cannabisnews.com: Drugs War 'Must Target Poverty' 










  Drugs War 'Must Target Poverty' 

Posted by FoM on March 29, 2002 at 22:52:11 PT
By Anne Perkins, Political Correspondent 
Source: Guardian Unlimited UK 

The war on drugs has failed and should be replaced with an attack on poverty and joblessness, according to a report from a Blairite thinktank. The Foreign Policy Centre report also suggests public points be provided where the purity and hence safety of could be tested, and calls for the employment agency to make it easier for addicts trying to quit to claim benefits. 
The report is written by Rowena Young, who has close connections with Downing Street. She argues that soaring drug dependency statistics show the inadequacy of the government's attempt to clamp down, since it focuses disproportionately on the users of soft drugs rather than successfully convicting pushers of heroin and cocaine. A majority, 58%, of under 24-year-olds had used drugs, but only a tiny minority became dependent, the report said. Thousands of people used drugs recreationally without coming to harm. "Most grow out of it," it said. Government policy was hampered by "an unhealthy cocktail of acute public anxiety, simple nostrums, tabloid bile, vested interests and political opportunism". The report said: "There is not a single piece of evidence to show prohibition works. Seizures can grow impressively but the quantities of illicit drugs hitting the streets show an unerring ability to keep pace." It mocked the ambition of the former drugs tsar Keith Hellawell to create a drug free world for being a goal that "produces more incredulity than inspiration ... a far more sensible goal is a society in which substance use is well managed, and the risks minimised". The focus on cutting use and seizing more illegal drugs was misconceived and the results inadequately analysed. It ought to be replaced by concentrated efforts to ensure drug dependents came off and stayed off drugs, and to minimise the harm they caused by providing safe needles through vending machines. Schools should not exclude children who took drugs, but ensure they received help to take control of their lives. The report said the political climate was changing as other approaches failed, and the cost of failure mounted. One fifth of all people arrested were on heroin, and it was estimated that every heroin addict stole goods worth £43,000 a year. It challenged the government to respond. "It would be a major blot on its copybook if in five or 10 years time, the scale of problem use had continued to soar." Highlighting the link between deprivation and drug dependency first identified in the US in the 1950-60s, the report quoted a Glasgow survey from the early 1990s: "The relationship between deprivation and drug misuse is higher than any other variable they had studied. Poverty does not directly cause addiction. Instead it increases propensity to misuse." It suggested that the new national treatment agency should look beyond health issues and help people to change their lives. Work and training should be integrated into treatment, and at the same time agencies involved in regeneration should incorporate strategies for dealing with drug problems. Most controversially, it suggested that staff in employment centres assessing benefits needed the flexibility to be able to judge their clients' prospects, concentrating on "what will take them forward rather than imposing sanctions which lead to repeated short term failure". But it said legalisation was not an easy option; there would have to be controls on regulation and distribution. However, agencies working with drug users "should be allowed to permit supervised drug taking on licensed premises". Special Report: Drugs in Britain: http://www.guardian.co.uk/drugs/0,2759,178206,00.htmlNote: Blairite think tank calls for centres to test purity. Source: Guardian Unlimited, The (UK)Author: Anne Perkins, Political CorrespondentPublished: Friday, March 29, 2002Copyright: 2002 Guardian Newspapers LimitedContact: letters guardian.co.ukWebsite: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Related Articles:It Was Not the Drug, but the Criminalisation http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12377.shtml Are We Tolerating The Wrong Drugs? http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12224.shtmlVictims Parents Call for All Drugs To Be Legalised http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12213.shtml

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Comment #8 posted by Jose Melendez on March 30, 2002 at 14:52:48 PT

the Queen is dead, long live the King!
Sorry to post twice, fixed error in #7Sad news for UK residents: From:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40350-2002Mar30.htmlLONDON –– The Queen Mother Elizabeth, a symbol of courage and dignity during a tumultuous century of war, social upheaval and royal scandal, died Saturday in her sleep. She was 101 years old.

After years of frailty and ill health, the queen mother died "peacefully" at Royal Lodge, Windsor, outside London, Buckingham Palace said. Her death came seven weeks after the death of her younger daughter, Princess Margaret, at age 71.

Queen Elizabeth II was at her mother's side when she died. The queen mother had rarely been seen in recent months because of her failing health.

The queen mother "had become increasingly frail in recent weeks following her bad cough and chest infection over Christmas," said a palace spokesman, who was not named in keeping with tradition.

