The World Wide War on Drugs #11 - User 2600 is baaasssss

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War on drugs has failed - Helen Clark

Former Prime Minister Helen Clark says a bill that would quadruple the maximum prison sentence for people supplying synthetic cannabis reflects a failed war on drugs mentality.

National MP Simeon Brown's bill would extend the maximum prison term for supplying synthetic cannabis from two years to eight.

It passed its first reading at Parliament last night - supported by National and New Zealand First MPs.

At a conference on drugs at Parliament today, Ms Clark, who is a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, said the global war on drugs had failed, with devastating consequences for individuals.

Ms Clark said the proposed synthetic cannabis law change was more of the same.

"That is heading in the war on drugs direction which isn't going to work - but going to a select committee to a bill is one thing, what will come out the other end.

"And I think all the people who know about drug policy, who know what's happening around the world, need to come to the (select) committee and spell it out how it is."

Ms Clark said the countries with the harshest drug policies had the highest rates of drug related harm.

"We look at the United States and Russia which both have very harsh policies at the federal level - they also have very high rates of drug induced death."

Ms Clark said it was time for New Zealand to have a fresh look at its drug policy.

"We have to look at the evidence of what works - and if we looked at Portugal or to Switzerland or any number of countries now we see more enlightened drug policies, which are bringing down the rate of death and not driving up prison populations."

'People are making money out of people's misery'

However, Mr Brown said the people supplying synthetic cannabis were merchants of death and needed to be punished.

"My bill's not locking up drug users, it is not locking up those who are victims of drug abuse. My bill is targeting those who are selling it."

He did not see any need to change the law on drugs.

"We don't decriminalise something for the sake of it, we don't just make it legal, we have laws in place because these things are causing harm.

"People are making money out of people's misery and those people should be locked up."

Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell was disturbed that National and New Zealand First MPs had backed the bill.

"Getting tough, having longer sentences doesn't get rid of the problem, it makes the problem worse - so it's really disappointing to see Parliament last night go for this more punitive response."

The synthetic cannabis bill will now be considered by the Justice Select Committee.

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The War on Drugs Is Far Deadlier Than Most People Realize

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Although there is a serious black market violence problem in the U.S., it pales in comparison to the countries that are source and transshipment points of illegal drugs. For example, there were over 29,000 murders in Mexico last year with roughly 33–50 percent being related to the drug war. That’s not factoring the 30,000 missing persons who are presumed to be dead.

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Due largely to the War on Drugs, the four countries immediately south of Mexico (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador) are listed within the top six highest murder rates in the world. Furthermore, nine out of the top ten are in Latin America or the Caribbean.

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Mexico had 12 cities in the top 50, which was the second highest number behind Brazil.

It’s important to note, Brazil isn’t a major source of drug production. However, it has historically been the second largest consumer market for cocaine and it is the leading transshipment point of illegal drugs into Europe, Africa, and Asia. This is evident in the fact that 17 Brazilian cities are in the top 50 global homicide rates. Fourteen of those cities are located along the Atlantic Coast, which is prime real estate for drug trafficking.

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The Peruvian communist terrorist group, Shining Path, has been largely funded by “taxing” cocaine traffickers. Those profits have helped them kill approximately 11,000 civilians. Fortunately, the Shining Path’s membership numbers have drastically dwindled and the organization is substantially less active.

The line dividing organized crime from terrorism is increasingly blurry.

Cocaine money also played a major role in the 52-year Colombian civil war that resulted in 220,000 deaths and over seven million domestic refugees.

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Drie verdachten liquidatie broer kroongetuige Mocro-maffia opgepakt

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De politie heeft de vermoedelijke schutter en twee handlangers opgepakt van de liquidatie van de broer van de kroongetuige in de zaak tegen Mocro-maffia.

ALESTORM - Mexico (Official Video) | Napalm Records

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http://nos.nl/artikel/2226658-Korpschef Akerboom wil Europese aanpak van drugskorpschef-akerboom-wil-europese-aanpak-van-drugs.html

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Korpschef Erik Akerboom van de Nationale Politie wil dat er in Europa meer wordt samengewerkt om drugshandel te bestrijden. Niet alleen de politie heeft daarin een rol, maar ook bedrijven. Dat zei hij tijdens een internationale politietop in Rotterdam.

Akerboom denkt aan onder meer postbedrijven. Die zouden beter op pakketjes kunnen letten die ze bezorgen. Door die alertheid kunnen meer drugszendingen worden onderschept, zei de korpschef in zijn toespraak.

Maar ook politiediensten kunnen meer dan ze nu doen. Volgens Akerboom is samenwerking op Europees niveau nu hard nodig, omdat drugshandel niet ophoudt bij de grens. Er moet onder meer harder worden opgetreden tegen georganiseerde criminaliteit en corruptie.

Verantwoordelijkheid drugsgebruikers
"Er is geen andere optie, want we hebben allemaal hetzelfde probleem. We kunnen het niet alleen", zei Akerboom.

Volgens de korpschef moeten ook drugsgebruikers een belangrijke rol gaan spelen bij de aanpak van criminaliteit.

"Je ziet nu veel twintigers en dertigers die doordeweeks erg gezond leven met yoga, smoothies en fitness. Maar in het weekend nemen ze cocaïne en pillen. Op deze manier wordt drugsgebruik genormaliseerd. Van dat imago moeten we af", zei Akerboom.

Drugsgebruikers hebben volgens de korpschef niet in de gaten dat ze een systeem in stand houden dat wordt gekenmerkt door het gebruik van extreem geweld.

Grapperhaus
Minister Grapperhaus van Justitie deelt die kritiek. "Nederland maakt kennis met geweld dat het kent uit Hollywoodfilms. De moord op een broer van een kroongetuige was een nieuw dieptepunt", zei de minister op de politietop in Rotterdam, verwijzend naar een recente afrekening in de 'Mocro-oorlog'.

"Drugs worden geassocieerd met een 'happy time', alsof het erbij hoort. Ik accepteer die acceptatie niet. Achter een pil of 'lijntje' schuilt een wereld van keiharde criminaliteit; liquidaties, witwassen, corruptie, fraude en milieucriminaliteit."

