The government ignores the advice it commissions, there is no reason for these advisory councils to exist if decisions will be taken based on political gain rather than the greater good.

 

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Today the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs reported to the government on the reclassification of cannabis.  We all know that Gordon Brown thinks Cannabis should be reclassified as a class B drug, but is there any scientific backing to that idea?

You have probably seen the Brain Warehouse posters from Frank around the country, I saw one a few weeks ago outside Temple Meads railway station in Bristol.

I was amazed at this poster as I'd never heard of any conclusive proof of cannabis causing brain damage, so I phoned the supposedly unbiased Frank to ask them what paper it was in.

Frank: "It's been in the Observer.."
Me: "No.. peer reviewed journal"

They put me on hold for a while while they found me a number to call.  The person there did know their source told me it was the most recent published report of that very same committee that is advising the government today.  I read through that report and found a very fair report on the situation that recommended no change to the law. 

So I did what every englishman would do, I wrote a letter.  The Advertising Standards agency have since replied to inform me that they do not consider this poster to be in breach of their rules.

Why?

We assess the content of adverts and how they are likely to be interpreted.  We look at whether they are likely to cause significant harm, serious or widespread offence or mislead and on this occasion we don't believe the poster is problematic.

What's the logic here? Surely this is misleading, the source they quote does not contain their claims. The ASA helpfully cleared that up for me.

the claim at the bottom of the ad, "The more you mess with cannabis, the more it could mess with your mind" is somewhat conditional

The advertising standards agency has just told me it's OK for false claims to be published by Frank as long as the small print at the bottom implies it's only a possibility.

I'm interested to see today's report to compare it with the statement the government will undoubtedly issue, I can't help but doubt the standards Frank has to live up to are any different to the government in general.