Portugal leads the way...

In 2001 Portugal became the first European country to officially abolish all criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. (From Time)

At the recommendation of a national commission charged with addressing Portugal's drug problem, jail time was replaced with the offer of therapy. The argument was that the fear of prison drives addicts underground and that incarceration is more expensive than treatment — so why not give drug addicts health services instead?

"Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success," says Glenn Greenwald, an attorney, author and fluent Portuguese speaker, who conducted the research. "It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does."

SA mule faces death in China

A South African drug mule, Michael John McDermid, is facing a death sentence in China after being caught with 3kg of heroin. (from IOL)

His niece has washed her hands of him....

Smoking cannabis is SAFER than smuggling heroin.

Drug Busters Head found Dead

The head of the city's "Drug Busters" unit, Glen Kleinsmith, was found hanging from a cellphone charger cord in his Bellville home at the weekend. (from IOL)

Captain Bernadine Steyn said they did not suspect foul play. Police have opened an inquest docket.

Kleinsmith, a ward councillor in Bellville, a DA whip and also a subcouncil chairman, was found dead at about 6am on Saturday morning after he apparently tied a cellphone charger cord to his cupboard and around his neck.

"The probability of hanging yourself with a charger seems very unlikely because the cord is so thin," said one councillor, who declined to be named. (Another budding Magnum PI dressed as a city councillor)

Meanwhile, the chairman of the DA safety and security portfolio, councillor JP Smith, did not believe that Mr Kleinsmith could commit suicide and speculated that "We are just worried that his death may be linked to some Drug Busters work. We fear that it was a murder dressed up like a suicide or, that he was placed under extreme pressure by members of organised crime." (Somewhat disappointing that he chooses to cast aspersions on the investigation of the SAP... maybe he would like to have a go himself... and the Metro Police could help him...)

Kleinsmith, who was instrumental in the recent eviction of a notorious drug-dealing tenant in Washington Street, Langa, had also helped secure similar evictions at other shebeens and drug outlets being run from council-owned property, said Smith.

Kleinsmith also chaired the Substance Abuse task team set up nearly two years ago and was involved with at least 40 city-driven evictions.

Two months ago Kleinsmith was also involved with a raid at the Little House on the Prairie, a suspected shebeen in Belhar run by alleged crime boss Quinton "Mr Big" Marinus. (Ebie Rassool wasn't even as gung-ho as Jack "the city councillor" Bauer here)

Although no councillors on the safety and security portfolio committee knew just which projects Kleinsmith was working on at the time of his death, the eviction of tenants at the Little House on the Prairie was one of them. (of course they didn't - it's need to know only)

When I read this I was astounded. This person is an elected official who, instead of doing regular constituency work became a Drug Buster secret agent. This type of intelligence gathering and investigation is dangerous. While the late Mr Kleinsmith probably had the best intentions, what security did the city provide? Metro security? Which would be joke.

Smoking cannabis is SAFER than using a Nokia charger... or
Smoking cannabis is SAFER than being the head of the Drug Busters.

Smoking Cannabis is SAFER than your dad walking out on your step mom

Emotions ran high as a young mother from Stellenbosch, who smothered her seven-year-old stepdaughter with a pillow, was sentenced on Wednesday to 15 years in prison.(from IOL)

Western Cape High Court Judge Dennis van Reenen found no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years for unpremeditated murder. Catherine Felix, 25, herself a mother of a two-year-old son, suffocated Brudescia van Staden, her ex-husband Ronald van Staden's daughter from a previous relationship, at his home in Idas Valley in December, 2006.

She apparently killed the girl after her husband left her and found a new girlfriend.

After her very unhappy childhood she considered her husband a ticket to security, but this was "dashed on the rocks of his perceived or real infidelity". She was also pregnant at the time, and her son would be deprived of a relationship with her if she was imprisoned for a long period.

Judge Van Reenen said he realised Felix's life "was one sad event after another", having alcoholic parents, allegedly being sexually abused by her father and after his death being abandoned by her mother.

"Unfortunately, that can't be fixed. It is really a sad indictment on society," he said. (None of that "Society needs to take responsibility" nonsense like in the next story. Smoking cannabis still hasn't produced a body, but this story has. I know it's a bit of a stretch, but it makes for a good comparison with the Ellen Pakkies story)

Drug killer mom given 280 hours community service..

