UN Backs Drug Decriminalization In World Drug Report

In an about face, the United Nations on Wednesday lavishly praised drug decriminalization in its annual report on the state of global drug policy. In previous years, the UN drug czar had expressed skepticism about Portugal's decriminalization, which removed criminal penalties in 2001 for personal drug possession and emphasized treatment over incarceration. The UN had suggested the policy was in violation of international drug treaties and would encourage "drug tourism."

But in its 2009 World Drug Report, the UN had little but kind words for Portugal's radical (by U.S. standards) approach. "These conditions keep drugs out of the hands of those who would avoid them under a system of full prohibition, while encouraging treatment, rather than incarceration, for users. Among those who would not welcome a summons from a police officer are tourists, and, as a result, Portugal's policy has reportedly not led to an increase in drug tourism," reads the report. "It also appears that a number of drug-related problems have decreased."

In its upbeat appraisal of Portugal's policy, the UN finds itself in agreement with Salon's Glenn Greenwald.

The report, released at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., also puts to rest concerns that decriminalization doesn't comply with international treaties, which prevent countries from legalizing drugs.

U.S. Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske is scheduled to appear at the announcement of the report. (He has said "legalization" is not "in my vocabulary.")

"The International Narcotics Control Board was initially apprehensive when Portugal changed its law in 2001 (see their annual report for that year), but after a mission to Portugal in 2004, it "noted that the acquisition, possession and abuse of drugs had remained prohibited," and said "the practice of exempting small quantities of drugs from criminal prosecution is consistent with the international drug control treaties," reads a footnote to the report.

The UN report also dives head first into the debate over full drug legalization. Last year's World Drug Report ignored the issue entirely, save for a reference to Chinese opium policy in the 19th Century. This year's report begins with a lengthy rebuttal of arguments in favor of legalization. "Why unleash a drug epidemic in the developing world for the sake of libertarian arguments made by a pro-drug lobby that has the luxury of access to drug treatment?" argues the report.

But the UN also makes a significant concession to backers of legalization, who have long argued that it is prohibition policies that lead to violence and the growth of shadowy, underground networks.

"In the Preface to the report," reads the press release accompanying the report, "[UN Office of Drugs and Crime Executive Director Antonio Maria] Costa explores the debate over repealing drug controls. He acknowledges that controls have generated an illicit black market of macro-economic proportions that uses violence and corruption."

Jack Cole, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and a retired undercover narcotics detective, objected to the report's classification of current policy as "control."

"The world's 'drug czar,' Antonio Maria Costa, would have you believe that the legalization movement is calling for the abolition of drug control," he said. "Quite the contrary, we are demanding that governments replace the failed policy of prohibition with a system that actually regulates and controls drugs, including their purity and prices, as well as who produces them and who they can be sold to. You can't have effective control under prohibition, as we should have learned from our failed experiment with alcohol in the U.S. between 1920 and 1933."

- Huffington Post

THC initiates brain cancer cells to destroy themselves

THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, causes brain cancer cells to undergo a process called autophagy in which cells feed upon themselves, according to a study conducted by Guillermo Velasco and colleagues at Complutense University in Spain.

"These results may help to design new cancer therapies based on the use of medicines containing the active principle of marijuana and/or in the activation of autophagy,"

Top Anti-Drug Researcher Changes His Mind, Says Legalize Cannabis

One of the world's foremost lung health experts says it's time to legalize cannabis.

Dr. Donald Tashkin, expert on cannabis and lung health, has called for the legalization of cannabis.Dr. Donald Tashkin, expert on cannabis and lung health, has called for the legalization of cannabis.For 30 years, Donald Tashkin has studied the effects of cannabis on lung function. His work has been funded by the vehemently anti-cannabis National Institute on Drug Abuse, which has long sought to demonstrate that cannabis causes lung cancer. After 3 decades of anti-drug research, here's what Tashkin has to say about cannabis laws:

"Early on, when our research appeared as if there would be a negative impact on lung health, I was opposed to legalization because I thought it would lead to increased use and that would lead to increased health effects," Tashkin says. "But at this point, I'd be in favor of legalization. I wouldn't encourage anybody to smoke any substances. But I don't think it should be stigmatized as an illegal substance. Tobacco smoking causes far more harm. And in terms of an intoxicant, alcohol causes far more harm." [McClatchy]

We've been told a thousand times that cannabis destroys your lungs, that it's 5 times worse than cigarettes, and on and on. Yet here is Donald Tashkin, literally the top expert in the world when it comes to cannabis and lung health, telling us it's time to legalize cannabis. His views are shaped not by ideology, but rather by the 30 years he spent studying the issue. He didn't expect the science to come out in favor of cannabis, but that's what happened and he's willing to admit it.

Here's the study that really turned things around:

UCLA's Tashkin studied heavy cannabis smokers to determine whether the use led to increased risk of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. He hypothesized that there would be a definitive link between cancer and cannabis smoking, but the results proved otherwise."What we found instead was no association and even a suggestion of some protective effect," says Tashkin, whose research was the largest case-control study ever conducted.

Prejudice against cannabis and smoking in general runs so deep for many people that it just seems inconceivable that cannabis could actually reduce the risk of lung cancer. But that's what the data shows and it not only demolishes a major tenet of popular anti-pot propaganda, but also points towards a potentially groundbreaking opportunity to develop cancer cures through cannabis research.

Over and over again, all the bad things we've been told about cannabis are revealed to be not only false, but often the precise opposite of the truth. So the next time someone tells you that cannabis is worse for your lungs than cigarettes, you might want to mention that the world's leading expert on that subject happens to be a supporter of legalization.

- Article from Stop the Drug War (DRCNet).

The drugs do work – for a lot of people

One in three adults in the UK have taken them, as have the last three US presidents, so it's time to remove the stigma around drugs, and talk openly towards more effective, safer policy

The Nice People Take Drugs ad campaign for drugs policy reform. Photograph: Release

Nice People Take Drugs – it's not a controversial statement. We all know people who have. The last three US presidents have admitted to it. Much has been suggested about the likely next UK prime minister. Nowadays if a politician admitted to it, the tabloids would struggle to make a story stick let alone generate a scandal. The fact is, a lot of people from all walks of life have at some point taken drugs and it's time we got real about it.