Prince Charles and his sons Princes William and Harry were "completely devastated" after being informed of the news on their skiing holiday in Switzerland, a royal spokesman said. Charles was very close to his grandmother.
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They are continually expanding and have little trouble finding farmers willing to grow hemp. There are three significant factors driving increased interest in growing hemp: customer pressure is driving car manufacturers to use ‘natural fibres’ for internal upholstery and finishing; chronically poor commodity prices are driving arable farmers to look for alternative crops; and the EU’s CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) requires that 15% of arable land be ‘set aside’ for non-food production purposes (like racehorses, blood sports, fuel crops, fibre crops, etc.)

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Comment #6 posted by FoM on March 30, 2002 at 12:14:34 PT

Important E-Mail!
Many PBS television stations around the U.S. will be showing the excellent documentary "The Emperor of Hemp" during April. "The Emperor of Hemp" is a profile of industrial hemp vanguard Jack Herer (rhymes with terror) and is particularly powerful in its arguments and presentation. See: http://www.emperorofhemp.com/
Please write or call your local PBS station see: http://www.cpb.org/find_station.html to find yours and ask when they will be showing "The Emperor of Hemp." Be sure to mention it if you are a member of the station. When I asked my local PBS station, the Member/Viewer services said they would pass on my request to their Program Director for future programming decisions.
Please take a moment and let PBS stations know that their members and viewers ARE interested in this topic!
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on March 30, 2002 at 09:14:30 PT

Dan and everyone
Thank you Dan. It is nice to be appreciated and I want to say how much I appreciate all of you that visit Cannabis News almost everyday. We have turned into a great team of like minded people and I truly am amazed every day. I do not take anything for granted and am so thankful for all of you. Do your best to have a Happy Easter. I always loved Easter. Only because Easter was in Spring and life is coming back to the sleeping earth and it is a spiritual time for me and I'm sure many of you too. My prayer is for peace in the drug war. That's my hope.If the news is almost non existent it is because of the holiday. I'll keep looking for news but so far I haven't found but one article. Maybe this year will be our year! 
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Comment #4 posted by Patrick on March 30, 2002 at 07:27:04 PT

Refreshing
Government policy was hampered by "an unhealthy cocktail of acute public anxiety, simple nostrums, tabloid bile, vested interests and political opportunism".You think?

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Comment #3 posted by Dan B on March 30, 2002 at 02:21:22 PT:

One More Thing
I don't think the world would have come this far were it not for web sites like Cannabis News that serve to expose the lie of prohibition. Thanks, FoM, for providing this service, and thanks to everyone at MAP Inc. for providing the means for her to do so. I don't say that enough, but know that every time I sign my name to a comment, I am thanking you for the opportunity to do so.Sincerely,Dan B
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Comment #2 posted by Dan B on March 30, 2002 at 02:17:48 PT:

Well done, Rowena Young!
A majority, 58%, of under 24-year-olds had used drugs, but only a tiny minority became dependent, the report said. Thousands of people used drugs recreationally without coming to harm. "Most grow out of it," it said. I would like to add that some who use illegal drugs irresponsibly while young may well grow into responsible soft drug usage that lasts a lifetime. The report should have made this point, but I am glad it at least went as far as it did, given the connections of its author to 100 Downing Street.Of course, cannabis usage should not have to be "supervised," but I can see the benefit of supervising the use of harder drugs (heroin, for example). What this report must do, then, is separate the hard drugs from the soft drugs, and be willing to give people some leeway to use soft drugs in the privacy of their own homes--without governmental or doctoral supervision (except in cases where the soft drug user asks the doctor for advice).And finally . . . "Highlighting the link between deprivation and drug dependency first identified in the US in the 1950-60s"! This is additional proof that the U. S. government has been aware all along that prohibition is not the answer to the nation's "drug problem." This quotation is a well-deserved poke at Uncle Sam's eyes for knowing all along that the barbaric policies it has foisted upon the world are not only incapable of success, but counterproductive--and zealously promoting them anyway. Of course, we know this about America--but it is good to see someone with powerful connections somewhere saying so in such a public manner. As the rest of the world becomes sensible, the United States will have increasing numbers of critics, which will increase wordwide pressure to stop prosecuting and start helping. In short, this portion of the article gives me more hope than anything I have recently seen on the subject.Thanks, Rowena Young!Dan B
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on March 29, 2002 at 23:13:44 PT

Related Article from The Guardian Unlimited
I didn't post this directly on the front page because it was a few weeks old but here's the article that I archived.
Drugged and Duped 
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread12395.shtml
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