A teacher who was banned from the profession for five years after admitting growing and smoking cannabis has said the drug improved his work in the classroom.
Alan Taylor, who taught science at Westleigh High school in Lancashire, spoke out about his teaching ban and the current drugs laws, saying Britain's policy is 'immoral' and 'corrupt'.
Wigan Today reports that a disciplinary panel struck him off the teaching register for at least five years in March – the second time he had been disciplined over his cannabis use.
Mr Taylor, 43, told reporters that he believes eating a cake or biscuit containing small quantities of the drugs is no different to drinking a glass of wine in the evening, and that his usage should be a private matter.
"It's a matter of my private life and not something that should be discussed in public. Now that it's been brought out I could go along with the party line, which would be a lie, or I can choose to tell the truth," he said. "My position and belief is for a policy based on rationality and evidence, which seems to me reasonable and consistent views for a science teacher to hold."
"The prohibition of drugs is a product of corrupt government. Cannabis has a lot of medicinal uses and I personally know people who've used it to treat conditions including epilepsy, cancer and diabetes, but it is made illegal because of big pharmaceutical companies lobbying the government."
The science teacher went on to outline the historical use of cannabis, and said that it has only been banned in America since the 1930s and that their 'prohibition was based on racism, because it was primarily a relaxant of the black man'.
Mr Taylor added that his cannabis use made him a better teacher.
"When I was teaching I found it helped me plan lessons. It sounds like a 60s stereotype but it produces what is called latent inhibition, which allows you to see a sense of wonder in things, and as a teacher you are trying to create that sense," he said, but warned: "Drugs have no place in the lives of children. No-one should be taking any substance until their brains are fully formed."
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