Ellen Pakkies strangled her 20-year-old son, Adam, a tik (methamphetamine) addict, on September 12 2007, when she snapped after years of abuse and violence. (From the Sunday Times)

FORGIVING herself for killing her drug-addicted son is tough, says Pakkies, the Cape Town mother who was sentenced for the murder.

Pakkies cried with relief when she was handed a three-year suspended sentence.

A Wynberg magistrate ruled that she was a victim of a system that failed her.

“I’m free, but I’m not free in myself,” she said. “I know what I did was wrong. I will make peace [with it ]. I just need to forgive myself."

“I have forgiven my child. I need to feel that he has forgiven me. It’s still difficult.” (Lady you killed the child.... how is he supposed to forgive you now that he is dead?)

Pakkies said the family home was quiet without Adam. “We miss Adam. He was also a caring person. It’s just the drugs that messed him up. He liked music and dancing and could make us laugh. He used to talk to me by singing,” said Pakkies.

Magistrate Amanda van Leeve said in her judgment that Pakkies was not “prison material”.

“You were a victim. Imprisonment will not be appropriate. You are in a position to plough back into the community,” she said.

“It’s your duty to see that there is never a repeat [of this kind of murder],” said Van Leeve.

Pakkies is to serve 280 hours of community service, but it is yet to be determined what she will do. She has said she wants to offer counselling to mothers and family of drug addicts in her community. (Put the person who has killed her child out there as a counsellor for other people in the same position is hardly good thinking... but that's just me.)

Another condition of her sentence is that she should not be arrested for murder, attempted murder or assault. (Especially of the remaining children... if you know what I mean.. "Momma's Home!!!")

Van Leeve said Pakkies was a “loving mother”, but “abused victim”. Strangling her son was “an act of desperation” after the tik addict had taken all her clothing, abused her and stabbed her in the hand. (Which is all fine and well until you consider that he was sleeping when she tied the rope into a noose and slipped it round his neck)

“The system has failed you. Society needs to take responsibility. Where do people like you turn for help? They call the police and there’s no help. (Eh? Society needs to take responsibility?! Not the person who tied the rope around the child's neck? And what is this... question time? Did you really have to KILL the child?) “Keeping drug addicts in [state] custody is not a solution to the problem we face in South Africa,” said Van Leeve. (And the magistrate finally says something which is true...)

But she added that the “message the court needs to send is [that] murdering the addict is not a solution”. (So what message is the court sending here?)

The full gory details of the ice cold murder are surreal, with Ellen waking the child with a noose around his neck, so she can talk to him! (The Argus):_-

For the second time that morning she stands over her boy. She is flooded with thoughts – thoughts of the sweet baby he was and the monster he has become. The rope is still in her hands.

She ties it into a noose. She slips it over his neck. Abie wakes up. He blinks back his confusion.

“Mammie, what now?”

He feels the noose around his neck. Suddenly Abie realises what’s happening. He fights back. He grabs a plank off the floor. He lunges at his mother with the wooden board, but he can’t reach her.

Ellen is composed. The rope isn’t tight – she only wants to talk. (What a great start to the conversation.)

But Abie looks scared. He swears at her. He calls her a p**s (c*nt) like he has so many times before. She hates it when he swears.

Ellen tells her son to put the plank down. He refuses.

“Abie, why don’t you appreciate what I do for you? I will go out of my way to do whatever for you.” ("whatever"... like now... I will kill you)

It goes on with her throttling the life out of the child, going inside, washing, getting dressed and then going to work, before confessing to the cleaning lady at work. Tik (methamphetamine) is REALLY dangerous... especially if mom is only going to get 280 hours of community service for killing her child.

City of Cape Town to get Dog Unit

The City of Cape Town says it is to spend more than R10-million over the next two years on setting up a unit of specialised drug-sniffing dogs. (From IOL) (This in a city where 10% of the population live in corrugated iron shacks)

The city already has its own "Drug Busters" narcotics unit.

Properly trained dogs would help the unit to work more efficiently by quickly tracking down illegal substances, unit spokesperson councillor Glen Kleinsmith said on Tuesday.

"This is especially important now that dealers have become very creative when it comes to concealing drugs," he said in a statement.

The dogs would be used at roadblocks, in searches of council rental stock houses used as drug outlets, and in "integrated enforcement operations" with other law enforcement agencies such as the SA Police Services.

