Cops root out Rasta garden

Cape Town police have confiscated the contents of a Rastafarian front garden that was grown for smoking rather than pretty flowers.

Inspector Nkosikho Mzuku, spokesman for the Ocean View station, said police were looking for a suspect in the area on Wednesday morning.

In an informal settlement that he described as a "Rasta camp", the police noticed dagga plants of varying sizes growing in flower beds around the front of one shack.

The plants were screened from a nearby road by a wooden fence.

Police removed a total of 750 plants, worth about R5 000, from the beds.

A woman and three men, aged between 36 and 42, were arrested and would appear in the Simonstown Magistrate's Court on Thursday, on charges of possessing dagga.

All four were Rastas, he said. - Sapa

SAB - who's guarding the hen house, who's watching the foxes?

A key component of SAB’s business is its logistics network and distribution capabilities. As a company committed to customer service, productivity and empowerment, SAB is one of only a few companies that can deliver its products to any area in South Africa within 24 hours of an order being placed. (from SAB)

The Owner-Driver programme was founded with the introduction of a pilot project in the Western Cape in 1987. Today, this project accounts for more than half of all SAB Ltd's deliveries through some 260 companies, operating more than 460 vehicles. Each of these businesses employs at least four people. As a result this R530-million per annum project has provided at least 2300 jobs and created 280 independent businesses. (from Financial Mail)

Using a network of 42 depots and 12 distributors, the company's products are distributed to about 25 000 points of sale across the country. More than half this distribution is done through independent distributors called owner-drivers.

It's estimated that there are 265 000 points of sale for beer in SA. Of these, SAB estimates that 74% are operating without a licence. Using Soweto as an example, SAB estimates that of 1 500 outlets, only 355 are licensed. Legally, SAB is prohibited from supplying these illegal outlets - shebeens - directly. To do so would be putting the company's licence to trade at risk.

To get beer to consumers in the townships, an entrepreneurial independent distribution network sprang up many years ago. SAB sells its products to legal retailers, and to a lesser extent to legal wholesalers, usually in rural areas. Wholesalers can sell to only licensed retail outlets. The independent retail distributors (IRDs) sell to shebeens. IRDs, or bootleggers, vary in size from one-man operations with a wheelbarrow to organised fleets of bakkies.

Who is ensuring that the owner drivers are playing by the rules and delivering only to licenced outlets? Apparently no one. Who is watching/stopping the illegal actions of the IRD's? No one. These folks are moving the bulk of SAB's product from the legal licenced sellers to the illegal and no one cares to do anything about it.

SAB produces 93% of the country's alcohol (down from 98% in 2007).

74% of shebeens are unlicenced.

82% of SAB's alcohol sold in illegal shebeens if permit-operating shebeens are included. (Only 18% is sold legally)

SAB’s liquor is bought from licensed wholesalers such as Makro or Trading Centres and liquor stores by individuals who buy in bulk to illegally trade it in shebeens.

The owner-drivers are responsible for the delivery of the liquor to licensed and permit-operating businesses countrywide. This market consists of licensed restaurants, wholesalers, liquor stores, taverns and shebeens with permits. Wholesalers and liquor stores sell liquor in large quantities to individuals. Some of these individuals operate illegal shebeens which actually retail 82% of SAB’s products. The Soweto depot supplies Soweto, Eldorado, Kliptown, Lolli and surrounding suburbs. These townships consume about 62 222 cases per day (twelve bottles in each case)

Licensed taverns and shebeens operating with permits are assisted by SAB to brand their enterprises, with names imprinted on the background of one of SAB’s alcohol beverages. For instance, SAB places a board outside each client’s enterprise, displaying the name of the shebeen or tavern on the background of one of SAB’s beers such as Carling Black Label or Castle Lager. These enterprises are also given fridges, chairs and other materials to facilitate their growth. By giving the taverners fridges, the quality of the product is assured and enhanced, as their liquor is served cold. The provision of chairs and glasses enhances the quality of the tavern or shebeen, as customers are able to enjoy their favourite beer sitting comfortably on chairs and drinking out of branded beer glasses. There are, however, conditions that come with SAB’s ‘free’ gifts. Taverners and shebeeners are told that the fridges are only to be used for SAB’s products. If any other company’s brand is found in the fridge, SAB will immediately confiscate the fridge. There are other rules attached to these fridges. They have to be packed according to a particular order. For example, a Black Label branded fridge should feature that beer on the top shelf, followed by other brands on the other shelves.

The shebeeners are assigned a sales representative by SAB, who teaches them how to pack the fridge and other business skills necessary for running a successful operation. The fridge has to be placed where customers can see the beers in the fridge. Thus, the fridge has to face the customer. These rules on how to display and pack the fridge have to do with the power of advertising.

The price of beer is recommended by South African Breweries. For instance, at the time of writing SAB’s recommended price for Black Label was R6.50. The taverners and shebeeners are not forced to sell the brand at this price. Most charge R7.00 to R7.50. SAB has created incentives for adopting the recommended beer prices and other recommendations drafted especially for taverns and shebeens. For instance, the provision of chairs, tablecloths and glasses is dependent on following SAB’s recommendations, including selling beer at the recommended price. (Making Visible the Invisible research for the Dept of Labour)

The government knows that the wholesalers are selling alcohol for illegal resale. SAB are providing a sales representative, training, the fridges, the tables, the chairs, the table cloths, the signage out the front, the glasses and the beer. Any wonder that there are 200000 illegal shebeens across the country? Is anyone watching? Does anyone care?

Rugby tackles drinking culture

In the past few weeks all 12 clubs in the top tier have put their players through Drink IQ, a programme that provides plenty of information to digest for all who drink, but especially for members of sports clubs. “Coming into the festive season, the time of partying and merriment, is a good time to reinforce the messages,” says Phil Winstanley. (from The TimesOnline)

The project is run by Diageo, the drinks manufacturer. Er, hang on. Is a producer of alcoholic drinks (including Guinness, which sponsors the league) really the best choice for the job of informing people about the dangers of drinking? Winstanley says that independent psychiatric consultants endorsed the scheme, which began as part of in-house training for Diageo employees but was then rolled out in Australia, most notably to the Wallabies, the national rugby team.

