The 'war' on drugs was lost before it had ever begun. The futility of prohibition is finally beginning to dawn, writes Dan O'Brien EFFORTS to stop people taking intoxicants will be in vain for as long as human nature is as it is. The downsides of prohibiting substances that people want to consume outweighs the upsides. For softer drugs, such as cannabis, the case for decriminalisation is overwhelming. These realities are at last having an effect on the debate in many countries, Ireland included. Just last week the Mexican supreme court in a majority decision ruled that a "cannabis club" was not breaking the law by growing and transporting the drug for its members' recreational use. North of the Rio Grande, some US states have decriminalised marijuana in recent years and many more are allowing its use for medicinal purposes. [continues 1034 words]
There can be no doubt that the daft war on drugs is devastating many of the world's poorest countries, from Africa to Latin America. But this has been ignored by major charities that claim to campaign for international development, presumably for fear of upsetting their donors. Now one has broken ranks, with the release of an important report from Christian Aid condemning what it calls "a blind spot in development thinking". Christian Aid deserves credit for taking a stand, one which has caused internal palpitations. The report itself highlights the hypocrisy of successive British governments that have poured money into aid yet supported the prohibition ripping apart poor communities. One day they will see that sanctimonious talk of saving the world is not a solution to complex problems. [continues 474 words]
ALL debate is good. So, we welcome calls today for an informed discussion in this country around drugs. We know the absurdly titled 'war on drugs' has failed miserably - criminalising ordinary men, women and children for recreational use of drugs such as cannabis. We also know that Scotland sees itself as a progressive, intelligent country. Progressive, intelligent countries are not afraid to debate difficult issues. This is not about campaigning for decriminalisation. This is about Scotland debating how best to deal with a very real drug problem and making an informed choice about how to proceed. [continues 83 words]
SCOTLAND must start the debate on decriminalising drugs, campaigners, MSPs and former government advisers have said. The call follows an announcement by the Irish government that it plans a "radical culture shift" which will see possession of drugs decriminalised in ordered to focus on offering helping to addicts and users rather than punishing them with criminal convictions and prison. As the call came, the Scottish Government also told the Sunday Herald that it was reaffirming its wish for Holyrood to take responsibility over drug laws, which are currently reserved to Westminster. [continues 2043 words]
Marijuana Legalisation Will Help Poor 'Supply' Nations An absurd status quo has held sway in Mexico, ever since the United States began to legalise marijuana, for medical, and, more recently, recreational use. The nation - encouraged by Washington - has some of the strictest drug laws in Latin America. But the vast majority of the marijuana it produces ends up in the US. So Mexican law enforcement officials - complying with the demands of their American counterparts - have been expending massive resources on preventing the growth and trafficking of a drug that is often, by the time it ends up being smoked within US borders, entirely legal. [continues 208 words]
GERMANY plans to set up a state cannabis agency to regulate the drug's cultivation and distribution to treat seriously ill patients. More pain sufferers would be given regulated access to the drug on prescription and paid for by their health insurance under measures outlined in a draft bill from the ministry of health and seen by German newspaper Weltam Sonntag. However, patients would still be banned from growing the drug. Until now, almost 400 pain sufferers in Germany have been legally authorised to obtain cannabis at their own expense, almost exclusively those suffering from terminal cancer. [continues 120 words]
The UN wants its members to decriminalise drugs, and Sir Richard Branson thinks that is just great. Well, it is not quite like that; as so often, the story is more nuanced than the headline. The paper Sir Richard leaked, which urges "decriminalising drug use and possession for personal consumption", was drawn up for a conference in Kuala Lumpur on harm reduction by Dr Monica Beg, an official at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna. It has since been withdrawn and, as you can gather from the outcry, it is certainly a "third-rail issue" you touch it at your peril. [continues 907 words]
'We Should Treat Drug Use As a Health Issue' A United Nations body plans to urge governments around the world to decriminalise possession of drugs for personal use, tycoon Richard Branson said last night. The Virgin entrepreneur said that in an as-yet unreleased statement circulated to the BBC, himself and others, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) called for decriminalisation of drug use and possession for personal consumption for all drugs. He added in an article on his blog: "This is a refreshing shift that could go a long way to finally end the needless criminalisation of millions of drug users around the world. [continues 593 words]
The entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson has been involved in a clash with the United Nations over his claim that the organisation was poised to endorse a global policy of decriminalising drugs. Branson, a member of the Global Commission on Drugs Policy, claimed on his personal blog on the Virgin website yesterday that the UN's Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which has been a bastion of the "war on drugs", was poised to publish a statement endorsing the decriminalisation of the personal possession and use of drugs. [continues 511 words]
'Decriminalise the Possession and Use of All Substances' United Nations officials have called for the possession and use of all drugs to be decriminalised by governments, in a private report hailed as a "turning-point in drug policy reform". But the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) immediately distanced itself from the controversial conclusions, which were leaked by the Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson, and insisted they did not represent the UN's official position. The briefing paper argues that criminalising drug use increases death rates among addicts and has led to the jailing of millions of people for non-violent offences. [continues 899 words]
Legalising cannabis would raise taxes worth hundreds of millions of pounds and produce large savings for the criminal justice system, a private analysis for the Treasury has concluded. It judged that regulating cannabis, which was used by more than two million people in the UK last year, could generate "notable tax revenue" and "lead to overall savings to public services". The Treasury study, seen by The Independent, was commissioned by the former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg ahead of the general election to help formulate Liberal Democrat drugs policy if the party remained in office. [continues 641 words]
The Liberal Democrats are to set up an expert panel to establish how a legal market for cannabis could work in Britain, paving the way for them to become the first major political party in the UK to back its legalisation. The move is backed the party's health spokesman, Norman Lamb, and by a former deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police, Brian Paddick. It is in line with a 2014 party conference resolution that called for a review of the effectiveness of a regulated market in relation to health and reduced criminal activity. [continues 510 words]
Former Lib Dem Leader Hopes to Build Support for New Approach at 2016 UN Meeting Nick Clegg launches a campaign today to persuade EU leaders to back global reform of drugs laws, warning that the current punitive approach has failed to curb the multibillion trade in illicit substances and has criminalised millions of young people. Writing in The Independent, the former Deputy Prime Minister says: "We are, without doubt, losing the war on drugs." Mr Clegg is to urge European leaders to make the case for a new global approach to drug abuse at a United Nations meeting next year. Many of them have switched tactics in recent years, tackling it as a health issue rather than a law and order problem. [continues 457 words]
We are losing the war on drugs. But there are reasons to be hopeful. In recent years, a global movement for reform has been building. Led in particular by the governments of countries in Latin America that have suffered most, politicians and policymakers around the globe have started to question the status quo. This isn't a headlong rush to legalisation, but a patient, rational debate about alternative approaches which might reduce overall harm. In the United States, zero tolerance and mass imprisonment has given way to a willingness to allow states to experiment with alternative regulatory models as Colorado, Washington, Oregon and others are doing with cannabis - and a growing disquiet at the injustice and social impacts of imprisoning hundreds of thousands of young, mainly black, men for drug offences. [continues 238 words]
The three young men climbing into the pickup close to the Oregon border cheerfully acknowledged they were about to break federal law. Anthony, Daniel and Chris had just bustled out of a marijuana shop in Vancouver, Washington, clutching bags of marijuana as they headed home a short drive over the bridge to Portland, Oregon. Crossing state lines with drugs is a federal offence not that it has discouraged the steady stream of customers from Portland taking advantage of Washington's legalisation of recreational marijuana sales last year. As of yesterday, Oregon joined Washington and Colorado to become the third US state to permit the sale for anyone over 21. "I've been coming across since they legalised it here," said Anthony. "But it'll be closer and it's going to be much cheaper in Portland. And I won't haveh to cross the bridge. Not that I've ever seen the cops lining up to catch us." The open sale of recreational mar marijuana has come more swiftly to Portland than many expected. Legalisation was only approved in a ballot measure last November whereas Washington state took 18 months to open its first shops. [continues 617 words]
