The family of an unarmed man shot dead by police at point-blank range in a bungled drugs raid will receive a formal apology this week, more than five years after the killing. The Chief Constable of Sussex, Ken Jones, will travel to Liverpool on Thursday to apologise to relatives of James Ashley, who was killed by a police marksman at his flat in St Leonards, near Hastings, in January 1998. The controversy surrounding the shooting led to the resignation in 2001 of Jones's predecessor, Paul Whitehouse, after Home Secretary David Blunkett intervened to say he should be sacked. [continues 402 words]
The family of an unarmed man who was shot dead by police during a bungled drugs raid is to get an apology from Sussex Police. The chief constable of the force, Ken Jones, is due to visit victim James Ashley's family on Merseyside this week - more than five years after the killing. Mr Ashley was in bed and unarmed when officers burst into his flat in Sussex in January 1998 and shot him at point blank range. An investigation revealed police guidelines had not been followed during the raid, and former chief constable Paul Whitehouse was later forced to resign over the inquiry. [continues 180 words]
Young musicians today are more likely than those of previous generations to decry the harm that drugs can cause, according to research in America. The study, based on an analysis of drug lyrics in English-language popular music since the 1960s, was last week highlighted as one of the few pieces of good news in the annual survey by the European monitoring centre for drugs and drug addiction, the EU's drugs agency. The research, published by the University of Texas at Austin, explodes the conventional wisdom that popular music encourages teenagers to abuse drugs. The author, John Markert of Cumberland University, Tennessee, says that although there has always been a generally hostile attitude towards heroin and other hard drugs, teenage listeners today "are being exposed to more negative images of marijuana and LSD than older listeners". [continues 988 words]
Police sniffer dogs are the last line of defence as cannabis spreads throughout wards Sniffer dogs are being used on psychiatric wards across England to root out drug-dealing, which is becoming rife among patients. In a sign of a new 'zero-tolerance' attitude emerging in the NHS, local mental health managers have started to call in police with dogs to combat the problem. It is believed that around half the mental health trusts in the country have to contend with local drugs dealers who operate in and around hospitals. [continues 544 words]
After Years Of Tolerance, Foreigners Are To Be Excluded From Amsterdam's Cannabis Shops THOUSANDS of Britons who flock to the cannabis cafes of Amsterdam each year may be left stone cold by Dutch government plans to end "drug tourism". The Netherlands' conservative Government has just unveiled a scheme to restrict access to the country's drug-selling coffee shops to Dutch residents only. Coffee shops would be restricted to members, with membership permits sold only to local people. The Dutch city is renowned as the drugs capital of Europe, having become the destination of choice for revellers looking for the high life. Hundreds of coffee shops openly offer menus for different types of resin and grass. However, the Government is keen to clean up the country's image and has been under pressure from its more puritanical neighbours, particularly France and Germany, whose citizens flock across the Dutch border to buy cannabis. [continues 650 words]
I do not wish to turn Times Post into an agony column. But. Mr Buckland's rationale (Times Post.October 9) for not committing council resources to the cannabis debate: - "taking up the cause of a small pressure group" - requires a response. Resorting to derogatory remarks was not the best way to responded to a serious request for council forums, where local people can air their views on cannabis. Surely, council policy (statutory duty) is to consult with local people and their representatives on issues affecting their quality of life? [continues 111 words]
BRITAIN'S illicit drug use, particularly of cannabis, is among the highest in Europe, according to an EU report. It revealed 35% of 15 to 16-year-olds claimed to have tried the drug, putting the UK at the top of the table with France and the Czech Republic. Britain also had one of the highest numbers of people who had admitted sampling cannabis in their lifetime, with 30% overall and 42% of 15 to 34-year-olds having tried it. [continues 165 words]
Cannabis use among teenagers in the UK has begun to stabilise, but only because it is so widespread the market has become saturated, the European Union's drug agency warned yesterday. The EU monitoring centre on drugs and drug abuse also warned of new public health dangers from the increasing potency of cannabis available in Britain. It raised concerns about the long-term health implications of the emergence of a significant new group of teenage boys who are using cannabis intensively - more than 20 times a month. [continues 730 words]