Volgens de minister gaat er jaarlijks drie miljard euro om in de Nederlandse drugshandel. "We zijn slechts in staat om tien procent op te sporen", zei Grapperhaus. Ook hij pleit voor betere internationale samenwerking.

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Volgens de korpschef moeten ook drugsgebruikers een belangrijke rol gaan spelen bij de aanpak van criminaliteit.

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"Je ziet nu veel twintigers en dertigers die doordeweeks erg gezond leven met yoga, smoothies en fitness. Maar in het weekend nemen ze cocaïne en pillen. Op deze manier wordt drugsgebruik genormaliseerd. Van dat imago moeten we af", zei Akerboom.

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Drugsgebruikers hebben volgens de korpschef niet in de gaten dat ze een systeem in stand houden dat wordt gekenmerkt door het gebruik van extreem geweld.

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Op dinsdag 10 april 2018 13:31 schreef broodjepindakaashagelslag het volgende:
Volgens de korpschef moeten ook drugsgebruikers een belangrijke rol gaan spelen bij de aanpak van criminaliteit.

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Verkapt B-criterium in Maastricht?

Naar aanleiding van de gebeurtenissen van 29 maart jongstleden, waarbij de gegevens van klanten in de coffeeshops onrechtmatig werden geregistreerd, schrijft stichting CannaWijzer een brief aan de Maastrichtse burgemeester met een aantal kritische vragen.

Geachte burgemeester en wethouders en gemeenteraad,
Onlangs bereikte ons het bericht dat er bij de handhaving van het lokale coffeeshopbeleid persoonlijke gegevens werden opgenomen bij bezoekers van coffeeshops door de gemeentelijke ambtenaren aldaar. Als cannabis consumentenorganisatie vinden het ongelofelijk dat dit gebeurt en betreuren wij dit ten zeerste! Een coffeeshop hoort een vertrouwde omgeving te zijn waar op een verantwoorde manier cannabis kan worden aangeschaft en geconsumeerd. Bovendien schendt u als gemeente hiermee niet alleen het recht op privacy van uw inwoners maar overtreed daarmee ook het vertrouwensbeginsel met betrekking tot de vrijheid van uw burgers. Wederom is het vertrouwen van bewoners en bezoekers van uw gemeente geschaad. Daarom willen wij u vragen een ander beleid te overwegen met betrekking tot uw coffeeshops en haar bezoekers.

In 2012 voerde u als één van de zuidelijke gemeenten het B- en het I-criterium in (samen de Wietpas genaamd). Voor buitenlandse bezoekers werd een totaalverbod ingevoerd en de lokale consumenten moesten zich registreren in de zuidelijke provincies om toegang te krijgen tot de coffeeshops aldaar. Het verbod op niet ingezetenen is in uw gemeente nog steeds van kracht. Het B-criterium kwam echter binnen een jaar te vervallen. De reden dat dit ‘besloten-club’ criterium in 2013 kwam te vervallen had te maken met de massale leegloop van de coffeeshops. Zestig tot negentig procent van de lokale bezoekers wensten zich om privacy redenen niet te registreren (bijv. het GBA-uitreksel) en verplaatste zich richting de illegale markt.

Anno 2018 is nog steeds een groot deel van deze ex-coffeeshop bezoekers actief op de illegale markt. Zij is het vertrouwen kwijtgeraakt in het (lokale) gedoogbeleid. Op lokaal gebied voert Maastricht wat ons betreft de lijst aan als het gaat om repressief consumentenbeleid. U handhaaft naar onze mening als enige gemeente in Nederland een verkapt B-criterium wat reeds is afgeschaft in het landelijk beleid. Door de verplichting in te stellen voor bezoekers van coffeeshops tot het tonen van een gemeentelijk uittreksel (GBA/GBR) in plaats van uitsluitend een ID of paspoort wordt de privacy van coffeeshopbezoekers al jaren met voeten getreden. Wij vragen ons als organisatie af wat hierbij uw argumenten zijn ten opzichte van het beleid in andere gemeenten van Limburg, Brabant en Zeeland. Is de situatie in Maastricht werkelijk anders of heeft u een weloverwogen argument om dit te verklaren?

Naar onze mening is het belangrijkste doel van ons Nederlandse coffeeshopbeleid het beschermen van de consument en het bevorderen van de openbare orde. De consument weghalen uit de illegale markt dient hierbij prioriteit te hebben. De illegale markt is een grillige markt die veel risico’s met zich meebrengt voor de gezondheid van gebruikers en die overlast veroorzaakt in het centrum en in de woonwijken. Het beleid in Maastricht is naar onze mening contraproductief en bovendien risicovol voor consument en bezoeker!

Graag zouden wij antwoord krijgen op de volgende vragen:
– Heeft de cannabisconsument in Maastricht recht op een veilige en verantwoorde omgeving voor aanschaf van cannabisproducten?
– Waarom handhaaft Maastricht nog steeds het I-criterium?
– Waarom handhaaft Maastricht nog steeds het B-criterium?
– Waarom registreert de gemeente Maastricht de persoonlijke gegevens van onschuldige bezoekers van coffeeshops?
– Wat gebeurt er met deze persoonlijke en privacygevoelige gegevens?

– Is het niet rechtvaardig dat de gemeente Maastricht het coffeeshopbeleid herziet en in elk geval de GBA verplichting laat vallen in haar beleid?
Wij zien uit naar een reactie van uw zijde.
Met vriendelijke groet,
Bestuur stichting CannaWijzer

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Canada's Liberal party considers decriminalization of all illicit drugs

The push towards decriminalization comes as the opioid crisis continues to claim thousands of lives on both sides of the 49th parallel

With months left before Canada becomes the first country in the G7 to fully legalise marijuana, members of the country’s Liberal party, led federally by Justin Trudeau, are calling on their government to go one step further and decriminalise the possession and consumption of all illicit drugs.

The internal push to embrace the idea is one of more than two dozen resolutions set to be debated this week as the political party gathers for their national convention in the east coast city of Halifax. The resolution is one of three put forward by the national caucus, suggesting widespread support among Liberal MPs.

“It’s one of the few issues where we’re taught from a young age, that drugs are bad and that it’s normal to throw people in jail for using drugs,” said Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, a Liberal MP who has championed decriminalisation since he was elected in 2015.

