Last-minute negotiations on a new UN declaration on drugs, which is due to be agreed and signed this week in Vienna, were still in the balance last night with the deadline looming. Deep divisions have opened up between countries that favour continuing the "war on drugs" strategy, led by the US and Russia, and those, including most EU and Latin American countries, that seek a recognition that "harm reduction" in the form of needle exchange programmes and drug treatments should be addressed. [continues 176 words]
Governments Struggle to Respond As Resurgent Trade Moves into Uncharted Areas From Colombia, Peru and Bolivia through Mexico and on to a half dozen west African states, the new cocaine supply route - and the war against it - is leaving a trail of mayhem in its wake. In Peru, Shining Path guerrillas have revived their movement by trading in Maoist ideology for coca cultivation and links with Mexican cartels, driving cocaine production to its highest level in a decade, according to US figures. [continues 698 words]
In 1998 the UN general assembly special session on drugs met under the slogan "A drug-free world, we can do it". A letter to Kofi Annan, sent in advance of the event and signed by religious leaders, ministers and other prominent individuals from around the world, stated that the UN needed to be "willing to ask and address tough questions about the success or failure of its efforts", stating that "we believe that the global war on drugs is now causing more harm than drug misuse itself". [continues 189 words]
Libby Brooks (Never mind the evidence - a drug-free world is nigh, 5 March) rightfully decries the devastation the global "war on drugs" has wrought on millions of people worldwide, through mass incarceration of users, denial of life-saving health services and crop eradication. But the "war on drugs" has other victims who deserve our urgent attention: people suffering from severe pain. Almost 50 years ago the UN agreed that states must ensure availability of narcotic drugs for the "relief of pain and suffering". Yet that promise remains a dead letter for 80% of the world population. According to the World Health Organisation, tens of millions of people suffer from severe pain without access to treatment, even though pain medications are safe, effective and inexpensive. As a recent Human Rights Watch report documented, the near-exclusive focus on cracking down on illicit drug use has led many countries to neglect their obligation to ensure people can benefit from the medicinal qualities of narcotic drugs. Diederik Lohman Human Rights Watch [end]
For the Obama White House, pondering how to reshape the Bush administration's war on drugs, the concerns presented by the deepening crisis in Mexico are twofold. The first was highlighted by the chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, talking about US-Mexican counter-narcotics co-operation. "They want to clearly stop the guns from the United States going south. We want to stop the drugs coming north," he said. The second concern is about another equally pernicious commodity migrating north: the violence. The announcement last month that 730 people had been arrested across the US following a 21-month investigation into Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel confirms suspicions that the cartels are taking root in the US. [continues 469 words]
The harm caused by prohibition is staggering, yet still politicians cling to the blinkered ambition of a global 'war on drugs' This year marks the 100th anniversary of global drug prohibition, and what an inglorious centenary it is when we consider the millions of lives that have been blighted as a consequence of the war on drugs. And yet the majority of governments have supported a worldwide ban on the cultivation, distribution and use of psychoactive substances ever since the signing of the Shanghai convention, which aimed to target opium use, in 1909. [continues 838 words]
The Inmate Population Has Soared Since Britain Started Running Prisons for Profit. Little Wonder Lobbyists Want Titan Jails It's a staggering case; more staggering still that it has scarcely been mentioned on this side of the ocean. Last week two judges in Pennsylvania were convicted of jailing some 2,000 children in exchange for bribes from private prison companies. Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan sent children to jail for offences so trivial that some of them weren't even crimes. A 15-year-old called Hillary Transue got three months for creating a spoof web page ridiculing her school's assistant principal. Ciavarella sent Shane Bly, then 13, to boot camp for trespassing in a vacant building. He gave a 14-year-old, Jamie Quinn, 11 months in prison for slapping a friend during an argument, after the friend slapped her. The judges were paid $2.6m by companies belonging to the Mid-Atlantic Youth Services Corp for helping to fill its jails. This is what happens when public services are run for profit. [continues 1030 words]