Legal drugs? Drug Prohibition's unintended consequences

Prohibiting drugs has not worked. Not only has it not worked, but the unintended consequences have been deadly. Because of the prohibition a drugs arms race has developed. Newer (still legal for now) drugs are emerging and are being developed. Legal highs as they are known in the UK have been the subject of controversy. Examples of legal highs are GBL (a derivative of GHB), mephedrone (the miaow drug) synthetic cannabinoids, which are sprayed on herbal smoking products, and chemicals such as BZP (Benzylpiperazine), part of the piperazine family of stimulants that are an alternative to amphetamine. (from the Telegraph)

Governments wishing drugs away is not making the drugs go away. The prohibition of each drug drives the market for legal drugs to the next drug to be developed. This is insanity. The policy leads to people self experimenting with "still legal" drugs which are far more dangerous than the traditional illicit ones.

The new UK law dealing with legal highs has angered experts who argue that the legislation does not go far enough because it does not ban other party drugs such as mephedrone. The drug has already been outlawed in some countries, including Sweden, Israel and the US, where it has been linked with a string of deaths.

Only refining legal drugs could have more dire consequences. Scientists in Russia have reduced alcohol to a powder. Just add water and drink. (from the Times of India)

The Cure is worse than the Problem

The South African Police have shot a man accused of smoking cannabis while fleeing arrest. (from the DA)

The number of deaths attributable to the regular inhalation of cannabis is ZERO. South Africa does not keep statistics of cannabis deaths, so American statistics will have to do. If cannabis were legal Kgothatso Ndobe's (21) death would not have happened, so instantly the law prohibiting cannabis has taken more lives than cannabis itself. It's not the first time this year either. The cure is worse than the problem.

The 1996 National Drug Master Plan required the state investigate the decriminalisation of cannabis. In 2004 the South African Cannabis Position Paper was produced, but never released. The question of decriminalisation was dropped in the 2006 National Drug Master Plan. The 2006 National Drug Master Plan incredibly makes no mention of the 2004 Position Paper. The South Africa Cannabis position paper is available here.

The South Africa Cannabis Position Paper is a disgrace. When is something dangerous? When is something harmful? How many people has cannabis killed? The SA Position Paper is pseudo-scientific. It is better to ignore an inconvenient truth than do a proper investigation for the truth? The South Africa Police aerial eradication programme failed to get a mention in the paper, which is sad considering the environmental damage they wreak by spraying Roundup from their helicopters donated by the US DEA.

The South African Cannabis Position paper cherry picks facts and uses quotes out of context. The Canadian Senate Paper is heavily relied on through out the paper, however the SA Paper misrepresents their position which was to legalise and control cannabis like cigarettes.

The medical cannabis phenomenon whereby cannabis is prescribed for medical conditions in America is ignored, while the therapeutic effects and benefits of cannabis are down-played in the SA Paper.

Cannabis consumption entails a small chance of schizophrenia. How many? 1 in 5000.

South Africa is including cannabis cultivation in the agricultural portion of it's GDP calculation. How the crop and value are to be guessed at is not stated.

Poker-faced prohibition has left the Western Cape with a horrendous drug consumption result. 10% do tik, 10% smoke cannabis and the rest are drinking. It's not working and it's time for a change in direction.

"Alcohol remains the primary drug of abuse in South Africa." (2006 NDMP) From 1998 to 2006 average consumption doubled from 10 litres per annum to 20 litres. Less than 50% of people dying non-natural deaths in South Africa are dying sober and that rate is consistent year on year. The Western Cape government has shown some political will to deal with the alcohol industry. All alcohol comes from a handful of producers and ends up being sold illegally. The "control" of the alcohol industry has left a lot to be desired, as have the actions of the alcohol producers. FAS started climbing in the late 1990's and is over 10% in some areas. Interestingly the WAY "we" bringe drink in the Western Cape is particularly conducive to creating FAS children. What rights does a child have and does it include not being born retarded? Why is it not yet illegal to knowingly serve alcohol to a pregnant woman? There are no good answers when you consider these questions in the context locking adults up for smoking a safe cannabis joint.

Prohibition has clearly not worked in South Africa. Consumption is UP. Consumption amongst children is UP. Children are prohibitionists first port of call. "For the children!" they cry. That prohibition ends up handing all illicit drug manufacture and sales to a criminal underworld which sells to these same children does not enter the mind. Drug arrests are up year on year in the Western Cape. Is this actually "success"? Have the people who were arrested stopped taking those drugs? Thousands of citizens now have criminal records and now unemployable. Is this "success"? There are in excess of 600 000 illicit drug consumers in Cape Town (at least). Which prison is big enough to hold all these people?

As much as each drug is different the law regulating that drug needs to be different. Treating methamphetamines the same as magic mushrooms or lsd is stupid. The law needs to be rational. The law needs to be based on the harm that the various drugs do, rather than "because I say so". Adults are responsible for their actions and are doing drugs. The drugs are not ruining their lives. The law and the courts are. The time has come to regulate the drug industry and to set the police free to concentrate on violent crime. Abolishing criminal penalties for possession and consumption of drugs does not neccesarily mean higher rates of consumption. Portugal's 8 year experience teaches otherwise.

With drugs honesty comes FIRST.

Cannabis infinitely SAFER than alcohol... So why drive people to drink?

Cannabis is SAFER than alcohol.

Number of cannabis deaths in South Africa from the inhalation of cannabis = ZERO.

2005 NIMSS - National non-natural deaths
50.6% of those violently killed were drunk (with an average blood alcohol content of 0.15)
61% of drivers killed and tested were drunk (with a BAC of 0.17 - twice the legal limit!)
50% of pedestrians killed and tested were on average three times the legal limit (BAC 2.0)
Incredibly 22% of cyclists killed and tested were drunk too (BAC of 0.25!!!!! )
Only 52.38% of the deceased who were tested died sober.

2004 NIMSS - National
54% of those violently killed and tested had an average BAC of 0.17
52% of those killed in transport collisions were inebriated.
Almost exactly half the non-natural deaths were sober while the other half were inebriated

2004 NIMSS Cape Town - Cape Town is worse than the rest of the country.
58.5% of those violently killed and tested were drunk
65% of pedestrians killed and tested had an average BAC of 2.0
57.3% of people killed in transport accidents and tested were drunk - with an average BAC of 1.8.
Only 46.3% of deceased persons tested died sober.

Alcohol plays a role in over half the non-natural deaths in Cape Town, yet the government continues to drive people to drink.

Cannabis is SAFER than Alcohol. Choosing Cannabis ahead of Alcohol is what RATIONAL people do: they choose the less harmful, less dangerous alternative. Why is a rational debate not possible? Why does the state not allow access to safer alternatives to alcohol?

The Decriminalisation Cop Out - Better to Legalise and Control

Decriminalisation or Legalisation? Which is better?