Regarding Jillian Godsil's article about the alleged War on Drugs ( Irish Independent, August 21), apparently it is over. When was it ever happening? So ferocious has the State's war on drugs been that drugs are bought and consumed with gay abandon. There has been de facto decriminalisation of drugs in this country since the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, so closely modelled on the UK's equivalent Act of 1971. Ms Godsil knows perfectly well that people who have lung cancer cannot choose to stop having lung cancer. People who take drugs can and do choose to stop. Ms Godsil admits that she smoked cigarettes for 20 years. If her "addiction" was incapable of being defeated then, surely she could never have stopped? But she did. She chose to stop. [continues 196 words]
Portugal went the whole hog and decriminalised drugs. There was an outcry at the time, but the country is doing well. Criminal gangs are displaced, and money once spent on policing the bad guys (including the addicts) is now spent on helping them NOT for the first time, Peter McVerry has called it. The war on drugs is over, he says. They're available on every street corner. He even prefers the option of legalising drugs, not merely decriminalising them, opting for the methadone distribution model which has in effect decimated the criminal sales of methadone as well, ensuring the quality of the product available. Fr Peter McVerry believes the war on drugs cannot be won using current battle plans [continues 727 words]
In "Romeo and Juliet," the lovelorn hero proclaims that "Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs." The line may have actually been inspired by the fumes of cannabis, according to a recently published paper on William Shakespeare and his smoking habits. The report, which cites a 2001 analysis of early 17th-century pipes from Stratford-upon-Avon and the Bard's own residence, argues that Shakespeare could have smoked the substance and was probably well aware of its hallucinatory effects. [continues 292 words]
SIR Your article on the inherent dangers of legalising cannabis is a timely warning (Features, August 1). The groups lobbying for this drug to be decriminalised say that this may reduce usage. In the past they have also pointed out that the costs of nicotine and alcohol addiction to the NHS are much greater than those of cannabis although if the drug were legalised, the costs would presumably rise. But there is a fundamental reason why such legislation should not occur. Many people previously addicted to nicotine or alcohol can make a full recovery by abstaining; that is not always the case with other drugs. [continues 51 words]
As thousands urge decriminalisation of the drug, the mother of one former addict recalls the trauma her family went through 'If you think your children will be safe from drugs outside the state system, think again' 'We began to sleep with our cash under our pillows and locked away anything that could be sold' Ihave spent more time arguing about the legalisation of cannabis than most; more than anyone would ever want to. It seems I have to continue. Last Saturday, a petition to legalise cannabis amassed the 100,000 signatures it needs to ensure the Government consider it for a parliamentary debate. Since then, numbers have climbed further past 150,000. In the same week, Dorset, Derbyshire and Surrey police have signalled they plan to follow Durham's lead in turning a blind eye to smallscale cannabis farmers and smokers. [continues 1425 words]
Demonstrators have protested against Government drug policy by staging a mass inhalation of so-called "hippy crack" in the shadow of Parliament. Dozens sat in Parliament Square in Westminster where they filled balloons with nitrous oxide and breathed in "laughing gas " . Many of the protesters erupted into giggles before spreading out across the lawn. The Government plans to introduce a law to ban any mood-altering drugs or "legal highs". Stephen Reid, founder of the Psychedelic Society, said: "People should be able to buy, sell and use whatever substances they want, so long as there's no harm to others." [end]
THREE more police forces have signalled that people who grow cannabis for their own consumption will not be targeted. Earlier this month, Durham Constabulary stated it would only go after people using the drug if there was a complaint or if they were being "blatant". Now police and crime commissioners (PPCs) in Derbyshire, Dorset and Surrey have indicated that those caught smoking or cultivating the drug on a small scale can expect little more than a caution. The change in attitudes will be seen as a further step towards decriminalisation. [continues 257 words]
The stench of hypocrisy has long hung over the drugs debate. Politicians joke about their own use, then talk tough about the dangers and the need to crack down on criminals. This could be heard again last week when the candidates for the Labour leadership were quizzed by a radio listener over cannabis. "I've had a few smokes when I was at college," replied Liz Kendall. "I did inhale... but that's never been my favourite form of relaxation." Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper also admitted taking the odd toke during student days; only the austere Jeremy Corbyn had never tried cannabis. All three former users stressed these were youthful indiscretions as politicians always do. Yet they are in good company at Westminster: cabinet ministers have made similar confessions and even the Prime Minister admitted to smoking dope at school. [continues 758 words]
