Like drunks in denial, MPs blow off truth about drugs

A good friend of mine, an almost lifelong heroin user who, more recently, has diversified into crack cocaine and therefore requires a quick blast from an oxygen cylinder before going for a walk, rang me not so long ago with a warning: “Rod, I’m worried about your drinking,” he said. “You’ve really got to look after yourself.” I couldn’t speak for a few moments, out of incredulity and indignation; I consume on average half a bottle of wine per day, which is too much, sure — but to be lectured by a crack-addled skaghead with half a lung and the facial complexion of that character in Munch’s The Scream seemed, to me, pushing it. (comment on the Nutt sacking in the Times)

He explained further: “In my profession [he’s a rock singer], the drunks check out in their forties and fifties. We smackheads usually hold things together for another 20 years more.” Colloquially — and with a few famous exceptions — he was right.

UK Government sacks top drug expert for speaking the truth

Professor David Nutt is an expert in his field: a professor of psychopharmacology at Bristol University and head of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London. He knows more about the brain's responses to anxiety, addiction and sleep than any politician or media commentator. He is precisely the sort of man who should be helping the government shape its drugs policy, which is why he was appointed and then reappointed to serve as chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. That is also why it is such a disgrace that Alan Johnson, the home secretary, sacked him late yesterday afternoon for having the temerity to point out some obvious truths about the government's populist and unthinking handling of the issue. (from the Guardian)

Mr Johnson, it seems, welcomes independent advice when it agrees with his own prejudices but does not have the strength of character to listen to people who tell him difficult truths. Perhaps he would rather Professor Nutt had continued to tolerate past practice, which was to repeatedly advise the government that not all illegal drugs are as dangerous as some influential newspapers claim, and that not all legal ones are safe, and then find that advice rejected just as repeatedly by ministers. Instead the professor made his views public this week, in a speech and in a pamphlet for the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. In it, he confronted government policy. But what is the point of having an independent panel of experts if its members are sacked when they offer expert advice?

In a statement yesterday the Home Office said it remained "determined to crack down on all illegal substances and minimise their harm to health and society as a whole". Nothing Professor Nutt believes contradicts the important part of that statement – the need to minimise the harm drugs cause. But he is not the only person to see the idiocy in a policy that declares some drugs (cannabis among them) illegal, while others (alcohol, obviously) are not. "Alcohol ranks as the fifth most harmful drug after heroin, cocaine, barbiturates and methadone. Tobacco is ranked ninth," he argued. "Cannabis, LSD and ecstasy, while harmful, are ranked lower at 11, 14 and 18 respectively."

Mr Johnson is the second home secretary to find Professor Nutt's views challenging, but the only one to sack him. When Professor Nutt pointed out to Jacqui Smith that 100 people die a year from riding horses, and only 30 from ecstasy, the press got excited. But no one could show that it wasn't true. Drugs cause harm. Drugs law is a fraught issue. A brave minister would take advice and accept that the government might be in the wrong. Shooting the messenger is stupid and dangerous.

Drug Chief: Cannabis less harmful than Alcohol and Tobacco.

The British Government's chief drug adviser, Professor David Nutt, has sparked controversy by claiming ecstasy, LSD and cannabis are less dangerous than cigarettes and alcohol. (The Belfast Telegraph)

Professor David Nutt, chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, attacked the decision to make cannabis a class B drug.

He accused former home secretary Jacqui Smith, who reclassified the drug, of "distorting and devaluing" scientific research.

Prof Nutt said smoking cannabis created only a "relatively small risk" of psychotic illness. And he claimed advocates of moving ecstasy into class B from class A had "won the intellectual argument".

All drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, should be ranked by a "harm" index, he said, with alcohol coming fifth behind cocaine, heroin, barbiturates, and methadone.

Tobacco should rank ninth, ahead of cannabis, LSD and ecstasy.

Prof Nutt said: "No one is suggesting that drugs are not harmful. The critical question is one of scale and degree. We need a full and open discussion of the evidence and a mature debate about what the drug laws are for - and whether they are doing their job."

In a lecture and briefing paper for the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King's College, London, Prof Nutt attacked what he called the "artificial" separation of alcohol and tobacco from other, illegal, drugs.