Thousands of teenagers are putting their lives at risk by sniffing glue, lighter fluid and other substances, a report suggests. Figures from the EU drugs agency reveal that one in seven 15 and 16-year-olds in Britain abuse solvents. Officials said more teenagers probably died from sniffing solvents than died from taking ecstasy or other drugs. The report also raises concerns about alcohol abuse and the use of drugs like cannabis and cocaine. The figures are published in the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction's annual report. [continues 418 words]
I AM not surprised at the anger at the lenience of the sentence handed out to career criminal Kevin Matthews. There can be only one reason for locking a person up and that is if he is a threat to individuals and a threat to society, which Matthews obviously is. We have a Government and judiciary who are more determined to lock up harmless cannabis smokers than violent criminals. There are more than 1,000 cannabis-only prisoners in this country. Recent research has shown there is no real connection between cannabis use and crime other than being in possession of cannabis itself. Steve Pank Sandy Lane Ashby St Mary Norwich [end]
A new technique that rapidly analyses ecstasy tablets could provide an early warning system for rogue pills and also police help trace illicit manufacturers. The method uses Raman spectroscopy to produce a fingerprint for each ecstasy tablet. This reveals the concentration of the active ingredient MDMA plus the identity of any toxic contaminants. Researchers at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland applied the technique to 1500 ecstasy pills and found that the dose of MDMA in each tablet varied enormously - by as much as five-fold. But they also discovered that none of the pills contained other toxic substances. [continues 333 words]
Where there's smoke, there's fire, said California's new governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in the final days of his campaign in response to allegations of his harassing women. At the time, it seemed as though he was speaking metaphorically but, in retrospect, maybe he was pondering on the issue of what Californians smoke and where and what should be done about it. This week comes news of the latest extension of the various bans on smoking in the state. California has one of the strictest no-smoking policies in the world: no cigarettes in bars, restaurants, public buildings and some public parks. Now a Los Angeles city council member, Jack Weiss, wants to extend the ban to LA's beaches. A small town, Solana Beach, down the coast near San Diego, has just voted for such a ban. LA may follow suit. [continues 525 words]
I AGREE with Antonia Blaxland that a tolerant attitude is required towards those who prefer to use cannabis (A plea for more tolerance for all, EN, September 28), however, we also need a just society. The principle I invoke is that no one should be punished unless there are compelling reasons for doing so. In any attempt to evaluate the justice or injustice of our drug policy we must address whether the laws are just and whether cannabis possession is the kind of thing for which punishment is appropriate. [continues 85 words]
PHARMACEUTICALS: The claimed medical benefits of the controversial drug are being subjected to rigorous scientific testing. Queen Victoria took it for period pains. The Chinese mixed it with wine to make a powerful analgesic, while throughout medieval Europe it was taken to control epilepsy. Cannabis has been used by doctors for thousands of years. Until the emergence of the modern pharmaceuticals industry at the end of the 19th century, which shifted drug development from plants to synthetic chemicals, cannabis was a staple of the medicine chest. [continues 1084 words]
At one time, cannabis was thought to be a harmless recreational drug but increasingly evidence shows this isn't so, if it's used habitually. However, the medical usefulness of cannabis is now well recognised and doctors are using it to treat pain and relieve muscle spasms in multiple sclerosis. Miriam looks at latest findings in the big debate. There is a downside to excessive use of cannabis. It stays in the body far longer than alcohol - around two months. You may feel "sober" long before the effects have worn off but you shouldn't operate machinery or drive for four or five days after using it, as you're likely to have an accident in this state. [continues 859 words]
It Is Dishonest To Stigmatise Footballers Who Take Recreational Substances That Do Not Enhance Performance Few observers of football doubt the prevalence of drugs in the game. Not the performance-enhancing ones, but the ones some players take for fun. Cocaine in the nightclub after a game, marijuana at someone's house after the club, maybe some speed as a pick-me-up after the marijuana. A survey of 700 players conducted by the BBC earlier in the year found that 46% of them were aware of colleagues using recreational drugs. Such abuse must be "eradicated", said Gordon Taylor, the leader of the players' union, at the time. [continues 788 words]