Decriminalisation is a "policy" decision to not enforce certain laws and makes for bad law. Decriminalisation does not address the supply of the drugs or attempt to reduce demand through sin tax measures. Decriminalisation is an admission that prohibition (the current law) has failed and the costs associated with busting and jailing every drug user is too high. Decriminalisation replaces a failed policy with one of looking the other way. The law itself is not changed, so the opportunity for graft is enormous with police extracting "on the spot fines" to look the other way. As decriminalisation is a policy decision it is subject to immediate change by the policy setters of the day. Decriminalisation as a policy has worked - in Portugal for instance, but it is the poor cousin to legalisation.

Legalisation means a change in the law regulating and controlling the various drugs. Each drug is different and as such requires a different control regime. Trying to control cannabis like alcohol or tik is unrealistic. Legalisation of certain drugs does not mean that those drugs should or will be freely available. The point of legalisation is to control the industry from production, to distribution, to tax, to consumption. Legalisation controls the age from which a person may purchase and consume a drug, while decriminalisation does not. Legalisation will always be harder to do. It requires new and innovative thinking. It requires an understanding of each of the drugs and how different they are from production through to the effect the person feels. The allure of tik to disenfranchised persons sitting in a shack.... which when you smoke it makes you feel invincible and like Superman... is massive. The health consequences are also massive and tik will change that person's personality. They NEED medical help, but they will not get it while they are on the "outside". Each drug has it's time and place: tik's place is in a trench in the middle of a war staying awake after 36 hours of fighting or flying a kamikaze plane into an aircraft carrier's deck. Since we're not at war or intentionally flying jets into the ground tik should be locked in the Pharmacist's safe!

Drugs - Why?

Imagine your mind to be a mansion. You haven't been everywhere in it. Apparently we only regularly use a small portion of our brains. We are used to the kitchen, the living room, the bedroom, the toilet.... There is another wing of the mansion. It is upstairs. Yes you have to get high to go there. Now the rooms upstairs are wildly different to the ones downstairs. Upstairs there is A BAR, the wild nightclub room with music and flashing lights, a gym, a meditation room, a library, a jacuzzi, a medical clinic, a psychologist's practice, a sushi bar, a prison cell and a teleporter. Sure you can live life sober every moment of every day, but that means you never get to see any of the other places in the mansion. Once you accept alcohol is just another room upstairs you will realise that there is a time and a place for each and every drug. Only the lies told and government propaganda stops us from seeing this. Drugs are not good or bad - they just are. I am guessing that you will hear a lot of emotive language used against the use of drugs. Repeat those phrases and ask - Why should emotive language be such a ready substitute for clear thinking and facts? (PS the teleporter is DMT)

Alcohol NOT all powerful. Addicts can successfully cut down consumption

Top addiction experts now say that many drinkers can evaluate their habits and -- using new knowledge about genetic and behavioral risks of addiction -- change those habits if necessary. Even some people who have what are now termed alcohol-use disorders, they add, can cut back on consumption before it disrupts education, ruins careers and damages health. (from the LA Times)

In short, say some of the nation's leading scientists studying substance abuse, humans travel a long road before they become powerless over alcohol -- and most never reach that point.

"From what we know from scientific studies, there are some very clear things that can be done," Dr. Mark Willenbring, director of treatment and recovery research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says. "But people don't ordinarily think of looking to science for how to improve drinking problems."

Alcohol leads to violence. Drunk driver assaults police.

A motorist has been arrested with two of his passengers after two traffic officers were assaulted while trying to arrest the man for suspected drink driving. (from IOL)

It is expected they will appear in the Somerset West Magistrate's Court tomorrow.

The two officers pulled the car over on the R102 near Macassar because it was overloaded. Three men and two women were in the car.

A woman traffic officer talked to the driver and suspected he was drunk, said provincial traffic department spokesman Xenophone Wentzel.

The officer tested the man and found he was over the legal limit. When she tried to arrest him, he swore at her and she called another officer to help her. When the male officer came to the car, the driver slapped the woman officer and then hit the male officer in the face.

The woman officer was unhurt, but the other officer was taken to hospital for stitches to a cut beneath his eye.

Children drunk cycling - best defence ever.

The members Steenberg Police Station have been involved in two serious reckless and negligent cases this year. (from the People's Post)

In February, an officer and two children on a bicycle collided in Peter Charles Street, Cafda. Van Dyk says the investigation was handled by Steenberg's detective branch.

"The public prosecutor did not find enough evidence to prosecute," says Van Dyk. "The investigation revealed that the driver of the bicycle was under the influence of alcohol."

All criminal charges have been withdrawn against the police officer.

Murder most foul.... Mother unrepentant.....

Vanetia Orgill from Mitchell's Plain took the stand to talk about her son, Troy (27), who had been a drug addict for over ten years. (from the People's Post)

Troy committed suicide at a friend's home at the start of the year. He had apparently stopped taking drugs for two years before his death, but had developed schizophrenia as a result of his drug abuse.

Orgill told the court that her son had on numerous occasions tried to kill her in his drug rages, and that on one occasion, in his drugged state, he had asked her and his sister for sex. Troy was forced to live outside the family home in a car as he could not be trusted in the house.

Orgill said her son had constantly been in and out of jail for theft.

Orgill said her son would often throw rocks at the house, breaking all the windows.

At one stage, said Orgill, she came close to breaking down, and forced a gun into her son's mouth. It was a family friend, apparently, who convinced her not to pull the trigger that night.

She said that "close to the end", she started wishing that her child would die. She told Von Leeve that she had given Troy a rope to hang himself with.

"People can call me hard and cold because I told my son: 'You pig, why don't you just hang yourself?'." And Troy did end up hanging himself.

Von Leeve asked Orgill what she thought when she first heard about Ellen's murder trial. "I thought, 'I hope she gets away with it,'" she replied.

Drug busts leads to gang warfare in Cape Town

At least 16 people have been killed and 39 wounded in two months in a drug and turf war which is fuelling gang violence across the province. (from IOL)

In a desperate effort to put an end to the attacks, police are tightening their grip on drug dealers and users.

In seven months just three police stations in the province have recorded 4 525 drug-related arrests.

Police Commissioner Mzwandile Petros said police were tackling gang violence from every angle except focusing on the drug trade, which seemed to be at its root.

In Bishop Lavis, where 967 drug arrests were made since April, three people were killed and three others wounded in attacks. One resident was killed and six others wounded in Atlantis in a gang fight over drug turf.