“Yet when you actually start looking underneath those claims and at the actual evidence and hear from people who have study or lived this issue, this isn’t the right approach.”

Framing drug use as a criminal justice issue rather than one of health has simply served to fuel a lucrative black market, divert resources from law enforcement and marginalise those who are often already on the margins of society, he argued.

The push towards decriminalisation comes as the opioid crisis continues to claim thousands of lives on both sides of the 49th parallel. An estimated 4,000 Canadians died last year due to opioids, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada – more than the number of Canadians who died due to motor vehicle accidents and homicides combined.

In British Columbia, the western Canadian province where officials declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency in 2016, an average of four people die of overdoses each day.

The federal Liberal government has taken steps to address the crisis; expediting the approval of supervised injection sites and permitting physicians to prescribe heroin in cases of severe addiction. These are important steps, said Erskine-Smith. “But obviously if we want to save lives we need to do more.”

That could mean adopting an idea that is gaining steam across Canada as the number of opioid deaths continue to swell. Earlier this year, Canada’s New Democratic Party became the first major political party in Canada to officially champion the idea.

Weeks later the City of Vancouver recommended that the federal government immediately decriminalise personal possession of illicit drugs. “We are witnessing a horrific and preventable loss of life as a poisoned drug supply continues to kill our neighbours, friends, and family,” Gregor Robertson, Vancouver’s mayor, said in a statement.

Their stance is backed by prominent organisations, from the Global Commission on Drug Policy to the World Health Organization. Many of them point to the experience of Portugal, which in 2001 did away with criminal penalties for simple possession and consumption of illicit drugs.

The move was coupled with an expansion of treatment and harm reduction services such as safe injection sites. In Portugal, those caught with drugs appear before dissuasion commissions, which can refer people to treatment or impose monetary fines.

Statistics suggest the approach is working; Portugal has seen dramatic drops in overdose deaths, HIV infection rates and drug-related crimes, while the number of drug users seeking treatment has increased.

Should the Liberals approve their resolution this week, decriminalisation would be backed by two of Canada’s three major parties. But even so, there is little guarantee that the idea will make its way into the Liberal platform in the upcoming 2019 federal election. Trudeau, who leads the party, has repeatedly said his government is not considering legalising any other drugs besides marijuana.

Erskine-Smith stressed the difference between the two issues. The federal government’s efforts to end marijuana prohibition aim to halt the flow of profits to organised crime, given that Canadians spent an estimated C$5.7 billion on marijuana last year.

But when it comes to decriminalisation, said Erskine-Smith, “we’re not talking removing the criminal sanction for sale, we’re not talking removing the criminal sanction for production, as we did with cannabis.”

The change in approach comes with political risks, he acknowledged. Canada’s Conservative party remains staunchly opposed to the idea and have shown themselves willing to exploit fears over the proposal to gain votes.

Last year the party’s leader Andrew Scheer attacked Trudeau on Twitter, alleging that his government was considering decriminalisation drugs beside marijuana.

“It’s funny. When you talk to conservative members of Parliament one-on-one, I think they’re open to the idea,” said Erskine-Smith. “But my hope is – especially when confronted with the numbers of Canadians who have lost their lives, and we’re talking Canadians of all backgrounds, Canadians of all political parties – I really do hope we’re all able to get past the politics of it and follow the evidence.”

twitter:

DrugsInDebat twitterde op zaterdag 21-04-2018 om 12:36:39 Deze grafiek laat goed zien waarom de export-mythe zo'n flauwekul is:Stel je wilt wiet kweken voor "de internationale markt"Waarom zou je dan in godesnaam produceren in Nederland!? #drugsbeleid #cannabis https://t.co/7bzEtPRpCr reageer retweet

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Wat is de dunne scheidslijn tussen roes- en geneesmiddel?

Cocaïne was een vrij geneesmiddel voor het een opmars maakte als illegale drug. Mdma staat op de Opiumlijst, maar helpt tegen een posttraumatische stressstoornis. Wat is de dunne en modegevoelige scheidslijn tussen roes- en geneesmiddel?

Niet iedereen was onder de indruk toen minister Grapperhaus vorige week bij een internationale drugsconferentie in Rotterdam zei dat Neder­land een 'beschamende rol' heeft als drugsproducerend land.

"Ik vond die opmerking wel grappig, wan die rol hebben we al eeuwen," zegt dr. Stephen Snelders van het Freudenthal Instituut van de Universiteit Utrecht. Snelders onderzoekt de geschiedenis van roes- en geneesmiddelen.

Nederland is altijd een grote speler geweest op de markt van psychoactieve stoffen. Dat begon met koffie, thee en cacao, maar de lage landen speelden ook een leidende rol in de handel in cocabladeren, grondstof van cocaïne. Rond 1900 beheerste Nederland 90 procent van die markt. Kooplieden en botanici haalden cocaplanten uit Peru en verbouwden ze in Nederlands-Indië. In Amsterdam stond de Nederlandse Cocaïne­fabriek, die goed geld verdiende.

Na het verbod op recreatief gebruik van cocaïne in 1919 produceerde en handelde Nederland verder in medische en illegale middelen als amfetamine, morfine, cannabis en xtc.


1. Wat is het verschil tussen een geneesmiddel en een illegale drug?

Dat verschil zit niet in het middel zelf. Het opiaat heroïne staat op de Opiumlijst, maar andere opiaten zijn in de vorm van oxycodon of fentanyl ook pijnstillende geneesmiddelen. Amfetamine is illegaal, maar is als Amfexa beschikbaar voor mensen met adhd.

"Problemen ontstaan wanneer een geneesmiddel verkeerd wordt gebruikt," zegt prof. Wim van den Brink, verslavingsspecialist bij het AMC. "Het gaat mis als de toepassing, de toedieningsvorm en de dosering afwijken van het gebruik als geneesmiddel."

"In de VS sterven dagelijks 200 mensen door overmatig voorgeschreven en illegaal verkregen opioïde pijnstillers. In Nederland zijn er mensen zonder adhd die Amfexa recreatief gebruiken."