One in seven people in this country suffers from chronic pain caused by conditions such as cancer, rheumatoid and osteo-arthritis, neuropathy and musculo-skeletal back problems, a survey announced yesterday. Other developed countries are similarly afflicted. Not surprisingly, with persistent pain so endemic in modern societies, a battery of drugs has been developed. Prime among these are the synthetic opioids that assist those plagued by everything from a slipped disc and toothache to terminal cancers. If painkillers merely killed pain they would be an unalloyed benefit to humankind. But that is not the end of the story. They can also become addictive, and in their role as little helpers to get you through the day, painkillers have become a multimillion pound industry with major dependency problems. [continues 221 words]
Men who smoke marijuana frequently damage their fertility in several different ways, research suggests. Scientists at Buffalo University found regular smokers had significantly less seminal fluid, and a lower sperm count. Their sperm were also more likely to swim too fast too early, leading to burn-out before they reach the egg. Lead researcher Dr Lani Burkman said: "The bottom line is, the active ingredients in marijuana are doing something to sperm." Marijuana contains several chemicals known to have an impact on human physiology, including THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). [continues 431 words]
In his attempt to justify the Government's U-turn on university students "top-up" fees, Charles Clarke said in an interview in Bournemouth that he considered it unfair that lorry drivers should have to pay to produce barristers, and that graduates would in the future earn enough to repay their education-incurred debts. I wonder whether Mr Clarke and his colleagues would now consider making an equivalent donation back into the public purse that provided grants for their own university education. [continues 157 words]
Posters have gone up in Washington bus shelters and underground stations in recent months, urging commuters to "Enjoy better sex: legalise and tax marijuana." The posters are sponsored by Change the Climate, one of two large lobbying operations urging Americans to reassess whether pot-smoking should be a criminal offence. (The other is Norml, the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.) In spite of their misleading argument - for surely it is the smoking of marijuana, not the taxation of it, that delivers the alleged aphrodisiac kick - the posters have made many middle-aged Americans think about pot for the first time since university. [continues 896 words]
I must take issue with Alun Buffry of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance in his assertion that council "do not know the issues involved" in the argument over cannabis (Times Post, October 2) As someone who was for many years heavily involved, through my employment in the NHS, in the area of drugs and drug addiction I fully understand the differing view points on this issue. As an executive member of Braintree Council I am very willing to give up my time to discuss the issue. [continues 54 words]
In a single generation, says David Lovibond, drugs and drink have turned Devizes into a place of incoherent rage In better days the world left Wiltshire alone. Blighted by neither coastline nor famous hills, the county was merely on the way to somewhere else. In the heart of this fortunate backwater, Devizes was the very archetype of an English market town. There is a castle, a square big enough to have burned at least one Protestant martyr in, and fine curving terraces of Georgian houses paid for by Wiltshires fat cornlands. [continues 1216 words]
BUSES across the borough are to carry stern banners to try to stop young people going to pot. The 'Cannabis: Don't Blow It' campaign, backed by celebrities including Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson, aims to get across the legal and health implications of using drugs. Next week Stockport Drug Action Team hopes to get across the message that cannabis is still illegal and to give out advice through a number of events in the borough. Posters are being put up in public places and advisors will be on hand in supermarkets, with the help of local businesses. [continues 388 words]
A DRAMATIC rise in drug-taking and violence has taken place in Scotland's prisons, according to figures released yesterday. Scottish Prison Service statistics revealed that total offences have increased by 46 per cent in the past four years. Between 1999 and 2003, drug-taking and possession rose by 155 per cent, assault by 25 per cent, fighting by 75 per cent and fire-raising by 51 per cent. The flagship privately-run Kilmarnock Prison, which holds 8.1 per cent of the total prison population, accounted for 17.4 per cent of all incidents. [continues 226 words]
A Drugs Epidemic And Accompanying Crime Wave Is Sweeping Baghdad A boom in supply of hallucinogenic tablets has been coupled with the release of tens of thousands of criminals from prison before the US-led invasion to create a huge problem for the fledgling Iraqi police force. As well as the tablets, drugs like Valium and sleeping pills - in common use in Iraqi jails - are being used. The euphoria and lack of fear provided by the drugs, the police say, is giving desperate criminals the courage to carry out more crimes. [continues 531 words]