Accept the facts – and end this futile 'war on drugs'

The proponents of the "war on drugs" are well-intentioned people who believe they are saving people from the nightmare of drug addiction and making the world safer. But this self-image has turned into a faith – and like all faiths, it can only be maintained by cultivating a deliberate blindness to the evidence. (from the Independent)

Fact One The drug war hands one of our biggest industries to armed criminal gangs, who unleash terrible violence across the country.

Fact Two Under prohibition, drug use becomes more hardcore.

Fact Three The drug war doesn't reduce drug use – but the alternatives can.

AMA asks for Cannabis to be moved from Schedule 1

Complete with freudian slip..

Mom chooses booze over child

A Khayelitsha, Cape Town, woman was arrested for child neglect after she allegedly left her baby with her elderly father while she went out drinking, Western Cape police said on Wednesday. (from IOL)

"Police found the one-year-old child playing outside in the cold weather. She was in a bad state of neglect and when brought to the station. Victim support volunteers found that she was extremely hungry," Constable Mthokozisi Gama said.

"After bathing her and seeing to her needs, police commenced with the search for her mother."

They found the 20-year-old woman in a local shebeen. She was arrested on charges of child neglect and child abuse.

Cannabis less dangerous than Asprin

A look at the evidence.... (From the Atlantic)

Lies about Cannabis drives people to more dangerous Alcohol

Professor David Nutt didn’t play the game. As the chief drug policy advisor in the British Government, an unspoken part of his job description was to help maintain a public fiction about cannabis. Specifically, he was expected to further the misperception of cannabis as a substance worthy of being classified and prohibited in a manner similar to more dangerous drugs like heroin and cocaine. (from Alternet)

Whether intentional or not, the government’s greatest achievement when it comes to keeping cannabis illegal has been its ability to convince a majority of the public that cannabis is as harmful as, if not more harmful than, alcohol. By doing so, it has secured alcohol’s place as the recreational substance of choice for the vast majority of the public.

Influenced by the government’s anti-cannabis propaganda, a large segment of our population is comfortable with a system that bans the use of cannabis but allows – and even celebrates – the use of alcohol, despite the fact that alcohol is objectively far more harmful.

Let’s consider just a few facts about the two substances. For starters, alcohol is far more toxic than cannabis. Just ten times the effective dose of alcohol can be fatal. Yet there has never been a recorded cannabis overdose death in history. The highly toxic nature of alcohol is also what leads to the all-too-frequent occurrences of nausea and vomiting from over-indulgence.

The Dutch have the lowest cannabis use in Europe...

The Dutch are among the lowest users of Marijuana or cannabis in Europe despite the Netherlands' well-known tolerance of the drug, according to a regional study published Thursday. Among adults in the Netherlands, 5.4% used cannabis, compared with the European average of 6.8%, according to an annual report by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction, using latest available figures. (National Post)

FBI Director on cannabis....

Cannabis dispensaries spreading like... well... weeds....

The medical marijuana dispensary in Sebastopol, California wine country town is in a former auto dealership and has more registered patients than the town has residents. Los Angeles has more pot shops than Starbucks or schools. (from the Portland Press Herald)

In Los Angeles – the marijuana dispensary capital of the country – about 800 dispensaries are estimated to have opened despite a 2007 order halting new pot operations.

Cocaine and Alcohol combination health warning

Combining alcohol and cocaine leads to the creation of a third chemical – cocaethylene which builds up in the liver over a number of years among those who mix the two drugs. Major health consequences are now becoming apparent. (from the Guardian)

Britain the designer drug capital of the world

Britain has become the online "designer drugs" capital of Europe with more than a third of all internet retailers that sell "legal highs" based in the UK, according to a report from the European Union's drug agency. (from the Guardian)

This new generation of online "head shops" is at the centre of a rapidly growing market in highly potent synthetic drugs, such as Spice, that mimic the effects of illegal substances such as cannabis and ecstasy.

European drug agency officials are also alarmed by the way the online retailers are reacting to moves to ban individual "legal highs" by rapidly marketing alternatives. Officials say it is like trying to hit a moving target.

Britain is poised to ban Spice, a cannabis substitute that can be more potent than skunk, which is sold as a "herbal smoking mixture" , but already the online head shops are selling 27 alternative "herbal smoking blends" based on the active ingredient in cannabis synthesised by chemists in Asia.

Drug war breaks out in "racist" Mother City.

Violence - an unintended consequence of drug busts

While the UK Drug Policy Commission accepts limiting supply is important, its report claims that in the UK's entrenched drugs markets, arrests can lead to damaging unintended consequences.

Arresting one king-pin drug dealer also raises the possibility of creating a power vacuum, with the resulting turf war and spike in violence, says the report. (from BBC)

South African drug laws lack rational basis

South Africa has three drug regimes. Prohibition, Control and Exemption. Which regime applies to a drug has no rational foundation. All drugs are prohibited, but for tobacco which is controlled and alcohol which gets an exemption. Alcohol is specifically exempted from the definition of "drug" in the National Drug Master Plan of 2006. Placing alcohol under the control of the Department of Trade and Industry to develop the industry without concern for the harm done

Logic dictates that the most dangerous drugs would be prohibited while less dangerous drugs are controlled. The Academy of Medical Science drug policy group in England conducted a survey of the harms of all drugs - licit and illicit. The inconsistency in the law is apparent as alchol appears at number 5 on the list.... far ahead of cannabis! (from the BBC)


David Bayever the deputy head of the Central Drug Authority when asked about cannabis legalisation had this to say: "We have 9.2 percent of our population - twice that in other parts of the world - who use cannabis. It will be a grave mistake to legalise cannabis as elsewhere in the world. We legalised alcohol and never mind the money made from it - alcohol is our biggest problem. The cost to society is horrific. We cannot make the same mistake twice."

What did David Bayever do about his first mistake? NOTHING! What evidence that the cost to society of legalising cannabis Bayever's solution is to lock them all up! 9% of the population? Add to that the cost of his alcohol exemption and the 10% of children being born retarded and dear David belongs in prison. No one else in the country has had the opportunity to deal with the problem.

UK government chief science advisor backs Prof Nutt

The UK government's chief science adviser, Professor John Beddington, has told BBC News that he supports the former chief drugs adviser's scientific view on cannabis. (from the BBC)

Professor David Nutt was chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

He was fired after using a lecture to say cannabis was less harmful than alcohol and tobacco.

Asked whether he agreed with Professor Nutt's view that cannabis was less harmful than cigarettes and alcohol, Professor Beddington replied: "I think the scientific evidence is absolutely clear cut. I would agree with it."

