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Not
all drug habits are so easily forgiven |
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Illegal drugs, we have learned this week, fall
into two broad categories. Some turn their users into hopeless
victims who, if they are lucky enough to recover, are to be welcomed
and congratulated by society. Others, equally illegal, demonise
their users for ever, whether they have recovered or not [Independent,
UK] |
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Dope's
policy? |
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Millions of Britons smoke cannabis occasionally,
and manage to function. It has been part of the cultural landscape
for over 40 years, argues David Matthews [New Statesman, UK] |
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Taking
drugs regularly is normal’ |
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Though it is impossible to quantify exactly
how many students are now “using”, anecdotal evidence
suggests that drugs are more easily available within the university
population than ever [Times, UK] |
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Hospitals
treat 8,000 drunk children each year |
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The number of school-age children needing medical
treatment after binge drinking has soared by nearly 40 per cent
in just six years [Telegraph, UK] |
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Victims
of binge Britain: Teenager and Samaritan killed in drunken
attacks |
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Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "These
tragic cases are symptomatic of a much wider problem. Violent
crime has doubled in ten years, fuelled by the government's lax
approach to drugs, 24-hour drinking and law enforcement [The
Daily Mail, UK] |
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£1.65m
drugs haul found on beach |
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Drugs with an estimated street value of £1.65m
have been found washed up on a Gwynedd beach [BBC, UK] |
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'To
B or not to B?' is not the only cannabis question |
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The government has once again re-opened the
totemic cannabis debate and its Advisory Council is now reviewing
the C classification barely two years after their last review
(when it stayed at Class C). [ePolitix, UK] |
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Plans
to reclassify cannabis obscure real debate |
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The government’s new review of cannabis
classification will not help the situation, writes Steve Rolles
[Socialist Worker, UK] |
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Drugsline
on The Politics Show - BBC 1 |
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Drugsline’s Executive Director Rabbi
Sufrin, was featured on the BBC’s Politics Show to talk
about the re-classification of cannabis [You Tube, UK] |
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Making
Pot Legal: We Can Do It - Here's How |
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Changing public opinion about pot isn't easy.
Changing America's anti-pot laws is even harder - here's a blueprint
to get it done [AlterNet, USA] |
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Marijuana
Policy Posse: Why is Marijuana Illegal? |
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The Marijuana Policy Posse (an offshoot of
the Marijuana Policy Project) has a nicely done short video up
exploring why marijuana is illegal, from both the public's point
of view and the point of view of drug policy experts [Drug Law
Blog, USA] |
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Proposals
for Manifesto from APPG on Involuntary Tranquilliser Addiction |
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By several criteria involuntary addiction to
prescribed tranquillisers is the most serious drug problem in
the UK today [Benzo, UK] |
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HM
Inspectorate of Prisons annual report 2006-2007 |
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Annual report 2006-2007. 74-page PDF [HM Chief
Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales] |
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The
War on Drugs Starts Here |
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If we have learned one thing in the protracted
war on drugs, it is that reining in illicit drug trafficking
will require more than fighting cartels south of the border.
Nothing can be achieved unless this country curbs its own demand
for illegal narcotics [Editorial, New York Times, USA] |
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New
Newsletter for US Needle & Syringe Exchange Programmes |
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This new resource is from the HRC’s ‘Syringe
Access Expansion Project’, which aims to provide technical
assistance to syringe exchange programmes in the USA [IHRA] |
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Don't
Forget About Drug Treatment |
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The connection between drug abuse and crime
is well known, and research shows that enforced abstinence, if
it occurs in prison, does not "cure" a person addicted
to drugs. The best hope for that is treatment, which is why I
was disappointed that this article failed to highlight the proven
value of providing treatment in the criminal justice system ...
Letter from Nora D. Volkow, Director, National Institute on Drug
Abuse [Washington Post, USA] |
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Money
tight for alcohol treatment |
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Alcohol kills three times more Australians
than all illicit drugs, but new figures reveal that only $1.2
million was dedicated to harmful drinking in 2005-06 — compared
to almost $11 million for other drugs [The Age, Australia] |
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Values
and Ethics in Harm Reduction |
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Contents of Volume 19, Issue 1, February 2008 [International
Journal of Drug Policy] |
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