That's why this week we have launched a new campaign called Nice People Take Drugs. Buses will be travelling across London carrying this slogan in an attempt to get people talking about drugs and kickstart a drug policy debate.

Over one third of the adult population of England and Wales has used illegal drugs and almost 10 million people have smoked cannabis. According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, one in eight Britons under 35 has taken cocaine. Some will have experimented with drugs with little apparent consequence, some will continue to use them on occasions.

The situation where people have to deny, hide or, if found out, regret their drug taking is simply absurd. The public is tired of the artificial representation of drugs in society, which is not truthful about the fact that all sorts of people use drugs. If we are to have a fair and effective drug policy, it must be premised on this reality.

It is time for the public to challenge the mantra adhered to by politicians and much of the media that society must continue to fight a war on drugs, as if they are an enemy worth fighting and ones that can be defeated. The implication that drugs are evil and that users of them ought to be made to feel ashamed suits this status quo, but in fact does not reflect most people's experience of drugs.

We all know that, for a minority, drugs and alcohol can have disastrous consequences – but ones that are only exacerbated by the current laws and are better addressed with robust and comprehensive public health campaigns.

Aside from the occasional tinkering with the outdated classification system, drugs and drug policy do not get properly discussed and politicians are afraid to debate the possibility of meaningful reform.

The government is reluctant to tackle the subject firstly because of the culture of fear of drugs that is used as justification for the zero-tolerance approach, and also due to politicians' uncertainty about how to make the transition from failed to improved drug policies.

The Nice People Take Drugs campaign is needed so that the public can give politicians the confidence that they need to abandon the ridiculous 'tough on drugs' stance and instead focus on finding real and effective ways to properly control drugs and manage drug use. This would make drugs much less dangerous and, critically, less available to children.

The current system has brought us powerful drugs like crack cocaine, skunk and methamphetamine; it has ravaged countries from Afghanistan to Colombia and has cost billions in a war on people who use drugs. Governments have next to no control over drugs and they are arguably more available and cheaper than ever before. In the UK it is often far easier for a 14-year-old to get cannabis than alcohol.

Breaking the taboo on drugs is the first step to reducing the harm that they can cause. By far the greatest risk to the majority of people who use drugs is criminalisation and stigmatisation. To simply ban substances and arrest those who use them is no more than a complete abdication of policy makers' responsibility to protect the health and well being of its people.

We must start a debate about the kind of drug policy that this country wants to see. The UK does not want drug laws that benefit massive drug cartels and are politically convenient for politicians, but ones that deal effectively and maturely with drugs and make our society a safer place for our children.

• Claudia Rubin is head of policy and communications for drugs charity

- Guardian

Dealers (sic alcohol & drug) give free drugs to kids

Just as I can imagine SAB or Heineken standing outside schools or rugby matches giving out free booze... I can't imagine any 'dealer' would give away free anything...

yet here the spin is.... and yet again where drugs and alcohol are related soon after mentioning them together, the statistics are then massaged to give the impression that drugs are at fault and not alcohol...

Pretoria - Drug dealers stand at school gates to give drugs free of charge to pupils, a report on child abuse released on Thursday said.

The report, released by Solidarity Help Hand, said that the levels of child abuse in South Africa are increasing rapidly.

The report quoted a case study in the Western Cape, where it was found that 90% of child abused cases reported, drugs and alcohol played a role.

According to the case study, a five year-old child was raped while her mother was drunk.

It also said that young girls were lured into drugs and were later forced to become prostitutes.

According to the study a child is raped in South Africa every three minutes.

A study by the South African Youth Victimisation Survey in 2005 found that only about 11.3% of child rapes were reported to the police, Mariana Kriel, Solidarity Help Hand project director said.

"This means that for every reported case, an additional eight child rapes actually take place."

The report released in Pretoria, indicated that 1 410 children were murdered in 2007/08. Attempted murder of children stood at 13.7% at the same period - an increase of 22% compared to the previous year.

- SAPA

Cocktail of heroin and tik scary - experts

The number of heroin users in Cape Town is growing steadily and the drug is is also being used with tik in a dangerous new cocktail, according to rehabilitation centres in the city.

The centres said that although tik was seldom used on its own, the use of it with heroin as a secondary drug was scary.

The Western Cape branch of the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca) said it had noted a rise in the use of heroin.

'These are two of the most addictive drugs'

Grant Jardine, of the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre, agreed that their figures showed a steady climb.

"It wasn't as dramatic as tik, which shot up suddenly. But it is the one drug that has increased each year."

Tertius Cronjé, of Sanca, said the number of users they saw with heroin-addiction problems had tripled in the past three years.

He said people were mostly using the cheaper, less pure form of the drug.

In line with research from the South African Medical Research Council, Cronjé said most users smoked the drug.

According to the council, the Western Cape is the only province in the country where the majority of users took the drug in this way. In other areas, most users injected the drug.

Cronjé said this could be attributed to the fear of contracting HIV and Aids.

Research showed that the recovery rate for heroin users was dismal. But, he said, the most alarming new development was the use of heroin in conjunction with tik.

He said the combination held devastating effects for the user.

"These are two of the most addictive drugs. Using them in tandem is as bad as addiction gets. It's very difficult to come off; you can't really win here."

It was made worse by the fact that heroin carried a major risk of overdosing, while tik held severely damaging psychological effects.

Jurgens Smit, the director of Western Cape-based Faces and Voices of Recovery South Africa, said the combination of the two drugs was "a disaster".

"We first saw this surfacing around two years ago. But it has been spreading, especially across the Cape Flats."

Smit said early intervention was needed to clamp down on the spiralling drug problem.

"We need to start intervention programmes early, targeting children as young as six years old. Society is responsible for offering young people healthy alternatives," he said.

- Cape Argus

R170m drug bust at OR Tambo Airport

Law enforcement agencies at OR Tambo International Airport have seized 565kg of CAT, the chemical used to manufacture the popular drug tik (crystal meth).