At last, a sign that the UK is moving - albeit at a snail's pace - towards a realistic policy on drugs, one that is appropriate for the 21st century. New figures show that more than a million people aged between 16 and 24 used cannabis in the past year. Now, those in the North-east who keep pot plants - the hallucinogenic kind rather than a Busy Lizzie - no longer fear a knock on their door and a trip to the police station. [continues 699 words]
Senior police chief says prosecution is a waste of time and reveals his force is already turning a blind eye to domestic cultivation in defiance of the Home Office If you smoke a joint in front of an officer, you'll still get nicked The blanket criminal prosecution of all cannabis growers should be stopped, according to one of the country's most senior police officials, who revealed that his force is already bypassing Home Office guidelines. In what may be seen as a major shift towards effective decriminalisation within law enforcement, Ron Hogg, the police and crime commissioner for Durham Constabulary, said his force's scarce resources were no longer being used against growers involved in small-scale cultivation of the class B drug. [continues 695 words]
CANNABIS users in County Durham who grow the drug for their own consumption will no longer be targeted by the police after the force declared the illegal activity was not a priority. In a move, which will be seen as a further step towards decriminalisation, Durham Constabulary declared it would only go after people using the drug if there was a complaint or if they were being "blatant". While the force insisted it would continue to tackle commercial cannabis farms and other areas of criminality associated with the production of the drug, those who grow and use at home will not be actively targeted and pursued. [continues 442 words]
Martha Fernback was just 15 when she took the fatal dose of ecstasy that was 91 per cent pure, and her mum Anne-Marie Cockburn believes, had regulations been in place, she might still be alive On a sunny day two years ago Anne-Marie Cockburn's phone rang. At the end of the line was a stranger who told her that her 15-year-old daughter was gravely ill and and they were trying to save her life. Martha had swallowed half a gram of white powder. [continues 935 words]
POSSESSION of all drugs, including heroin and cocaine, would be decriminalised under radical plans tabled by the Liberal Democrats today. The party's push, led by ex-police chief Brian Paddick, will attempt to ambush a Government Bill to ban the sale of legal highs when it is debated by the Lords. Under their proposals, nobody would be arrested or prosecuted for possession of drugs - even the hardest Class A substances. Instead, police 'may' ask the offender to attend a drug awareness course or treatment programme. [continues 415 words]
Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, by Johann Hari, is published by Bloomsbury, priced UKP18.99. A DOCTOR hounded from Britain by the establishment has revealed how he slashed heroin addiction and crime by doling out the drug to addicts. Psychiatrist John Marks now works in Vienna. But in 1982 the South Wales Valleys-raised medic was working in Widnes, in the Wirral. In a new book, Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, he reveals how he became the accidental pioneer of an initiative to give free heroin to addicts and that it worked. [continues 651 words]
The Hippies Drug of Choice Was Banned in 1966 but Is Now Undergoing Trials As a Cure for Depression and Addiction. Charlie Cooper Spoke to Some Volunteer Users. LSD is often associated with trippy songs such as "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "Purple Haze" and "White Rabbit". But before it became the drug of choice for the 1960s counterculture, lysergic acid diethylamide had a previous existence - as an experimental medicine for a broad spectrum of psychological problems ranging from depression and addiction, to schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorder. [continues 830 words]
BERLIN - A conservative politician who crossed the aisle and has joined the German Green Party's campaign to legalize marijuana has revived a long-running debate about the drug in Europe's largest economy. Lawmaker Joachim Pfeiffer, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, recently co-sponsored legislation that would lift Germany's ban on marijuana and regulate the drug like alcohol and tobacco - and, supporters say, bring in billions more marks in tax revenue. [continues 999 words]
Psychedelic Drugs May Have a Role in Medical Treatment On balance, you would not be in your right mind, as the saying goes, to voluntarily take psychedelic drugs. Though the long-term physical and psychological effects of LSD are sometimes exaggerated in the public mind, a bad "trip" carries risks. In a medical context, however, psychedelic drugs may be beneficial. That, after all, is where LSD and others have their origins, before their widespread abuse and subsequent prohibition. The British Medical Journal hardly populated by ageing, addled hippies - carries an article by a leading psychiatrist suggesting that a change in the law should foster more research into a neglected arm of the pharmaceutical industry, and allow the legitimate prescription of LSD and other substances where they clearly do serve a medical purpose. [continues 147 words]
