cannabisnews.com: Surgeon Calls for New Drug Laws





Surgeon Calls for New Drug Laws
Posted by CN Staff on June 30, 2003 at 14:00:42 PT
Fozzard says there needs to be a public debate
Source: BBC News 
A retired surgeon from Cornwall is calling for the legalisation of cannabis and ecstasy. Connie Fozzard, 70, who is currently the mayor of Truro, is addressing the British Medical Association (BMA) conference in Torquay. Recreational drugs should be legalised, quality controlled and sold over the counter, she has said. She also said she there needs to be a public debate aimed at reducing drug-related crime. 
The motion, from the BMA's Cornwall branch, specifically refers to cannabanoid drugs, but Miss Fozzard said that ecstasy could be brought into the discussion.  " The government should be treating people as adults "  -- Connie Fozzard Miss Fozzard maintained that the move would help reduce violent crime committed by users to pay for drugs. She was personally ambivalent about the legalisation issue, she said, adding: "We want to get the discussion going in public. "It is something which should be raised for the public to have a say in." Asked if legalisation would tempt more people to sample drugs, she said: "Is it not the same with alcohol. What is the difference?" Controlled quantities of purified drugs could be sold in licensed premises and could be taxed just like alcohol, she said. The motion calls for an expansion of "the range of legal recreational drugs available beyond alcohol and tobacco which are quality controlled and taxable". Miss Fozzard said: "The government should be treating people as adults and not treating adults as children in their own homes." The BMA advised against the legalisation of cannabis when it gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee in 2002. The committee recommended downgrading of the class A drug ecstasy to Class B, but this was rejected by ministers. Ministers did agree to downgrade cannabis from Class B to C, but the Home Office is opposed to legalisation. Note: Connie Fozzard says there needs to be a public debate on drugs.Source: BBC News (UK Web) Published: Monday, June 30, 2003Copyright: 2003 BBC Contact: newsonline bbc.co.ukWebsite: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ Related Articles & Web Site:Drugs Uncovered: Observer Special http://freedomtoexhale.com/dc.htmDowngrading of Cannabis Put Off Till Next Year http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16677.shtmlCannabis Policy Goes Up In Smoke http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16671.shtmlThinktank Urges Leniency for Cannabis Growers http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15962.shtmlResearchers Call for Softer Pot Cultivation Lawshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15957.shtml 
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Comment #5 posted by goneposthole on June 30, 2003 at 20:32:37 PT
a cloud of smoke
about as clear is it can get.
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Comment #4 posted by freedom fighter on June 30, 2003 at 17:27:19 PT
goneposthole,
would you care to clarify your comment?thankspazff
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Comment #3 posted by Virgil on June 30, 2003 at 17:26:02 PT
Unjust justice is unamerican
Recreational drugs should be legalisedWell, 80% of Americans recognize MMJ, but what does that mean to the Nazis? Unjust justice is unamerican, but what does that mean to the Nazis? Look at the unbelievable harm of cannabis prohibition, but what does that mean to the Nazis? People need to starve the economy and learn the value of a thrifty meal because it is contrary to the interest of the Nazis. Don't shop for freedom.
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Comment #2 posted by goneposthole on June 30, 2003 at 16:28:00 PT
cannabis news
de facto legalization, eh?A 'policeman' (to serve and protect) drives by the beer garden of a neighborhood bar. A lot of folks are smoking bowls and reefers. He acquaints himself with the locals, asks everyone how it goes, exchanges pleasantries and continues his patrol work. Here, in America, in a state amongst the Union, is where it is taking place. Today, in June of 2003.That's alright with me.
 
happy trails
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Comment #1 posted by john wayne on June 30, 2003 at 15:02:20 PT
seems like pretty big story.
coming from BBC, no less.When a doc breaks ranks and points out the emporers nudity, it makes a bigger impression in the public mind than usual, perhaps an uncomfortable truth.I've been wondering lately about the US telling the UN to "shove it" over Iraq. The 1961 UN single treaty forbidding member nations to legalize "narcotics" is the song that US drug warriors constantly harp to any nation considering abandoning the drug war. What happens the next time the US invokes the UN?
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