Kleinsmith said the city aimed to have 20 trained dogs and handlers deployed to clamp down on drug dens and dealers by 2010.

City mayor Helen Zille said there had been a five-fold increase in drug-related crime in Cape Town over the past seven years.

"[It] is one of the biggest social crises we face as a city," she said.

"Already at least 80 percent of crime in this city is somehow linked to drug and substance abuse." (No need to identify which drugs you are talking about now is there? Alcohol is even excluded from the definition of "drug" in the National Drug Master Plan. Talking tough about drugs is like viagra for politicians. Does the fact that the possession and sale of these same drugs are illegal not mean that your argument is somewhat circular? What percentage of that 80% of crime is related to the sale and possession of drugs? If the drugs were not illegal would the statistics really be the same? Then you have to ask yourself which drugs these dogs are going to be used to target - alcohol and tik - the biggest problems - are not on that list, but cannabis will be. More proof that the city has the best intentions, but no brains.)

Smoking Cannabis SAFER than listening to loud music

A 71-year-old grandmother of two, Fikiswa Goniwe, was shot in the hand by police who raided her Khayelitsha home, complaining that the music for her 11 year old grandson's birthday celebrations was too loud. (from IOL)

Police maintain they fired only rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse the crowd at the party, but the grandmother said she was told by doctors that a bullet hit her hand between her middle and index fingers. (I believe the doctors and granny... not the lying cops....)

Another man at the party, Musa Zide, 27, was shot in the ankle during what Goniwe described as "random shooting".

"What was to be a celebration turned out to be a rain of bullets,"

When police arrived at the house sending everyone home Goniwe said when she tried to explain that the people were waiting for a ride home to the police, they became angry and shot at her. The police then started shooting randomly at others in the house, wounding Zide in the ankle.

"I was crying. I asked them why they had done this because it wasn't necessary. They told me I must go and die in hell," Goniwe recounted.

"I was trying to make my grandson happy and the police ruined everything. I'm now left with a painful and swollen hand that could possibly never work properly again," she said.

Goniwe said she was disappointed about the way the police had behaved and that they had broken her trust in them. "How am I going to trust the police now because they should protect, not harm, us," she said.

While this kind of shooting might alarm you, the actions of the police is understandable when you consider the orders they got from Susan Shabangu, the country's security minister who told officers not to worry about regulations, negotiations or warning shots. (Daily Mail)

Instead, police should use the guns given to them and go for the kill.

South Africa has become the murder capital of the world with more than 22,000 deaths a year.

Aiming her words at police chiefs, she said of criminals: "You must kill the bastards if they threaten you or the community. You must not worry about the regulations - that is my responsibility. Your responsibility is to serve and protect." (So many "criminals" so little time... Judge Dredd must be smiling.. Judge, Jury, Executioner, Policeman)

"I want no warning shots. You have one shot and it must be a kill shot." (Eish - if only granny knew)

"Criminals are hell-bent on undermining the law and they must now be dealt with. End of story. There are to be no negotiations with criminals." (Well...? OK then....)

Bet you never thought that turning your radio up could get you killed... gran was lucky apparently.

The only thing which HASN'T killed anyone to date would be cannabis....

Worst Joint Ever - 6 dead and counting

This must qualify as the worst joint ever - in the history of man.

The story goes like this. Two men are assaulted at a shebeen (an unlicensed drinking hole - for the unitiated) and run to find two policemen. The cops go to the shebeen, but the perpetrators were not there. The police then decided to raid the shebeen searching for "illegal drugs". The police arrested a man for dagga (cannabis) and while taking him to the van the crowd attacks the police and kills them. The police arrested 9 people yesterday and then tracked down another 4 people apparently involved and shot them... dead, which makes taking statements kind of difficult. (Full story on IOL)

The Kwazulu Natal police are somewhat trigger happy, having shot and killed more than 125 people in the last two years. (No wonder we are number 1 on this list!)

Two policemen go into an UNLICENCED drinking hole and haul out the one guy who has a joint on him. It's incredible that the two policemen can walk past a wall of beer that is not supposed to be there and pick on the guy with the joint. They had no good reason to do a drug raid, nor did they have a warrant. Then the DRUNK crowd turns on them and kills them. The only silver lining in all this is that it wasn't cannabis which killed the police, but ALCOHOL.