He also repeated his claim that the risks of taking ecstasy are no worse than riding a horse.

A Home Office spokesman said: "Prof Nutt's views are his own and do not reflect the views of Government. The Government is clear - we are determined to crack down on all illegal substances and minimise their harm to health and society as a whole."

Good on the Professor. Of course the Home Office spokesperson knows better. What their qualification is to talk about drugs is unclear.

What do Richard Quest, Andre Agassi and 300 000 Capetonians have in common?

They have all taken crystal meth... also known as tik....

Andre Agassi, one of the finest players to grace the game, tested positive for the highly addictive drug, crystal methamphetamine, and then duped the Association of Tennis Professionals into believing he had taken it by accident. (from the Times)

Crackdown in M'Plain... Payback for murders...

Police have launched a 30-day lockdown of the crime-ridden suburb in Mitchell's Plain which they have dubbed "Operation Choke", as payback for the murders of two street committee members, Mervyn Jacobs and Vincent Naidoo. (from IOL)

"It's payback time," said the city's mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith. "We want people to know that if they touch a police officer, street committee or neighbourhood watch member there will be consequences." (Ahem... the two arrested for the murder were busy applying for bail on Wednesday!)

He said the joint Metro Police and police operation would retain an extensive presence in the area for the next 30 days. For three to four days all routes in and out of the suburb would be manned by police.

"We want to make it difficult for drug dealers to bring their merchandise in and out so they will change their modus operandi and take risks." (Risks like what? Sounds dangerous? Do you really want people to do things which are dangerous? Isn't it about time you regulate all this dangerous activity?)

The operation will include rotating vehicle check points, foot patrols, stop and search operations and house raids.

All the city's law enforcement specialised units, including the liquor control squad are involved.

Athlone and Atlantis are next in line.

Le Roux said 56 houses had been identified as problematic, eight of which were searched last night. Six high-flyers involved in drugs and organised crime would also be targeted.

Earlier in the day members of the operation set up a series of roadblocks, and a man was arrested for having a fake driver's licence. They also raided an illegal shebeen in which they found a traumatised three-year-old girl.

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, who accompanied them, said that gangsters had been taking revenge for the efficacy of the street committees by taking on soft targets like wheelchair-bound Naidoo. "We've got to show we won't fall over and die."

Gang Violence Explodes in Cape Town

Gang violence - a predictable consequence of prohibition - has exploded onto the Cape Flats. The rise in violence has coincided with a crack down on illicit drugs by police. (from IOL)

Twenty-five people died in gang violence across Cape Town in the past two months, say police, as in-fighting and new gangs trying to establish themselves in the drug trade take their toll.

Police have confirmed that, since September, eight people have been murdered in Athlone, eight in Elsies River, four in Bishop Lavis, two in Mitchell's Plain, two in Delft and one in Philippi.

Two more arrested for growing and selling cannabis

Two people were arrested when police found a dagga processing laboratory in Cape Town's Gardens area, the city said on Thursday. (from IOL)

"On Tuesday afternoon, the [police's] Drug Busters, arrested two suspects for possession of narcotics after they executed a search warrant at a house in Gardens, Kloofnek," it said in a statement.

Laboratory equipment, extractor fans, chemicals, 55 dagga plants, a large hashish block, one bank bag of hallucinogenic "magic mushrooms", 20 medium bags of dagga and R3 000 cash were confiscated.

In addition the electricity account was in arrears to the tune of over R56 000. (Hau! Pay your Bills)

City metro police deputy chief Yolanda Faro said: "We want to demonstrate that when we work together we can more successfully combat crime. Such successes provide further motivation for us to curb the drug trade which wreaks havoc in our communities."

The deputy chief is dumber than two short planks nailed together. Cannabis and Magic Mushrooms have NEVER killed anyone... they don't wreak havoc in our communities. The drug which wreaks havoc in our communities is alcohol and the deputy chief happily points to this "success" while the world around her burns. Dumber than dumb.

Western Cape and the war on drugs

Is the Western Cape government winning the war on drugs or have the drugs won?

