Ros WynneJones visits the pub where a Cabinet Minister's son sealed a cannabis deal IN ONE of London's most ordinary middleclass pubs last night, people of all ages were celebrating the twilight time between Christmas and New Year. They sat at neat tables, chatted with bar staff and joked about escaping their inlaws. Most people in the pub would not have known that the friendly, warmlylit premises were the subject of a police investigation which cuts to the heart of government. For it was here, not in some dingy den of vice, that the now infamous Cabinet Minister's son made the mistake of buying cannabis for an attractive young woman who turned out to be a tabloid reporter. [continues 646 words]
"IT'S EASY to see why it's called dope," declared the leaflet, bravely. "Only a dope would be stupid enough to use it, and only a stupidly corrupt or criminal person would try and get their 'friends' to also use it." It was a valiant attempt at disinformation, published under the copyright of someone calling themselves E Kenneth Eckersley CMS, HSDC, FIOD, FIMgt, FISMM, MCIM, HonMPHMA (Int). But, distributed to delegates of an open debate on the decriminalisation of cannabis, held by the Independent on Sunday on Thursday, its message largely fell on deaf ears. [continues 1436 words]
Marijuana's Recreational And Medicinal Benefits Were Celebrated At An International Conference Held In Amsterdam Last Week. By Ros WynneJones CLUTCHING his trophy before a crowd of hundreds at the Melkweg, one of Amsterdam's most famous nightclubs, the winner seemed to be suffering from a form of shortterm memory loss. "Uh, hi," he blinked in the stage lights, to rapturous applause from the faithful gathered below. "Like, what category was this again?" The category was Best Imported Hashish, the occasion the 10th anniversary of the High Times Cannabis Cup, a celebration of the cannabis sativa plant and its many uses. Beating off strong opposition from the United States in the Cannaboid International Flower Show, homegrown talents swept the board last week, to prove that the Netherlands is still the hashish capital of the world. [continues 457 words]