Lucy Cope, Whose 22-Year-Old Son Was Gunned Down Last Year, Says That The Killing Fields Are Now Taking In Middle England Lucy Cope's 22-year-old son, Damian, was shot dead outside a London nightclub in July 2002. Determined that he should not have died in vain, Lucy has since joined the pressure group Mothers Against Guns and become one of its most outspoken and active campaigners. This is her story. 'It was 1.30am when the phone rang. My son's girlfriend was in floods of tears as she told me that Damian had been shot outside a nightclub and was fighting for his life in hospital. I picked up a picture of my son and ran out into the street. I already knew that I was never going to see him alive again. [continues 626 words]
A new squad to catch the middlemen flooding London with cocaine, heroin and synthetic drugs has been launched by the police and Customs. Operation Middle Market aims to locate those who store, sell and distribute drugs once they have entered the country. Though producers and sellers have been heavily targeted in recent years, relatively little attention has been paid to the entrepreneurs who make the supply chain work. Some of these are hardened criminals, involved in gang and drug activity, but others are seemingly respectable business people. Police intelligence suggests that some middlemen run food outlets, property and import/export companies which act as fronts for their illegal activities. [continues 459 words]
May I commend the Evening News for its broad and fair coverage of opinions expressed by people in our community on important and controversial issues. I speak in general but foremost in my mind is the current debate between racists and bigots on the one hand and fair-minded,decent citizens on the other. My thanks go to those who have written replies to the recent letters from members of the BNP including Diane Smith (EN July 29) and those of Denise Soffe (EN August 18) and John Wright (September 9) [continues 167 words]
IT comes as no surprise that Braintree Council has refused a debate on the legalisation of cannabis and associated issues as requested by Don Barnard and backed by Councillor James Abbott (Times September 18). Most councils, I feel would do the same. This is because they do not know the issues involved and are unable to argue in favour of continuing prohibition. They prefer to pass the buck to Westminster. But I was interested to read the comments of Graham Butland, executive councillor for health and community, who said: 'There are already forums where the issues could be raised and the council is only expected to debate issues where it can help." Where are these forums? We don't seem able to find them! Alun Buffry, Legalise Cannabis Alliance, P0 Box 198, Norwich, NR3 3WB [end]
A GOVERNMENT agency is giving kids advice on smoking dope -- written on a giant Rizla packet. Parents have slammed leaflets that look like the cigarette papers, which are often used to roll cannabis joints. The drugs information sent to secondary schools includes a step-by-step guide on how to use cannabis -- including in bongs, cakes and on hot knives. Children who smoke too much are advised to limit their intake. But parents say career advice service Connexions is encouraging kids to take up pot. [continues 97 words]
No industry exists in which the laws of the free market operate so freely and so purely according to the conditions that Adam Smith described in his Wealth of Nations, than the trade in illegal drugs - "Consumption is the sole end and purpose of production; and the sole interest of the producer ought to be attended to only so far as it may be necessary for promoting that of the consumer." Yet seeking to control the market at the producer end - which is to say, banging up the dealers - has nevertheless been the consensus among policy-makers in recent years. The Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes summed up the view of many when he spoke of "catching more big-time drug dealers and middlemen", as if no one had thought of this before. [continues 928 words]
I would like to thank all the helpers and attendees at the Legalise Cannabis Alliance Conference held at UEA on Saturday 20th. There was a great deal of information available and the many speakers from across Britain were both educational and enjoyable. There was , however, a notable absence of Norwich City councillors, police, lawyers and drug workers. Alun Buffry National Co-ordinator Legalise Cannabis Alliance Norwich [end]
The huge number of Jamaican women coming into Britain with their stomachs full of cocaine is pushing the already overcrowded female prison system to breaking point. More than 10% of the women currently in jail are Jamaican drug mules who swallowed rubber wraps of cocaine and boarded flights to this country. A Guardian investigation has established that the long sentences being served by the 450 Jamaican couriers are stretching resources to the limit while failing to act as a deterrent to the desperate women prepared to smuggle drugs. [continues 1835 words]
