Tory Steve Double Sheds Crocodile Tears In Call To Ramp Up War On Cannabis

Tory Steve Double, MP for St Austell and Newquay, called for the intensification of the “war on cannabis” in Parliament on Tuesday as he successfully led opposition to Norman Lamb’s attempt to bring in a Bill on legalisation and regulation.

With the motion defeated by 66 votes to 52, Double was helped by the fact that Labour whipped its MPs to abstain. In the event, 15 rebelled: eight in favour of the Bill, but seven against.

also disappointing to hear that @UKLabour MPs were whipped to abstain – as @TommySheppard says ‘allowing diehard hang-em-and-flog-em Tories to block even discussing the legal regulation of cannabis is pretty shocking.’

Whats going on with that @LabourDrugRef ?

— Steve Rolles (@SteveTransform) December 12, 2018

Replying to Lamb with typical reactionary prohibitionist myths, Double claimed that there was a difference between medical and recreational cannabis, and that cannabis was a “gateway drug” that ruins lives and causes psychosis.

In a one-man dramatisation of the Daily Mail, Double told Parliament that “something needs to be done about the current situation with cannabis use” which is “doing a great deal of damage to our society, but I do not believe that liberalising and decriminalising it in this way is the answer”.

He claimed his view, far from being informed by scientific evidence, as Lamb’s is, was largely informed “by my experience of seeking to help and support people who have been regular users of cannabis. I have seen at first hand the lives that it wrecks, the impact on mental health and the cost to not only the individual but their families, their communities and wider society.”

He supported the 1 November law change that made cannabis medicine legal – in very restricted circumstances – and agreed that while “more should be done to ensure that cannabis for medicinal use gets to the people who really need it … we need to allow more time for the changes to come into effect before we take a huge leap of faith towards decriminalising cannabis altogether”.

“My concern is that, by liberalising cannabis use, we would send precisely the wrong message to our young people. We would be giving them the message that cannabis is safe and okay to use… I think we all understand that for many people the use of cannabis is a gateway drug to more serious and more damaging drug use.”

Cannabis is, in fact, as our recent feature explored, the opposite – an exit drug.

Making himself look extra ridiculous, Double added “that there is no safe consumption of cannabis in an uncontrolled, unregulated way” – Lamb of course was trying to introduce control and regulation!

He then moved on to his most reactionary posturing, mixed with crocodile tears. “We are clearly in the midst of a war on drugs, but we will not win the war by raising the white flag, giving up and surrendering. No war has ever been won by surrendering.

“Our approach must be bolder. We must offer more meaningful support and aim to drive down consumption yet further. This will not be achieved by a new website or a helpline. We need to intervene and challenge, using experts in the field of drug use, recovered addicts and recovering users, who can reach out and offer a real prospect of change for users.

“A procedure that replaces the current system of issuing a relatively ineffectual warning or punitive fine given by a police officer with the alternative of offering diversion through attendance at a local drugs awareness day would have a greater impact in reducing use. Part of what is currently charged as a fixed penalty notice could instead go to local treatment providers to pay for such a service.”

Double said the evidence from countries where cannabis has been legalised “is still very mixed”. It isn’t.

He added: “We need to do better for our young people, but giving up the war on cannabis is not the way to achieve it. I cannot support this Bill, and if the House does divide on this issue, I will vote against it. I encourage other Members to join me in not allowing this Bill to progress.”

The vested interests of prohibition continue to call the shots in backwards Britain.

Comments (2)

keith Clarke 16th December 2018 at 5:28 PM

Ignorance at its best. A common quality in a number of politically brainwashed idiots who think without any consideration as to the realization, understanding and acceptance of what is real and what they are told is real.

Philip Walsh 14th December 2018 at 7:11 PM

It's not finger in the ear politics it's more likely hands in the till politics, Double is also vice-chair of the Parliamentary Beer Group which works to support pubs and breweries. In this role, he has been able to promote the work of St Austell Brewery.* He is the vice-chair of the Parliamentary Group for Fatherhood and has spoken up for the important role dads play in the family and worked for more government support for Fathers.* In June 2016, Double, who is an evangelical Christian, admitted an extra-marital affair with a married 26-year-old aide.[23] Double had reportedly kept this secret from his wife of 30 years.[24] The BBC later reported that Double's constituency party deputy chairman had resigned, suggesting Double, who had claimed to promote family life, should do the same. They also examined the public's changing view of morality and quoted political historian Matt Cole who said that whilst the public was now more tolerant of infidelity, it did object to hypocrisy.[25] In February 2017, Double participated in a Westminster Hall debate about marriage, stating that he was "surprised... to learn that last year the Government spent more money on repairing cathedrals than on supporting marriage and family relationships." He called on the government to "put more resources into supporting marriage".* In September 2017, Double was one of five MPs who backed the Government Departments (Abolition) Bill, which would have resulted in the abolition of the Department for International Development - effectively ending the management of UK aid to foreign countries. *Double employs his wife as a Senior Caseworker on a salary up to £30,000.[19] He was listed in an article in The Daily Telegraph which criticised the practice of MPs employing family members, on the lines that it promotes nepotism. Although MPs who were first elected in 2017 have been banned from employing family members, the restriction is not retrospective - meaning that Double's employment of his wife is lawful.* * Source wikipedia the man's a shit!