The World Wide War on Drugs #5 - Het begin van het einde?

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Tientallen arrestaties in groot Twents drugsonderzoek

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Speakers at R.I. forum on marijuana, drug policy say 'war on drugs' is failing



PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The war on drugs has not only failed, it has been disastrous for thousands of youth and families, who have been jailed, kicked out of school and denied meaningful work.

That was the consensus of dozens of experts at a conference Saturday sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance and the Rhode Island Drug Policy Working Group. The one-day forum drew 300 policymakers, law enforcement personnel and community advocates to Alumnae Hall at Brown University.

The speakers here agreed that the war on drugs, launched by President Nixon in the early 1960s, has not accomplished any of its goals: it hasn't reduced the quantity of drugs on the market, it hasn't decreased drug use among the young and it hasn't reduced the violence associated with drug cartels.

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85 arrestaties bij dancefeest Utrecht

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Zeker 85 bezoekers zijn opgepakt bij het dancefeest Time Warp, dat in de nacht van zaterdag op zondag werd gehouden in de Jaarbeurs in Utrecht. Verreweg de meesten hadden drugs gekocht, verkocht of in bezit. Eén man is opgepakt omdat hij een beveiliger had bedreigd, een ander verkocht valse toegangskaarten.

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David Cameron urged to take 'now or never' step on drugs reform

Cross-party committee says prime minister should set up royal commission on Britain's failing drug laws

David Cameron should urgently set up a royal commission to consider all the alternatives to Britain's failing drug laws, including decriminalisation and legalisation, an influential cross-party group of MPs has concluded.

The Commons home affairs select committee says after taking evidence from all sides of the drug debate, including from Russell Brand and Richard Branson, that "now, more than ever" there is a case for a fundamental review of all UK drug policy. "This is a critical, now-or-never moment for serious reform," they say.

Among the recommendations contained in a report published on Monday, the MPs say Home Office and health ministers should be sent to Portugal to examine its system of replacing criminal penalties for drug use with a new emphasis on treatment. They say the Portuguese example clearly reduced public concern about drug use and was backed by all political parties and the police.

The MPs also suggest the British government should fund a detailed research project monitoring the recent legalisation of marijuana in the American states of Washington and Colorado and the proposed state monopoly of cannabis production and sale in Uruguay.

The committee visited Colombia, the US and Portugal as part of their year-long inquiry.

In the report the MPs say: "We recommend the establishment of a royal commission to consider the best ways of reducing the harm caused by drugs in an increasingly globalised world.

"In order to avoid an overly long, overly expensive review process, we recommend that such a commission be set up immediately and be required to report by 2015."

Ministers should at the same time instigate a public debate in Britain on all the alternatives to current drug policy as part of the royal commission, recommends the report, Drugs: Breaking the Cycle. The government also needs to initiate a discussion within the United Nation's commission on narcotic drugs, including the possibility of legalisation and regulation – to tackle and reduce the harms from the global drug trade at home and abroad.

Government sources were dismissive of the move to a royal commission, insisting that drug use in Britain was at the lowest level since records began: "Our current laws draw on the best available evidence and as such we have no intention of downgrading or declassifying cannabis.

"A royal commission on drugs is simply not necessary. Our cross-government approach is working … We will respond more fully to the report in due course."

But the committee's chairman, the former Labour minister Keith Vaz, said that was no longer sustainable: "After a year scrutinising UK drugs policy, it is clear to us that many aspects of it are simply not working and it needs to be fully reviewed. We cannot afford to kick this issue into the long grass. We have recommended that a royal commission be set up with an end-date of 2015."

He said drugs cost thousands of lives and billions of taxpayer pounds annually: "This is a critical, now-or-never moment for serious reform. If we do not act now, future generations will be crippled by the social and financial burden of addiction."

Although ministers moved immediately to dismiss the call for a royal commission, the hard-hitting report from one of parliament's most influential select committees is indicative of a growing consensus at Westminster that reform of the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act is long overdue.

