"If you marched against the war in Iraq, no one could really say you supported Saddam Hussein [...] Khamenei was a right wing hardliner in Iranian politics [...] Mothin is a leftist following a gay vegan Jewish leader." @benmclaine.bsky.social defends @mothinali.bsky.social on GB News 💚✊ #Iran

Great pushback from @benmclaine.bsky.social "If you marched against the war in Iraq, no one could really say you supported Sadam Hussein" is one we're going to have to keep reminding people of. Disgust at war is not endorsement of murderous regimes. It IS an indictment of murderous regime change.

We've got his back 💪🏻💚 bsky.app/profile/turn...

Well how dare @mothinali.bsky.social grow his own vegetables. This is outrageous! GB News, man. Still pissed their guy lost.

"Is he proud to be [...] following Washington into yet another illegal war in the Middle East making us all less safe? And finally how much does he enjoy being Donald Trump's poodle?" - @zarahsultana.bsky.social brutalizes Trump's doormat Keir Starmer in the House of Commons 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

"If you marched against the war in Iraq, no one could really say you supported Saddam Hussein [...] Khamenei was a right wing hardliner in Iranian politics [...] Mothin is a leftist following a gay vegan Jewish leader." @benmclaine.bsky.social defends @mothinali.bsky.social on GB News 💚✊ #Iran

"Is he proud to be [...] following Washington into yet another illegal war in the Middle East making us all less safe? And finally how much does he enjoy being Donald Trump's poodle?" - @zarahsultana.bsky.social brutalizes Trump's doormat Keir Starmer in the House of Commons 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

@franifio.bsky.social Could you drop us a DM? 🙏🏻

It's your bills that will skyrocket for his war 📈📈📈

🚨: A Turn Left FIRST! Our mini doc 'Behind The Greens', is an exclusive behind the scenes look at Hannah Spencer's campaign in Gorton & Denton. Out Thursday 7pm 👇

Brilliant fly on the wall doc by @turnleftmedia.co.uk of Hannah Spencers campaign. I watched it again to check if any cafe doors were left open but, PHEW!, looks like these guys are in the clear! @curtisdaly.bsky.social and team are essential viewing. Let's leave existential stuff to Labour!

Really concerned to hear the Defence Secretary refuse to rule out UK's involvement in future strikes on Iran. Iraq lessons must be learned. Further escalation in the Middle East makes us all less safe. Starmer must rule out UK involvement immediately.

So what do the Greens actually want to do with their decriminalisation of drugs? What would the system look like? Hopefully this thread will clear up your questions. There is a short term and long term answer to the Green’s drug policy: 🧵

It's your bills that will skyrocket for his war 📈📈📈

The IRGC are likely to mine the Strait of Hormuz, driving up petrol prices. The left is often right too early & we should capitalise on this & Reform's support for Trump: (1) Make Farage own this & incoming price rises 📈 (2) Argue that green energy= energy independence ♻️

Here is a long thread I wrote explaining what Green Party Policy says that they actually want to do when legalising & regulating drugs An important read for people defending the Greens against upcoming MSM smears 👇🏻👇🏻

In the short term, the Greens policy is basically a “safety first” approach more than legalisation, including education for everyone (regardless of whether they use drugs or not) on the basics of drug safety. An abstinence approach to education has not worked. 🧵

Eg. Portugal has around 80 drug deaths a year, where the UK has 5000+ per year. Even accounting for the difference in population size, this still shows that the UK’s approach is not working; abstinence doesn’t work in drug education, much as in sex education. 🧵

In addition to education about safety (policy DR201[a-b]), the Greens advocate for drugs to be decoupled from the criminal justice system, and the use of healthcare diversion & “problem-solving courts” which have shown to reduce reoffending rates (DR201[c]) 🧵

They also want Overdose Prevention Centres (OPCs) where people can use their own drugs under medical & security supervision to prevent fatal overdoses (DR201[e]) and keep themselves & the public safe 🧵 www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Another short term measure is the introduction of Swiss model HAT (Heroin Assisted Treatment) clinics, where doctors can legally prescribe safe doses for already dependent people. HAT clinics reduce both overdoses & crime 🧵

The Greens also want to provide Naloxone (used to prevent fatal opioid overdose but has no recreational use) to users as standard and have Drug Safety Testing centres, where you can test the safety of substances before use (DR201[g-h]), without being arrested 🧵 nida.nih.gov/publications...