The consignment, the biggest seized at a South African airport in five years and worth about R170-million, was found on flight EK761 from Pakistan soon after it landed in Joburg at 2pm on Tuesday.

A joint task team of Interpol and the SA Police Service's Transinternational Investigative Unit and Cargo Anti-Smuggling Unit - acting on a tip-off - netted 20 bags of the chemical hidden in an Emirates plane's cargo hold.

'The investigation will be conducted to find out if the crew were involved'

The Cargo Anti-Smuggling Unit's forensics department tested the contents of the consignment found on the passenger and cargo plane, and confirmed that it was the chemical used to produce tik.

Authorities said the investigation was still at a very sensitive stage and they would not speculate whether a drug-smuggling syndicate was involved.

No arrests had been made last night.

"The investigation will be conducted to find out if the crew were involved," Interpol and Crime Intelligence spokesperson Senior Superintendent Tummi Golding, said last night.

Golding said an investigation was under way to establish if there was a link between Tuesday's bust and the one made in Brazil last week, where 57 people, including airport staff, police officials and crew members were arrested.

- Pretoria News

SA distractsh from the shtory by blaming drugsh

And hundreds of thousands abuse cocaine and tik, says a UN report

SOUTH Africans are the biggest dagga smokers in the world, with at least 2.5-million citizens using the drug.

SAA crew in cocaine bust Effects of doing tik Acquitted, but tik mom can’t forgive self The country also has the most abusers of amphetamine-type stimulants, the most common being tik, with double the percentage of addicts than other countries. These shocking revelations were made yesterday at the release of the annual report of the international narcotics control board of the UN Office for Drugs and Crime. And a presentation by the department of social development at the UN launch showed that: 237 000 South Africans are totally dependent on drugs and will feed their addiction at all costs; 1.97-million South Africans are alcoholics; and alcohol abuse and drug addiction cost the economy R20-billion a year in accidents, injuries, assaults and medical treatment. These figures, said the deputy chairman of the Central Drug Authority, David Bayever, were based on studies by the Medical Research Council, the SA Red Cross and the police. “Drug use in South Africa is extremely serious and is twice the world norm,” said Bayever. He said that 8 percent of the population aged between 12 and 64 was addicted to dagga, as opposed to a 4 percent average in other countries. Bayever said the dagga-abuse figures were “only the tip of the iceberg”, given that the problem was seriously under-reported. In addition to the 1.97-million alcoholics in South Africa, about 3.2-million people are “risky drinkers” who consume large amounts of alcohol at weekends. The cost of heavy drinking included 7,000 lives taken by drunken drivers every year. The department of social development said that, though 59 percent of people aged between 12 and 64 do not drink, at least 37 percent are “binge drinkers”. Drug rehabilitation centres struggle to cope with the scourge of abuse. They can accommodate only 17,500 patients a year. Dr Jonathan Lucas, the southern Africa representative of the UN Office for Drugs and Crime, said South Africa did not have the capacity to fight drug trafficking. He said that in addition to West African, mainly Nigerian, drug peddlers, there had been an influx of Asian drugs cartels. Bayever said drug abuse was prevalent among children under 16. Half of this group had experimented with drugs. The government report said that 20 percent of dagga smokers were boys under 16 and 7 percent were girls. However, 7 percent of both boys and girls abused heroin, mandrax, cocaine, and tik. Children who smoked dagga were almost four times more likely to be stabbed at school than those who did not. Those who drank alcohol were twice as likely to be stabbed. About 40 percent of child dagga smokers reported having had sex, compared with 5 percent of non-smokers. Thirty percent of child drinkers had sex, compared with 3 percent of those who did not drink. Fact Box Between 42 and 98 percent of drug patients in the Western Cape are hooked on tik South Africa, Mauritius and Zambia have highest increase of heroin abuse in Africa Western Cape has more alcoholics and tik addicts than any other province Dagga is the most widely used drug in the world; 42 million addicts are in Africa

- The Times

South Africans prefer the Safer Natural Alternative

Cannabis remains the most used drug in South Africa even though amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) like Tik pose the greatest threat, the Central Drug Authority said on Thursday.

"Cannabis abuse in South Africa is twice the global norm," CDA deputy chairman David Bayever told the media, law enforcement and international representatives at a presentation.

While the international norm was four percent, in South Africa it was just over eight percent of the population who used cannabis.

Bayever said cannabis, also known as dagga or Mary Jane, was the most major drug choice among South Africans.

He also said the cannabis produced in South Africa was more potent than that of most other countries. This is because of the high levels of tetrahydrocannabol (THC), which makes the drug more addictive. (Phew some reaching here - would love to see this science - but hey his 5c)

However, Tik and its ATS counterparts remain the biggest threat.

This is because they can be easily produced -- in a basic kitchen for example.

Production is also made easier because the ingredients used - ephedrine and pseudo-ephedrine (precursor drugs) - are produced in the country and therefore do not need to be smuggled in, which is also costly.

The Southern African representative for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime Jonathan Lucas said the Tik problem at present had the potential to become even more of a threat.

"You can get more profit out of Tik."

He said regional co-operation was needed to combat the flow of drugs, especially precursor drugs.

"The most important thing is to support the chemical monitoring unit together with the pharmaceutical companies.

"If the countries in Southern Africa do not take the control of chemical precursor as an important issue you're going to have a major problem," said Lucas. - Sapa

Deal with it, don't Botox it - Manuel

Direct from Cloud CooCoo Land:

Manuel called for action against drug dealers.

"It's chemical warfare launched against our people," he said. "We must act to root it out.

"It's weapons of mass destruction against the children of workers."

He said if people in communities raised the issue with police, and the police did not act, they should appeal to police union Popcru. - SAPA

To Be Noted:

• R1.6 Billion Bailout for SAA - The National Drug Carrier...
• No mention of Alcohol being a drug;
• No mention that the drug alcohol is the leading drug causing mortality and cost to the health system
• No mention that by 2010 10% of our population will be born retarded becuase of the drug alcohol
  
• No mention that in the National Drug Master Plan alcohol is not mentioned
• No mention Alcohol falls under the department of Trade and Industry and NOT the CDA
• No mention that annually our road death figures show that alcohol is the "weapons of mass destruction against the children of workers." of which he speaks
• No mention that our National Average rate of consumption has doubled since the department of Trade and Industry took charge of the selling of the drug alcohol.
• 
  
• 
  
• ehm... no mention POPCRU want dagga regulated...
  

