Guardian- 05 September, 2010
Author: Peter Beaumont
“A decade ago Portugal took a radical new approach to illegal drugs by treating users as people with social problems rather than as criminals. Could it work in the UK?”
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Archive for category Illegal drug use
The Lancet, Volume 376, Issue 9743, doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61360-8
Editorial: “William S Burroughs II, the American Beat Generation author, published Junkie: Confessions of an Unredeemed Drug Addict in 1953 about life dependent on heroin (some editions use Junky). Junk was a slang term for heroin, possibly from users being seen as the “junk of society”, an early use of a stigmatising phrase. 60 years on, stigmatising labels for drug users remain topical, according to a report last week by the UK Drug Policy Commission, Sinning and sinned against: the stigmatisation of problem drug users. The Commission used a definition of problem drug use as injecting drug use or long duration or regular use of opioids, cocaine, or amphetamines. The Commission rather stumbled with this definition, because it wants to see the drug as the problem not the user. Use of the powerful connecting hyphen would have solved their dilemma: problem-drug user….”
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The Observer, By Antonio Maria Costa, 5 September 2010
“The debate between those who dream of a world free of drugs and those who hope for a world of free drugs has been raging for years. I believe the dispute between prohibition and legalisation would be more fruitful if it focused on the appropriate degree of regulation for addictive substances (drugs, but also alcohol and tobacco) and how to attain such regulation.”
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The Guardian, By Moheb Costandi, 1 September 2010
“Far from being at the fringes of medical research, their work was fully supported and funded by the Canadian government, and became a promising new area of research that played a role in modernising the field of psychiatry. But despite the encouraging results, studies of LSD therapy ended abruptly in the late 1960s, and did not resume again until some 40 years later.”
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Los Angeles Times, By John Hoeffel, 29 August 2010
“When the Los Angeles City Council adopted its medical marijuana ordinance, it aimed to rout unscrupulous dispensary operators whose unruly customers irritated residents and operators who opened up willy-nilly across the city, ignoring a ban on new stores. But the ordinance has snared operators who appear to have tried hard to adhere to state law and the city’s rules. Among them are some of the most politically active operators whose dispensaries are considered model operations. Last week, the city sued these dispensaries and dozens of others and asked a judge to rule that they could be shut down.”
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SMH, By Louise Hall, 28 August 2010
“A UN official says he is ”very impressed” by the medically supervised injecting centre in Kings Cross, which has been operating on a trial basis for almost a decade. The executive director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibe, said it was a ”pragmatic, cost-effective” way to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and prevent deaths of intravenous drug users, who were often homeless or mentally ill. Mr Sidibe would not be drawn on the state government’s decision not to grant the centre a permanent licence, which forces Parliament to vote on an extension of the relevant legislation every four years.”
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NZ Herald, AP, 26 August 2010
“A departing Taranaki judge is so concerned about the impact cannabis has on youth offenders he has made a documentary showing the dangers it poses to young brains. Youth Court Judge Rob Murfitt said he had seen the effect cannabis had on young brains while working in the courts and with Taranaki’s mental health ward and wanted to do something to stop it.”
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Washington Post- 24 August, 2010
Author: Carolyn Butler
“…Overall, 20.8 percent of Americans 12 and older — or nearly 52 million people — have taken prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons, according to the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health, from 2008. When it comes to illicit drug use, only marijuana is more popular.”
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Mirror, By Jason Beattie, 21/08/2010
“New powers were yesterday promised to tackle the threat of so-called legal highs. Home Office minister James Brokenshire said he would bring in a temporary ban by the end of next year.”
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Cannabis goes legal
Aug 22
NZ Herald, AP, 22 August 2010
“BRITAIN: Justin Gover does not look like a drug dealer. But he is, albeit a legal one. Neither does he look much like a hero. But he could well become one to the 100,000 people who suffer from multiple sclerosis in Britain after producing a medicine that has been shown to relieve the pain associated with the disease.”
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