WHY, when we are constantly being told that the police are undermanned, can they afford to have three officers and a riot bus standing about all day near Worthing Station? This, when they are being criticised for not attending "suspect on" crimes. Is this whole thing a PR stunt to impress certain "upright" but vociferous members of the community? It is certainly not cost effective. In fact I believe that the whole area of drugs and the law needs a total revision. [continues 337 words]
ANGELA WATKINSON MP reiterates the same old nonsense about the dangers to society based upon more people progressing to hard drugs if the law on cannabis is relaxed. As the ACPO stated, repeat offenders, or people caught with cannabis in certain circumstances, will still face arrest and possible prosecution and a criminal records. Since statistics show about 30% of people use cannabis, presumably Watkinson would want to see almost one third of her Upminster constituency arrested. Surely even a verbal warning is to much a punishment for a person who has done no harm and is a no threat. The law needs to concentrate on crimes that do produce victims, not on trying to control people's personal choices. Alun Buffry Via email [end]
I was surprised by the letter from Angela Watkinson, MP for Upminster (Enquirer, 18 Sept) regarding the new guidelines on powers of arrest of cannabis users. She reiterates the "gateway theory'" regarding cannabis leading to harder drugs. I am saddened by this lady's obvious lack of. knowledge. Government research has concluded the gateway theory is a myth. Whilst most hard drug users have cannabis prior to their hard drug use, the majority of cannabis do not progress to hard drugs. [continues 117 words]
Millions Of People Swallowed An 'E' Last Night ... And The Criminal Gangs Behind The Trade Are Counting The Profits This Morning The eight drums impounded at Frankfurt airport were meant to contain acetone bound for a reputable Hamburg chemicals company. The exporter's papers were in order and the customs officials, who had regularly processed similar shipments in the past, saw nothing suspicious. But German intelligence agents had been tracking the consignment for weeks and knew otherwise: the drums contained 452 kgs of piperonyl methylketone (PMK), better known as a synthesised derivative of the sassafras tree whose bark is used to make aromatherapy oils; better known as a banned insecticide in the US; and even better known as the raw material for MDMA, the chemical name for the dance drug ecstasy. [continues 1928 words]
A government agency has been accused of encouraging children to try cannabis after sending drugs advice to schools which is written on a replica of a giant Rizla packet. The information, entitled drugs and alcohol education, was distributed to secondary schools by Connexions, a careers advice service set up by the Department for Education and Skills. The first page of the leaflet on cannabis is green and designed like a packet of Rizlas, the cigarette papers which are often used by cannabis smokers to make their joints. [continues 596 words]
Ecstacy use in the UK has exploded dramatically over the past five years, with double the number of people taking the drug. Ecstasy users are poised to overtake the combined number of heroin and cocaine users. A United Nations report reveals that in Britain 2.2 per cent of the population aged 16 to 59 - 730,000 people - now take ecstasy, compared with 1.2 per cent five years ago. More people take ecstasy as a proportion of the population than in any other country, except Australia and Ireland. [continues 488 words]
Scotland Yard says it has smashed a drugs gang believed to be the biggest to target Britain. Raids were carried out on Wednesday morning on 17 London addresses and up to 25 in Colombia, in a coordinated international operation. Officers believe they have crushed the "top tier" of a Colombian-based cartel which other law enforcement agencies have been unable to penetrate. The group is thought to be responsible for much of the drugs confiscated by the Metropolitan Police this year and detectives said it had "netted" over UKP100m in the past 18 months. [continues 415 words]
Could a single trip on a piece of African rootbark help a junkie kick the habit? That was the claim in the 1960s, and now iboga is back in the spotlight. But is it a miracle cure? Daniel Pinchbeck decided to give it a go. And life, he says, will never be the same again... In 1962, Howard Lotsof, a 19-year-old heroin addict in New York, ordered from a chemist iboga, a plant used in West African rituals, and tried it for extra kicks. After consuming the bitter rootbark powder, he experienced a visionary tour of his early memories. Thirty hours later, when the effects had subsided, he found that he had lost all craving for heroin, without withdrawal symptoms of any kind. He said he then gave iboga to seven other addicts and five stopped taking drugs immediately afterwards. [continues 2741 words]