Fine Trevor, don't botox it - deal with it!

Time to regulate everything equally!

Not to hide in the crevasses of folding fiscal frock, to face all the drugs for the effect they have. The market they occupy. Taxing and controlling it.

Much less painful than funding a national drug carrier

Drugalyser legality questioned

THE effectiveness and legality of the Drugalyser - launched in the Western Cape last week - has been called into question by a local attorney and the Automobile Association.

Marius de Kock, a local attorney, said the idea that it is within the power of the police to do the testing of drugs "within the law is ludicrous".

"That MEC (Patrick) McKenzie can spend this much money without first talking to the Director of Public Prosecutions is laughable. The police have been coercing people into taking this test. It is an invasion of privacy. The fact is that they know that the test is not admissible, but expressly choose not to tell the public. If the public knew that they could refuse," De Kock said.

A drug driving report put together by the company manufacturing the device showed that a high number of Cape Town motorists pulled over at roadblocks tested positive for drugs. The tests were carried out at roadblocks between April and November.

But Automobile Association (AA) spokesperson Gary Ronald said there was no in-depth research proving that drug driving was a problem like drunk driving.

"It's because it's an illegal activity. With alcohol, we've got a good idea because of data collected over years. To properly test for drugs you need a full toxicology and this could be thousands of rands. And there's also the question of how much drugs are in your system (at the time of the screening). There might be residual, but you're not spaced out. It won't stand in court, but that might come with time," Ronald said.

He said the AA supported the idea, however.

Trimega Diagnostics managing director Avi Lasarow said the Drugalyser was very accurate and the technology was in use in nine countries.

In its drug driving report, Trimega Diagnositics said it was clear from its review of existing legislation "that urgent amendments were required to address roadside testing for drugs (as well as) alcohol".

- Cape Times

Christmas parties and drunken driving

Christmas parties and drunken drivingDrinking and driving in South Africa is a scourge. With Christmas parties commencing in earnest to celebrate the end of the year, the incidents of drunk drivers on the roads is likely to increase. Many drunk drivers do get home safely. Unfortunately too many are involved in accidents, often serious enough to result in deaths or injuries to themselves and others. The deaths of innocent road users have to be deplored.

Let us look at road fatalities in South Africa. The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) reported in its Road Traffic Report of March 2008 that in the one year from April 2007 to March 2008, 14,627 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents in South Africa.

That is an average of 1,220 individuals being killed on our roads each month or 40 every day.

On November 24 2008, reports indicated that 30 civilians were killed in war-torn Iraq, fewer than the average deaths on South African roads. In February 2008, the civilian death toll in Iraq totalled 947, considerably less than the average monthly road death toll in South Africa.

The RTMC has estimated that the average cost per crash is R1.146-million. Motor vehicle accidents in South Africa cost the country — the individuals involved, the government authorities (police, medical workers, emergency services and judicial officials), insurance companies and employers — a whopping R13.27-billion each year.

Not all road accidents are related to consumption of alcohol. However, a significant number of accidents are. Research by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in 2004 indicated that 53.62% of road users (drivers, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists) killed in accidents had a blood alcohol level that exceeded the legal blood alcohol limit. Of the drivers tested in the MRC research 50.88% were over the legal limit.

There is ample evidence that drinking and driving kills, so why is there little action to rid our roads of drunken drivers? Drinking and driving is socially acceptable in South Africa. The media is replete with reports of court cases each day involving prominent South Africans who have been arrested and convicted for driving while under the influence of alcohol: judges, doctors, lawyers, sports personalities, politicians, TV talk show hosts, priests, school teachers, and the list goes on. In such a society very little is likely to be done about drinking and driving. Of course, there are the usual advertisements by the Department of Transport and Arrive Alive each year just before a major public holiday urging people to drive safely and not to drink and drive. The most laughable adverts are those by alcohol manufacturers urging drivers not to drink and drive. This seems to make little difference to road users.

The problem lies with enforcement of the law and stiffer penalties. One often hears of a drunk driver being let off with a fine of a few thousand rand after having been found guilty of drunk driving and culpable homicide – the reckless or negligent taking of another person’s life. A person in similar drunken circumstances who discharges a firearm, killing another, is likely to face a prison sentence. Police officers, prosecutors and judges look upon drunk drivers with sympathy – they remember the days when they perhaps drove whilst under the influence of alcohol. They consider the drunk driver being prosecuted as being foolish for getting caught.

The penalties in the UK for driving or attempting to drive under the influence of alcohol is a fine of up to £5,000 (about R75,000) and/ or imprisonment of up to six months and a mandatory suspension of the driving licence for a period of 12 months. For a second offence the penalty is a prison sentence of up to 12 months and a mandatory suspension of the driving licence for three years. If the driver causes an accident whilst under the influence of alcohol, a prison sentence is likely to be imposed. If the accident results in death, the driver is likely to spend at least 10 years in prison and the driver’s licence will be suspended for a minimum of two years. For driving under the influence of alcohol without an accident, on average courts in the UK impose fines of £3,000 (R45,000) and a three months prison sentence and a suspension of the driver’s licence for 12 months.

Britain’s Chief Medical Officer has called on the government to cut the legal alcohol limit for drivers between the ages of 17 and 20 to zero to reduce the number of youngsters dying in car accidents each week. A similar call has been made regarding newly qualified drivers.

In the UK the government has presented a proposal that will see the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers reduced from 80 milligrams (0.08) to 50 milligrams (0.05) per 100 millilitres of blood. The UK limit is higher than other European Union countries except Ireland (0.08) and Malta (0.09). Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia have a legal alcohol limit of 0.0, while Poland, Estonia and Sweden have a limit of 0.02 and Estonia has a limit of 0.04. All the other EU member states have a limit of 0.05, although many have a lower limit for public transport drivers, commercial drivers and new drivers.

