2012-04-30T11:50:35+00:00 ExpressionEngine Copyright (c) 2006, dhc tag:thehempire.com,2006:index.php/1.5604 2006-09-15T05:13:00+00:00 2006-09-15T07:14:20+00:00

NEW South Wales drug sniffer dogs have been been branded an expensive failure.

2006-09-15T05:13:00+00:00 dhc dhc@thehempire.com The War on Drugs
It follows a report showing that prosecutions result from fewer than one per cent of the searches the dogs initiate.

NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour today said there was little value in using dogs to screen people in public places in the hope of tracking down drug dealers.

An ombudsman report tabled in NSW Parliament today showed just 19 out of more than 10,000 people tested for drugs were prosecuted for drug supply between 2002 and 2004.

But the NSW Government says it won't pension off the sniffer dogs, insisting they contribute to breaking down the illicit drug trade.

“I think 19 people prosecuted successfully for the use or supply of drugs, that are illicit drugs, is an entirely satisfactory outcome,” Acting Police Minister David Campbell said.

The Police Powers (Drug Detection Act) came into force in February 2002 with the aim of targeting drug supply.

It gave police the power to search people without a warrant in entertainment venues and on public transport.

But today's report, released two years after it was completed, questioned whether the laws should exist at all after finding most people searched were found not to be carrying drugs.

Greens MP Lee Rhiannon said the dogs harass young people who use recreational drugs and are ineffective at catching the “Mr Bigs”.

“Today's release of the ombudsman's report, after the Greens used parliament to force the Government to release it, exposes that sniffer dogs have been an expensive failure,” Ms Rhiannon said.

Opposition police spokesman Mike Gallacher supported their use, saying it was less intrusive for police to enter a nightclub with sniffer dogs than to obtain a search warrant, shut the premises down and strip-search people inside.

The ombudsman's report showed most people found to be carrying drugs had very small amounts of cannabis for personal use.

Other drugs located during the two-year review period included ecstasy, methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin.

The majority of people successfully prosecuted for supply were carrying drugs for their friends or partners at large events, such as dance parties, the report said.

It also said there was anecdotal evidence to suggest that drug dog operations may encourage persons to “engage in risky drug taking practices”.

Mr Barbour said he had “significant reservations” about whether the use of sniffer dogs in public places will ever effectively target drug suppliers.

“Despite the best efforts of police, the evidence suggests that there is little value in trying to identify drug dealers by screening people with drug detection dogs in public places,” he said.]]> tag:thehempire.com,2006:index.php/1.5603 2006-09-15T05:12:00+00:00 2006-09-15T07:13:28+00:00

A cannabis drought in Ulster has forced dealers and users to make trips to Scotland for their drugs.

2006-09-15T05:12:00+00:00 dhc dhc@thehempire.com The War on Drugs
A spokesman for Strathclyde Police said it had received information more people from the province were travelling to Glasgow to buy supplies.

It's understood a number of police raids in recent weeks and a clampdown by loyalist paramilitaries has hit cannabis supplies.

With prices rising as a consequence, the 'drug runners' are risking prison by making the regular trips.

Said the spokesman: "We have had reports that more people from Northern Ireland have been travelling to Scotland to purchase drugs.

"If these people are caught purchasing any type of illegal drugs off dealers in Glasgow, then they will face the full rigours of the law."

The spokesman said Glasgow had a "serious drug problem" and links between criminal gangs in the city and Belfast were well-documented.

"We will continue to work closely with the PSNI if they require our help on the illegal drugs trade between the two regions," he added.

Belfast councillor Jim Rodgers welcomed the fact there seemed to be a cannabis drought.

He said: "The police have been very successful in recent weeks against drug dealers and I hope this trend continues.

"I also know that loyalist paramilitaries are trying to clean up their act and maybe this is why it has been a lot harder for people to buy this drug."

Said a PSNI spokeswoman: "We work closely with various police forces in the UK in the war against drugs. Our efforts to reduce drugs will continue and these efforts will focus on those responsible for importation and distribution."]]> tag:thehempire.com,2006:index.php/1.5602 2006-09-14T04:49:00+00:00 2010-12-17T07:51:16+00:00

DANCE music fans enjoy the most sex - but lovers of classical music are more likely to have smoked cannabis.

