SCIENTISTS have identified another gene that might affect how vulnerable a person is to cigarette addiction. The finding may help researchers develop new ways to stop smoking. Having a certain form of the gene makes it easier to kick the habit, or perhaps to avoid getting hooked in the first place, two studies suggest. But that apparent influence is modest. ``This is just one small piece of the puzzle'' of what influences smoking behavior, said psychologist Caryn Lerman, an author of one of the studies. [continues 302 words]
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) A crack addict who police say used his children as "shields" when he bought drugs in dangerous neighborhoods was charged with murder Friday after his 6-year-old son was fatally shot during a deal gone bad. Authorities say an argument over $20 worth of drugs led to the Jan. 4 shooting of Michael Kile's son William, who was shot in the back of the head when a bullet pierced a window of his father's car. The boy died at a hospital eight days later. [continues 344 words]
DETROIT (AP) Finally free after 21 years in prison, a woman released Friday under a law relaxing sentences for drug crimes spent the day getting reacquainted with everyday life. "The first thing I did was hug my niece and eat some ice cream," JeDonna Young said Friday. "I'm tripping out just answering the telephone, making myself a sandwich, using the microwave." Ms. Young, 44, left the Scott Regional Correctional Facility in suburban Plymouth one week after the state parole board unanimously agreed to release her. [continues 259 words]
State Official Cites Protests, Bill Establishing Moratorium Jeffersonville won its battle to stop a second methadone clinic from opening yesterday when Colonial Medical Group withdrew its request for state approval of a facility on West Market Street. Local officials were preparing for a hearing tomorrow in Indianapolis before the Indiana Controlled Substances Advisory Committee, a branch of the state Board of Pharmacy. "That's great news," said Jeffersonville Councilman John Perkins. "We fought the good fight and we won." The city already has one clinic, the Southern Indiana Treatment Center on 10th Street, and that's enough, he said. [continues 408 words]
ANTI-SMOKING campaigns by the Department of Health were and would continue to be formulated without interference from the tobacco industry, the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children was told yesterday. Chris Fitzgerald, principal officer of the Health Department, rejected claims made at a previous meeting of the committee by Dr Fenton Howell, president-elect of the Irish Medical Organisation, that the tobacco industry influenced policy formulation within the department. "Based on my 10 years experience in dealing with tobacco-related issues in this department I am prepared to state categorically that this was not the case," said Mr Fitzgerald. [continues 306 words]
Marvin Chavez grimaced as his arms were pulled behind him. Handcuffs clicked closed around his wrists. And as bailiffs led him away to jail Friday, the last thing his army of ardent supporters saw were Chavez's hands, hanging beneath the awkward outline of his back brace. Sobbing, Andrea Nagy crumpled into the arms of a friend. "There is no justice! No good deed goes unpunished!" yelled David Zink. "Totally wrong," said Jack Shachter, grimly shaking his head. "Totally wrong." Chavez, founder of Orange County's medical marijuana co-op, was sentenced to six years in state prison for selling pot to undercover officers posing as medical patients, and for mailing pot to a cancer patient. Chavez's past had come back to haunt him, and numerous tearful appeals did not convince Judge Thomas Borris to grant Chavez probation, or to allow Chavez the shield he insists he has under Proposition 215, a ballot initiative that legalized marijuana for medical use. [continues 437 words]
ABERDEEN - The fastest-growing chunk of the state budget is invisible to most taxpayers unless they see a massive new prison under construction, like the Stafford Correctional Center rising from the mud near this gritty Grays Harbor County city. Stafford will be finished a year from now and swiftly crammed with 1,936 convicts. Another $200 million prison for another 2,000 inmates will be needed three years later, and then another, as the state scrambles to keep pace with a prison population that has more than doubled since 1989. [continues 908 words]
D U S H A N B E -- Law enforcement agencies seized over 150 kilograms of drugs, including almost 10 kilograms of pure heroine, during a large-scale anti-drug operation involving airlines, trains and automobiles this week. They detained dozens of drug couriers and traders and found firearms and ammunition during the search of clandestine bases. [end]
"Doctor shopping' is costing the Tasmanian health system millions of dollars every year, according to State pharmacists. Pharmacy Guild of Australia Tasmania branch president Jerry Hampton said yesterday that doctor shopping, in which people go from doctor to doctor for potent prescription drugs such as pethidine and morphine, was quite prevalent in Tasmania. Between 4 and 6 per cent of the population indulged in the practice. Mr Hampton said that a nation-wide trial involving 15 Tasmanian pharmacies, which used computer registration of drugs dispensed to give real-time data on who was presenting prescriptions for drugs of concern in doctor shopping, had been very successful. [continues 246 words]