Het gaat mis als de toepassing, de toedieningsvorm en de dosering afwijken van het gebruik als geneesmiddel
Prof. Wim van den Brink

2. Hoe maakt de overheid onderscheid tussen een geneesmiddel en een illegale drug?

Door wetten, maar die zijn wel modegevoelig. In de vorige eeuw kon iedereen een opiaat als morfine zonder verwijzing in apotheken verkrijgen tegen allerhande kwaaltjes. Daarna werd het verboden, maar morfine is nog steeds in zwang als pijnstillend geneesmiddel.

"Die trend zie je bij veel middelen," zegt Snelders van de Universiteit Utrecht. "Een stof begint als medisch wondermiddel, wordt vervolgens verboden, en keert via een medische indicatie weer terug."
3. Waarom is alcohol een genotmiddel en cocaïne een drug?

"De argumenten waarmee de overheid cocaïne verbiedt, kunnen ook worden toegepast op alcohol," zegt prof. Toine Pieters, farmacoloog en wetenschapshistoricus van de Universiteit Utrecht.

Beide middelen zijn verslavend en brengen schade toe aan de volks­gezondheid, maar het grote verschil zit in de culturele context. Alcohol wordt vanaf de oudheid gebruikt in Europa, en is sociaal geaccepteerd. Cocaïne niet. Het is maar ongeveer 35 jaar vrij verkrijgbaar geweest.

Landen met een andere culturele context kennen een andere omgang met psychoactieve stoffen. "Iran wijst alcohol af, maar opium wordt al eeuwen gebruikt," zegt Pieters. "Zoals wij alcoholisten hebben, kent Iran opiumverslaafden, maar de meeste mensen kunnen het zo doseren dat het gebruik niet leidt tot maatschappelijke ontwrichting."
4. Maar cocaïne of heroïne zijn toch verslavender dan alcohol?

"Jawel, maar zeker niet verslavender dan nicotine," zegt Van den Brink van het AMC. "Van alle mensen die één keer alcohol of cannabis gebruiken, raakt zo'n 10 procent verslaafd. Bij cocaïne en heroïne is dat ongeveer 20 procent, terwijl het voor nicotine in meer dan 30 procent van de gevallen geldt."

De ratio in de wetgeving is ver te zoeken. Wetgeving vindt plaats in een culturele context en leunt op internationale verdragen en stereotypen. Dat kan de verschillende juridische benadering van dezelfde soort stoffen verklaren. Bij heroïne hoort een junk met een pak vla, bij oxycodon een beursgenoteerd bedrijf.

Wetgeving vindt plaats in een culturele context en leunt op internationale verdragen en stereotypen

5. Worden illegale middelen ook gezien als geneesmiddel?

Zoals psychiater Jan Bastiaans lsd voorschreef bij patiënten met een kampsyndroom, zo onderzoekt dr. Kim Kuypers (Universiteit Maastricht) of mdma geschikt is bij de behandeling van posttraumatische stressstoornis (ptss). Mdma is illegaal, maar Kuypers heeft van de Inspectie Gezondheidszorg ontheffing gekregen.

"Bij 60 procent van de patiënten is het effectief, maar we moeten beter uitzoeken voor welke groep het werkt. Ik hoop dat mdma-therapie ooit een reguliere behandeling wordt."

Als gedegen onderzoek uitwijst dat mdma-therapie helpt en kosteneffectief is, vindt farmacoloog Pieters dat het een kans verdient.

Wel waarschuwt hij: "Mdma moet nooit door openbare apotheken worden verstrekt, want als mensen het op dezelfde wijze gaan gebruiken als antidepressiva, gebeuren er ongelukken. Mdma moet dan in een andere setting worden gebruikt dan reguliere middelen. Bovendien: mdma is geen wondermiddel, want wondermiddelen bestaan niet."

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Sen. Chuck Schumer to introduce bill to “decriminalize” marijuana

The Minority Leader of the Senate is making it official the day before 4/20: He’s down with legal weed.

In an exclusive interview with VICE News, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) confirmed he is putting his name on legislation that he said is aimed at “decriminalizing” marijuana at the federal level.

For Schumer, this is a shift. While he has backed medical marijuana and the rights of states to experiment with legal sales of pot, what he is proposing is a seismic shift in federal drug policy .

“Ultimately, it’s the right thing to do. Freedom. If smoking marijuana doesn’t hurt anybody else, why shouldn’t we allow people to do it and not make it criminal?” Schumer said.

While Schumer’s position in the Senate make his support of de-scheduling significant, he’s hardly the first high-profile Democrat to back such a move. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) has long been a proponent of removing marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances, and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) recently introduced the Marijuana Justice Act, which would federally legalize weed. Republicans, who still control Congress, haven’t been as open to the idea, though recent polls have shown a majority of party members now favor legalization.

The legislation, which Schumer’s office expects will be released within the next week, has six main points. First, it would remove marijuana from Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of controlled substances, which would end federal prohibition and leave it up to states to decide how to regulate the drug. Schumer stopped short of calling it legalization, but de-scheduling would essentially make marijuana legal at the federal level.

His bill would also would create some funding for minority and women-owned marijuana businesses, provide money for research into overall effects of marijuana and it’s specific effect on driving impairment. And lastly, it would “maintain federal authority to regulate marijuana advertising in the same way it does alcohol and tobacco,” which Schumer said is to make sure marijuana businesses aren’t targeting children with their ads.

Schumer went further saying that he would support legalization in his home state of New York as well as any other state that wants to move in that direction. “My personal view is legalization is just fine,” he said. “The best thing to do is let each state decide on its own.”

While this looks like an obvious election year-play, Schumer claimed it wasn’t about he looming 2018 or 2020 elections.

“I’m doing it because I think it’s the right thing to do. I’ve seen too many people’s lives ruined by the criminalization,” he said. “If we benefit, so be it. But that’s not my motivation.”

When asked if he had ever smoked weed before, Schumer said no, but when pressed on whether he might be willing to try it he said, “Maybe, I’m a little old, but who knows?”

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City gangs behind burgeoning crop of countryside crime

‘County lines’ drug dealing and theft are main culprits, says police commissioner

Organised criminal gangs are behind a growing wave of countryside crime, a rural police commissioner has warned.

Julia Mulligan, the head of the National Rural Crime Network and police and crime commissioner for North Yorkshire, said that so-called “county lines” drug-dealing and a sharp rise in thefts and burglaries targeting farms and villages showed that organised crime was growing.