"Our journey to date in building SAFER communities"

On the 15th of May 2008 former Western Cape MEC for Community Safety, Leonard Ramatlakane delivered his budget speech entitled "Our journey to date in building safer communities" (the full text is here)

I've said this before and I'm going to say it again. The Department of Community Safety and our policing agencies will NOT sit down and watch our children destroy their futures with drugs and involvement in gangs.

Speaker, it should be remembered that when we took over, gangs ruled this province. Gang wars and gang shoot outs resulted in the killing of innocent children. They were monitored and no action was sufficiently taken to stop them. When we took over, the gangs were dealt with. We told them: "You stop or be stopped". Today the situation is different. The life of gangs and drug lords is being made unbearable. No amount of threat has deterred ...

To those who continue to peddle drugs such as TIK, our law enforcement agencies and the integrated plan will turn the screws even tighter in all the identified 21 areas and beyond. Five years ago no High flyers were arrested but today 1 658 high flyers were arrested over four years {257 in 2004/05, 384 in 2005/06, 250 in 2006/07 and 767 in 2007/08}. (What is a High flyer? By what measure? Flashy clothes? Flashy car? FLASHY HEADLINES?) At the same time 465 drug outlets were closed and 4 797 drugs related arrests were affected.

Speaker, the partnership between SAPS and the Assets Forfeiture Unit investigated 83 cases, with 18 houses referred to the council for evictions. At the same time, in the last five years, the following were seized by the police:

* Dagga with a street value of R21 million
* LSD tablets R77 150 (Way too low if they mean LSD the drug in total)
* Crack to the value of R5.4 million
* Heroin to the value of R4.92 million
* Cocaine street value of R354 160 (as opposed to Cocaine 7 lines below?)
* TIK to the value of R33 million
* Unga Heroin to the value of R96 000
* Cat to the value of R256 200 (Also way to low - even if you include the methcathinone below)
* Mandrax with a street value of R20 million
* Methcathinone to the value of R107 100
* Ecstasy to the value of R743 370 (What a hoot - the clown thinks this is something to brag about)
* Cocaine to the value of R24 million

The total weight of the seized drugs and substance equals the total weight of 22 one ton Bakkies. In monetary value, the confiscated drugs is equal to the salary of 1 028 million individuals for a period of three years with a monthly salary of R3 000. And yes he's making a GREAT argument for legalization.

As a demonstration that our strategy against drugs is effective, we have recorded a 100% success rate in the seizure and bust in drugs. We have driven an aggressive programme to close down drug and TIK factories an action that translated into thousands of arrests of people for possession and the consumption of drugs. (Oh really Leonard! You're one HIGH porch-monkey? A 100% success rate... 100% of WHAT? South Africa is practically the wild west - we are number one in murders with firearms per capita. No wonder you've been canned!)

Police find Heroin at scene of murder

Ifeayni Ayewoh (AKA Theophilus Azodo or Frank), 39, was killed on Thursday when three men forced their way into his Table View home, allegedly looking for money. (from IOL)

He was shot in the head. Nicole Freeman, and her four children were locked in a separate room.

Heroin worth R500 000 was found on the property, Western Cape police said.

Freeman's husband Baba said he thought the killing was a drug-related hit: "I think maybe he took that stuff from one of the Nigerians but didn't give them the money."

Freeman said the men all had guns and told her and her daughters not to look at their faces: "They said to Ifeanyi, 'Where is the money. Do you know somebody wants you dead?'"

When Ayewoh protested, said Freeman, one of the men said: "'We came to do our job, so you shut up.' Then they put the pillow against his head and they shot him."

Ayewoh's rental agent, Lorna Worth, confirmed the victim was her tenant but said she knew him as Theophilus Azodo, or Frank and that he was an asylum seeker.

Heroin bust in Woodstock!

Eight men have been arrested in Woodstock for allegedly dealing in drugs, Western Cape police said on Wednesday. (From News24)

Police received a tip-off that a house on Regent Street was being used to traffic in drugs, said Sergeant Hilton Malila.

Malila said police found 232 "units" of heroin, 10.7g of powdered heroin, and one heroin rock. (What is a heroin rock!?)The heroin had an estimated street value of R35 000. Police recovered R1 675 in cash.

The eight, who were between the ages of 24 and 30, would appear in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Thursday.

Time calls for Legalizing Cannabis

First CNN called for the legalization of cannabis and now TIME...

What next?

