The parents of a 14-year-old girl killed by a speeding driver who had taken cannabis were among the guests at a demonstration in Bradford of new roadside drug testing equipment. Gary Groves, 42, and his wife Natasha, 43, of Croydon, are spearheading a campaign called Lillian's Law, following the tragic death of their daughter Lillian almost two years ago,. The campaign is calling for the introduction of roadside drug testing and tougher sentencing. The family joined senior West Yorkshire police officers and Bradford Council road safety officers yesterday to inspect the Drugalyser equipment developed by Draeger Safety UK. [continues 207 words]
Drugs workers have warned about the dangers of so-called “legal highs” openly on sale in Bradford. They fear the herbal pills – which are not banned – could lead to young people trying stronger, illegal drugs. They are also worried that the substances could interfere with medication, including the contraceptive pill. The pills are on sale in newsagents and other shops in Bradford city centre. Debbie Fielding, an adult service drug worker at Bradford’s Bridge Project, said: “I have had a mum on the phone saying her son is using cannabis and anything else he can get his hands on and she said she knew he bought tablets over the counter. [continues 264 words]
A senior Bradford judge has made a personal plea to addicts to help the authorities win the war on drugs by shopping' the Mr Big dealers and importers. Judge Alastair McCallum said many communities were still being blighted by drugs - five years after he claimed ?1 million of heroin was being sold in Manningham Lane every day. In an exclusive interview with the Telegraph & Argus, Judge McCallum praised the "fantastic" work of the Bradford District Drugs Team but said the problem could be dealt with even more effectively if drug users revealed who the major suppliers are so they can be taken off the streets and locked up. [continues 566 words]
It's all well and good for marketing experts and social reformers to sit around and draw up campaigns to teach young people the evils of drug abuse but getting that message down to street level, in a credible fashion that will not just be ignored, is another matter. Many campaigns with worthy messages have fallen by the wayside because they are either too preachy or fail to speak to young people in a language that they understand. Initiatives where adults far removed from inner city streets try to emulate what they believe young people think and talk about often end up being simply embarrassing. [continues 189 words]
A young doctor who was caught by a police sniffer dog with ecstasy in his pocket has escaped with a warning from his professional body. Dr Jacob Bayley was exhausted mentally and physically' after a week working night shifts in the run-up to Christmas at Bradford Royal Infirmary, the General Medical Council heard. He bought the drug in a London nightclub on the first night of his two-week Christmas holiday, after he travelled to the capital to see friends. [continues 336 words]
Heroin parcels are regularly being posted from Pakistan to undercover addresses in Bradford to flood the city's streets, the Telegraph & Argus can reveal. The illicit packages are seen as a low-risk way of smuggling the drug into the country and into the hands of cut-price Bradford dealers. The parcels are addressed mainly to rented houses in the city. They are then picked up, cut and bulked out with other substances from paracetamol to brick dust, before being sold on to other dealers and addicts at maximum profit. [continues 494 words]
Bradford drug workers have welcomed the publication of a new ten-year drugs strategy which details how the Government plans to tackle drugs use. The plan aims to cut drug related crime and reduce the harm that drugs cause to individuals, families and whole communities. Bradford Safer Communities Partnership, a body which takes a lead on driving forward improvements across the district and takes a targeted approach to tackling crime, disorder and its causes, contributed to the plan after organising a consultation event and feeding the results back to the Government. [continues 235 words]
One Fifth Of Convicts Become Hooked On Drugs While Behind Bars, The Telegraph & Argus Can Reveal. The Home Office has been forced to admit the shocking numbers - an estimated 15,000 based on 75,000 of the prison population being male - after questioning from Shipley's MP. Home Office minister David Hanson said research suggests nationally one in five men - and fewer than one in ten women - who had used at least one of six drugs (cannabis, heroin, illicit metha-done, amphetamine, crack and cocaine) reported first using one of them in prison. [continues 344 words]