2006-09-14T04:49:00+00:00 dhc dhc@thehempire.com Reports, Studies and Polls
And opera-goers have probably tried magic mushrooms, according to a startling study into the link between music and drugs. It also showed that 37 per cent of rap fans had more than one sexual partner in the last five years.

But country music fans prefer to stand by their man ...or woman.

Just 1.5 per cent of them had more than one sex partner in the five years.

Psychologist Dr Adrian North quizzed 2500 people across the UK on their musical tastes and lifestyle for the study.

Rap and dance music fans were more likely to have tried arange of illegal drugs.

But about a quarter of the classical music and opera fans admitted to having tried cannabis.

Perhaps most surprisingly, 12 per cent of opera fans had tried magic mushrooms.

Dr North found rap fans were the least likely to be religious, least likely to recycle, least likely to demand alternative energy sources, least likely to favour higher taxes for better public services and least likely to support the National Health Service.

In addition, they were more likely to have broken the law.

More than one in two fans of dance and hip hop music had committed a criminal act, compared with just 18 per cent of fans of musicals.

Dr North also confirmed there was a class divide when it came to music.

Fans of classical and opera were more likely to be middle or upper class. They earned an average of £35,000 a year, while dance music fans earned only £23,311.

Classical music and opera fans were also more likely to have been educated to a higher level.

Seven per cent of opera fans had a PhD.

But not a single chart pop fan who took part in the study had one.

Dr North, from the University of Leicester, now wants to recruit 10,000 people across the globe in a bid to complete the "first worldwide picture of who likes what" via a website called musicaltastetest.com. ]]> tag:thehempire.com,2006:index.php/1.5601 2006-09-14T04:48:00+00:00 2006-09-14T06:48:50+00:00

Hundreds of Cheltenham town centre clubbers were tested for drugs and explosives as part of Operation Wizard. Plain clothes and uniformed officers were stationed at club entrances to search and arrest drug users.

2006-09-14T04:48:00+00:00 dhc dhc@thehempire.com The War on Drugs
They used state-of-the-art computer technology worth £35,000 to spot-test for heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis.

More than 200 people were screened at nightclubs Que Pasa, in Clarence Street and Thirteen in St George's Road.

Screening involved taking a swab from a palm and trouser pockets.

The swab was fed into an Ion Track super computer where it was heated to 200C. Six seconds later the results were in.

Eight who tested positive for cocaine, heroin or ecstasy were taken away and searched.

No drugs were found, but police issued formal stop and search forms.

PC Andy Cook, licensing officer for Cheltenham and Tewkesbury, operated the computer.

"We were the first force to pioneer this machine, which is designed to pick up people who regularly use drugs," he said.

"It's far more effective than a brief search by door staff as people can hide drugs in discreet places like their socks.

"Often people think it's a bluff, but when the alarm goes off they soon realise it isn't.

"We find about five people in every 100 test positive for drugs and about one in 100 have drugs on them.

"But we get a tremendous response from the public as they know they're coming into a drug-free environment. They feel safer."

Out of 176 people screened on their way into Que Pasa, four tested positive for heroin.

Mark Steed, 19, from Springbank Way in Cheltenham was found with a high level of the drug on his hands.

He was searched by two officers, but found to be clean.

Mark said: "I couldn't believe it. I don't touch the stuff, but if this operation stops drugs then it's not a problem."

Traces of cocaine were found on the Que Pasa counter where the computer was being used. Staff cleaned it and testing was able to continue.

Trace elements of drugs can be found on door handles, money and bar surfaces, and can get on to people's hands.

Sarah Vancoevorden, a beauty therapist from Hatherley, took the test on a night out with friends.

"Cheltenham has a drugs problem and cocaine is becoming more popular," she said.

"I don't do drugs, but most of my friends do and there is a need for operations like this."

Que Pasa general manager Ben Jelley said: "The feedback has been positive. If you put these machines out in the community two or three times each month, the drug problem in the town would be reduced by 95 per cent."]]> tag:thehempire.com,2006:index.php/1.5600 2006-09-14T04:46:00+00:00 2006-09-14T06:46:56+00:00

Medical marijuana users are more likely to finish Hepatitis C treatment and so are more likely to be cured, according to a newly published study conducted in San Francisco and Oakland.