The number of heroin-related deaths is outstripping the road toll. A County Court judge yesterday backed an advertising campaign to stem heroin abuse after four more Victorians died from overdoses on Thursday night. The state's death toll from overdoses this year now stands at 26, which is more than twice the road toll of 12. The deaths of three men and a woman took place over a six-hour period, with three of the victims dying in their own homes. [continues 382 words]
Don't touch these herbal stimulants, drug experts warn rock festival fans. YOUNG people planning to attend tomorrow's Big Day Out music festival have been warned to stay away from herbal versions of designer drugs. Drug squad detectives will inspect the Ecstasy and amphetamine alternatives - which are priced from $8 to $18 - at two stalls set up at the event. Similar versions of the herbal concoctions have been linked overseas to 15 deaths and serious side-effects in hundreds of other people. [continues 501 words]
He Was Suspected Of Killing Ex-Girlfriend A federal drug agent suspected of killing his ex-girlfriend in Orange County, Calif., on Oct. 27 shot and killed himself Saturday while being chased by police in Louisiana, officials said. Tony Gerard Bailey, 35, had been the subject of a nationwide search since Wednesday when witnesses and police said he shot and killed Veda Harris and wounded her sister, Wendy Campbell, in a jealous rage at Campbell's home in Fullerton, Calif., 20 miles southeast of Los Angeles. [continues 220 words]
BOGOTA, Colombia -- Concerned that saturation coverage of guerrilla attacks, murders and economic woe will scare off advertisers and readers, major Colombian newspapers, magazines and television stations are seeking out sunnier stories. This month, El Tiempo, the nation's largest newspaper, published a 48-page special section called "Rabiosamente Optimistas," or "Rabidly Optimistic," that spotlighted people who are bullish on Colombia. To lighten the mood, television news teams have added attractive women to read the latest gossip. There is even a monthly newspaper in the city of Medellin that ignores the nation's troubles altogether. The Spanish-language publication has an English title -- Good News From Colombia. [continues 867 words]
MEXICO CITY--In a fresh embarrassment for its anti-narcotics efforts, the Mexican military announced Friday that it is investigating several soldiers for stealing about 15 pounds of cocaine from seized shipments that the army was supposed to incinerate. The incident made front pages in Mexico on Friday, reflecting fears that the army's growing drug-fighting role is endangering a key national institution. Both U.S. and Mexican officials have pushed the respected military to become more active in anti-narcotics work because of extensive corruption in police and political ranks. [continues 611 words]
Sadly, the rate of drug use in sports today has reached the point where it jeopardizes the integrity of athletics and the safety of competitors. Young people who want to compete fairly fear they stand no chance against cheaters who will accept any cost, even death or injury, to win. Consequently, every victory is subject to skepticism. Drug-using athletes are capable of setting records that honest human performance cannot beat. We seriously risk creating a chemically engineered class of athletic gladiators. Unless we act now, the health and safety of our athletes will remain at risk. The International Olympic Committee has proposed an international agency, but it would lack independence and accountability. The U.S. government is committed to developing an effective, independent international anti-doping regime that will provide a level playing field for all athletes--from youth leagues to the Olympic ranks. [continues 159 words]
Approval Would Show Compassion, Not Support For Legalization. Maine voters will decide on Tuesday whether or not reason prevails over fear. I chose to support the medical marijuana referendum question because I believe people are fundamentally good and any effort to relieve suffering adds to the nobility of a community. Voters in seven other states -- Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington -- have approved initiatives intended to make marijuana legal for medicinal purposes. These citizens have concluded that those who suffer should have access to any medicine, that would enhance their quality of life. [continues 481 words]
Smuggling: Veteran Boss Brought Cocaine From Colombia, Prosecutor Says. MEXICO CITY - Mexican officials said Saturday that they have arrested a veteran boss of a drug cartel that smuggles Colombian cocaine up Mexico's Pacific Coast into the United States, and thus crippled a major branch of the Juarez cartel. Mariano Herran Salvatti, Mexico's top drug prosecutor, told reporters that agents arrested Juan Jose Quintero Payan, a longtime trafficker, when he arrived at a house in Guadalajara on Friday night for a tryst with his lover. [continues 459 words]