A combination of reduction of blood alcohol limit, enforcement of the law and publicity helps to reduce road deaths. In Switzerland the blood alcohol limit was reduced from 0.8 to 0.5 in January 2005 and random breath testing was introduced. Road deaths decreased 20% and research showed that this was attributable to a reduction of 25% in alcohol related deaths in 2005.

A concerted effort has to be made in South Africa to reduce drunk driving and alcohol related deaths on our roads. Employers hosting Christmas parties should ensure their employees have alternative transport available afterwards to take them home safely. Even hosts of private parties should take a more responsible attitude to drunk driving by refusing to allow a guest to drive home while drunk. But that requires the host to remain sober, which is most unlikely.

The responsibility to reduce deaths on our roads lies with everyone, most importantly with those drivers who drink and then risk killing others.

- M&G Thought Leader

Report Urges Regulated Market to Replace Cannabis Prohibition

More and more studies and reports insist that cannabis prohibition does more harm to cannabis users than the drug itself

A report on cannabis prepared for next year's UN drug policy review will suggest that a "regulated market" would cause less harm than the current international prohibition. The report, which is likely to reopen the debate about cannabis laws, suggests that controls such as taxation, minimum age requirements and labeling could be explored. The Global Cannabis Commission report, which was launched Thursday at a conference in the House of Lords, has reached conclusions which its authors suggest "challenge the received wisdom concerning cannabis". It was carried out for the Beckley foundation, a UN-accredited NGO, for the 2009 UN strategic drug policy review.

There are, according to the report, now more than 160 million users of the drug worldwide. "Although cannabis can have a negative impact on health, including mental health, in terms of relative harms it is considerably less harmful than alcohol or tobacco," according to the report. "Historically, there have only been two deaths worldwide attributed to cannabis, whereas alcohol and tobacco together are responsible for an estimated 150,000 deaths per annum in the UK alone."

The report, compiled by a group of scientists, academics and drug policy experts, suggests that much of the harm associated with cannabis use is "the result of prohibition itself, particularly the social harms arising from arrest and imprisonment." Policies that control cannabis, whether draconian or liberal, appear to have little impact on the prevalence of consumption, it concluded.

"In an alternative system of regulated availability, market controls such as taxation, minimum age requirements, labeling and potency limits are available to minimize the harms associated with cannabis use," said the report. It claimed that only through a regulated market could young people be protected from the increasingly potent forms of cannabis, such as skunk. It is intended that the report will form a blueprint for nations seeking to develop a "more rational and effective approach to the control of cannabis". The authors suggest there is evidence that "the current system of cannabis regulation is not working, and ... there needs to be a serious rethink if we are to minimize the harms caused by cannabis use."

Last night, the report was welcomed by drug law reform organizations. "The Beckley foundation are to be congratulated for the clarity of their call for cannabis supply to be brought within government control," said Danny Kushlick of Transform. "We look forward to the same analysis being applied to heroin and cocaine."

The report is being launched at a two-day conference, which will be attended by leading figures in the drugs policy world. The conclusions are unlikely to be embraced by the government or the Conservative party, both of which are opposed to relaxing restrictions on cannabis use.

- Article from Guardian, Thursday October 2nd

Find more information at www.BeckleyFoundation.org

The Beckley Foundation Global Cannabis Commission

The United Nations Strategic Drug Policy Review

In 1998, the international community agreed a 10-year programme of activity for the control of illegal drug use and markets. These agreements were made at a United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) held in New York in June of that year, and a commitment was made to review progress in 2008. Clearly, the international community will not be able to report unequivocal success in anti-drug programmes at this review (to be held in 2009), as drugs are purer, cheaper, and more widely available than ever before.

The laws themselves are often enforced in an arbitrary fashion, leading to discrimination against oppressed minorities. Nowhere is this more evident than with cannabis, used by a conservatively estimated 160 million people worldwide. There is increasing disagreement between governments on the appropriate policies to adopt. It is therefore essential that the process of review in 2009 be as transparent as possible, and that experts from the field have the maximum opportunity to engage with the government officials and politicians who will ultimately decide on future directions.

The History of Cannabis Use and Prohibition

Cannabis came under the control of the international narcotics treaties as an afterthought, in an era when use of the drug was confined to relatively small groups in a scattering of cultures. In the last half-century, the situation has been transformed. Smoking or other use of cannabis has become a part of youth culture in country after country. To serve this demand, huge international and national illicit markets have arisen. Strenuous efforts to enforce prohibition by policing and by quasi-military operations against illicit growing and sale have largely failed in their principal objective.

Meanwhile, the efforts in themselves create substantial anguish and social harms. In the United States, about three-quarters of a million citizens are arrested every year for cannabis possession, and arrest figures are also high elsewhere.

While rigorous enforcement of the conventions without consideration of alternative paths continues in many countries, elsewhere penalties and enforcement have diminished de-facto or in law. Substantive change is hindered however by a rigid international system of regulation, which is often out of touch with the realities.

The Global Cannabis Commission

The Cannabis Commission is an international group of academics and experts in drug policy analysis, commissioned by the Beckley Foundation to produce a Report on cannabis policy in a global perspective. The Report will be finished by September 2008, in time to be taken into account in the global debate on drug policies in connection with the 2009 UNGASS evaluation. It will provide a comprehensive overview of the evidence that a policymaker at the national or international level will need to know in considering how to move beyond the present stalemate on cannabis policy.