More than 720 county lines drug networks have been set up by gangs in Manchester, Liverpool, London and other cities to sell crack cocaine and heroin in small towns and other parts of the countryside. Rural areas have also seen a 13% rise in thefts and burglaries so far this year, according to the leading farm insurer NFU Mutual.

Mulligan said police should take a more intelligence-led approach, and warned that people in the countryside say they will “take matters into their own hands”.

“I think it’s getting worse,” she said. “People are extremely worried about drug dealing – they are seeing it far more often than they ever used to, and it’s really a growing concern.

“It’s not limited to drugs. I think we’ve got a serious and organised crime problem. They are opportunistic and make money from anything they can. They know they can go out into the countryside and they have a supply chain for getting rid of things they steal.”

NFU Mutual’s rural affairs specialist, Tim Price, said two tractors worth a total of £96,000 were recovered from Lithuania after they were stolen in Scotland in 2016, and nine tractors were discovered in northern Cyprus.

The groups scope out farms to see where equipment is kept, then bring a lorry to carry off hi-tech tractors, Land Rovers, all-terrain vehicles and quad bikes, he said.

Monica Akehurst’s livestock farm in East Sussex was one of seven targeted over the Easter weekend by a gang who stole quad bikes and chainsaws. They returned the next night at 2.30am, when she was still awake helping a ewe deliver a lamb.

“I heard the strangest noise,” she said. “It really unnerved me. You think the place is your own, and to think someone is there was scary. You feel vulnerable. I couldn’t believe they would be so brazen as to come back the next night.”

Mulligan said rural communities did not believe they were getting enough of a response from police.

“You talk to farmers and landowners and they say, ‘We’ll deal with this, there’s no point reporting it to the police’. They’re worried that if someone comes on to their land that they will do something that they could get into trouble for, but they’re so exasperated that sometimes they feel that that is the only option that is open to them.”

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Feds won't decriminalize hard drugs

OTTAWA — The Trudeau government is rejecting a call from its own backbenchers to decriminalize all illicit drug use in Canada — just days before Liberals are set to debate the idea at a national convention in Halifax.

A so-called priority resolution put forward by the national Liberal caucus for debate at the convention calls on the government to treat illegal drug use as a public health issue, not a criminal issue.

It urges the government to adopt the model instituted in 2001 in Portugal, where treatment and harm reduction services were expanded and criminal penalties eliminated for simple possession and consumption of illicit drugs.

Anyone found in possession of an illegal drug in Portugal is ordered to appear before something called a dissuasion commission, which can refer the person for treatment or impose administrative sanctions, such as fines.

But Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said Wednesday that what works for a small country like Portugal wouldn't work in a large country like Canada, where 10 different provinces have sole responsibility for delivering health care.

"I recognize there's a lot of comparison with Portugal and Canada but I think we have to develop the Canadian model here," she said following a Liberal caucus meeting.

"We have to deal with the realities on the ground. We have ... many provinces and territories and we have to look at what can work for Canada."

The government is poised to legalize recreational marijuana this summer but Petitpas Taylor noted that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has repeatedly said he won't take a similar approach to other, harder drugs.

"I have to say our prime minister has made it clear that this is not a direction that our government is intending on going down."

The resolution, billed as the way to combat the opioid crisis, is one of 30 to be debated at the convention on Saturday. From those 30, Liberals in attendance will vote to choose 15 resolutions that they want the party to include in the platform for the 2019 election.

None of the resolutions are binding, however.

Toronto MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, who has been at the forefront of the Liberal backbench push to adopt the Portuguese model, was not discouraged by Petitpas Taylor's dismissal of the idea.

"Minister Petitpas Taylor is one voice at a convention," he said in an interview. "Every voice is equal at a convention. That's why we have conventions, for the Liberal membership to endorse policies and really to set future agendas for our party."

Erskine-Smith noted that Trudeau initially opposed marijuana legalization but changed his mind and he predicted the prime minister will change his mind on the Portuguese model as well.

"He's someone who is willing to be convinced by the evidence and keeps an open mind and will follow the evidence on important public policy issues," he said, adding that there are already a raft of expert voices in favour of decriminalization.

Among other things, Erskine-Smith pointed to an open letter to Trudeau, MPs and Liberal convention-goers from the National Alliance for Evidence-Based Drug Policy, which calls on the party to adopt the resolution — which the alliance calls "sensible drug policy."

The letter is signed by almost 200 groups and individuals, including former interim Liberal leader Bob Rae, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, doctors, nurses, the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Association of Social Workers and dozens of parents whose children have died from drug overdoses.

"We urge you to be the progressive government you promised to be, choosing human rights and evidence-based policy over ideological relics," the letter says.

In a policy paper published this week, the Canadian Mental Health Association declared "decriminalization is the key to solving the opioid crisis that is killing thousands of people." It argued that criminalizing drug users stigmatizes them, discourages them from seeking treatment and further marginalizes the poor and socially disadvantaged.

"The war on drugs doesn't work and it's time we lay down our weapons and start getting people help," said Dr. Patrick Smith, the association's CEO.

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is also calling for Canada to adopt the Portuguese model.

"Mental health, addiction and poverty are not criminal justice issues," Singh said Wednesday. "These are social justice issues and should be treated as such."

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En weer is het raak: criminelen dumpen drugsafval in Brabant

Voor de tiende keer in een week tijd is er drugsafval gedumpt in Noord-Brabant. De zuidelijke provincies kampen al langer met het veelvuldig dumpen van drugsafval, maar zelfs voor Brabantse begrippen is tien keer in een week veel.

Het meest recente geval was in Galder. Daar vond de politie vanmorgen tonnen, vuilniszakken en jerrycans vol met drugsafval. Enkele kilometers verderop, in Ulvenhout, was het gisteravond raak. Een getuige zag een bestelauto rijden waar een vloeistof uit lekte. Het busje stond even stil bij een beekje en vertrok weer. In en langs het water werden vervolgens vaten met chemicaliën gevonden.

Huismeester onwel

In de dagen ervoor waren ook al acht dumpingen. Van veertig jerrycans vol chemicaliën in een Bredase wijk tot vaten met drugsafval in een sloot in Hilvarenbeek. Ook in Goirle, Schijndel en Tilburg was het raak. In Tilburg werd het drugsafval midden in een woonwijk gedumpt. Een huismeester werd onwel toen hij de vaten aantrof bij de afvalcontainers van een ouderencomplex.