The Premier likes to talk tough about the scourge to drugs. Drug arrests are up. Those would be for possession and the sale of those drugs. The statistics don't lie:
2003 - 19,940
2004 - 30,432
2005 - 34,788
2006 - 41,067
2007 - 45,985
2008 - 52,781
Where does it all end? The prisons are over crowded as it is. Cape Town alone has 300000 tik users with similar numbers smoking cannabis. Can we expect the authorities to draw a line down the middle of the city declaring half of it to be a prison? The authorities talk tough, but the situation has gotten beyond them. The prohibition of drugs has not worked. The drugs are on the streets. The state is not in a position to regulate drugs when they are illegal. The time has come to consider the alternatives. Are these illicit drugs really so dangerous? Where are the bodies? Alcohol is the most dangerous drug of all generating bodies at a rate of knots. Why then is the dangerous one legal and the far less dangerous ones illicit?

Pictures of the cost of the war on drugs

2009 UN Drug Report. The Boston Globe shows the human cost on lives of the war on drugs.

Treating heroin addicts with heroin...

A newly released British study has found that daily heroin injections given to hard-to-treat addicts as part of a comprehensive program succeeded in treating those addicts and reducing crime. The use of street heroin was reduced by three quarters and the crimes committed trying to get drugs were cut by two-thirds, the study found. (from CNN)

"The intensity of the program is quite striking," said John Strang, who led the research team at Britain's National Addiction Centre, associated with King's College in London. "The bond that is formed and the commitment that's established between the patient coming in for treatment and the staff is far greater than you would ever ordinarily see."

Taking heroin off the streets seems to be making a difference. Researchers injected heroin in a safe, stable environment at medically supervised clinics. They crucially paired that with intensive counseling and addiction treatment.

The researchers reported that benefits were evident just six weeks into treatment among users who had failed at other kinds of treatment.

Drug busts continue apace in Cape Town

Police continue to make drug arrests confiscating R512000 worth of drugs and equipment in 4 busts. (from IOL)

A man driving a blue Toyota Hilux bakkie was searched by police who found 500 grams of tik, with an estimated street value of R12 000, and a large amount of cash hidden inside the suspect's clothes.

Wilson said the suspect will appear in the Bellville Magistrate's Court today on charges of drug possession. (500 grams = possession?)

Nearly two weeks ago, Metro police searched a home in Vredehoek, finding high quality dagga with an estimated street value of R270 000 hidden in 15 large jars, 1kg dagga powder with an estimated street value of R100 000, and R70 000 in cash.

In another search at a Gardens home, police found drug-manufacturing equipment worth R120 000.

During October, Kraaifontein police searched two houses following tip-offs leading them to a Wallacedene house, where police found cocaine crystals worth an estimated R30 000 and to a Bloekombos house, where drugs were allegedly being sold where police "found a lot of loose dagga in a suitcase" as well as in plastic drums, parcels and plastic bags worth an estimated R40 000.

Latin America's Legalization Push

A call for drug policy-reform is echoing across Latin America, where a decades-long, U.S.-sponsored battle against drug production and distribution has fostered a climate of fear, insecurity, and death. Throughout the region, former and current political leaders have allied with academics, medical professionals, and community activists to issue an appeal for a multinational dialogue on alternatives to the current drug war, including a possible end to drug prohibition. (from The American Prospect)

38 Drunk drivers caught in Cape Town

A total of 38 motorists were arrested for drunken driving and fines worth R64 000 issued in Macassar and Somerset West, Cape Town city officials said on Monday. (from IOL)

The drivers were caught at road blocks over the weekend where fines were issued, mainly for vehicle defects, the city's traffic services spokeswoman Chief Inspector Merle Lourens said in a statement.

"We cannot sufficiently emphasise that driving a vehicle while intoxicated can have fatal consequences. For some it becomes a seemingly sobering experience only once they've been arrested, handcuffed and put into a holding cell for the night. This is much too late."

Netherlands to close 4 prisons.... Not enough prisoners

The Dutch justice ministry has announced it will close eight prisons and cut 1,200 jobs in the prison system. A decline in crime has left many cells empty. (from NRC)

The Western Cape's crime statistics (pdf) reveal the number of DRUG ARRESTS year on year.

2003 : 19,940
2004 : 30,432
2005 : 34,788
2006 : 41,067
2007 : 45,985
2008 : 52,781

No wonder our prisons are FULL!