THREE detectives were slashed with a knife and then attacked by a pitbull dog when they went to carry out a drug search at a house in Co Louth yesterday morning. The incident happened in the rural townland of Sandpit, between Termonfeckin and Drogheda, at around 10am. Gardai from Ardee station arrived at a property with a search warrant. Sources said that a man, originally from Dublin, lashed out at the three men with a number of knives when he answered the front door. [continues 307 words]
Infection rates are set to hit three million, but drug use and unsafe sex - the main causes - are rife. Alecc Luhn talks to those ignored by aid programmes Almost as soon as two HIV-prevention activists set up outside the pharmacy in the outskirts of Moscow with two huge backpacks of supplies, a skinny young man with mussed hair and an impish grin quickly walked up to them. "Do you have any ointment?" he asked, lifting up the leg of his tracksuit trousers to show a mass of red sores. [continues 1229 words]
OSLO - In a country so wary of drug abuse that it limits the sale of aspirin, Pal-Orjan Johansen, a Norwegian researcher, is pushing what would seem a doomed cause: the rehabilitation of LSD. It matters little to him that the psychedelic drug has been banned here and around the world for more than 40 years. Mr. Johansen pitches his effort not as a throwback to the hippie hedonism of the 1960s, but as a battle for human rights and good health. [continues 1229 words]
Decriminalisation Would Safeguard Families and Drive the Gangs Out of Business Outside of their families and friends, few tears will have been shed for the eight heroin smugglers just executed by firing squad in Indonesia. They may have claimed to have become reformed characters in jail, but they knew the Indonesian penalty for trafficking drugs. Yet the pantomime of death played out in the full glare of the global media reminded us of two things: first, the hideous barbarity of the death penalty; and second, the dreadful futility of the war on drugs. [continues 827 words]
Astonishing claim of the arrogant cannabis campaigners who intend to light up in public THOUSANDS of illegal drug users plan to flout the law by smoking cannabis in public tomorrow. Activists who want the Class-B substance legalised will taunt police by lighting up at the 'Cannabis Celebration' in Glasgow's George Square - claiming 'they can't arrest us all'. Nearly 4,000 people have pledged to attend Scotland's biggest pro-cannabis rally in front of the City Chambers. Speakers will promote the so-called health benefits of the plant - including incredible claims it can cure cancer - as well as encouraging people to 'grow their own'. [continues 787 words]
The web's two largest drug markets go down, panicking dealers and buyers "I JUST can't bear this any longer," writes "Megan" in an anonymous internet forum. Waiting for online shopping to be delivered is frustrating. But for drug users it can be agony. Megan's vice is OxyContin, an addictive prescription painkiller. Like many users, she buys her illicit supply on the "dark web", a hidden corner of the internet accessed with anonymous browsing software. In the past month the online market for drugs has been rattled, after the two main drug-dealing sites suddenly locked buyers and sellers out. "If you know anyone...who would sort something out for me tonight or tomorrow I'll drop dead of gratitude," pleads Megan. [continues 416 words]
Fury as drugs activists get free airtime for election PRO-DRUGS campaigners in Scotland are to be given a prime-time slot on television to call for the legalisation of cannabis. A radical new political party has been set up with the sole purpose of making drugs laws more lenient. Funded by an internet millionaire, CISTA - short for Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol - is fielding candidates across the country in the General Election. It will be able to exploit electoral rules to air its controversial ideas, which include giving cannabis to sick children. [continues 591 words]
YVONNE MacLean left the SNP to stand for CISTA in Rutherglen and Hamilton West. The 41-year-old single mother admits being a 'criminal' for 'self-medicating' to alleviate depression with cannabis she buys from a drug dealer. Miss MacLean, of Hamilton, Lanarkshire, believes legalising the Class B drug would be 'good for the environment, the economy and the community'. She said: 'I don't think people should be criminalised for their choices. They should be trusted to use drugs sensibly and addicts should be helped. People can get addicted to coffee, cigarettes and alcohol if they have that type of personality. [continues 125 words]
Almost One in Ten Adults Admits to Using the Drug Scientists Warn of Deadly Potential Side-Effects Cocaine use, once the preserve of celebrities and the wealthy, has spread throughout British society, drug advisers say. A report by the government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) found that although consumption of the drug had fallen slightly from a peak in 2008-09, its use has permeated a wide social demographic that includes the middle classes and those on lower incomes. This has been driven by the emergence of a "two-tier" market; one selling very low purity, cheaper cocaine alongside a smaller trade in a more expensive, purer version. [continues 729 words]