It follows a six-year study by the UK Drugs Policy Commission that called for decriminalisation of possession of small amounts of illicit drugs and a new forum for all three main party leaders to reach a consensus on reform.

The report's recommendations echo many of the findings of the committee's last major inquiry into drugs in 2002, when Cameron was a member, which called for a less punitive approach to cannabis and ecstasy.

The new report "regrets" the government's decision in 2008 to toughen the law on cannabis possession but only on the chairman's casting vote after the issue split the committee. The rest of the report was endorsed by a majority of the MPs, with the Conservative Mark Reckless voting with Labour and Liberal Democrats while his Tory colleagues dissented.

The call for a royal commission, which has been a longstanding Liberal Democrat policy, was also welcomed by experts. Martin Barnes of Drugscope, the leading independent information centre on drugs, said that the debate had been too often clouded by polarised positions, partial evidence and anecdote.

"This is a situation that has not been helped when policy-makers and politicians are fearful of being accused of being 'soft' on drugs or their views and intentions distorted," said Barnes.

"A royal commission, with a clear timetable, would help break this impasse – but it will require robust terms of reference and a credible membership. There is already a substantial body of argument and evidence on reforming drug policy – including the recent report by the UK Drug Policy Commission – so any commission will need authority and momentum behind it to achieve change."

The detailed findings of the 151-page report say that the 2002 report's recommendation for a reassessment of the Misuse of Drugs Act was rejected by ministers on the grounds it conflicted with Britain's international obligations to curbing the global drug trade: "The message from Colombia and other supplier and transit states is clear – what the international community is currently doing is not working," says the report. "We are not suggesting that the UK should act unilaterally in these matters, but our government's position must be informed by a thorough understanding of the global situation and possible alternative policies."

The MPs' report also makes detailed recommendations to "break the cycle" of drug addiction, including improved treatment in prisons and the community and for early intervention with better education and preventive work. On the recent explosion of "legal highs" or new psychoactive substances, the MPs say that retailers, including "head shops" and online sellers should be liable for the harms caused by the untested substances they have sold, including for related deaths.

The committee says that Britain's approach to the laundering of drug money has also been far too weak and new legislation is needed to extend the personal liability of senior bankers found to be involved.

The MPs make detailed recommendations to combat the supply of drugs in prisons, including mandatory drug testing on arrival and release, and a new drive for recovery-based treatment behind bars.

On the drug treatment programme in the community said more use should be made of residential treatment and buprenorphine as alternatives to the widespread use of methadone as a heroin substitute.

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HSBC schikt voor 1,9 miljard dollar in verband met witwaspraktijken

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Uit onderzoek door een commissie van de Amerikaanse Senaat bleek eerder dat HSBC miljarden dollars van Mexicaanse drugskartels witwaste. Ook zou de bank Amerikaanse handelssancties hebben geschonden door zaken de doen in landen als Iran. Met de schikking wordt een strafzaak afgekocht, meldt AP.

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Op vrijdag 14 december 2012 18:59 schreef Reya het volgende:
http://www.standaard.be/a(...)DMF20121214_00402090

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War on Drugs: Clegg breekt met Cameron

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Goed nieuws uit Groot-Brittannië: Nick Clegg heeft helemaal niets met David Camerons steun voor de oorlog tegen drugs. "The drug war is lost", aldus de vice-premier van de liberale democraten.

Het gebeurt niet vaak dat ik het eens ben met de eurofiele voorman van de LibDems, maar dit is dan toch echt één zo'n dag waarop dit wél het geval is. De reden? Clegg gelooft dat de Britse regering de strijd tegen drugs nooit en te nimmer kan winnen:

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Government urged to consider serious drugs law reform

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Keith Morris, who was British ambassador to Colombia from 1990 to 1994, made his comments to the Guardian newspaper after the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee recommended an urgent Royal Commission to review the UK drug laws earlier this week.