Het afval komt van laboratoria waar synthetische drugs gemaakt worden, zoals xtc en speed. De politie spreekt van een zorgelijke situatie. De dumpingen leiden tot gezondheidsrisico's, milieuschade en hoge kosten voor het opruimen. Waterschap Brabantse Delta heeft aangifte gedaan van de dumping bij Ulvenhout, meldt Omroep Brabant.

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Tientallen vaten met drugsafval in Tilburgs woonwijk

In een woonwijk in Tilburg zijn vanmiddag dertig vaten met drugsafval ontdekt. In de jerrycans zaten honderden liters met afvalstoffen van de productie van amfetamine.

De politie heeft in alle garageboxen in de straat onderzoek gedaan, maar dat leverde niets op. Een gespecialiseerd bedrijf ruimt het afval op.

Ook jerrycans in riviertje

Ook in het riviertje de Dommel bij Boxtel zijn vanmiddag jerrycans gevonden. Mogelijk zat daar ook drugsafval in. De brandweer heeft ze met een boot uit het water gehaald, meldt Omroep Brabant.

Drugsdumpingen zijn aan de orde van de dag in Noord-Brabant. De afgelopen acht dagen zijn op nog tien plekken drugsafval gevonden, onder meer in Breda en Goirle.

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Drugs gangs recruiting children from small towns, research reveals

County lines drugs networks are taking on more local children who are ‘easily groomed’

County lines drugs networks are increasingly recruiting children in provincial towns to sell drugs rather than trafficking youngsters from London and other major cities, research shows.

An analysis of case work with children involved with the distribution networks, which connect inner city drugs gangs to small towns, has shown that most are now recruited in the area where distribution ends, with youngsters from the city more often used to transport drugs.

Jo Hudek, who is evaluating the St Giles SOS case work for the Home Office, told a meeting of the all-party parliamentary group on knife crime the increase in local recruitment was a problem for areas not well-equipped to deal with London-style gang crime.

She said that of the 40 or so children supported by that particular project, who were picked up in Kent, the majority were local children. “There are still London children being trafficked down there with drugs for supply but it really shows that this is a business model and the commodity is drugs and money, it doesn’t really matter who is selling it,” she told the Guardian after the meeting.

Some, but not all, of the children involved were “stereotypical disadvantaged”, said Hudek. “And because they are in places that don’t have a lot of opportunities they see this as a real opportunity, it’s glamorous, and so they are easily groomed.

“They are probably cheaper because you are not having to pay them as much as a London child and also you don’t get as much overnight missing because they can do it in day trips.” Local children were less likely to stand out in white working class areas than black children trafficked from London, she added.

Det Insp Neil Watford, of Kent police, said dealers would pick up children with no police background. He gave an example of one child who became embroiled over an initial £5 cannabis debt that escalated until he went missing for several weeks.

“He was subjected to violence, threats and intimidation and eventually we located him in the Kent area sitting on 150 wraps of class-A drugs,” he said.

Kent was seeing a year-on-year increase in knife crime, as well as an increase in the number of children arrested for knife crime. “We are recovering more weapons, more knives in bedrooms, so it’s very much a growing issue,” Watford said.

Recent National Crime Agency estimates, which suggested there were about 900 county lines networks, were likely to be a “massive underestimate”, said Det Supt Tim Champion, of the Metropolitan police’s Trident gangs unit.

However, there is no definitive map of county lines because they cross so many traditional agency boundaries. “Which is why we need a national organisation,” Champion said, referring to plans, outlined in the government’s serious violence strategy, for a national county lines coordination centre.

The meeting, in a committee room at the Palace of Westminster, also heard from two young women who had been involved in county lines. One, asked whether she thought the police were employing effective strategies to deal with the problem, told the Guardian: “They are too busy trying to bully little kids who are smoking a spliff on the road, instead of going for the real criminals doing real crimes.

“I’m sorry, but they need to worry about the murderers. I’ve seen more little kids get bullied by police over £10 [bags of weed] than real criminals.”

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'Archaic and harmful': report condemns strict handling of student drug takers

NUS and Release study claims universities are confused about drugs and the law

Universities are being urged not to tell the police about students caught in possession of drugs, amid fears that an overly punitive approach stops vulnerable young people from seeking help.

The recommendation is made in a study by the National Union of Students in collaboration with the drugs information charity Release. The study looks at drug use among students and how higher education institutions deal with drugs incidents.

The report, published on Thursday, expresses concern about an “archaic and harmful” approach towards drug use at some institutions. Freedom of information requests to 151 institutions found that in 2016-17 there were at least 2,067 recorded incidents of student misconduct for possession of drugs.

While many were resolved with a formal warning or fine, at least one in four incidents (531) were reported to the police, and 21 students were permanently excluded from their studies for drug possession.

Zoe Carre, policy researcher at Release, said: “We are deeply concerned about the punitive approach taken towards student drug use in some institutions and the appropriateness of support that is offered around drugs in most cases.

“The fact that at least 21 students were permanently excluded from their studies for simply possessing a drug, and one in four students caught with drugs for their own personal use were reported to the police, is archaic and harmful. This type of approach prevents people from seeking support if they need it.

“The reality is that students take drugs and educational institutions must have policies and procedures in place that protect the student population. This can only be done by providing vital harm-reduction information, so that they can make more informed choices and be as safe as possible.

“We are witnessing record high deaths involving cocaine and MDMA/ecstasy, and it is incumbent on institutions to take steps to protect the health and wellbeing of students who use drugs.”

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De wietfilmpjes van Cannabis News Network mogen toch weer op YouTube

Google haalde vorige week een Nederlands kanaal offline, maar draaide dit toch weer terug. Wat is er gebeurd?

YouTube-kanaal Cannabis News Network van journalist Steven Kompier werd vorige week donderdag door Google offline gegooid vanwege “het schenden van de Communityrichtlijnen en de Servicevoorwaarden.” Na een aantal dagen heeft Google besloten om het kanaal toch weer online te zetten. De vraag is waarom?