For a few festive hours Sunday night, millions of children and adults will happily dress up or don masks and pretend to be something or someone they are not. On Tuesday, the National Basketball Association's regular season will open for the 53d time, while a majority of players begin their 82-game version of All Hallows' E'en, dressing up as entertainers and role models, masking their off-court dependence on a post-game treat of choice: smoking a joint. The trick was always not getting caught, a rather simple matter given the fact that since the league's original antidrug program debuted back in 1984, the union put up a stoned wall against marijuana testing. [continues 1377 words]
TRENTON - When New Jersey investigators filed a lawsuit against Dr. Lance L. Gooberman earlier this month that linked his unusual heroin detoxification treatment to six patient deaths, officials in the State Attorney General's office proclaimed they had stopped an "unlawful" treatment that put addicts' lives in danger. But the state board responsible for regulating medical procedures knew of Dr. Gooberman's treatment well before the first patient death in 1995, records show, and though it determined the heroin treatment to be "potentially life threatening" in 1997, several months before three more patients died, it did not intervene until earlier this month. [continues 1673 words]
Medical Use Of Cannibis Fails To Win Support From Doctors' Groups. On Nov. 2, Maine voters will be asked to answer the ballot question: "Do you want to allow patients with specific illnesses to grow and use small amounts of marijuana for treatment, as long as such use is approved by a doctor?" My answer is a resounding "no." My decision to vote "no" is based on 35 years in law enforcement, my experience as a narcotics investigator and my firm belief that any legalization of drugs is a threat to our children, families and communities. This initiative is a thinly disguised first step toward the legalization of marijuana and other drugs. It is intentionally vague and requires little in the way of medical oversight or regulation. No physician's prescription is required to possess the drug and the bill places no restrictions on the types of illnesses or treatment that qualify for marijuana use. [continues 514 words]
Tony Bailey, suspected of slaying his ex-girlfriend, commits suicide while being chased by police. He was on his way to see his former wife. A federal agent suspected of murdering his ex-girlfriend in Orange County last week shot and killed himself Saturday while being chased by police in Louisiana's bayou country, officials said. Tony Gerard Bailey, 35, had been the subject of a nationwide search since Wednesday, when witnesses and police said he shot and killed Veda Harris and wounded her sister, Wendy Campbell, in a jealous rage at Campbell's home in Fullerton. &&&The Drug Enforcement Administration agent showed up Saturday at the Opelousas home of Bailey's former brother-in-law, which had been under surveillance by police there since Friday, Opelousas Police Capt. Ronnie Trahan said. Bailey apparently went to the town north of Lafayette searching for his ex-wife, Pamela Bailey, who was coming for a family reunion, Trahan said. [continues 467 words]
Colombia: Ex-Head Of Police Narcotics Unit Accused Of Stealing U.S. Funds. Americans To Begin Own Audit. BOGOTA, Colombia--While the U.S. government is considering Colombia's request for $1.5 billion in anti-narcotics aid, authorities here are investigating charges that a police anti-drug hero stole American funds, according to court documents. Both the Colombian police and U.S. officials confirmed that Maj. Oscar Pimienta--the helicopter pilot credited with hunting down Medellin cocaine cartel kingpin Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha, "The Mexican," a decade ago--is the target of an investigation over alleged embezzlement of U.S. funds. [continues 1173 words]
Hub Police Are Humbled By Mistaken Drug Sting At the age of 73, Evelyn A. Davis is blessed with a strong heart and a gracious Jamaican spirit. We should thank God. Otherwise, what was a police screwup could easily have turned into a full-blown tragedy. On Aug. 6, this city came uncomfortably close to revisiting the fiasco that stopped the frail heart of the Rev. Accelyne Williams . . . and cost the taxpayers about a million bucks. No, the cops did not come crashing through Evelyn Davis' front door in Dorchester, wrapped in body armor and carrying shields. But the technical term for their visit to 15 Moody St. on that steamy Friday afternoon is ``drug sting.'' [continues 927 words]
Oregonians Fuming Over Federal Attempt to Overturn Measure PORTLAND, Oregon - Oregonians have long prided themselves on being in the forefront on many social issues -- sometimes with ideas that catch on in the rest of the nation, and sometimes not. They were among the first to decriminalize marijuana and to approve its use for medicinal purposes, and they legalized abortion years before the, Supreme Court issued the Roe v. Wade decision. They were the first to conduct an election entirely by mail, and they have long had some of the strictest growth-management regulations in the nation. [continues 627 words]