Professor Beddington is the man ultimately responsible for scientific advice in government

Cape Town targets drunk drivers and vandals

Vandals, drunk drivers and destructive protesters will soon be forced to cough up for damage to council property, as the city pushes for the introduction of a zero-tolerance policy to recoup repair and replacement costs from those responsible. (from IOL)

"For decades the city has not attempted to go back to the person who caused the damage and collect (from them)," mayco member for finance Ian Neilson said yesterday.

There were no exact figures, but "clearly a great deal of money" was spent on repairing damaged council property.

"We are now pursuing (a policy) so people can start taking responsibility and not rely on other people to pay," he said.

Patch to kick Cannabis habit being researched

The American federal government has awarded a Kentucky pharmaceutical company more than $2 million in stimulus dollars to develop a patch that will ease the withdrawal symptoms of cannabis. (from the Courier Journal)

AllTranz Inc. of Lexington will use the grant to create a patch that combats marijuana addiction and withdrawal — part of a larger body of research that has included $1.7 million in money from Kentucky investors, said Clint Dederick, the company’s President and CEO.

David Nutt's sacking provokes mass revolt against UK Home Secretary

The home secretary faces mass resignations from the government's drug advisory body over his decision to force out its chairman, who accused ministers of distorting scientific evidence on cannabis. (from the Guardian)

Two members of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs resigned today in protest at Alan Johnson's treatment of Professor David Nutt. Another member told the Guardian that the experts were "planning collective action" against Johnson, adding: "Everybody is devastated. We're all considering our positions."

Nutt said today that there was "no future" for the council in its present form and it is thought the group's members may use a meeting next Monday to announce a mass resignation.

The sacking follows the publication of a paper by the Centre for Crime and Justice at King's College London, based on a lecture Nutt delivered in July.

He repeated his familiar view that illicit drugs should be classified according to the actual evidence of the harm they cause and pointed out that alcohol and tobacco caused more harm than LSD, ecstasy and cannabis. Alcohol should come fifth behind cocaine, heroin, barbiturates and methadone. Tobacco should rank ninth, ahead of cannabis, LSD and ecstasy, he said. He also argued that smoking cannabis created only a "relatively small risk" of psychotic illness.

Big talk, song and DANCE in Mitchell's Plain

Mitchell's Plain can count on the government's "full support" in its fight against gangs and drugs, President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday. (from News24)

"Mitchell's Plain already has a good track record in the fight against crime," Zuma told a crowd of several hundred, who had gathered at a festival marking the township's 35th birthday.

"We know that the communities of Mitchell's Plain and Khayelitsha have taken a strong stance against drugs and gangsterism and you have government's full support."

Police recently launched a 30-day lockdown of Mitchell's Plain after the death of two street committee members, Mervyn Jacobs and Vincent Naidoo, who had been campaigning against drug sellers in the area.

Zuma paid tribute to Jacobs and Naidoo, saying they had "paid the ultimate price".

"In their memory, let us continue to battle to keep our communities safer by working with law enforcement agencies to fight crime," said Zuma, who was greeted with loud cheers. (couldn't protect them while they were alive, but let me use them for some political leverage)

Zuma also appealed to coloured and African communities to make their "divisions" a thing of a past.

"We are one people and no one should make us despise one another," he said. (SIMUNYE?)

Zuma was greeted with silence as he sang his trademark song, but received loud applause as he danced on stage.

"Daai man kan dans" a woman in the crowd was heard saying (Hy kan ook kak praat hoor!)

California considers legalising cannabis

Less quietly California is actively considering legalising cannabis (from Cannabisnews)

On the quiet the US is legalising cannabis

You know things are shifting in America when Fortune magazine, the bible for business journalism, runs a cover story titled “Is pot already legal?”. You also know it when Barack Obama’s Department of Justice publishes a long-expected memo signalling that the federal government will no longer raid medical marijuana dispensaries if they are legal under state law. That happened formally this month. (from the Times)

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!

Time to Legalize?

No, I am not a zol monkey. This is not a throwdown from a bonghead. I am not tapping away on my keyboard in a cloud of purple haze. This will not be a THC-fueled rant about the wonders of pot, the miracle of ganja and the salvation you will find in the herb. I will not tell you that it brings you closer to Jah or takes you to a higher plane. I will not go on about how a bucket-bong is better for you than a box of durries. Because that’s horseshit. And I ain’t peddling that. I’m not a hippie, a greenie, a communist, a naturalist or a nudist. I did not grow up in an ashram. I don’t own a teepee or a didgeridoo. I won’t be calling my kids Moondrop or Skypony or whatever the hell crusties call their children. I ain’t that guy. I’m just an average schmo. A schmo who likes a schmoke. A middle-class middle-aged guy who likes it when people get high. (Thoughtleader David J Smith)

Grass ain’t no thing. Just another one of the many ways we chose to get f ’d up. Like a Klipdrift or a Mainstay. Sucked back with flat Coca-Cola from a two-litre in the parking lot. The only difference is they don’t call a zol a klap-jou-vrou-en-coke. This is not the drug we associate with violence. No, mate, if you think GBH and marijuana go together, you’ve been pulling on the wrong bottle-neck. If anything this shit is going to mung you out. It’ll blitzkrieg the fight right out of your balls. You’ll be looking the other way at the first sight of confrontation. Mumbling your apology where none was needed. You’ll button your lip and go sit in the corner, all quiet like, looning out your brain. But that don’t mean it ain’t fun. As long as there’s no cops, jocks, bullies, boozeheads, bouncers, ex-girlfriends or your mum to wail on your ass, you’re gonna have a sweet time puffin’ on the sweet Mary-Jane.

Giggling like a mad man, all gnashers and gums. Twisting and wriggling like an epileptic looking into a strobe light. Or sitting stock-still, finding everything amazing or just not thinking about anything. They both amount to the same thing — being able to stare at a wall for hours on end. That’s good old cheap fun. And in these times of economic crisis, we need all the cheap we can get. Get yourself down to the Westville drive-by or hook yourself up with a buddy in Obs. Get on that Swazi or Transkei Reds. Or Malawi Cob, if you’re some sort of sophisticated swine, the kinda guy who eats pate de campagne and cornichon on white bread with the crusts cut off. Yup, a bankie of green is worth its weight in gold, but they’ll sell it to you for brass.