Further to Janet Street-Porter's column on pain-killer abuse (7 March), new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that US states with open medical marijuana access have a 25 per cent lower opioid overdose death rate than cannabis prohibition states. The protective effect grows stronger with time. States with established cannabis access showed a 33 per cent reduction in deaths. This finding has huge implications. The substitution effect was documented by California physicians long before the JAMA research. Legal cannabis access is correlated with a reduction in opioid and alcohol abuse. The cannabis plant is incapable of causing an overdose death. Not even aspirin can make the same claim, much less alcohol or painkillers. The phrase "if it saves one life" has been used to justify all manner of drug war abuses. Legal cannabis has the potential to save thousands of lives. Robert Sharpe Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, DC [end]
FACING a wipeout at the General Election, Nick Clegg is busy finding ever more desperate ways of appealing to the young voters who have abandoned his party in droves. Having betrayed them over his manifesto pledge to abolish tuition fees, his latest wheeze is to target the druggie vote by reaching out to students who smoke cannabis. The Lib Dems have pledged that personal possession and the use of drugs - not just marijuana, but even heroin - would no longer be a criminal offence. Even by Clegg's standards, this is a proposal of such reckless imbecility that it makes you wonder what he's been smoking. [continues 323 words]
Isn't it about time we acknowledged that 99 per cent of us take drugs? It's just that some are legal and therefore "acceptable". But if all drugs were defined by the harm they can cause, then the current rankings and legal penalties would be pointless. Dealing with the long-term effects of alcohol and tobacco costs the NHS far more than dealing with those addicted to class-A drugs. Apart from liver disease and heart failure, alcohol abuse causes death on the road, domestic violence, murders and absenteeism from work. Not to mention the damage to family life and relationships. Can we put on a price on all of this and be sure it's less than the cost of illegal drug use? [continues 1180 words]
Charlie Cooper Takes a Trip to Meet Professor David Nutt - and Finds Out Why the Former Government Czar Believes That Mind-Altering Drugs Have a Place on the Prescription Pad Professor David Nutt has been no stranger to controversy over the years. So the psychiatrist and former Government drugs tsar, will not have been fazed when he raised eyebrows recently by drawing a parallel between the repression of research into the effects of psychedelic drugs like LSD with the censorship of Galileo and the banning of the telescope. [continues 1114 words]
Sir Richard Branson and Nick Clegg are urging the UK to begin decriminalising the use and possession of almost all drugs, following the example of Portugal. The Virgin founder and deputy prime minister are to address a conference on fighting drug addiction today, and in an article on the Guardian website they write: "As an investment, the war on drugs has failed to deliver any returns. If it were a business, it would have been shut down a long time ago. This is not what success looks like. [continues 402 words]
A FORMER UK Government adviser has said Scots should go Dutch and open cannabis cafes. Professor David Nutt, who has advised the Department of Health, said it could be "very good" for the economy. Prof Nutt sacked by the UK Government in 2009 for saying horse riding was more dangerous than ecstasy also blasted plans to ban legal highs. Speaking ahead of a talk in Edinburgh, Prof Nutt said: "If Scotland had a sensible medical cannabis policy you'd get a lot of health tourists and that would be very good for your economy. People could have a cuppa in cafes in Edinburgh and Glasgow and have a spliff as they do in Amsterdam." [end]
George Square Event Criticised by Politicians DRUG users are planning to stage a "cannabis celebration" in Glasgow's George Square. The annual '420 event' sees campaigners gather in a public place on April 20 to call for the legalisation of the Class B drug. Last year Glasgow Cannabis Social Club held a gathering of 150 people at Glasgow Green and five were reported to the procurator fiscal for flouting the law by lighting up in full view of police. The maximum penalty for possession of cannabis is five years in prison. [continues 448 words]
CAN you put two and two together? Have a try. The authorities, and most of the media, cannot. Did you know that the Copenhagen killer, Omar El-Hussein, had twice been arrested (and twice let off) for cannabis possession? Probably not. It was reported in Denmark but not prominently mentioned amid the usual swirling speculation about 'links' between El-Hussein and 'Islamic State', for which there is no evidence at all. El-Hussein, a promising school student, mysteriously became so violent and ill-tempered that his own gang of petty criminals, The Brothers, actually expelled him. [continues 571 words]
BRITAIN'S brightest teenagers are among those most at risk of mental illness caused by smoking a potent form of cannabis, a leading expert has warned. Professor Sir Robin Murray said it tended to be 'clever and sociable' youngsters who were damaged by using the super-strong strain of the drug, known as skunk. Sir Robin, the foremost authority in Britain on the effects of smoking cannabis, led a landmark study with colleagues at the Institute of Psychiatry which found that regularly smoking skunk triples the risk of psychosis, as revealed last week by The Mail on Sunday. [continues 627 words]
Inside Europe
