cannabisnews.com: Island Will Not Follow U.K.’s Lead on Weed





Island Will Not Follow U.K.’s Lead on Weed
Posted by CN Staff on July 17, 2002 at 21:12:58 PT
By Nigel Regan 
Source: Bermuda Sun
Government's drug policy advisor, the National Drugs Commission (NDC), will not be influenced by the British Government’s decision to reclassify cannabis. Cris Wineinger, the NDC’s chief executive officer, says it’s largely irrelevant to look at what other countries are doing because Bermuda is so different and besides, she adds, cannabis impedes your memory and motivation, not to mention your lungs. 
Be that as it may, the U.K.’s Home Secretary, David Blunkett, wants to reclassify cannabis from a class B to a class C drug, the lowest category of illegal drug, and one that includes steroids and anti-depressants. Mr. Blunkett argues reclassification will allow police to focus on class A drugs, which include heroin, cocaine and ecstasy. Lawyer Richard Hector said the prevailing attitude in Bermuda is that cannabis is a gateway drug. The argument being if you use cannabis, you are more likely to try other drugs. Mr. Hector said this is the main reason why cannabis remains illegal. The argument is not universal. The Canadian Government, which is also considering loosening up its laws on marijuana, is in receipt of a senate committee report which, according to yesterday’s Globe and Mail, says there is “no scientific evidence that cannabis leads users to harder narcotics.” Bermuda does not classify drugs in the way Britain does, but sentences vary according to the type of drug possessed or supplied. Mr. Hector said Bermuda’s courts divide drugs into two categories — hard and soft. The former includes heroin, the latter cannabis. However, he added, there is no legislation that makes any formal distinction between different types of drugs and sentencing is often at the discretion of the magistrate or judge. Ms Wineinger told the Bermuda Sun: “Our concern at the NDC is to always be cogniscent of our community’s wishes, regardless of what’s going on in other parts of the world. We have to take into account the unique characteristics of the Bermuda community, which is why we carry out qualitative research, meaning the research is evidence-based.” Ms Wineinger added: “Having said that, certainly I would agree that as other jurisdictions become more lenient as to how they deal with cannabis, it’s bound to have an impact here, but it doesn’t change our position, which is that we don’t support the legalization of cannabis.” The NDC has just completed a new adult survey. Early results suggest approval of cannabis is on the decline. In 1999, the NDC asked 1,300 people about their drug habits — 7.5 per cent said they used marijuana. If that number represented the population, it would mean more than 3,000 residents use the drug. The latest survey questioned approximately 1,800 people. The data is still being analyzed, but early results, according to Ms Wineinger, suggest more people are giving the drug the thumbs down. Users often grumble the government has no right to dictate social habits, but the NDC argues its attitude to drugs reflects majority thinking. “We believe that the laws dealing with illegal substances should be used to show the community’s opposition to illegal drug use,” Ms Wineinger said. No matter what laws are in place, however, significant numbers of people continue to use marijuana, and it’s a safe bet they always will. The PLP Government has acknowledged the fact and last year passed the Criminal Code Amendment Act, which instructs the courts to use prison as a last option for drug users. It also established the Drug Court which, the government tells us, aims to aid users rather than punish them. However, it can also be argued the Act, and the philosophy of the Alternatives to Incarceration initiative (ATI), exemplifies a kind of surrender to the notion that conservative attitudes towards drugs only work on conservative people. After all, drugs are one of the main reasons why Government launched ATI — it had to take the pressure out of the prison system, which was close to meltdown. Most inmates were being incarcerated for drug-related offences. In May this year, Drug Court coordinator Cal Ming said there had been 28 clients since September 2001, but that nine couldn’t follow the rules and were sent back to court for sentencing. That means in eight months, only 19 people stuck with the programme. Mr. Hector, a member of the Drug Court Implementation Committee said it doesn’t matter what’s happening in other countries, Bermuda’s always been a bit slow on the uptake. “A great number of people here use cannabis,” he said. “I’ve got a 13 year-old daughter who says to me ‘All the boys smoke weed.’ I tell her she shouldn’t talk to people who do that and she says that if she didn’t, she wouldn’t have anyone to talk to. “A lot of these kids are influenced by their parents in a recreational setting. The parents aren’t encouraging them, but they’re not telling them not to do it.” Results from the last NDC school survey suggest one in seven boys and one in 12 girls smoke marijuana. With the Internet, teenagers are able to see there is no single truth about drugs, which allows them to buy into the argument that it’s not the drug that’s the problem, but society’s reaction to it. Judith Burgess, the executive director of Pride, the island’s best known prevention agency, doesn’t get into the mechanics of debate, focusing instead on what can happen if you don’t use drugs. “We don’t get caught up in the legalities or illegalities. If you know teens who have used marijuana and you try to talk to them about it, they will throw something at you like there are worse dangers in alcohol,” she said. Ms Burgess added there are always going to be teenagers who experiment with drugs, but as far as Pride is concerned, if a teenager hasn’t used drugs by the time they’re 19, they’re much less likely to puff, snort or inject as an adult, which is the whole point of Pride. Despite the thousands of adult marijuana users in Bermuda, only a handful ever speak out. A number of government ministers, MPs and at least one senator, either support decriminalization or the idea of talking about decriminalization, but they, too, are in the minority. Even those who do use the drug, or even supply it, are not deterred by Bermuda’s laws. Mr. Hector said: “They [offenders] look at jail like a holiday. Clients who have been charged with a drug offence consider a six month jail term ‘sleeping time.’ They come out looking better after having worked out and healthier after getting regular meals every day.” For now, the government is placing its faith in ATI, and prevention agencies like the NDC and Pride. Time will measure its effectiveness, but in Britain —the country Bermuda has to answer to as an overseas territory — this approach has already been deemed passe. Source: Bermuda SunAuthor: Nigel Regan Published: July 17, 2002 EditionCopyright: 2002 Bermuda Sun Contact: newsroom bermudasun.bmWebsite: http://www.bermudasun.bm/Related Articles:Pot Laws Could Be Eased, Cauchon Says http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13427.shtml Britain To Let Pot Smokers Off Lightly http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13384.shtmlHash On The High Street http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13382.shtmlCannabisNews - Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
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Comment #6 posted by BGreen on July 18, 2002 at 07:41:42 PT
Here we have the mention of PRIDE ... Again!