This report will include:

- an opening chapter giving an overview of the global history of cannabis in recent decades, touching on patterns and trends in use and the cultural politics of cannabis, and laying out the plan for the rest of the book;

- an up-to-date review of what is known about the health consequences of cannabis use. This includes harms to physical and mental health, and performance effects, such as on driving. The extent of danger of cannabis is considered in a public health perspective, in a comparative frame with harms from other drugs - tobacco, alcohol, opiates, etc;

- the evidence on the effects of the current system of prohibition and control, including the size and organization of the illicit cannabis market, the costs and effectiveness of efforts to eliminate the market through police and criminal justice systems, and the effects of criminalization on users and their families;

- a review of policy initiatives at national and sub-national levels of reform within the international prohibition system intended to mitigate adverse effects. These include initiatives to decriminalize cannabis possession, to reduce penalties for use or possession, to divert to treatment or other handling, and to license and tolerate use, such as with the Dutch coffee shop system;

- an assessment of the effects of reforms within the system. The available evidence is summarized on the effects of different reforms on amount and patterns of use and harm, and on secondary adverse consequences of arrest and other enforcement;

- a review of the potential means for altering the present international convention status of cannabis, to allow controlled availability for adult use in national or sub-national regulatory regimes. While there are a variety of possible paths available for an individual country or a group of nations, primary attention is given to those most likely to be feasible in terms of norms of international law and of political realities. The chapter includes consideration of concrete provisions in a possible new Convention on cannabis, on the model of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control;

- a final chapter drawing conclusions and making recommendations on possible paths forward, towards more effective and just policies on cannabis, at both national and international levels.

To help maximise the impact and awareness of the report, we are proposing to convene a group of International Notables who will endorse the Conclusions and Recommendations, thereby adding gravitas to the Commissioners' findings.

The Cannabis Commission Report is to be published as a book by the Oxford University Press, to ensure that its impact is as widespread as possible. Besides this book, the principal findings of the Report will be collated in a separate document, together with the Conclusions and Recommendations , which will provide an accessible summary from which policymakers may inform themselves.

We believe that this Report with its Conclusions and Recommendations , could serve as a blueprint for the development of future evidence-based drug policies. We therefore hope that its analysis and its findings will reach as large an audience as possible, and that, in due course, a more beneficent cannabis policy may be developed.

This project has been convened by Amanda Neidpath,
Director of the Beckley Foundation

Beckley Foundation Seminar 2008

The Global Cannabis Commission Report Launch & Assessing International Drug Control- Preparations for UNGASS 2008

House of Lords, Westminster Palace, London 2nd & 3rd October, 2008

This seminar will see the launch of the Beckley Foundation's Global Cannabis Commission Report on the first day, and a high-level review of preparations for the UNGASS Review of Global Drug Policy in 2009 on the second. We have confirmed the attendance of a select group of experts, academics and policymakers from around the world, including representatives from the UN, EU and WHO. With such a high-powered array of participants, chairs and speakers, we look forward to a well-informed and productive debate of the current drug policy dilemmas facing policymakers.

The Cannabis Commission Report has been authored by a group of the world's leading drug policy analysts. The seminar's first day will see these authors present their findings to the public, followed by further presentations on, and a wider discussion of the cannabis issue. The second day involves presentations on some of the high-level policy reports that will help inform policymakers in the build up to and during the UNGASS review. This will be followed by a debate on the position Europe should be taking in this UNGASS review.

Attendance at the seminar is by invitation only. If you would like to attend, please contact the Beckley Foundation.

Principles Underlying the Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme

That the current global drug control mechanism, (as enshrined in the three United Nations Conventions of 1961, 1971 and 1988), is not achieving the core objective of significantly reducing the scale of the market for controlled substances, such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and cannabis.

That the negative side-effects of the implementation of this system may themselves be creating significant social problems.

That reducing the harm faced by the many individuals who use drugs, including the risk of infections, such as Hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS, is not a sufficiently high priority in international policies and programmes.

That there is a growing body of evidence regarding which policies and activities are (and are not) effective in reducing drug use and associated health and social problems, and that this evidence is not sufficiently taken into account in current policy discussions, which continue to be dominated by ideological considerations.

That the current dilemmas in international drug policy can only be resolved through an honest review of progress so far, a better understanding of the complex factors that create widespread drug use, and a commitment to pursue policies that are effective.

That analysis of future policy options is unlikely to produce a clear 'correct' policy - what may be appropriate in one setting or culture may be less so in another. In addition, there are likely to be trade-offs between policy objectives (i.e. to reduce overall drug use or to reduce drug-related crime) that may be viewed differently in different countries.

That future policy should be grounded on a scientifically based scale of harm for all social drugs. This should involve a continuous review of scientific and sociological evidence of the biological harm, toxicity, mortality and dependency; the relation to violent behaviour; the relation to crime; the costs to the health services; the general impact on others; and the total economic impact of the use of each individual drug on society.

- Cannabis Culture

Heroin gets cheaper, and is NOT SAFER

More heroin is being shipped, driven or flown into South Africa, and a senior organised crime researcher has warned that plummeting street prices and an "oversupply" of the potentially lethal narcotic mean more South Africans can now afford a dangerous drug habit.

While tik is favoured among addicts in the Western Cape, a mix of heroin and dagga nicknamed "ungah" is becoming increasingly popular.

"Experts fear that the noxious mix (ungah) may soon overtake the methamphetamine or 'tik' market in South Africa. At less than $4 (about R35.30) a fix, consumers have little problem (feeding) their addiction," said senior Institute for Security Studies (ISS) researcher Annette Hübschle.

'Experts fear the noxious mix may overtake the tik market'

Hübschle, who works with the ISS's Organised Crime and Money Laundering Programme, recently produced a report titled Chasing The Dragon: The Rising Demand For Heroin In Southern Africa.

In her report, Hübschle said that heroin was fast becoming the "drug of choice" for youth and adults in many southern African countries.

She said there had traditionally always been a demand for heroin in South Africa, but that had, in the past decade, spread to other southern African countries including Tanzania and Zanzibar.

While some of the heroin arriving in South Africa was then "transhipped" to the US and Europe, Hübschle said, those markets were "largely saturated" and thus drug cartels have turned their attention to emerging markets in developing countries.

Andreas Plüddemann, a senior scientist with the Medical Research Council's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Unit, said there had been a "notable" increase in heroin use in Mpumalanga.

Plüddemann said another trend has been the sale and increasing use of a cheap form of heroin known as "sugars" in Durban.

According to figures supplied by the South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use, 3 058 patients were admitted to 29 rehabilitation centres across the Western Cape during the second half of 2007.

Nearly 13 percent of these patients reported that heroin was their primary substance of abuse. The average age range of those who described heroin as their favoured drug was 23 to 27. In all 21 percent of Western Cape heroin users were female.