But don’t tell the old brass, she’ll clip you round the earhole. The ladies don’t really like a toker. Unless they are one themselves. And if your missus is, keep her because she’s a good sort. … What the hell’s with all these dumb British words? … I must be getting high just writing this drivel. OK, need to focus, these people need answers, not spittle.

The police! The coppers. How much money are they wasting on drug busts and dagga hauls? Look at this video. It’s ten minutes of CCTV straight outta Hackney. London’s answer to Compton. Look at that first scene. WTF? That’s a drug raid and there’s like twenty cops. All rocking on the taxpayer’s dime. Shit, y’all, that’s your dime, that’s my dime. We’re paying for them to bust some pot smokers. Ok, it’s probably a crack-den or an illegal whorehouse or some other depraved filth, I don’t know, it could be anything. But we’re paying for it. Well, English people are but if this was Hillbrow, that would be our bucks. Or your bucks, because I live in Amsterdam. OK, this is not going so well. Is it getting hot in here? Why is my cat staring at me? Breathe, baby, breathe. Inhale. Exhale. I am an ocean. I am a sea. Dead calm. Washing in, washing out. Everything is fine. Like moondrops on a skypony, running free.

A’ight, I’m back. Lucid. From the root word Lucidus. Light. Enlightened. With knowledge. Like the city I live in, the city of angels. No, that’s L.A. This is Amsterdam. Enlightened to the power of the almighty greenback. The zol-dollar. Amsterdam understands money. They are the undisputed kings of turning a dime. And when you’re selling half a nickel bag for the price of two dime bags, you’re gonna make some cash. In 1995, the last time they calculated these figures, the sale of dope contributed €1,4-billion to the economy. That’s a tonne of money. Well actually it’s closer to three tonnes if you had it in €500 notes. (The €500 note weighs 1,1g. You can do the rest). Imagine what South Africa can do with three tonnes of money? Scratch that figure, Xe.com that moolah and you’ve got 30 tonnes! What could South Africa do with 30 tonnes of cash? Fifteen billion rand. That’s a regmaker right there. That’ll straighten you right up. It will also straighten a few roads, build a couple thousand houses and get some people out of the business of unemployment and into the business of making money. Damn, I’m starting believe myself here. I must be blazed.

Peace y’all. Legalize it. Jah Rastafari. For shizzle. You get the score.

Dagga should be legalised: Popcru

Cosatu's congress could end on a high note, with police union Popcru pushing for dagga to be legalised.

The proposal was due to come up for debate today when delegates debate resolutions.

Popcru general secretary Nkosinathi Theledi told The Star that by legalising dagga, the police would be freed to focus on fighting more serious crime.

If adopted, said Theledi, the proposal would be forwarded to the SAPS top brass for consideration.

"Whether we like it or not, dagga is being used and it should rather be legalised.

"We are saying it should be regulated ... the age limit on who is allowed to use it.

"Research even tells us that there are cases where doctors prescribe dagga for patients with particular ailments.

"If it happens, then this will save police resources - instead of chasing after (dagga sellers and producers), they can look at bigger crime," said Theledi.

Theledi, who says he does not smoke dagga, said he was initially opposed to the idea, but had been persuaded otherwise by his union.

While the use of dagga may encourage some users to try harder drugs, Theledi said regulation - such as that on alcohol sales - should be enforced.

Legalisation would also "empower the people who produce it and will add to the economy", according Theledi, stressing it would be up to congress delegates to debate and finalise the issue.

Meanwhile, Cosatu deputy general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali said that, for the first time, the issue of global warming would feature at the congress.

- Cape Argus

Man sues cops for R7m over broken neck

A man whose neck was broken during an arrest for possession of dagga in 2006, is suing the government for R7-million in the Cape High Court.

Christiaan Kansanga's case against the Minister of Safety and Security got under way in court this week, with medical professionals giving evidence that severe damage had been done to Kansanga's neck during an arrest on March 6, 2006.

Kasanga's lawyer, Martin Skovgaard-Petersen, said Kasanga had been unable to work since the incident because he had "wobbly legs" and he could only walk for between "300 and 500 metres". He also had a "hanging" right arm, Skovgaard-Petersen said.

Kasanga was 29 at the time of his injury.

He said the amount Kasanga was suing for totalled nearly R7-million and included loss of earnings, general damages, as well as future needs which included the costs of assistance, therapy, equipment and any medical treatment he would require as a result of the injury.

The case will continue on Monday when the defence team will cross-examine Dr Driver-Jowitt.

- Cape Argus

'We cannot make the same mistake twice' ????

The Western Cape has the highest number of dagga smokers in the country and 42 percent of dagga smokers attending treatment centres are under the age of 20. (from IOL)

The Department of Social Development says alcohol is the most frequently abused substance by young and old.

"We have 9.2 percent of our population - twice that in other parts of the world - who use cannabis. It will be a grave mistake to legalise cannabis as elsewhere in the world," Central Drug Authority (CDA) deputy chairman David Bayever said while addressing the standing committee on community development on Wednesday.

"We legalised alcohol and never mind the money made from it - alcohol is our biggest problem. The cost to society is horrific. We cannot make the same mistake twice."

The statistics Bayever used were based on a 2000 to 2008 report the Medical Research Council did for the department.

At 16 percent, the province has the country's highest rate of binge drinking, particularly among young people and in rural areas.

David Bayever is responsible for "drug policy" in the country. He heads up the Central Drug Authority. He is ULTIMATELY responsible for the drug HE legalised and he does not want to make the same mistake twice! So what has he done about his FIRST mistake providing us with 70 bodies a day? Absolutely NOTHING, that's what. So now he's ready to start pronouncements regarding cannabis, probably the safest drug in the world, considering that so many people are apparently doing it!? If it's so dangerous...? Where are the bodies? Mr Bayever and the CDA have kept the 2004 Cannabis Position Paper hidden. The paper dealing with a drug does not cover the toxicity of the drug, nor how many death have arisen from it! Ignore the rest of the world, but don't think that they haven't or are not learning from the Portugal solution! Alcohol consumption has doubled in 8 years. Violence has followed suit. 10% of children are being born with FAS (retarded). This is David's first mistake. Now he says NO TO CANNABIS!? That is David's second mistake. Cannabis is EXACTLY what the whole country needs to stick in it's collective peace pipe so that it can CHILL out. 80% of admissions at the casualty wards in the Western Cape are alcohol related. The ARA would have us believe that the evidence does not support the conclusion that alcohol consumption causes violence.

Here is a brief history of cannabis

Followed by Robert Mueller head of the FBI admitting that cannabis has never killed anyone

How marijuana became legal

CNNMoney seems to know something the rest of the world doesn't!