A drug addict has been ordered not to contact his parents after he was accused of "pestering" them. Frederick and Hazel Whitehead reported their son Jonathon because he had been constantly harassing them for money to pay for drugs. Whitehead, 26, from Connah's Quay, Flintshire, was made the subject of a 12-month community rehabilitation order and told to pay UKP55 costs after he admitted harassment. Whitehead's solicitor Brian Cross told Flintshire magistrates' court that his client's parents were still being supportive in wanting their son cured of his drug addiction. [continues 165 words]
Link Between Cannabis And Death Still Not Established Although the use of cannabis is not harmless, its link with death is still not established, argues a senior researcher in this week's BMJ. Two large studies reported no increase in death associated with the use of cannabis. Even diseases that might be related to long term cannabis use are unlikely to have a sizeable public health impact because, unlike users of tobacco and alcohol, most people who try cannabis quit relatively early in their adult lives, writes the author. [continues 242 words]
POLICE will continue their "positive action" against cannabis in Worthing, despite new guidelines which appear to take the heat off users. The Association of Chief Police Officers suggested last week the majority of people found in possession of small amounts of the drug should be let off with a verbal warning instead of being arrested. But senior officers in Worthing said they remained committed to targeting the town's cannabis cafes, its customers and management and would continue their high profile, high cost operations. [continues 263 words]
A man who used cannabis to relieve chronic pain in his joints has failed to overturn his conviction for growing the drug in a bedroom. On Friday, the Appeal Court refused Peter Brown, 45, of Lark Rise, Blackthorn, Northampton, permission to challenge his conviction. Brown, 45, of Lark Rise, Blackthorn, was given a two-year conditional discharge last December at Northampton Crown Court after admitting he had grown cannabis. Brown, on crutches, briefly argued his case before Lord Justice Kay, Mr Justice Silber and Mr Justice Leveson, who already had read written submissions. [continues 200 words]
A severely disabled man has said he will continue to smoke cannabis to relieve his pain, after criminal charges against him were dropped. Darren Pritchard, from Magor near Chepstow, says the law should be changed to allow ill people to use the drug to cope with their condition. On Monday, the 35-year-old was cleared after the prosecution offered no evidence in the case at Cardiff Crown Court. Mr Pritchard, who broke his neck in an accident 12 years ago and is paralysed from the neck down, said he could not cope without the cannabis. [continues 155 words]
POLICE officers across Scotland will continue to arrest offenders for possession of cannabis, despite moves in England and Wales to let most people off with a warning, Jack McConnell, the First Minister, announced yesterday. Mr McConnell said he had no plans to change existing recommendations, although he confirmed officials would continue to review the position. The First Minister's decision to maintain the status quo is seen by observers as an attempt to prevent recent efforts to appear tough on crime from being weakened. [continues 752 words]
THE announcement by the First Minister, that Scotland will definitely not follow England and Wales in effectively decriminalising the personal use of small amounts of cannabis in the home (or at least ignoring such a misdemeanour) came on the same day that a large quantity of cannabis resin was seized in a raid on a Highland school. Many will applaud Mr McConnell for his toughness and his resolution to send out the message that dealing in harmful drugs will not be tolerated. [continues 279 words]
The death of Jade Slack laid bare the massive drug problem in rural areas. Stephen Khan, Scotland editor, reports on a grim situation in the far north It was known locally as the rhubarb village. Nowhere were the sweet, earthy flavours of an idyllic English summer more tangible than in Galgate, Lancashire. Those days have gone now. Fine fruit is history. Ecstasy dealers and juvenile drug tragedies have arrived. The grim reality of life in rural Britain was laid bare last week when a Manchester court heard how 10-year-old Jade Slack became the country's youngest ecstasy victim. She took five of the deadly pills when left in the care of her parents' friends in Galgate and, as she clung to life, one of them continued dealing his lethal ware. [continues 897 words]
PASSERS by could have seen cannabis plants growing in an Ipswich man's bedroom through a window, a court has heard. Simon Dade grew 10 plants in his bedroom, 23 plants in his loft and 23 cuttings in his bathroom. Police also discovered about UKP30 in money of harvested herbal cannabis in a box in Dade's Geneva Road bedroom. Ipswich Crown Court heard that the 47-year-old had been growing cannabis for his personal use for about four years. He became ill and used the drug for pain relief. [continues 121 words]
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