The Vatican has been accused of putting the lives of thousands at risk by attempting to influence UN drugs policy on the eve of a major international declaration. The Vatican's objection to "harm reduction" strategies, such as needle exchange schemes, has ignited a fierce debate between the US and the EU over how drugs should be tackled. A new UN declaration of intent is due to be signed in Vienna on 11 March. However, there are major disagreements between member countries over whether a commitment to "harm reduction" should be included in the document, which is published every 10 years. [continues 423 words]
The Effect of an Ad That Overstates the Dangers of Cannabis Is to Discredit All Public Health Advice A new UKP 2.2m ad campaign about cannabis targets 11- to 18-year-olds. Before you decide that's a waste of money, imagine how much more it would have cost before the collapse of ad revenues. I think the government should take advantage of this to advertise the dangers of all drugs. Indeed, so what if ecstasy is only about as dangerous as horse riding? Why not have an ad about how dangerous horse riding is? [continues 560 words]
Medicine Watchdog Advocates Combining Needle Exchange Schemes With Treatment Providing free needles and syringes to people who inject heroin and cocaine is a cost-effective use of NHS money, the government's medicines watchdog said today. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) issued its first guidance on how harm reduction services for addicts should be run throughout England, suggesting combining non-judgmental needle exchange schemes with treatment to help users come off drugs. Prof Mike Kelly, director of the institute's public health division, said there are about 200,000 injecting drug users in Britain. He estimated about 25% of users share needles, putting themselves at a greatly increased risk of being infected with Hepatitis C or HIV. [continues 359 words]
Narcotics Board Targets Cannabis For Strong Action Drugs Reform Group Hits Out At 'Irrational' Approach The internet is playing an increasing and "alarming" role in the trafficking of both illegal and unauthorised prescription drugs, according to the body that monitors the trafficking and use of narcotics. Chemicals used for making heroin and cocaine and a range of drugs from methadone to amphetamines are being sold online by organisations that hide their identities from the authorities. The report, compiled by the International Narcotics Control Board, paints a picture of an ever-expanding and increasingly violent drugs market, with new trafficking routes being opened regularly. It calls for governments to take stronger measures against drugs, in particular cannabis. The board was criticised by drugs reform groups last night for taking an "irrational" approach. [continues 744 words]
Teenage 'Dabblers' And Binge Smokers Targeted Ukp 2m Campaign Welcomed After Drug's Reclassification Drugs campaigners welcomed a new television advert shown last night aimed at warning teenagers of the mental health problems associated with cannabis. The UKP 2.2m government campaign is targeted at 11-18 year olds. In the advert, one actor demonstrates the symptoms associated with smoking the drug. The film shows the mind-altering effects of the drug. The voiceover at the end warns: "The more you mess with cannabis, the more it can mess with your mind." [continues 1002 words]
The government's drugs adviser last night apologised for saying that the risk in taking ecstasy was no worse than in riding a horse. Home secretary Jacqui Smith had yesterday carpeted Dr David Nutt over comments that emerged 48 hours before his committee was expected to recommend downgrading the drug. She demanded an apology and told the professor that his comments went beyond the scientific advice she expected from him. "I've spoken to him. I've told him that I was surprised and profoundly disappointed," Smith told MPs yesterday. She said they made light of a serious problem, trivialised the dangers of drugs, showed insensitivity to the families of victims, and sent the wrong message to young people. [continues 216 words]
A rift between the EU and US over how to deal with global trafficking in illicit drugs is undermining international efforts to agree a new UN strategy. The confrontation has been heightened because of suggestions that the US negotiating team is pushing a hardline, Bush administration "war on drugs", in contrast to the EU position which supports "harm reduction" measures such as needle exchanges. Talks are said to be at breaking point in Vienna where representatives have gathered to hammer out a new UN declaration in time for a signing ceremony at a drugs summit in mid-March. Negotiations, which have been going on for three months, are due to resume tomorrow with no indication of a breakthrough. [continues 350 words]
