with telling such bold lies about Cannabis.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18777...

Over 17,000 studies have been done on Cannabis, not one of them has proven it has any serious harmful effects. Most of those studies have been to find a 'smoking gun', a so called 'real reason' to ban Cannabis, but it's never been found.

There are no known deaths from Cannabis in recordable history.

Apparently Government know something we don't, it's only fair that you share so for my F.O.I request I would like:

The empirical evidence/data, on whose basis the claim was made that Cannabis is 'extremely harmful' and could be compared to heroin & cocaine, both of which cause can, and have caused, death.

Thank you!
Thomas:Speed

GORDON STEWART left an annotation ()

Why does the government not listen, to the top health experts, No one has died from marijuana, its not a gate way drug, it has so many medical uses,for cures, and pain relief. The education to the ill informed about this plant is a must. as for cigarettes thats a gate way drug, our alcohol is one of the most dangerous it has caused thousands of deaths, Marijuana none, you can not overdose by death with Marijuana. Before anyone jumps on me I am talking about marijuana. So please read more about this plant.

FOI Responses, Home Office

1 Attachment

Please find attached our response to your FOI Request.

Home Office
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF

 

 

 

 

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Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
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Dear FOI Responses,

Quote:
"It is not clear, from your e-mail, exactly what information you require. To help us to deal with your request properly, I would be grateful if you could clarify the following:

what do you mean by empirical evidence / data"

From the Oxford English Dictionary:

empirical

adjective

* based on , concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic.

It's very simple, the Home Office made a CLAIM, I want them to show the study or evidence this claim is based upon.

"what time period are you requesting the information for?"

As you can see, I can not possibly provide a time period as I am not the one who made the CLAIM. If you must provide one, then please make it in last 10 years.

Thank you.
thomas:speed

Leo left an annotation ()

I absolutely agree that prohibition should end unless the government can supply absolute empirical data that proves, with unquestioning authority, their position on the largely unlawful policy of the drugs war.

Information regarding the history of prohibition along with overwhelming evidence that warrants the immediate destruction of the failed drugs war policy can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Drugs

Therefore, any response from the state must disprove all of the scientifically acknowledged and empirically proven reasons for ceasing prohibition. If this F.O.I request cannot produce such evidence in massive volume (as is the case for the anti-prohibition evidence) then, surely, policy's must be addressed and reformed in order that public freedoms are protected, which is after all, the primary duty of government.

This F.O.I request has my complete support.

Thomas: Speed left an annotation ()

It appears that Gov. has backtracked.

http://peterreynolds.wordpress.com/2010/...

Thomas: Speed left an annotation ()

Zzzzzzz....

Public Enquiries (CD), Home Office

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Thomas: Speed left an annotation ()

To clarify.

The Home Office are using the A.C.M.D as their 'evidence' that Cannabis is harmful. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication...

They are over exaggerating claims made by the A.C.M.D

Studies have since debunked the Cannabis - schizophrenia propaganda, and also that it causes lung cancer.

Thomas: Speed left an annotation ()

The Gov's & A.C.M.D's claims that Cannabis causes cancer are LIES!

Cannabis is *not* 'genotoxic', it does not alter DNA thus causing mutated cells and cancer.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob...

stop telling lies!

michael mckeown left an annotation ()

They wont stop telling lies. Somewhere along the way someone in government are making money out of it. They are supporting organised crime.

Wesley Hayden left an annotation ()

Cannabis is so bad for you that the home office has given a license to GW pharmacuticals to grow tons of it to sell (either as a gateway to get the Canadians hooked on highly addictive devil weed or simply to profit from relieving the symptoms of MS sufferers.....the Jury is still out on that one)

my FOI would ask about Rick Simpson, is this guy on the run because he too grew tons of cannabis (without a license) or because with this crop he managed to cure people with advanced cancer?

I bet Cancer research dont hold the relevant information as with any cure it might actually harm the fundraising activities.

cristal left an annotation ()

That makes no sense wesley! Cancer Research is a charity so nobody actually makes money the fundraising you refer to is given to scientists so that they can carry out research. there is no point or sense in anyone covering up useful research so that they can carry on fundraising and giving the money to more scientists to cary onm researching the same thing!! Your agument is flawed and the old conspiracy theory thing is as old as the hills. It's not in anyone's interest to hide cures of cancer!

Thomas: Speed left an annotation ()

@cristal: http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20100292...

'Cannabigerol' is one of some 80 or so 'Cannabinoids' found in Cannabis plants.

This patent is another from the 35 or so Cannabis related patents GW Pharmaceuticals have filed in the last 12 years.

"THERAPEUTIC USES OF CANNABIGEROL

5. Use as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the diseases or conditions to be treated are taken from the group: pain (including but not limited to acute pain; chronic pain; neuropathic pain and cancer pain), neurodegenerative disease (including but not limited to Alzheimer's disease; Parkinson's disease; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Huntington's disease; multiple sclerosis; frontotemporal dementia; prion disease; Lewy body dementia; progressive supranuclear palsy; vascular dementia; normal pressure hydrocephalus; traumatic spinal cord injury; HIV dementia; alcohol induced neurotoxicity; Down's syndrome; epilepsy or any other related neurological or psychiatric neurodegenerative disease), ischemic disease (including but not limited to stroke; cardiac ischemia; coronary artery disease; thromboembolism; myocardial infarction or any other ischemic related disease), brain injury or damage (including but not limited to traumatic brain injury is taken from the group: diffuse axonal injury; concussion; contusion; whiplash or any other traumatic head or brain injury), acquired brain injury (including but not limited to stroke; anoxic brain injury; hypoxic brain injury or any other acquired brain injury), age related inflammatory or autoimmune disease, cachexia (including related conditions such as AIDS wasting disease, weight loss associated with cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or infectious diseases such as tuberculosis), nausea and vomiting, glaucoma, movement disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, allergy, psoriasis, Crohn's disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, renal ischemia and nephritis. "

Wesley Hayden left an annotation ()

No that is not true, its not a conspiracy either!

Scientists have been studying Cannabis and Cannabinoids for well over 30 years (THC was isolated in the 60's) so after all this time, with no marketed cure available they still research it, why?

Here is quote from a moderator at CancerResearch chat forum:

[QUOTE]Scientists and doctors apply to us with specific research proposals, which are then judged by UK and international experts. Only the very best proposals are funded. If we don’t get any research proposals in a specific area, then we can’t fund it.[/QUOTE]

http://cancerchat.cancerresearchuk.org/m...

and you expect some guy to fund his own research, to prove to you (in vitro) what he has already been doing (in vivo)
If the 1000 or more scientific peer reviewed papers making claims of the wonderful benefits of Cannabis and cannabinoids are true why are you not ranting at them to prove there claims by giving the people this medicine....I dont see anyone having that choice, do you? Chemo and Radio therapy it is then! which is not a cure, these are silly treatments that damage the same areas that your scientific buddies CLAIM cannabis/cannabinoids protect these areas....go figure!

Simon Rothschild left an annotation ()

Top medical academics have confirmed that cannabis cures cancer

Dr. Confirms Cannabis Oil Cures Brain Tumor & Brain Cancer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6iba3sE...

A. Clerk (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

Unfortunately cancer is big money. Curing people from Cancer is not good for the pharmaceutical companies.
Therefore our government refuse to accept cannabis as a cure. In fact they believe that "cannabis has no medicinal values".
Absolute proof that this country is being run by a bunch of crooks.