THE traditional herbal remedy St John’s Wort is being classified as a prescription only medicine in Ireland from next January. The Irish Medicines Board has not given an explanation for this decision to health industry organisations or the many thousands of consumers who use this herb daily. It has been rumoured that the decision has been taken because of possible interactions between St John’s Wort and certain foods or medicines. If this is the case, what evidence does the IMB possess? [continues 220 words]
Society on the Edge [image: "In the shadows" - Members of the Columbian army take a break in the shade during exercises at the Tolemaida military base near Bogota. A 1200-man special anti-narcotics battalion is being trained by the United States to search and destroy drug labs and fabrication plants in Columbia.] Columbia is desperate for U.S. help to fight its drug war. But some worry that the United States will become mired in another difficult regional conflict if it helps Columbia fight... [continues 1951 words]
A man accused of beating Mr Josie Dwyer to death told gardai a vigilante threatened to burn down his home if he named other people involved in the attack, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard. Mr Mark Cooke told gardai he had originally lied about his whereabouts on the night of the killing because he was afraid after a man threatened to petrol bomb his "gaff". It was the 13th day of the manslaughter trial of Mr Hugh Byrne (33), Dolphin House; Mr Cooke (25), Dolphin House; Mr John Fitzpatrick (35), Fatima Mansions; and Mr William Kenny (55), St Anthony's Road, all Rialto. The four have also been charged with assaulting and injuring Mr Alan Byrne and with violent disorder on May 14th, 1996. [continues 340 words]
A detective denied he had authorised his informant to carry drugs from Amsterdam to Dublin Airport for a pounds 10,000 fee in 1995. Det Sgt Denis Palmer denied he had any conversation with his informant about importing drugs and said he was "shell-shocked" when he learned the accused man had been detained with drugs valued at pounds 1 million. Mr Declan Griffin (29), Bunratty Road, Coolock, has pleaded not guilty to six charges of possession of heroin and ecstasy for sale and supply and importing heroin and ecstasy at Dublin Airport on December 20th, 1995. The drugs consisted of 2,999.4 grams of heroin and 2,056 tablets of ecstasy, which were in four packages recovered from luggage collected by the accused man at the airport on his return from Amsterdam. [continues 556 words]
The head of the New York Police Department yesterday urged Scottish forces to adopt his hardline tactics against drug dealers and violent criminals. Howard Safir, the commisssioner of the NYPD, claimed that the crime-fighting policies pioneered in the city had cut serious crime by almost a third and murder rates by almost half. However, critics warned that police tactics such as mass stop-and-search campaigns, already blamed for alienating many law-abiding New Yorkers, may not be appropriate or required in Scotland. [continues 623 words]
Two-thirds of young Irish adults have been offered illegal hard drugs and half of those admitted to taking them, according to a new survey. And although 17pc admitted using hard drugs, nine out of 10 people aged between 18 and 30 regard illegal hard drugs as a major problem in Irish society. Well over two-thirds felt there was no justification for taking marijuana. However, most young adults prefer living in Ireland than any other country and feel they are in control and enjoying their lives. [continues 357 words]
Making Workplace Drug-Free Year-Old Partnership In Medina County Is Aimed At Adult Workers, Helps Employers Clean Up Job Sites MEDINA - Branch Roofing had a problem. The owners' first hint came when an employee came into the office and said, ``You guys have a drug problem here and my probation officer says I can't work here anymore.'' That's a pretty clear sign that something's wrong, said owner Carol Tatton, especially when the company didn't even know the worker had a probation officer. [continues 670 words]
The Figure of 52,000 Americans killed by criminalised drugs annually (News, last week) comes from a study General McCaffrey commissioned but which he will not release. The American National Center for Health Statistics records "14,843 deaths from drug-induced causes in 1996". The accepted figure for illegal drug deaths is 3,000-10,000. The drug war is an unmitigated disaster in the United States. The annual $18 billion federal drug war budget and overall $50 billion national spending have given us paramilitary-style policing, racist enforcement, curtailed civil liberties, jam-packed prisons, police corruption, dangerous streets, a huge bureaucracy that is propagandistic and self-perpetuating, persecution of patients who would benefit from medicinal marijuana and opiates, increased Aids infections, and no decrease in hard-core drug abusers to show for it all. Paul Bischke Policy Reform Group of Minnesota [end]
Robin Wales On A Scheme In East London Aimed At Offenders With Drink, Drug And Mental Health Problems Which side of the fence do you sit on in the great drugs debate? Do you believe that all drugs should be banned, with stiff prison sentences for those who use or deal in them? Or are you at the other end of the spectrum and believe that soft drugs such as marijuana should be legalised? And where does alcohol and mental health come into this debate? No matter where your sympathies lie, there is no doubt that misuse of hard drugs is fuelling the crime wave. Addicts steal to pay for their daily hits. Equally, people who abuse alcohol are more likely to become involved in fights. [continues 675 words]
