As the cannabis reclassificaton argument gathers momentum there are many cannabis users in the United Kingdom who still have no idea whats going on, and this is a key indicator as to why the government fails so spectacularly in the war against drugs in general, and cannabis specifically.

Not just this government either. But successive administrations, have managed to impose their own will on the drug communities in the UK, without ever once communicating directly with them so its little wonder they don't see a great deal of respect, as they offer none in the first place.

The 'demon' that is skunk - 12% THC and a damn sight safer than 4 fingers of whiskey, depending on how its consumed.

Take the ACMD meeting which convened in London yesterday (Feb 5th) for instance. Apart from an advance warning which was broadcast via the official Home Office website, there was little if any information regarding what is, quite an important issue in the grand scheme of things.

The cannabis community was happily going about its business while the government were planning a public discussion, which no one in the public knew about? 

"Home Office Invites Cannabis Users to Debate Reclassification."

This gave the cannabis community the details it needed to actually take part in the ACMD debate but by the 18th January, members of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance were already reporting receiving e-mails back from the Home Office, explaining there were no more places available.

The few places which were made available to members of the public filled up pretty quick once people knew what was actually happening, which hi-lighted the glaring lack of communications the Home Office targets at the people who matter most. The people who have the information regarding harm reduction.

I mean of course, the people who use cannabis regularly.

Its a sure thing if you us MySpace, Facebook, Bebo or one of the plethora of other social networking websites you will have seen the "Brain Store" ad's broadcast from FRANK, the UK governments idea of a drug awareness website, but with a user split something like 80% American users and only 20% British users, are these networks the most effective solution at spreading a drug awareness message to the UK population? I don't think so.

Not when there is a healthy, fully functioning community within our own shores, who are only to keen to listen to a sensible drugs policy, should one actually exist.

Clearly, central government is still looking for an effective medium on which to communicate its drug awareness message and a great starting point would be by targeting the websites drug users frequent, rather than expecting people to automatically hit the Home Office website. A primary reason the Home Office is looked upon as being "arrogant" in its outlook to drugs and drug users.

RSS
The Canna Zine syndicates its drug news far and wide, using a 'new' technology called RSS, which stands for really simple syndication, or rich site syndication, depending on which website you source your information from.

RSS allows people to subscribe to live news feeds which are updated in real time, so when the "source" website is updated, so are the subscribed feeds, which gives an effective means of informing a broad cross-section of society, without resorting to the hugely expensive advertising campaigns seen previously.

As well as cannabis communities such as everyonedoesit , ukcultivator , and the aptly named skunk.co.uk etc, we also see subscriptions from some of the larger drug charities and "non-profits" such as Addaction , Daily Dose , DrugScope etc, which gives a massive platform on which to broadcast a message.

As RSS is a two way medium, it means we can also broadcast information from the organisations mentioned, meaning for the first time ever, its possible to communicate an effective and widescale drug awareness message, to those who choose to receive one.

So we would urge the government to better utilise this service, and take advantage of the ability to communicate directly with the people who need to know whats going on, and that goes for anyone with a drug awareness message to pass.

As long as the drug topic continues to be be discussed behind closed doors, I don't see a fair and balanced debate on the subject and whilst that may suit some parties, for a politician to claim a victory in the fight against drugs, is going to take some face to face communications with the drug users themselves, no matter how distasteful such a situation may appear.

The communications channel exists. Now people just have to use it.

To subscribe to the Canna Zine RSS news feeds and keep abreast of drug news from Great Britain and further afield, simply bookmark the following address's, and view them in your chosen news feed reader. Firefox browser users now have the ability to view news feeds right in the browser window so no further software is required and the Canna Zine isoptimised for use with Firefox.

If you would like to broadcast a message to the drug using community, please drop us a line on the Canna Zine, and we will syndicate your broadcast alongside the daily Canna Zine output.

http://cannazine.co.uk/component/option,com_rss/feed,RSS2.0/no_html,1/
http://cannazine.co.uk/component/option,com_rss/feed,ATOM0.3/no_html,1/

Communication is no longer a stumbling block in the quest for a fair, rational policy on drugs. Now it exists, people simply have to use it. Please do!

The Canna Zine is 1 year old this week. Happy birthday to us, and thanks to everyone who visits the Canna Zine to find out whats happening in the world of cannabis.