- Cape Times

Cops bust selling confiscated drugs

Three policemen have been arrested in Sunnyside with drugs with a street value of almost a million during a crime intelligence operation.

The policemen, who are all constables, are alleged to be part of a drug syndicate which operates out of OR Tambo International Airport.

Sources close to the investigation have told the Pretoria News that the syndicate is allegedly involved in the theft of narcotics seized during anti-crime operations at the airport.

It is believed that once confiscated, the drugs are then sold to a drug cartel which is involved in the sale of massive amounts of illegal narcotics in Pretoria.

The policemen, who live in Soshanguve, Hammanskraal and Thembisa, were arrested while allegedly selling stolen drugs to undercover operatives from the national crime intelligence's covert collection directorate and the national organised crime unit.

Crime intelligence spokesperson, Senior Superintendent Tummi Golding, confirmed the arrests.

She said intelligence agents were conducting routine operations when they received information about the three policemen who were travelling to Sunnyside with a consignment of narcotics.

"Police officers began following up on the information and spotted the men on the highway. They followed them to Sunnyside, contacting the organised crime unit for support. When they reached Sunnyside, they set up a sting operation and arrested the men when they tried to sell the drugs to undercover operatives," she said.

Golding said a search of the suspects' car, which is believed to have been stolen earlier in the month, led to the discovery of drugs with a street value of R800 000.

"Among the stolen goods was 20kg ephedrine, which is used in the manufacturing of potentially lethal drugs such as speed and Tik.

"Police also seized dozens of boxes of razors and antibiotics which had been seized during earlier raids at the airport .

"The boxes had been used to smuggle drugs into South Africa," she said.

Golding confirmed that the policemen were believed to be involved in the theft and sale of drugs to a narcotics syndicates operating in Pretoria. She said the investigation was looking into allegations that the policemen stole narcotics from the SAPS airport offices after they were seized during anti-crime operations.

Golding said when police raided the suspects' homes they seized even more boxes of razors and antibiotics.

"They were the same boxes which were used to smuggle narcotics into South Africa."

The men are due to appear in court soon on charges of dealing in narcotics and theft.

- Pretoria News

Booze-free pay day may cut crime

ALCOHOL-free public spaces and businesses not selling alcohol on pay day were suggested as means of reducing crime at a conference yesterday in Midrand.

Researchers, business groups, and the Human Rights Commission came together at the Action for a Safe South Africa conference, facilitated by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa), to analyse reasons why crime had risen despite higher government spending, and to suggest how community groups and individuals could work together to fight back.

In line with the aims of the conference, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research researcher Barbara Holtmann envisaged a future South Africa where communities were safer, where public transport was improved, where children could play safely and where women did not have to feel that night time was a curfew.

To reach this ideal, Holtmann suggested the idea of a booze-free pay day. She said that this, combined with retailers providing substantial discounts on things like basic foods or school shoes around pay day, could help re-channel the approximately R41billion a year that is spent on alcohol and alcohol marketing.

According to Holtmann, about R16 of every R100 that changed hands in South Africa is spent on alcohol.

Research also showed that about 47percent of murder victims tested positive for alcohol at the time of death, as did 66 percent of trauma victims, while 50 percent of rape victims were found to be either drunk or high at the time of the incident.

Questioning the perception that gun ownership could lead to personal safety, she said that about 66 firearms a day were lost or stolen from their owners. Police believed that each lost or stolen firearm was then used to commit at least eight crimes.

Holtmann also questioned the increased use of security companies in neighbourhoods, saying that these may have the e ffect of moving opportuni stic crime to other areas. In other cases, she said, their presence could lead to criminals changing their tactics. For example, when they robbed properties, criminals may be more likely to be armed.

SA Human Rights Commission chairman Jody Kollapen recognised another side effect of crime.

He said people were isolating themselves to the point where even humanitarian instincts, like stopping to help someone in distress, were moderated by a fear of crime.

“That’s not the kind of people we want to be.”

Kollapen said that even though government spending on crime had risen to R68bn at present, up 1500 percent from 1990, “we are no safer”.

South Africa’s dysfunctional past had to be taken into account when seeking solutions to present problems, he said, but it should also be remembered that this country has a history of overcoming formidable obstacles.

A Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation representative, David Bruce, said poverty was one of the main contributing factors of crime.

Releasing a study on the causes of crime, commissioned by the Department of Safety and Security, Bruce said a lack of parenting skills was flagged as a contributing factor to crime.

Another factor contributing to a rise in serious offences was that many South Africans believed crime and violence were normal characteristics of society.

Business Against Crime chairman Siphiwe Nzimande said business was working towards helping make crime “very costly” for perpetrators.

He said businesses could assist police in their investigations by installing CCTV cameras, and also making sure that the images provided were clear and gave a full picture of the criminals in action.

On the subject of stolen vehicles, he said that most cars stolen in South Africa were not exported to neighbouring countries, but were reregistered in South Africa or sold as parts.

He hoped a new polymer microdot car identification system, which insurers were showing interest in, would reduce car theft and the market for stolen parts.

The convention will be open to the public at Vodaworld on Thursday. Desmond Dube, who initiated the Million Man March Against Crime in June, is the master of ceremonies. — Sapa

SAFER than alcohol!

What does 'Enjoying Heineken Responsibly' really mean?

We think it is important to inform and educate our consumers about all aspects of our products and brands. This website is full of practical information about enjoying Heineken responsibly. We hope you’ll find our advice, answers and guidelines useful. But before you read on, remember:

• alcohol is only for adults over the legal drinking age
• limit yourself to one, maximum two drinks a day if you’re a woman and two to three drinks a day if you’re a man
• never drink before or when driving or when operating machinery
• never drink if you’re pregnant
• never mix alcohol with medicine

Putting a couple of-age drinking men together, with some clubs sticks and weapons would be fine by the producers of Heineken

Exclusive: breathalyser tests expose

After a record number of drunk driving arrests during the last long weekend in KwaZulu-Natal, The Independent on Saturday decided to conduct tests on three commercial breathalysers and the official "Drager" unit.