Sinds 2012 informeert Kompier mensen via Cannabis News Network over wiet, maar hij stimuleert de verkoop naar eigen zeggen niet. Hij vertelt dat er voor deze tijd vooral slechte berichtgeving over wiet was. “Het werd gerelateerd aan reggaemuziek, maar cannabis is veel meer dan ‘Hey bro’ en een jointje. Door drugs wel of niet te accepteren, laat je zien hoe je ermee omgaat en hoe je de maatschappij wilt indelen.”

Toch besloot Google het kanaal offline te gooien en aan Kompier wordt uitgelegd dat de promotie van drugs volgens hun regels niet is toegestaan. Hij besloot in beroep te gaan (dat mag je als je kanaal verbannen wordt één keer doen), maar in een brief liet Google hem weten dat ze zijn video’s hadden bekeken en bij hun standpunt bleven. “Omdat ik maar één keer bezwaar kon maken, heb ik de Nederlandse Vereniging van Journalisten gebeld. Ook zijn er twee artikelen over de situatie geschreven die ik naar de persafdeling van Google heb gestuurd met de vraag waarom het kanaal offline werd gehaald,” zegt Kompier. “We zijn vervolgens weer online gegooid, maar een antwoord heb ik niet gekregen. Het benaderen van de media was achteraf gezien een gouden greep.”

Als ik Google vraag waarom ze dit hebben gedaan, schrijft de communicatiemanager Rachid Finge Motherboard in een mail: “Wanneer een gebruiker een video markeert, omdat hij vindt dat de video niet door de beugel kan, komt ons team in actie om te bepalen of de content aan onze communityrichtlijnen voldoet. Als dat niet zo is, kan de video worden verwijderd.” Hij legt uit dat hoe vaak een video gerapporteerd wordt geen invloed heeft op of content verwijderd wordt. Op de vraag waarom Cannabis News Network ineens wél weer online staat, zegt Finge: “Elke minuut komt er op YouTube 400 uur aan videomateriaal bij. Tegelijkertijd wordt er ook veel verwijderd: in het vierde kwartaal van vorig jaar ging het om meer dan 8 miljoen video’s. In die gigantische hoeveelheden worden soms, hoe spijtig ook, afwegingen gemaakt die achteraf gezien beter hadden gekund en waar we van leren.”

Hij noemt deze situatie “spijtig”, maar geeft ook aan dat “het nooit onze bedoeling is om het werk van journalisten te bemoeilijken.” Het is hoopgevend dat wij zo snel een antwoord kregen. Aan de andere kant weten we nog steeds niet waarom Google het kanaal offline haalde, en het ook weer online gooide.

Dat Google content verwijdert op deze tamelijk ontransparante manier is voor makers beangstigend, zegt Kompier. “Als je als journalist een eigen niche wilt creëren, ben je afhankelijk van dit soort kanalen.” Het is bovendien opvallend hoe moeilijk het is om content weer online te kunnen krijgen, en onbegrijpelijk dat ze een geheel kanaal offline te halen bij slechts één overtreding. “Mafkezen die vet zitten te blowen op hun filmpjes ga ik niet missen, maar informatieve kanalen zijn ook nog steeds offline, zoals Marihuana TV. Daar kun je weinig aan veranderen, behalve als er veel media-aandacht voor is.” En dat mediabedrijven serieuzer worden genomen dan de YouTubers wordt me al snel duidelijk door hetgeen dat Kompier mij achterna roept als ik wil ophangen: “Oh, kan je mij trouwens nog even doorsturen wat Google heeft gezegd? Dan weet ik ook waarom ze het deden.” Terwijl Kompier via verschillende wegen bij Google probeerde te achterhalen wat nou precies de reden is dat z’n kanaal offline moest, lukte het mij dus binnen tien minuten om een reactie te krijgen.

Het is belangrijk dat sommige video’s offline worden gehaald. Niemand wil een internet vol onthoofdingen en haat. Maar een informatief filmpje over een groen plantje… Google, chill bro. Don’t be arelaxed.

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Is the ‘war on drugs’ preventing a second revolution in mental health treatment?

After decades of obscurity, psychedelic-led treatments for mental health issues are becoming more common in some scientific circles. Many are even describing the current movement as a “psychedelic drug renaissance.”

Psychedelic treatments of various disorders and diseases have traditionally been limited by the difficulty of researching the effects of controlled substances that governments say have no medicinal value, despite evidence that suggests otherwise.

Advocates say psychedelics, such as LSD, psilocybin, DMT, and other drugs like MDMA and ketamine, can be used to treat a range of mental health disorders. Such treatments might lead “towards a new path that could revolutionize psychiatry,” if only policy-makers would relax the web of prohibitionist laws that make it difficult for researchers to study their effects.

Skeptics point to the relatively low amount of scientific literature and argue there simply isn’t enough evidence to know what the effects and side effects of psychedelic-led treatments might be, particularly in the long-term.

Mental health issues are widespread, cause long-lasting suffering, and cost developed societies billions of dollars a year. In England, one in six adults met the criteria for a common mental disorder in 2014 – for women, the number is one in five (NHS Digital). In the United States, the figures are slightly higher, with almost one in five people – about 44 million people – experiencing a mental illness in a given year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Psychiatric treatments for common but devastating illnesses such as depression haven’t advanced greatly in decades. Anti-depressants are still the most common treatment for depression and although relatively effective (The Lancet), they come with adverse side effects and don’t work for roughly a third of people (NCBI) suffering from what’s known as treatment-resistant depression.

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Government Under Fire over Tbilisi Drug Raid

Drug raids in two leading clubs in Tbilisi in the early hours of 12 May and the police’s heavy handed tactics, caused outcry among rights groups and drug policy activists, prompting calls for resignation of Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia.

The White Noise Movement, one one of the most ardent proponents of drug policy liberalization, convened a press briefing earlier today, and accused the authorities of “staging a show” and “starting a war against its citizens.”

“What we have been observing during the last few months can only be described as a cascade of crimes committed against the people by its own government, the government that has been stressing that its main value is the people, the very people that it beat, arrested and persecuted yesterday,” the Movement’s Beka Tsikarishvili stressed.

Tsikarishvili also accused the authorities of “poisoning and sacrificing” its own people to prepare “grounds for yesterday’s bloody, black Friday,” apparently echoing the White Noise Movement’s May 5 statement that attributed the recent drug-related deaths to tampered drugs “intentionally” distributed on the black market.