Healthy Smoking?

E-Cigarettes.... Smoking without the bad unhealthy parts. (from News9Today)

It's time for a U-Turn on drugs

The Adam Smith Institute today urges the next government to rethink policy from first principles. Its book, Zero Base Policy, will nowhere be more controversial than on narcotics. It suggests that Britain's drug policy is "one of the most spectacular failures in history. Dozens of initiatives spread over many decades have left Britain with more addiction, more drug use, more drug-related crime, and more drug-induced health problems." (from the Guardian)

Addicts might take their fix of heroin in a clinic, but not social users of recreational drugs. Few people would want to enter a high-street clinic to take an ecstasy tablet – this is something used in clubs. Similarly, few people would want to snort a line of cocaine in clinical and antiseptic conditions. Neither would people want to smoke cannabis in a clinic. They would shun the medical conditions envisaged for supervised use. The cafes in the Netherlands in which cannabis use is tolerated are rather more social and relaxed than medical clinics.

The policy that could succeed would be to medicalise hard drugs, and to legalise the production and sale of recreational drugs such as ecstasy, cocaine and cannabis. They would no more be without controls than alcohol and tobacco are without controls, but no longer criminal.

The street price would collapse without the need for illegal supply. Quality could be controlled and subject to regulation and labelling. Advice could be given on packages warning of associated dangers, and alerting users to the early signs of adverse health effects.

Large bust in Durban

Six people have been arrested and about R600-million worth of hashish and heroin was seized at two locations in Durban yesterday. (from the Mercury)

Three tons of drugs, which had been compacted into blocks and sealed in brown wrapping, had been hidden in truck battery casings at Storage City depots at Mount Edgecombe and Glen Anil.

Superintendent Deven Naicker, head of narcotics in the police organised crime unit, said their investigations had started on Wednesday.

He said the men's operation had transported the drugs between Durban and Britain.

"The drugs were being shipped as cargo for a false truck battery company and were transported to a UK company ostensibly selling truck batteries," he said.

The men used empty battery casings and prisms to store the drugs. The casings had metal covers on to make the drugs difficult to detect.

Naicker said the street value of a 5kg block of hashish was R40 000 and that one gram of the drug sold for about R80.

He said this was probably the biggest drug bust in the country.

"This is an international case and we will carry out more investigations into the matter," he said.

Naicker praised the national and Durban organised crime units for their participation in the sting.

The Britons are expected to appear in court tomorrow.

Hawks spokesperson Musa Zondi said about R500m worth of drugs had initially been found at the two depots.

However, an additional amount of heroin worth about R100m had been recovered after a further search of the Mount Edgecombe warehouse. "Another 115kg of heroin was recovered later yesterday as police were still searching the premises," he said.

3 tons of hashish and 115 kg's of HEROIN! This is crazy. One day the government will want to control drugs, but by then it will be too late.

Call to criminalize pregnant drinking.

Pregnant women should be barred by law from drinking alcohol, provincial deputy director-general Dr Joey Cupido has said. (From IOL)

His call for legislation prohibiting pregnant women from drinking alcohol came during Cupido's address an event designed to raise awareness on World Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Day.

From a human rights perspective, Cupido said, "the tap has to be turned off".

The rights of the baby had to be considered and, just as people practised safe sex because they feared HIV infection, so too should pregnant women take responsibility for their children's health.

"The mother needs to be responsible for that baby she is carrying.

"The child's rights in that instance would supersede the rights of the individual," Cupido said.

Just as it was a criminal offence to smoke in a car while transporting a child younger than 12, so too should it be a criminal offence to drink alcohol while pregnant.

"It must be legislated. Women should be prohibited from drinking (while pregnant) by law," he said.

Thursday's gathering, hosted by the Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FAS) Task Team, followed an interfaith service at St George's Cathedral on World FAS Day, marked annually on September 9.

FAS is associated with severe mental disability and stunted physical growth.

It is estimated that 25 000 babies are born with FAS in South Africa each year, the highest reported incidence in the world.

Rural areas in the Western Cape area hardest hit by the disorder.

Health department spokesperson Faiza Steyn said that Cupido had been speaking in his personal capacity.

"The department does caution pregnant women not to consume alcohol as it is not good for the health and well-being of the unborn baby, or for themselves," she said.

The department had various health programmes in place to assist in minimising the impact of FAS. (And none of them seem to be working)

Ban Alcohol Advertising?

South Africa should consider banning the advertising of alcohol, a British expert says. (From IOL)

Professor Gerald Hastings, director of the British Institute of Social Marketing, has recently completed a report on liquor advertising and its effects in Britain.

There was a definite link between alcohol advertising and the drinking habits of young people, he said, speaking during SAfm Radio's After Eight Debate.

There had been a lot of research into the effects of liquor advertising in Britain, which had an "enormous problem" of excessive drinking, particularly among young people.

"It is clear that it encourages young people to start drinking earlier and, when they do start drinking, to drink more.

"On the basis of that, action to regulate advertising has to look at the volume of that advertising ... and reduce that. It is not enough to tinker with the content."

The logical conclusion of the research was that alcohol advertising should be banned, Hastings said.

The Alcohol Industy have developed their own incredible position. Advertising does not bring new people to alcohol, it just changes which brands they drink. Why then spend millions and millions on advertising? All it does then is change which account the money is coming into!

BMA not anti-alcohol? They SHOULD BE!

The British Medical Association published a report on the dangers of drink this week, but assured us the organisation is not “anti-alcohol”. Well, it bloody well should be. (From the Times)

Alcohol is directly linked to more than 60 medical conditions and costs the NHS millions of pounds every year. The casualty departments are full of drunks. They also contain the sober victims of alcohol-induced violence, drink-driving and various other horrors of secondary drinking. I gave up alcohol on September 24, 1986, but it’s still quite possible I will end up in hospital or the morgue because of someone else’s drinking.

My dad, an enthusiastic patron of public houses, often said: “If you knocked down all the pubs, you’d have to build a lot of lunatic asylums.” A friend recently said to me that if there was a genuine attempt to stop people drinking, there’d be rioting in the streets. Clearly, this is a dependency culture. Alcohol is killing people in a variety of ways but a large part of the population can’t face life without it, so the carnage is allowed to continue.

All our decisions can be roughly broken down into things we do because of love and things we do because of fear. The BMA’s reluctance to condemn drink as firmly as it condemns tobacco is not based on the love of those in its care but rather the fear of the outrage if people were told they should face life head-on, without the soothing softener of alcohol.