2006-09-14T04:46:00+00:00 dhc dhc@thehempire.com Medical, Reports, Studies and Polls
Other studies have shown marijuana relieves symptoms, but medical marijuana advocates said this could be the first to show improved cure rates for a life-threatening illness.

The study � authored by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and the Oakland-based Organization to Achieve Solutions in Substance Abuse (OASIS), and published in the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology � found marijuana users being treated for HCV were three times more likely to have a "sustained virological response," meaning the virus can't be detected six months after treatment ends.

HCV treatment with ribavirin and interferon causes severe side effects such as nausea, vomiting, weight loss, sleeplessness and depression, causing many patients to quit the long regimen too early. Of 71 HCV patients studied, 21 finished with a sustained virological response: 12 of the 22 cannabis users and nine of the 49 non-users.

"Modest cannabis use may offer symptomatic and virological benefit to some patients...by helping them maintain adherence to the challenging medication regimen," the study concluded.

Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., issued a news release touting this as "a landmark study, showing that medical marijuana can literally save lives. Every day that our government continues punishing the sick for using this medicine is literally a crime against humanity." ]]> tag:thehempire.com,2006:index.php/1.5599 2006-09-14T04:45:00+00:00 2006-09-14T06:46:09+00:00

Lawyers for Oakland “guru of ganja” Ed Rosenthal want more access to the grand jury that’s probing him anew, even as they move rapidly toward his retrial on old charges.

2006-09-14T04:45:00+00:00 dhc dhc@thehempire.com The War on Drugs
Attorney Bill Simpich told U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer today he'll file a motion regarding the Oakland-based federal grand jury by Monday. The government has until Oct. 2 to respond, and a hearing is set for Oct. 11.

Breyer set an Oct. 23 trial date but said he expects to postpone it. Rosenthal is still seeking a lawyer other than Simpich for his retrial, and co-defendant Richard Watts -- never tried the first time around because he'd been seriously hurt in a car accident -- also lacks counsel.

Meanwhile, two unnamed individuals who earlier had invoked their Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination when called to testify about Rosenthal to the grand jury have been told they need not return to the grand jury Thursday, Rosenthal said. It's unclear what this might mean, as federal prosecutors can't discuss grand jury proceedings.

Famed for his marijuana cultivation books and the "Ask Ed" column he wrote for High Times magazine, Rosenthal was convicted of three marijuana-growing felonies in 2003, more than a year after federal agents raided sites including his Oakland home, an Oakland warehouse in which he was growing marijuana and a San Francisco medical marijuana club he supplied.

Medical use of marijuana on a doctor's recommendation is legal under state law but prohibited by federal law, so Rosenthal was barred from mounting a medical defense at trial. Breyer sentenced him to one day behind bars -- time he'd already served.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his convictions in April, finding juror misconduct -- a juror's conversation with an attorney-friend during deliberations -- compromised Rosenthal's right to a fair verdict and so warranted a new trial. But the court also rejected Rosenthal's claim of immunity from prosecution as an officer of Oakland who grew the drug under the city's medical marijuana ordinance.]]> tag:thehempire.com,2006:index.php/1.5598 2006-09-13T05:28:00+00:00 2006-09-13T07:28:55+00:00

Marijuana can improve the effectiveness of drug therapy for hepatitis C, a potentially deadly viral infection that affects more than 3 million Americans, a study has found. The work adds to a growing literature supporting the notion that in some circumstances pot can offer medical benefits.

2006-09-13T05:28:00+00:00 dhc dhc@thehempire.com Medical
Treatment for hepatitis C involves months of therapy with two powerful drugs, interferon and ribavirin, that have severe side effects, including extreme fatigue, nausea, muscle aches, loss of appetite and depression. Because of those side effects, many patients do not finish treatment and the virus ends up destroying their livers.

Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco and at an Oakland substance abuse center tracked the progress of 71 hepatitis C patients taking the difficult therapy. Tests and interviews indicated that 22 smoked marijuana every day or two during the treatment period while 49 rarely or never did.

At the end of the six-month treatment, 19 (86 percent) of those who used marijuana had successfully completed the therapy -- meaning they took at least 80 percent of their doses over at least 80 percent of the period. Only 29 (59 percent) of the nonsmokers achieved that goal.

Similarly, 54 percent of the marijuana users achieved a "sustained virological response," the gold standard goal of therapy, meaning they had no sign of the virus in their bodies six months after the treatment was over. That compared with only 18 percent of those who did not smoke pot.

