Pubdate:  30 November 1997
Source: Independent on Sunday
Contact: email:  Independent on Sunday, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5DL
England

CANNABIS CAMPAIGN  BIG GUNS JOIN QUEUE FOR OUR CONFERENCE 
By Graham Ball 

THE European Parliament is to send a special delegation of its members to
attend the Independent on Sunday's drug conference on 11 December. Its
participation adds an international dimension to the debate which has
already attracted the support of lawyers, prominent academics, drugs care
professionals, MPs and two of Britain's most important business leaders,
Anita Roddick and Richard Branson. 

The subject under debate, "Cannabis: should it be decriminalised?" will
take place before 700 delegates and invited guests in the Queen Elizabeth
II Conference Centre, Westminster. The IoS conference is the first response
to the calls which were made earlier this year for an open debate on
cannabis law reform made by Britain's most senior judges, Lord Bingham, the
Lord Chief Justice and Lord Woolf, the Master of the Rolls. The event is to
be chaired by Channel 4 newscaster, Jon Snow, who will be joined by a panel
of experts who will argue for and against the proposition. The platform
speakers are to include Professor John Strang, of the National Addiction
Centre, Nigel Evans MP, Chairman of the CrossParty Drugs Abuse Committee,
Mike Goodman, Director of Release, Anita Roddick, Professor Colin Blakemore
and Rosie Boycott, IoS editor. 

  Last week, Britain's brightest students revealed they were in favour of
legalising cannabis. Some 2,400 students from Oxford and Cambridge
universities took part in a poll that showed Cambridge students to be 74
per cent in favour of making cannabis legal, and 51 per cent of Oxford
students agreeing. In the Oxford colleges, 19 per cent of students said
they were occasional users of cannabis, while 13 per cent of Cambridge
undergraduates said they were frequent users. 

  On 6 December, the ICA in the Mall, London, will be dedicating a daylong
event to 1960s culture and to the "Decriminalise Cannabis" campaign. The
happening, which includes music, multimedia events, readings and food,
starts at midday and lasts until 1am. Those taking part in the "Recurring
Technicolor Dream" include the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, John's
Children, filmmaker Peter Whitehead, poet Michael Horowitz, Cream
collaborator, Pete Brown and many others.

Booking and further information on 0171 930 3647.