Tik to blame for increasing absenteeism

High and increasing levels of absenteeism related directly to tik, and drug and alcohol abuse in general, are becoming a growing problem for the already vulnerable textile industry. (from IOL)

The marked increases in absenteeism are attributed to factory workers being snared by drug and alcohol addiction, or to growing demands on their time and resources as a result of their children, spouses or relatives becoming addicts.

The problem here is tik and alcohol.

Is Tik really losing it's grip on the Cape Teens?

Tik is losing its grip on Western Cape teenagers, according to the latest medical research, which shows that use of the drug is most prevalent among people in their early 20s.

But experts have warned that a new drug is likely to take its place. (No idea what it could be)

Figures released this week show that the average age of tik users has been on the increase since 2006. (according to IOL)

Andreas Pluddeman, senior researcher in the council's Drug, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Unit, said the average age of tik users had definitely increased since 2006. "One of the conclusions that could be drawn is that there are slightly fewer teenagers who are initiating tik use."

But he said tik still remained the main problem drug among people seeking help at the city's rehab centres.

Tik use reached a peak in the second half of 2006, with 1 184 patients out of a total 2 798 surveyed reporting it was their primary drug of abuse.

Pluddeman said the findings, tracked from 2002, were "unprecedented" in terms of the sharp increase of users.

"There was a curve, and now it seems to be flattening off," he said.

The FACTS uncovered are more like tik's grip on the Cape reaches a plateau! Either that or it's a matter of fewer tik addicts seek treatment? The rosy "Tik losing grip on the Cape Teens" headline ignores that teens grow older and in the past there was NO tik use amongst teens.

Grant Jardine, of the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre, said the new figures had been expected, considering their own recent statistics correlated with those of the MRC.

"Drugs work in cycles and each generation has a popular drug."

What a crock of sh*t. Drugs dont work in cycles! Certain drugs certainly decline in popularity over time and are overtaken by others. But Cycles? What bull. Each generation adopts a drug depending on a variety of factors, such as availability, cost, effectiveness and peer pressure. "Experts" indeed! If it really is true that each generation has a popular drug what does that mean for efforts fighting drugs? Is each generation simply bound to lose a percentage to SOME drug? These experts don't seem to be able to engage their brains and realise that some drugs are worse than others. They are so far into the woods that they can't see the wood for the trees.

Cape Liquor Law Bungles

At least 40 illegal shebeens closed down by police since January have been re-opened because of flaws in the controversial Western Cape Liquor Act, with police officers told to revert to enforcing the Liquor Act of 1998. (From IOL)

Garth Strachan, MEC for Economic Development and Tourism, who spearheaded the implementation of the act, on Thursday said he was unaware of the concerns raised by the police. (I know nothing)

The Cape Argus has, however, been reliably informed by experts on the liquor industry that both Strachan and Community Safety MEC Patrick McKenzie were informed about the police's concerns during consultations with the police and other role players. McKenzie was not available to comment.

Strachan yesterday said he had never been informed of concerns and would need to consult his department before commenting. (I still know nothing - I will read about it in the newspaper)

It's incredible that this man knows nothing about the REAL problems in the implementation of HIS Act! You would THINK that when you bring a new act to the table that you would keep very close tabs on all problems - small or big. Getting the illegal shebeens under control is social aim number one at the moment and the Western Cape gets a big talking bag of air. Finance and Economic Development MEC Garth Strachan has also levelled criticism against the Cape Town City council for "confusing" the public by initiating a bylaw process while the industry is getting to grips with the new liquor law. (from IOL) Getting to grips with? What a Joke.


It is understood that police will now rely on the old Liquor Act and the loose understanding between themselves and shebeen operators that they will be allowed to trade until about 8pm without police interference, on condition that no crimes occur on their premises. Eh? Come again? On their premises? What the FUCK! The drunk patron stabs someone on the pavement outside and it's all good because it was not ON THE PREMISES? This is the pathetic level of law enforcement Cape Town is stuck with.

Alcohol bylaw gains support

Half the South African population supports the draft bylaw which would prevent guesthouses, pubs, clubs and theatres in Cape Town residential areas from selling alcohol past 21:00. (from News24)

The proposed bylaw had generated a significant amount of debate ahead of the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup because one of the implications was that tourists, for example, would not be able to go for dinner outside the city after 21:00.

Considering the wave of violence which has followed in the wake of alcohol being made the responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry in 1998 public opinion regarding uncontrolled sales and consumption has changed.