The test results revealed that it took five Black Label beers to get one of our test subjects over the legal limit while the other had still not reached the legal limit after having six Castle Lites.

In light of these tests a Durban district surgeon is concerned that drivers who are incapable of driving are still able to beat the breathalyser at roadblocks.

During the last long weekend 192 drivers were arrested for drinking and driving in KwaZulu-Natal.

A total of 19 taxi drivers with taxi loads of commuters were among those arrested for drunken driving.

Durban Metro Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Thozamile Tyala said some drivers were more than five times over the limit of 0.05g (0.24 mg/l).

Tyala said it was even more frightening that taxi drivers who were supposed to adhere to the legal limit of 0.02g (0.11 mg/l) had also been well over the limit.

"Similarly, we had some taxi drivers who we caught driving with a full load of passengers. This is indeed sad as these commuters' lives are being put into the hands of these irresponsible drivers."

Durban District Surgeon Dr Mike van Schalkwyk said it was "frightening" that some people were able to consume large amounts of alcohol and still be under the legal limit.

"It is indeed strange but true that some motorists are able to drink a six pack of beers without testing illegal. It is a shocking reality."

- The Independent

Cut cannabis use by selling it at the post office: expert

CANNABIS would be sold legally in post offices in packets that warn against its effects under a proposal outlined by the head of a Sydney drug and alcohol clinic.

The director of the alcohol and drug service at St Vincent's Hospital, Alex Wodak, said Australia needed to learn from the tobacco industry and the US Prohibition era in coming to terms with his belief that cannabis use would replace cigarette consumption over the next decade. "The general principal is that it's not sustainable that we continue to give criminals and corrupt police a monopoly to sell a drug that is soon going to be consumed by more people than tobacco," he said.

"I don't want to see that [industry] fall into the hands of tobacco companies or rapacious businessmen.

"I'd like to see it fall into the hands of the failed business people Australia seems so good at producing or the Australia Post that seems so successful in driving away customers."

He made the proposal for taxed and legalised cannabis at the Mardi Grass festival in Nimbin on Sunday, but said he would be happy to express his opinion to the Federal Government. A spokesman for the Minister for Health, Nicola Roxon, said the proposal would not be considered.

Experts in the fields of drug and law enforcement yesterday opposed the suggestion, saying there was insufficient evidence that legalisation would not increase harmful use or lead to other law enforcement issues.

"It's really going beyond the evidence to say regulatory control would effectively reduce adverse effects," said a deputy director of the National Drug Research Institute, Simon Lenton. "We don't know what the effects would be."

Dr Wodak believed his idea could reduce cannabis consumption, based on comparisons between consumption in Amsterdam and San Francisco. He said regulated availability would also reduce people's exposure to other illicit drugs when buying the product. His model would make cannabis advertising illegal, ban political donations from the cannabis industry, and demand proof of age on purchase.

He chose Australia Post for distribution as it could be regulated and had branches across the country. "What I'm talking about is not pro-cannabis … it's about reducing cannabis harm." - Sydney Morning Herald

Drunk pedestrians a walking danger to themselves

Pedestrians remain the most vulnerable road users but are often their own worst enemies, drunkenly wandering near roads or trying to take a shortcut across highways amid high-speed traffic.

In the past fortnight, two pedestrians were killed on the N1 and N2 when they risked crossing the dangerous, busy highways at night.

The Department of Community Safety says 27 pedestrians have been killed on the province's roads since the beginning of the year. Of those, 13 were killed on the N1 and N2.

Department spokesperson Makhaya Manie said pedestrian deaths were an increasing problem. The department had embarked on numerous campaigns at schools and among communities alongside the highways and the R300, but was struggling to get the message across. Pedestrians who crossed highways instead of taking a longer, safer way round over bridges were particularly resistant.

During the last festive season, 375 pedestrians were killed

He said they would shortly embark on a winter campaign to highlight the issue of pedestrian visibility on the roads.

Cape Town Traffic Services spokesperson Merle Lourens said they were investigating the possibility of building two pedestrian bridges across the R300.

Countrywide, there are 700 000 road accidents each year, and 13 000 fatalities. These accidents and fatalities cost the economy R43-billion and pedestrians are the third largest group of accident victims.

During the last festive season, 375 pedestrians were killed, the largest single grouping among the overall death toll of 1 223. Over the Easter weekend, 65 pedestrians were killed countrywide.

A Department of Transport spokesperson said pedestrians remained the most vulnerable road users and the number of fatalities involving pedestrians was unacceptably high. Alcohol played a major role in the problem.

'Motorists are urged to be on the lookout for pedestrians at night and when visibility is poor'

The dangers of drinking and walking were tragically evident because the high intake of alcohol could seriously slow reactions.

"By far the greater percentage of pedestrians injured or killed on our roads are found to have high levels of alcohol in their bloodstreams at the time of the accident," said the spokesperson.

The focus of enforcement measures was multi-pronged, with more officers deployed at holiday spots, townships and villages. "Motorists are urged to be on the lookout for pedestrians at night and when visibility is poor, especially during holiday seasons, because pedestrians under the influence of alcohol are a walking danger.

"Pedestrians often under-estimate the speed and over-estimate the distance of an approaching vehicle when crossing the road. This is made worse by the consumption of alcohol."

Arrive Alive has road safety tips for pedestrians and motorists:

Always cross at intersections or at pedestrian bridges and crossings where drivers expect to find pedestrians.

Walk directly across the street. Do not walk diagonally. The shorter the distance crossed the less time you are at risk of danger.

Try not to walk on the road because this puts you at risk.

If you do have to walk on the roadside, always walk on the right-hand side, facing oncoming traffic.

Cross only when it is safe to do so, and look in both directions and listen to oncoming traffic while crossing.

Wear bright-coloured clothing at night to increase your visibility to motorists.

Avoid crossing the freeway because vehicles travel at very high speeds. It is illegal for pedestrians to be on the freeway.

At a pedestrian traffic light wait until the little green man appears. Then look right, left and right again before crossing. Look out for impatient motorists.

Motorists should look out for unsteady or staggering pedestrians who might be drunk.

- Cape Argus