Prime Minister David Cameron instantly rejected the proposal, supported by many experts in the field, but coalition partner and Deputy PM Nick Clegg believes change is needed.

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Nick Clegg said on 14 December 2012: "We can't be complacent, we owe it to the many many children in this country who still get snarled up by drugs, whose education chances are blighted by drugs, whose health is damaged by drugs, we owe it to them to constantly restlessly look for better ways of dealing with the scourge of drugs."

He continued: "After all, this is a war, the war on drugs, in which over 2,000 people are losing their lives in Britain every year, in which one in five 11 to 15-year-olds in this country now say they're trying drugs, where young people now are telling us that it's easier to get hold of drugs than it is to get hold of alcohol or tobacco.

"I think those facts alone suggest that, yes of course we should do the good work that we are doing as a coalition government, but we should also be open-minded enough to look at whatever alternative approaches help us help those children more effectively in the future.

"My own view is that we simply cannot be content with the way things are. The worse thing to do is to close your mind off from doing even better," said the Deputy PM.

David Cameron has rejected Mr Clegg's calls for a review of drugs laws and the findings of the Select Committee, proclaiming existing policy satisfactory. But critics say he is burying his head in the sand to avoid controversy.

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Regering Mexico: aanpak drugsbendes heeft gefaald

De aanpak van drugskartels in Mexico heeft geleid tot een stijging van het geweld. Dat heeft de Mexicaanse minister van binnenlandse zaken Miguel Angel Osorio Chong dinsdag gezegd. Hij hekelde het beleid van ex-president Felipe Calderon, omdat 'de financiële middelen voor de verbetering van de veiligheid zijn verdubbeld, maar de misdaad is toegenomen'.

"De stijging van het aantal moorden is bij ons een van de hoogste ter wereld", zei Osorio Chong. "De afgelopen jaren zijn door geweld in verband met de georganiseerde misdaad duizenden mensen om het leven gekomen en duizenden mensen verdwenen."

Calderon, die op 1 december aftrad, heeft herhaaldelijk gezegd dat de Mexicaanse autoriteiten 25 van de 37 meestgezochte drugsbazen heeft opgepakt. Hij kreeg daarbij hulp van de Verenigde Staten.

Osorio Chong en de nieuwe Mexicaanse president Enrique Peña Nieto hebben gezegd de strategie van Calderon aan te willen passen en de focus meer te willen leggen op het verminderen van de misdaden tegen gewone burgers en niet zozeer op het vermoorden of oppakken van drugsbazen. Nu de nieuwe regering er bijna drie weken op heeft zitten, zijn er echter nog maar weinig details bekend over de nieuwe aanpak. Het lijkt er op dat er maar weinig significante veranderingen gaan plaatshebben.

Mexico wordt opgedeeld in vijf regio's, die elk hun eigen veiligheidsbeleid krijgen. De problemen variëren per regio en de opdeling zorgt ervoor dat er voor iedere regio specifieke tactieken kunnen worden ontwikkeld. Daarnaast moet er een nieuwe paramilitaire politiemacht van zo'n tienduizend agenten worden opgericht. Het is echter niet bekend op welke termijn deze politiemacht opgericht wordt en hoe er agenten aangetrokken gaan worden.

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Brandweer slaat alarm na ontdekking xtc-lab Kerkrade

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De brandweer in Kerkrade heeft alarm geslagen na de ontdekking van een xtc-laboratorium in een boerderij. De brandweer maakt zich zorgen vanwege de mogelijke explosieve en gevaarlijke stoffen, die gebruikt worden voor de productie van de drug. Dat meldt het Limburgs Dagblad.