People need booze to make themselves and their acquaintances seem more exciting. How many parties or nights in the pub have been rescued by booze slowly oiling the social machine? There are pills that do the same job. Would it be OK to use them in the same way? If you turned up at a friend’s dinner party and she casually handed out sedatives, wouldn’t you feel a bit weak and pathetic?

I’m starting to sound like an old-fashioned Temperance League member, but it irks me that alcohol is seen as a social necessity, an ice-breaker. You get drunk with a new workmate or neighbour in order to bond with them. It loosens people up and makes them more gregarious. Well, what’s going on here? Are we saying we need a mind-altering drug to enable us to reach out to another human being or give us the courage to speak in a group? Shouldn’t we deal with that?

We’re back to love and fear again. Why do you drink? Is it because you love the people you’re with or because you’re slightly afraid of them? Is it because you’re unhappy with who you are and so feel the need to change yourself — even if it’s just a little bit — with the aid of alcohol?

I often sat with friends, the lunchtime after the night before, discussing our drunken exploits. The thing Steve said to the bloke at the chip shop, the way Darren fell off the bus. None of us had the guts to say: “But it wasn’t really us, was it? It was us made more colourful by a drug. These things we did — our displays of courage and eccentricity — only happened because they were induced by chemicals. We sit here shining our puny badges of rebellion and celebrating our maverick lifestyle, but deep down we know it’s all a sham — an alcohol-induced charade.

“Who are we when unaided by intoxicants? What stories concerning the real, unaltered us are worth telling? If there is none then we must stop taking the easy option — the short-term fix — and strive to make the real, unaltered us worthy of the tale.”

Of course, I never said that or anything like it because I was keen to continue the charade; to tell the stories and enjoy my part in them.

I was a heavy drinker. I have been known to wake up in a pool of my own urine in a place I didn’t know. So-called social drinkers will read this and say, “His case is different; he had a problem”, but anyone who is reluctant to face social gatherings without the aid of alcohol should be asking themselves why.

I got drunk, ultimately, I suppose, because I was afraid of being sober. The social drinker is afraid of being sober and of being drunk. He seeks a cosy middle ground where social situations are made that little bit more manageable, that little bit easier to navigate. It is double self-deception; it is neither a real world nor one that is free from dependency.

The Government may consider public health less important than alienating voters and rich brewery owners or losing the revenue on alcoholic drinks, but the BMA should forget about cosmetic changes, such as banning advertising and happy hours, drop the niceties, come down at least as hard as it did on tobacco and say what needs to be said: alcohol is a dangerous drug dressed up as a warm and reassuring companion. It temporarily kills who you really are and replaces it, in varying degrees, with a chemically created persona — that’s when it’s not literally killing you, making you ill or terrifying those around you who are not similarly benumbed.

We can’t trust the people to decide for themselves because their dependency — often not readily apparent and so easily denied — obviously clouds their judgment. We need the BMA to provide impetus for a great national sobering-up.

Heroin bust in Somerset West

Five people were arrested and drugs with a street price of R300 000 were confiscated in Strandfontein, Western Cape police said on Friday. (from IOL)

Captain Frederick van Wyk said the police's organised crime unit pulled over a white golf in Anker Street on Thursday evening.

A man, aged 27, in possession of about 400 heroin straws was arrested.

"Follow-up investigation led [police] to a house in Anker Street where they arrested four more people."

Three men, all aged 23, and one woman, aged 30, were found with about two kilograms of heroin, bag sealers and plastic bags.

The arrested people are believed to be from Mitchells Plain and will appear soon in the magistrate's court in the area on drug-related charges.

Khat drinks all Yemen's water

Khat is popular in many countries of the Arabian peninsula and the Horn of Africa, but in Yemen it's a full-blown national addiction. As much as 90% of men and 1 in 4 women in Yemen are estimated to chew the leaves, storing a wad in one cheek as the khat slowly breaks down into the saliva and enters the bloodstream. (From Time)

Khat fields are typically flooded twice a month, consuming about 30% of the country's water — most of which is pumped from underground aquifers filled thousands of years ago, and replenished only very slowly by the occasional rainfall that seeps through the layers of soil and rock. A recent explosion of khat cultivation has drawn water levels down to the point where they are no longer being replenished. The option of pumping desalinated water over long pipelines from coastal plants is too expensive for such a poor country. Yemen is in real danger of becoming the world's first country to run out of water.

"You sit up discussing all your problems and think you've solved everything, but in fact you haven't done anything in the last four hours, because you've just been chewing khat and all your problems actually got worse," says Adel al-Shujaa

Despite the danger, Yemen isn't about to go cold turkey anytime soon. Not only are most of the country's leaders landowners deeply involved in khat production, the leaf may be one of the few things still holding Yemen together. Says Ashraf Al-Eryani, one of GTZ's local program officers,
"Khat plays a big role in keeping people calm, and keeping them off the streets. But it's also delaying change. It's hard to convince people to act now."

OR Tambo... drugs drugs and more drugs

A cocaine consignment destined for the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique was seized at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, police said on Monday. (From News24)

Senior Superintendent Vishnu Naidoo said the drugs, with an estimated street value of R20m, were smuggled from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

"They were concealed in cutlery and ladies' handbags.

"They were hidden inside the boxes and in between two layers of material in the handbags."

Naidoo said the drugs were found on Sunday afternoon, and no arrests had yet been made.

On Friday customs officials seized 25kg of pure heroin, with a street price estimated at R25m, at the airport.

The narcotics had been declared as a "green coffee extract" and arrived on a cargo flight from India for local consumption.

On Saturday, Mandrax of R200m was seized after police raided a Midrand home.
Equipment, worth R2m, used to manufacture the drugs was also found.
The owner of the house was arrested.

Two people were arrested in the Free State on Saturday when a police dog helped to nab two drug dealers after it sniffed out a bag of dagga buried in the ground.

The confiscated dagga, which weighed 5.586kg, was estimated to carry a street value of R7 429

Cannabis may protect brain from binge drinking damage

Cannabis may protect the brain from some of the damage caused by binge drinking, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of California San Diego performed brain scans on 16- to 19-year-olds in three groups: binge drinkers, binge drinkers who also smoke cannabis, and those with very little drug or drinking experience. Binge drinkers showed damage in their white matter. But those who drink and smoke cannabis showed more damage than the control group in only three of eight areas of the brain. In seven of the areas, their brains were in better shape than the binge drinkers. (Science Direct)

Cannabis protects the brain against binge drinking damage.....