While it is possible that the marijuana had a specific, positive biomedical effect, it is more likely that it helped patients by reducing depression, improving appetite and offering psychological benefits that helped the patients tolerate the treatment's side effects, the team reports in the current issue of the European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology.]]> tag:thehempire.com,2006:index.php/1.5597 2006-09-13T05:26:00+00:00 2006-09-13T07:28:10+00:00

The struggle to wage an effective war on drugs will continue after government officials recently discovered that their recent $1.4 billion antidrug campaign failed to lure teenagers away from the illegal substances.

2006-09-13T05:26:00+00:00 dhc dhc@thehempire.com The War on Drugs
However, a different federal study reported that illicit drug use had fallen among those between the ages of 12 and 17 - the demographic group much of the media campaign targeted.

The Government Accountability Office announced Aug. 25 that the failed campaign, which has aired since 1998, did not help reduce drug use. In some cases, the program may have actually persuaded youths that the use of illegal drugs is considered normal.

The government-backed crusade - which purchased TV time slots and radio ads that featured the slogan "the antidrug" - were memorable to both parents and youth, but the ads did not change adolescents' attitudes about drugs, according to a University of Pennsylvania study that used the GAO's findings.

UI freshman Tom Flood said the media campaign had no effect on him.

"It's a personal decision to use drugs, and no commercial is going to change my mind," he said, adding that he and his friends often laughed at the ads because he said they were unrealistic.

But data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, show teen drug use may be slowing down.

The rate of illicit drug use has moved consistently downward since 2002, according to the report. Only 9.9 percent of those between the ages of 12 and 17 used drugs in 2005, compared with 10.6 percent in 2004 and 11.2 percent in 2003, officials reported.

Sarah Hansen, the UI Student Health Service associate director for education and Health Iowa program coordinator, lauded the number of drug-awareness opportunities on campus.

"Health Iowa provides a continuum of services from education to substance-abuse evaluation, treatment, and care," she said.

The UI offers a drug seminar - a four-hour series attended by 220 students last year - as well as a private substance-abuse evaluation. Last year, 34 percent more students underwent the private evaluations. Health Iowa also added a marijuana-information series for low-risk pot offenders, which 56 students completed in its inaugural year.

The Iowa City police know plenty of people who have had serious - or at least arrest-worthy - problems.

Police Sgt. Doug Hart said the city's Drug Seizure Report documented 1,517 marijuana-related arrests, 176 for cocaine, 127 for crack cocaine, and 113 for methamphetamine, so far in 2006.

"Drugs are big in America," said Travis Blanken, a 20-year-old Iowa City resident and self-proclaimed drug user, who said he only does drugs for fun and - at times - as a form of stress relief.

"When pro-athletes, such as Jamal Lewis, only get a six-month sentence for cocaine trafficking, how seriously can we take them?" he joked.

Blanken, who admits he has smoked marijuana, eaten mushrooms, and taken Ecstasy and opiates, added: Couldn't the $1.4 billion the government spent on a failed drug campaign have had a larger effect elsewhere?

"That money could have aided health care, helped countless other countries, stabilized illegal immigration, or helped to find a new energy source, but, instead, it went down the toilet," he said.]]> tag:thehempire.com,2006:index.php/1.5596 2006-09-12T05:08:00+00:00 2006-09-12T07:10:03+00:00

Britain has a greater level of serious drug abuse than any other country in Europe, damning new figures show.

2006-09-12T05:08:00+00:00 dhc dhc@thehempire.com Cost of Prohibition
The study reveals nearly one in every hundred people of working age in this country is a drug addict, a level unmatched anywhere else on the continent.

The United Nations report showed that rates of problem abuse here are more than three times those in Holland, nearly four times levels of serious drug-taking in Germany, over twice the rates in France, and nearly double the European average.

The number of regular heavy and regular drug abusers in Britain has shot up compared to the rest of Europe over the past decade, according to the figures.

The UN report drew a powerful contrast between Britain and Sweden, a country where the government has increased penalties for drug abuse and fought a campaign to eradicate drugs entirely.

This has brought down levels of drug use, the report said - while Britain, where the Labour has eased the laws on cannabis and helped heroin users - has seen its problems multipy.