Mexican drug traffickers not only shoot with their pistols, they make statements with them too. Take the Colt 45 that one hitman embellished with rubies and emeralds in the shape of a crown, or the inscription on the firearm of a high-ranking rival proclaiming: "Better to die on your feet than live on your knees." A third trafficker gold-plated his weapon and set 221 diamonds on its handle. All three weapons now lie together in display cases alongside other examples of "narco bling" at the drug trafficking museum in Mexico City. [continues 428 words]
With children as young as 10 being initiated into drug use by their parents, a new report calls for a family-led approach to addiction Sharon Simms knows exactly who introduced her to drugs: her own father. During her childhood, his twin weaknesses were Special Brew lager and marijuana. Drug dealers plied their trade from the house she shared with him, and he let heroin addicts inject in the bathroom in return for a spliff or can of beer. After such experiences, it was little wonder that Sharon ended up drinking at nine and taking solvents at 11, before moving on to marijuana and crack cocaine as a teenager. "My dad got me into drugs," says Simms, now 37. "He had an addiction, which he passed on to me. It's a vicious circle: once children are exposed to drugs, then that's telling them that it's OK to do. Unfortunately, that's the message my dad gave me - that if mum or dad are doing it, it's OK, it's fun. I now know that you should try to protect your kids from it, not expose them to it." [continues 698 words]
* Militia Says It Controls Slum Made Famous By Film * Forces Plan To Stay, But Community Is Sceptical It is one of the most notorious postcodes on earth - a sprawling red brick shantytown that has been under the control of heavily armed drug traffickers for nearly four decades. This week, however, police claimed the gangs were no more in the City of God, the Rio slum made infamous by Fernando Meirelles' 2002 film. On Tuesday, after two months of incursions, special forces celebrated the "conquering" of the City of God by hoisting the Brazilian flag over a creche they said was used as a base by traffickers. [continues 632 words]
Spiralling drug violence in Mexico has prompted US authorities to plan a "surge" of civilian and military action should the mayhem spill across the border between the two countries The outgoing US homeland security chief, Michael Chertoff, said on Wednesday that plans had been drawn up to deploy aircraft, armoured vehicles and special teams, including military personnel, to trouble spots if civilian agencies were overwhelmed. "We completed a contingency plan for border violence, so if we did get a significant spillover, we have a surge - if I may use that word - capability to bring in not only our own assets, but even to work with [the defence department]," Chertoff told the New York Times. [continues 172 words]
The Third In Our Series On Life In Afghanistan Reveals That In Helmand Province No Part Of Society Is Free From The Economic Impact Of Drugs Or The Prevailing Culture Of Corruption The smuggler Hameedullah's family live in one big house on a dusty unpaved lane - Hameedullah, his five sons and their wives, children, grandchildren and two cousins. Hameedullah, a tall, thickset man, is a government employee. And like many people in Helmand, he is also a poppy farmer. Like any other farmer, he was concerned by water, and crop prices. "People plant poppy because it's good money, it needs little water and it makes a good harvest," he said. "Prices were very low last year because everyone planted poppy. Wheat is very good this year because prices are high, so most of the people are planting wheat this year. I divided my land half wheat and half poppy, but next year we will plant poppy again." [continues 1487 words]
An elderly couple who bought a pink-flowering perennial to brighten up their garden found their home and street targeted by the police and a gang of armed drug users after the innocent-looking plant began to give off a scent similar to cannabis. Ivor and Margaret Wiltshire, 77 and 79, bought a pot of moss phlox from a garden centre and were delighted when the plant began to spread vigorously through their front and back gardens. But it also began to give off a curious aroma, which came to the attention of Avon and Somerset police. The force helicopter was used to try to find the suspected cannabis factory but infra-red cameras, used to trace heat sources associated with drug factories, detected nothing. [continues 226 words]