“Two or three days ago, we were informed on our Facebook page, as well as in person by our supporters, that some provocations were being planned against clubs; that there could have been some staged video footage showing the sale of drugs so that the public discontent [over drug deaths] could be used against clubs and other groups fighting for humane ideas in the country,” he noted.

The police handling of the incident earned the criticism from other civil society organizations as well.

Mikheil Benidze of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy underscored that the police raid illustrated that the government was “neither willing, nor able to carry out a real and effective drug policy.”

“The use of the police authority has been taking increasingly dangerous forms, which raises the risk of human rights violations,” he noted, blaming the authorities of “cultivating the soviet-style ideology through demonizing the club scene.”

The message was echoed by Giorgi Mshvenieradze of the Georgian Democracy Initiative added. “This is a manifest violence against freedom as an idea; this is an intentional crackdown on clubs as “places of decadence,” and not an anti-drug operation. Otherwise, detention of eight drug dealers who have been under police surveillance for three months, could have happened midday as well,” Mshvenieradze said.

Up to 20 rights groups and clubs, including the White Noise Movement, called a protest rally later on Saturday, accusing the authorities of declaring a war “against the ideas and values that has united thousands around Tbilisi clubs.” “These clubs are not only for entertainment, but represent spaces for free expression, development and social changes,” the organizations wrote in their statement.

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High time to rehash drug policy, think tanks say, as legalisation could save taxpayer £900m

Think tanks have today called on the government to radically rethink its drug policy, as it was revealed that taxpayers could save nearly £900m a year if cannabis was legalised.

A report by the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) argued that legalising the drug would reduce spending by police, prisons, courts and the NHS and put a huge amount of money back in taxpayers' pockets.

The health service would gain the most from such a move, making back £132.6m from not prescribing sleeping tablets, pain-relief medicine and anti-depressants which had been given out as a result of patients smoking higher-potency 'skunk'.

But £50m of savings would also be made as police saved time on enforcing the cannabis ban, while it would lead to the probation service saving £141m a year.

"It is clear that the current attempts to prevent cannabis use are an enormous burden on taxpayers that mean their money isn't spent on other priorities," said writer of the report Ben Ramanauskas as he called for the UK to rethink its "heavy-handed" policies.

A number of leading think tanks agreed with TPA's conclusions. Daniel Pryor, head of programmes at the Adam Smith Institute said the government's approach to cannabis had been an "expensive failure."

"We’ve handed control of the market over to criminal gangs, criminalised adults for using a low-harm consumer product and punished the minority of users who do need support," he argued.

"The potential savings detailed in this report could be used to fund support services for problem cannabis users and put money back in the pockets of taxpayers," he added. "It’s time to take back control from the gangs by legalising and regulating cannabis."

The Institute for Economic Affairs' head of Lifestyle Economics Chris Snowdon had similarly disparaging words to say on the government's policy towards cannabis.

"The war on drugs is a war on people. It has only succeeded in making cannabis more dangerous than it ought to be," he stated.

"Thanks to the rise of ‘skunk’, the costs to the NHS are rising despite the number of cannabis users falling. There is no doubt that hundreds of millions of pounds could be saved if we followed the lead of a growing number of US states by legalising, taxing and regulating this product."

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The first recreational drug testing facility in Britain has opened in Bristol

Following a series of pilots across UK music festivals, the countrys’ first ever recreational drug safety testing facility has opened in Bristol.

The pop-up lab is run by the charity The Loop and able to test the quality and strength of drugs provided to it by users.

The new scheme is supported by police, following other European countries that have implemented similar schemes to allow users to test drugs without fear of prosecution.

Does it work?

The scheme was previously tested at Boomtown festival. VICE reported that one on ten people found that their drugs weren’t what they thought they were, with a significant amount of the stimulant pentylone, which can make people anxious and paranoid, being mis-sold as MDMA.

Along with testing the safety of drugs, the initiative gives users 15 minutes of drug counselling, where they are provided with safety information about recreational drugs. At Boomtown, 44% of customers said they would educe their dose or discard their drugs entirely, and the festival reported a 25% reduction in drug-related medical incidents after introducing the drug safety initiative in 2017.

Fiona Measham, Professor of Criminology at Durham University and Director of the Loop said: “We were excited that such a vibrant city as Bristol was first to embrace drug safety testing, in a partnership with the police, council, public health and the local drugs service that hosted us. “It also provides an opportunity to proactively test ahead of festivals, to anticipate and avoid public health scares onsite.

With the contamination of markets with fentanyl analogues, cathinones and cannabinoids, testing informs not only the individuals who come to use our service, but also local emergency services. “In fact the Loop’s chemists identified 1 in 5 Bristol samples had been missold and further samples were much higher strength than expected, so the Loop’s healthcare staff were able to distribute appropriate advice and information tailored to those individuals. The point is that none of us knows what dealers are selling unless we test.”

Why Bristol?

Earlier this year, BBC Three’s programme Drugsland explored the unique drug use in Bristol; compared to the rest of country, it has the highest proportion of people who inject their drugs and highest number of heroin and crack cocaine users. It also has twice the national average of hospital admissions for drug misuse.

Nationally, deaths linked to ecstasy or MDMA are at their highest level in a decade. In 2010, there were eight but this rose in 2015 to 57, according to figures released by the ONS towards the end of 2016 The Loop are currently fundraising to raise money for more pop up labs across the country in a campaign known as #timetotest. A non-profit social enterprise established in 2013, it was founded by co-directors Fiona Measham, Professor of Criminology at Durham University and Wilf Gregory, DJ and promoter.

Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/news/(...)rug-testing-bristol/

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Op dinsdag 10 april 2018 13:31 schreef broodjepindakaashagelslag het volgende:

Volgens de korpschef moeten ook drugsgebruikers een belangrijke rol gaan spelen bij de aanpak van criminaliteit.

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Drug-users fuel London killings, Met chief Cressida Dick warns

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Ms Dick told LBC radio: “I do think that what you might call recreational drug-users, people who do not think they have a serious habit, have lots of money, splash the cash on cocaine, they need to think about this because there is misery at every stage of the chain including young people being dragged into gang crime and putting themselves at risk of being arrested or being killed.”