A particularly important mention is Green Policy DR201(I-i): “Reducing the exploitation of vulnerable children and adults for the sale of drugs in towns / villages”, which is all about tackling Criminal Gangs by crushing their profits 🧵

I won’t quote it in full, but the policy emphasises the need to address vulnerability: less desperation means less exploitation, as people can freely choose to step away if they aren’t turning to criminal orgs in desperation 🧵

Green’s long term policy (DR3) is a system of legalisation. The first step is that supply, production, and import should all be “regulated according to the specific risks that they pose to the individual, to society and to the environment.” 🧵

“Drugs that pose the highest risks will be subject to the heaviest regulation; less risky drugs will be subject to lighter regulation.” (DR302) This is actually a very common sense position. Cocaine poses more risk than Cannabis, so should be more tightly regulated 🧵

Pretending that Green drug policy is “a free-for-all” ignores that they want to tightly regulate the market for riskier substances. It’s like claiming that the UK is a firearms “free-for-all” because farmers can legally purchase firearms 🧵

Green policy is to decriminalise the personal use of drugs, but continue criminal sanctions for the illicit production, import, or supply with an emphasis on “community service sentences and fines to reduce the profitability of the illegal drugs trade.” (DR303) 🧵

Just my opinion, but this seems like an intelligent strategy; the profitability will reduce considerably if fines have to be paid and the “manpower” is eaten into by community service sentences. And there’d be a regulated alternative competitor 🧵

Far from being a free for all, Green policy states “A Green government will prohibit all forms of commercial advertising for all regulated drugs or products containing drugs. (DR307)” to help reduce the number who become addicted 🧵

The methods the Greens suggest for the sale of drugs depends on the type of drug you wish to discuss, with more potent & dangerous drugs requiring tighter regulation. Cocaine & Heroin etc, would be only given by doctors & specialist clinics 🧵

The Clinic would be required to give a consultation about safe use and the available support services, before they would be allowed to give the prescription (DR317[a-b]) which would also have safety information & ingredients printed on packaging 🧵

For lower level drugs (Cannabis, Alcohol etc), the Greens would have licensed shopkeepers, much as we do now. NB: These licensees would not be able to sell Heroin or Cocaine- you’d need to go to specialist medical clinics for that! (DR317[c]) 🧵

That same policy also states that “Licensees will be subject to regulation on opening hours, quantity, strength and type of drug sold, age and intoxication level of the purchaser.” In other words, sales should be strict 🧵

The only drugs which the greens wouldn’t require to be sold by a pharmacy or licensed vendor would be caffeine and coca tea (Policy DR317[e]). Not exactly the “playgrounds will become crack dens” that Reform and Labour have been screeching about. 🧵

So, in summary, Green drug policy is to legalise drugs but only have them available through pharmacies (for harder drugs) or licensed vendors (for softer drugs like alcohol & cannabis). Anyone telling you they want a crack cocaine free-for-all is lying to you 🧵/End

One of a few threads I'm creating that clarifies the Greens Drug Policy and how to defend it 👇🏻👇🏻 This one is about "enhancing human relationships & creativity": what that means and what it doesn't.

So next time someone claims that the Greens believe that drugs should be used to “enhance human relationships and human creativity”, and you can see them picturing psychedelics, ask them to discuss it over a pint of drug with you 🍺🧵/end

Of course, this is also making clear that “the limited use of drugs for recreational purposes” would include caffeine and legal highs. Alcohol and legal highs are often more dangerous than many illegal drugs 🧵

And this is further corroborated by Green policy DR201(D-i): “Cease the use of the misleading term ‘Drugs and Alcohol’ and replace with ‘drugs’ or ‘alcohol and other drugs’.” 🧵

That policy reads: “DR104 The Green Party defines “drugs” as synthetic or plant-based substances that have a substantial psychoactive and /or physiological effect, direct or indirect, on the human body.” 🧵

So how do I know that the Greens are including alcohol when they speak of “the majority of cases”? Because policy DR104 actually clarifies this fact 🧵

So the focus of the policy [DR102] is on addressing underlying social ills, as opposed to treating the use of drugs as something to be encouraged. Only quoting part of the policy sentence actually misleads the audience. 🧵

And continues: “Most harmful drug use is underpinned by poverty, isolation, mental illness, physical illness and psychological trauma. The minimisation of these societal ills will be the focus of the Green Party.” 🧵

The full text of that policy point reads: “[DR102] The Green Party recognises that in the majority of cases the limited use of drugs for recreational purposes is not harmful and has the potential to enhance human relationships and human creativity.” 🧵

Critics often claim the greens believe drugs can “enhance human relationships and human creativity.” This is misleading as the Greens are using the term “drugs” here more broadly, and is mostly a reference to the use of alcohol 🧵

One of a few threads I'm creating that clarifies the Greens Drug Policy and how to defend it 👇🏻👇🏻 This one is about "enhancing human relationships & creativity": what that means and what it doesn't.

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🚨🚨 LIVE SHOW at 19:30 UK Time🚨🚨 Tonight Ben Mclaine will host the show with Banseka Kayembe, founder of Naked Politics UK. We'll be talking about Labour's lies, David Lammy's plans for an AI dystopia, and the Daily Mail's attacks on Zack Polanski. Watch here 👇🏻 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj3s...