Judith Burgess, the executive director of Pride, the island’s best known prevention agency, doesn’t get into the mechanics of debate, focusing instead on what can happen if you don’t use drugs.
My findings on www.pridesurvey.com
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Comment #5 posted by John Tyler on July 18, 2002 at 07:24:28 PT
Impedes indeed?
Alcohol in excessive amounts impedes your memory and motivation too, not to mention liver damage and possible disruption of family and work life. Then there is tobacco which causes leads to lung and heart damage. But, these are the drugs of the ruling elite, and they are legal, so health concerns are not an issue. We are talking recreational drugs of the poor. Weed is a plant that grow wild and free. It's a control thing. Whose got the money, whose got the power. 
 
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Comment #4 posted by kanabys on July 18, 2002 at 06:38:29 PT
C2H5OH is the gateway
>>Ms Burgess added there are always going to be teenagers who experiment with drugs, but as far as Pride is concerned, if a teenager hasn’t used drugs by the time they’re 19, they’re much less likely to puff, snort or inject as an adult, which is the whole point of Pride.Ahem....I used alcohol from the time I was 14. I didn't use any cannabis until I was 24. Then, I stopped using alcohol, except for the occasionally glass of red wine, and I have never used anything else since. Looks to me like alcohol was the 'gateway drug'. They are pure idiots :/
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Comment #3 posted by Dan B on July 18, 2002 at 00:32:38 PT
Ah, the Internet.
With the Internet, teenagers are able to see there is no single truth about drugs, which allows them to buy into the argument that it’s not the drug that’s the problem, but society’s reaction to it. Really? There is no single truth about drugs? Do you mean to suggest that different drugs have different effects, and that different people respond to the same drugs in different ways? And doesn't such an assertion further suggest that employing only one strategy to all drugs--especially one that has failed to achieve positive results in over 30 years of religious dedication and that has actually caused a tenfold increase in the drug-caused death rate, an increase in police corruption, and a decrease in civil liberties and human rights--is a stupid idea? No wonder kids "buy into the argument that it’s not the drug that’s the problem, but society’s reaction to it." That argument is absolutely true.Dan B
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Comment #2 posted by CorvallisEric on July 17, 2002 at 22:29:43 PT
Language matters
Of course, almost no one in media or politics knows the difference between legalization and decriminalization. But it seems possible that these people don't know the difference between doing something and approving what others do, or are trying to obliterate the difference.
The NDC has just completed a new adult survey. Early results suggest approval of cannabis is on the decline. In 1999, the NDC asked 1,300 people about their drug habits — 7.5 per cent said they used marijuana. If that number represented the population, it would mean more than 3,000 residents use the drug.
The latest survey questioned approximately 1,800 people. The data is still being analyzed, but early results, according to Ms Wineinger, suggest more people are giving the drug the thumbs down.
Don't know whether to laugh or scream at this one:
Mr. Hector said: “They [offenders] look at jail like a holiday. Clients who have been charged with a drug offence consider a six month jail term ‘sleeping time.’ They come out looking better after having worked out and healthier after getting regular meals every day.”
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Comment #1 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on July 17, 2002 at 22:00:05 PT
Heckling Hector
>>Lawyer Richard Hector said the prevailing attitude in Bermuda is that cannabis is a gateway drug. The argument being if you use cannabis, you are more likely to try other drugs. Mr. Hector said this is the main reason why cannabis remains illegal.  We all know the lie inherent in the above statement, but it's always nice to read it eloquently demolished with quotes directly from the Institute of Medicine report. Check the story below for a thorough rebuttal of Hector's argument."Those who insist on keeping the plant illegal bear a serious degree of moral responsibility for young marijuana users who do go on to use cocaine, heroin, PCP or other genuinely dangerous or addictive drugs." -- Alan Bock, of the Orange County Register On the Real Gateway 
http://www.marijuananews.com/those_who_insist_on_keeping_the_.htm
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