THE daughter of an Oxford don who was jailed for 10 years in Goa on drugs charges was freed yesterday after 18 months in prison. Alexia Stewart, 29, emerged from the jail superintendent's office in Panaji, Goa's capital, as her father Philip looked on. She said: "It feels wonderful to be free again. It's like my birthday. I feel as if I'm born again to a new life." Miss Stewart and her boyfriend Gary Carter, 30, were cleared of all charges by an appeal court on Tuesday after "lapses" were found in the police investigation. The pair were arrested 19 months ago when police said they found 165 grams of cannabis in their rented cottage in the village of Vagator. They have always denied the charges, claiming that they were arrested after refusing to pay police a pounds 2,000 bribe. [continues 145 words]
Q: I am anxious to give my daughter some positive advice and hope you can help us. Martha (not her real name) is now 25 but got into trouble several years ago that left her with a record of felony conviction but no prison time. Since then, Martha's gotten her life back on track and is in college part time. She has been unable to find a good job with a solid company but takes odd jobs, usually things her friends tell her about. She is a good worker and very bright. [continues 648 words]
It's absolutely fitting that on Halloween we are talking about Kentucky's gubernatorial race, which has been one weird, creepy deal from the start. Voters have never seen a race quite like this one, and they probably don't ever want to see one again. They must be spooked by the prospect of actually casting a vote in what has never really been much of a race. The electorate is expected to stay away from the polls in record numbers on Tuesday. [continues 854 words]
So now we see the city of Los Angeles wants to restrict free trade by pushing for controls on alcohol advertising (Oct. 26). First, it was the legal ownership of firearms and ammunition, then came cigarettes, and now the cause du jour is alcohol. If the lifestyle police really want to save lives - both young and old - maybe they should start looking at the next great politically correct threat to modern civilization: the fat in fast foods. McDonald's and Burger King, watch out! Fred Romero, Simi Valley [end]
A son of NAACP President Kweisi Mfume could face up to seven years in prison after pleading guilty in the nation's capital to drug conspiracy and weapon charges and admitting he sold cocaine for more than two years. Ronald T. Gray, 29, entered the plea in U.S. District Court to three counts of distributing powdered cocaine and three counts of using the telephone to arrange drug sales. Gray was arrested in May at his home by federal drug agents. He is one of five sons of Mfume, whose birth name was Frizzell Gray. [end]
THE Vatican was criticised yesterday for demanding that an order of Sydney nuns abandon plans to supervise the first legal heroin injecting room in Australia. The Sisters of Charity, which owns and operates health facilities, was to have overseen the official trial of a medically supervised injecting room for addicts. Rome's intervention, unprecedented in Australia, came from the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which said that the proposal was "not acceptable". The banning order provoked widespread criticism, and jeopardises the New South Wales government's "shooting gallery" trial. The Sisters of Charity Health Service had offered to run the pilot facility in Kings Cross, Sydney, and its involvement had secured considerable moral legitimacy for the scheme. [continues 96 words]
Another Y2K bug lurks. It goes by the name of truth in sentencing. This tough-sounding law, scheduled to kick in Jan. 1, is supposed to clear up public confusion over the length of prison sentences. But it could amount to deceit in sentencing, crowding the prisons even further and pushing dangerous criminals onto the streets prematurely. Lawmakers ought to delay the start of truth in sentencing until they come up with a comprehensive plan to ensure that the statute doesn't boomerang. [continues 407 words]
Barbara Harris in Anaheim, Calif., got tired of her telephone ringing. She says, "I just couldn't believe that my phone would ring every year and they would tell me she had had another baby." In a span of three years Harris, 47, and her husband adopted the four youngest of eight babies born to one drug-addicted woman. Her efforts to prevent the births of drug-addicted babies have provoked charges that she is a genocidal racist. She is an unlikely target: She is white, her husband and the adopted babies are African-American. [continues 700 words]
A few weeks back, I wrote a column offering some statistics on drug offenders in Minnesota prisons. Several readers responded with useful questions, to which I've found possible answers. I noted that those who favor drug decriminalization often seem to leave the impression that prisons are today filled with small-time drug offenders. I suggested that whatever one thinks of the merits of drug legalization, facts on this issue might come in handy. According to the Minnesota Corrections Department, some 15 percent of state prison inmates are in for drug crimes, and less than half of those for ``possession'' crimes. [continues 209 words]