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Tarantino compares the War on Drugs to slavery

Iconic film director Quentin Tarantino believes that US drug policy, and the subsequent mass incarceration of African Americans, is comparable to pre-Civil War slavery. In an interview about his latest movie—Django Unchained, which documents the story of a freed slave, played by Jamie Foxx—Tarantino points out that the hierarchies of racial injustice have shifted but not wholly improved. “This whole thing of…this ‘War on Drugs,’ and the mass incarcerations that have happened pretty much for the last 40 years has just decimated the black male population,” says the filmmaker. “It’s slavery…it’s just slavery through and through, and it’s just the same fear of the black male that existed back in the 1800s.” He adds that the US prison system, which currently houses staggeringly disproportionate numbers of black men, mirrors the structure and appearance of slavery. “Especially having even directed a movie about slavery, and you know the scenes that we have in the slave town, the slave auction town, where they’re moving back and forth,” he says, “Well that looks like standing in the top tier of a prison system and watching the things go down. And between the private prisons and the public prisons, the way prisoners are traded back and forth.” African Americans throughout the US are 13 times more likely to face jail for the same drug-related offenses as white people, according to a 2011 statement by the NAACP; at 13% of the US population, they currently make up 53.5% of all imprisoned drug offenders, despite drug use being fairly evenly divided across racial lines.

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Feds: 4 Texas officers guarded cocaine shipments

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McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Three South Texas lawmen including the son of a prominent county sheriff will likely spend the weekend in custody on charges accusing them and another officer of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes to guard shipments of cocaine.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Dorina Ramos set bond at $100,000 Friday for Mission Police officer Jonathan Trevino, 29, and Hidalgo County Sheriff's deputies Fabian Rodriguez, 28, and Gerardo Duran, 30. The same bond was set a day earlier for their alleged co-conspirator Mission Police officer Alexis Espinoza.

Ramos said it was unlikely that pre-trial services could arrange for their release if any of the men posted bond before Monday.

Prosecutors say the four were members of a task force called the Panama Unit that fights drug trafficking. Instead of combatting the drug trade, prosecutors say the four provided protection for it.

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Xtc-pillen, GHB en vuurwapens in huis politiechef Kekerdom

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In het huis van politiechef Jan Petter, die zichzelf en twee anderen in september van dit jaar doodschoot in Kekerdom, heeft de politie 186 xtc-pillen, amfetamine en een hoeveelheid van de partydrug GHB gevonden. Ook had hij verschillende oudere vuurwapens in huis.

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Eerder was al bekend dat in de woning van de inspecteur in Kekerdom een hennepkwekerij met 224 plantjes stond en dat hij tegen de regels in zijn dienstwapen in huis bewaarde.

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'Toezicht defensie op Curaçao onvoldoende'

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Het toezicht en de sociale controle van werknemers van defensie die tijdelijk op Curaçao verblijven, is onvoldoende. Dat zegt Wim van den Burg, voorzitter van de militaire vakbond AFMP, in reactie op de arrestatie donderdag van een 28-jarige bewoner van Curaçao die betrokken zou zijn bij cocaïnehandel naar Nederland. De drugs werden uitgevoerd via de Nederlandse marinekazerne Parera op het eiland.

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Colombia Army Probes Alleged Drug Trafficking Ring Within Its Ranks

g 25 kilos of pot on a Hercules plane and Maj. Edisson Javier García was arrested with 79 kilos in a vehicle.

The Attorney General's Office has also launched an investigation, Pinzón told reporters, adding that "there is zero tolerance for any criminal activity" within the armed forces.

"The investigation must be thorough to uncover the entire network," Navas said.

The first signs of the existence of a drug ring inside the army emerged last week when 25 kilos of marijuana were discovered on a military plane transporting a squad of soldiers from the conflictive southwestern province of Cauca to the Tolemaida military base in central Colombia.

Maj. García was then caught Tuesday with 79 kilos of pot in the southwestern province of Valle del Cauca.

García, who was taking courses required for promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel, was transporting the drugs in a vehicle on the Pan American Highway.