Tory leaders and critics of the Government's liberal line on drugs warned that tolerance of drugs has produced a disastrous result. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: 'This is a direct consequence of Labour’s failure to tackle the scourge of drugs and the British people are paying a very high price.'

The report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is based on figures calculated by the European Union's Lisbon-based drugs agency but never publicised. They define problem drug abuse as 'injecting drug use or long duration or regular use of opiates, cocaine and/or amphetamines'.

Occasional use of heroin, cocaine or amphetamines does not count towards the figures, and nor are users of ecstasy or cannabis included.

Britain's 300,000 heroin addicts contribute to a rating of 0.94 per cent of the population aged between 15 and 64 as problem drug users - just under one in 100 working age people.

In all 18 EU countries where UN officials believe enough evidence exists to make comparisons possible, the level is lower.

Holland, where drug abuse is often considered rife, has just 0.30 per cent of its 15-64 population ranked as problem drug-takers. In Germany the level is just 0.25 per cent, in France 0.44. The EU average rate is 0.51 per cent.

Among major European countries, the nearest to Britain for problem drug abuse is Italy, at 0.75 per cent of the working age population. Only Latvia and tiny Luxembourg come near the British levels with rates at over 0.9 per cent.

Britain's number of problem drug abusers, the figures said, has gone up from under six per cent of the working age population ten years ago.

The UN report also confirmed that Britain is second only to Spain in Europe for levels of cannabis use among young people aged between 15 and 24, and that use of drugs other than cannabis among young people is highest in Britain and Ireland.

The league table makes uncomfortable reading for Labour, which has twisted and turned since the disastrous decision after the 2001 election to reclassify cannabis from class B to class A, a move that means people caught with the drug are no longer routinely arrested.

Ministers have accepted that the decison was made without taking into account evidence showing links between cannabis and mental illness, but say they will not change the law back because that would cause too much confusion among the young.

There have also been increasing signs that the Government wishes to be more tolerant of hard drug abuse. Public money is to be used to fund four experimental 'shooting galleries' in which addicts will be invited to inject legally-provided heroin. Yesterday North Wales Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom announced that addicts will be able to get clean needles from a machine set up at a police station.

By contrast, the UN report praised Sweden, where over the past two decades laws have been tightened so that drug abuse - not possession of a drug as in Britain - is a crime that can result in a jail term and where minor offences attract six month jail sentences.

The UN report praised Sweden's 'ambitious goal of a drug-free society' and added: 'The prevalence and incident rates of drug abuse have fallen in Sweden while they have increased in most other European countries.'

The Home Office yesterday questioned the UN comparisons. 'The way we gather figures in this country is different from everywhere else,' a spokesman said. 'The figures are not comparable.'

He added: 'Levels of use of Class A drugs in Britian are stable. Drug-related crime is falling. Increasing quantities of drugs are being seized, and record numbers of people are getting treatment.'

Earlier this year UN drugs chief Antonio Maria Costa signalled his disapproval of British drug policy, saying: 'Policy reversals leave young people confused as to just how dangerous cannabis is.'

Shadow Home Secretary Mr Davis said: 'Labour needs to get an urgent grip on this problem. Instead of peddling a confused message that lets people think it is ok to take drugs, they should start by securing our porous borders which allow hard drugs to flow into our country.'

Mary Brett of the Europe Against Drugs group said: 'This is saying that harm reduction policies and tolerance of drug use is causing great damage. The change of the law on cannabis and the other signals sent out by the Government have encouraged people to use drugs.']]> tag:thehempire.com,2006:index.php/1.5595 2006-09-11T05:24:00+00:00 2006-09-11T07:33:11+00:00

A pensioner who is believed to be Britain’s oldest convicted drug dealer was jailed for 18 months yesterday after a court heard that he had more than 400 cannabis plants in his greenhouse.

2006-09-11T05:24:00+00:00 dhc dhc@thehempire.com Misc
George Axton, 70, was found guilty of cultivating and conspiracy to supply the drug at an earlier trial and was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court yesterday. The court heard that the drugs were worth £150,000.

Axton, who runs a care home for young adults in Fordingbridge, Hants, was in court with Richard Kershaw, 29, who was sentenced to 15 months and Gavin Harries, 30, who helped tend the crop and was jailed for a year. Both were convicted of the same charges as Axton.

David Stone, 32, admitted cultivating cannabis and possession of the Class C drug and was jailed for 18 months.]]>