A top New York drug-buster told Scots police how to drive heroin traffickers out of business yesterdlay - as a 16-year-old girl became Strathclyde's 114th drugs victim this year. The body of Michelle Kearney was found in a house in Glasgow's Maryhill area just hours before Police Commissioner Howard Safir outlined strategies to hunt down dealers. Michelle, of Springburn, Glasgow, is thought to have OD'd on heroin. And yesterday Safir vowed that the supply of deadly drugs could be cut off using his Model Block programme, which puts dealers out of business by claiming drug dens for the community. [continues 539 words]
Drugs on demand Some of Rita Carter's arguments about why prescription drugs should be available over the counter are in fact arguments for their restriction (2 October, p 52). She says that doctors caused the benzodiazepine addiction problem. But in fact it was doctors who first recognised the addictive nature of benzodiazepines and took steps to restrict their use to prevent the problem getting any worse. One has only to look at the phenomenal cost, financial and otherwise, of easy access to tobacco and alcohol, and the reasons for restrictions of lifestyle drugs become obvious. [continues 271 words]
The widow of a murdered drug dealer, who has failed to turn up at his inquest on 12 occasions, has refused to appear because she knows the identity of his killer, gardai believe. Last Tuesday, the Coroner's Court said that Linda Lee, whose husband Gerard was murdered at a house party in Coolock on March 9, 1996, had had her last chance and Coroner Dr Brian Farrell said he would ask the Attorney General to begin High Court proceedings against her. It's the first time that the Coroner has had to force a witness to give evidence. "We are setting a precedent," Dr Farrell said. Gerard Lee's immediate family want the inquest to proceed and have had representation every time the court has convened. [continues 172 words]
CHICAGO -- There is a controversy here because Barbara Harris in Anaheim, Calif., got tired of her telephone ringing. She says, "I just couldn't believe that my phone would ring every year and they would tell me she had had another baby." In a span of three years Harris, 47, and her husband adopted the four youngest of eight babies born to one drug-addicted woman. Harris's efforts to prevent the births of drug-addicted babies have provoked charges that she is a genocidal racist. She is an unlikely target: She is white; her husband and the adopted babies are African American. [continues 681 words]
The U.S. Customs Service, faced with allegations that it conducts abusive searches of airline passengers in its attempts to capture drug smugglers, plans to announce today that it will seek the advice of U.S. attorneys when detaining travelers for more than eight hours. The announcement, disclosed by a senior Customs official, appears likely to end a months-long effort by Customs Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly to change agency policy by setting up an outside review process to help ensure that the agency's inspectors have acted on "reasonable suspicion" when they detain travelers. [continues 419 words]
About three quarters of Australians support decriminalising possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use, a Newspoll has found. Life Education Australia executive director Terry Metherell said the poll, conducted last weekend, showed support for fines instead of criminal records in minor marijuana offences was strong across all age groups. It was strongest among people aged 25-34 (84 per cent) and weakest among those over 50 (66 per cent). "Married respondents or those with children or in full or part-time work were more likely to favour the use of fines than respondents who were unmarried, without children or not in the workforce," Dr Metherell said. [continues 258 words]
Like many Catholics, I was saddened and angered by the news in today's Herald that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in Rome has ordered Sydney's Sisters of Charity, peremptorily and without discussion, to abandon their involvement in the proposed legal heroin injection room. At one level this is another instance of the powerlessness of women in a male-dominated church, but in fact males would have been treated equally badly, since the CDF thinks it is its job to run the church. [continues 157 words]
EVIDENCE of heroin abuse has been discovered at Ashworth hospital, where Moors murderer Ian Brady is held. Burnt tinfoil containing traces of the drug was found two weeks ago in the hospital grounds. The discovery will fuel calls for the closure of the Merseyside hospital. Ashworth - one of three secure hospitals for dangerous long-term psychiatric patients - has twice been recommended for closure by government reports. Frank Dobson, Secretary of State for Health, announced a pounds 5.7 million security plan in May to eliminate criminal activity at the hospital. He was responding to the Fallon report, published in January, which found that pornography was freely available in Ashworth's personality-disorder unit, where sex offenders played unsupervised with an eight-year-old girl. [continues 311 words]
