The World Wide War on Drugs #12 - Legalize not criminalize

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‘War on drugs’ belabberd: ‘Kali-team’ Antwerpen valt uiteen

Niet alleen voert de politie een ‘war on drugs’ uit, ook onderling wordt er flink gevochten, zo blijkt. En deze politie-oorlog heeft een nieuwe dimensie erbij gekregen. Het ‘Kali-team’, die allerlei diensten verenigde in één ‘task-force’ in Antwerpen en de strijd moest aangaan met de ‘mocromaffia’ – het amalgaam van vooral cocaïnebende Marokkaanse drugbendes – is uiteengevallen. De federale speurders willen niet meer met hun lokale collega’s werken. Volgens Het Laatste Nieuws deed het onafgesproken oprollen van de ‘Noodle-bende’ – door de lokale politie – de emmer van ontevredenheid overlopen.

Het Kali-team werd vorig jaar in leven geroepen. Op het Antwerpse Kiel werkten zo’n 35 lokale politiespeurders samen met 40 agenten van de federale gerechtelijke politie. Dit op een speciaal ingerichte en beveiligde verdieping in het Digipolis-gebouw. Maar de samenwerking verliep al snel stroef. Informatie werd niet altijd even vlot gedeeld, wat leidde tot spanningen. De raid op het ‘Noodle-netwerk’ twee weken geleden deed de emmer overlopen.

Slechts een handvol federale flikken blijven op Kali-hoofdkwartier in Digipolis

Twee weken geleden viel de lokale politie namelijk binnen op containerterminal 1742. Met groot vertoon rolden de lokale flikken toen de Noodle-bende op. Alleen: de bedoeling was dat het federale team die operatie zou uitvoeren. In de dagen na de arrestaties lieten de federale agenten zich nog amper zien in het Kali-hoofdkwartier. Via mail werd geïnformeerd dat de federale agenten opnieuw vanuit hun kantoren aan de Noordersingel werken. De lokale agenten blijven wel het Kali-kantoor gebruiken: “Het stadsbestuur heeft 600.000 euro geïnvesteerd in dit speciale kantoor met alle mogelijke informatica”, zo luidt het ginder via HLN. “Dit gooien wij niet zomaar weg. Wij willen met de nieuwe Antwerpse procureur bekijken hoe het verder moet met het Kali-team en met het Stroomplan.”

Stanny De Vlieger van de federale politie, die in 2018 ook werd aangesteld als baas over het Kali-team, ontkent dat alle federale speurders weg zijn uit Digipolis, alwaar het Kali-team opereerde/opereert. “Die bewering mist elke nuance. Onze mensen werken zowel vanuit Digipolis als vanuit de Noordersingel. Het hangt af van het soort werk.” Er zijn inderdaad nog enkele federale speurders actief bij Kali. Het gaat om een klein financieel-economisch team die verdachte handelszaken onderzoekt en met wie de andere diensten wel vlot samenwerken.

Burgemeester Bart De Wever (N-VA) is alleszins niet te spreken over het opstappen van het gros van de federale speurders en noemt het een blamage voor de werking van het gerecht en de veiligheidsdiensten. De Wever wil nu “een serieuze uitleg” van de justitieminister Koen Geens (CD&V) en binnenlandminister Pieter De Crem (CD&V).

Mocro-maffia kwelt Antwerpen

De Noodle-bende is/was een Marokkaanse drugsbende gecentreerd rond twee families. De naam is afkomstig van een restaurant genaamd ‘Mr. Noodles’, dat door bendelid Moraad E.M. werd uitgebaat. Het restaurant was het doelwit van één van de 60 onopgeloste aanslagen die verband houden met de ‘mocro-oorlog’ in Antwerpen.

Cocaïne is een groot probleem in Antwerpen. Berichten over tonnen onderschepte cocaïne halen geregeld de media. In 2016 werd Antwerpen nog betiteld als de ‘grootste cocaïnehaven van Europa’ is. Dat is ook niet toevallig want in Rotterdam – de belangrijkste haven van Nederland – worden voornamelijk vloeibare goederen toegeleverd, terwijl er in Antwerpen vooral containers toekomen. Die containers lenen zich uitstekend tot het binnensmokkelen van grote hoeveelheden drugs.

Criminele bendes met Marokkaanse wortels – in Nederland betiteld als ‘mocromaffia’ – zoals ‘de Turtles’ en ‘de Mixers’ domineren de lucratieve en clandestiene cocaïnehandel. Eerder bleek tevens dat de mocromaffia hecht verweven is met verschillende islamitische gebedshuizen. Maar het milieu heeft ook een flinke voet in het onderwijsveld, alwaar men leerlingen – veelal van allochtone afkomst – van kindsbeen af in de drugswereld trekt. De conflicten tussen de bendes leiden tot gewelddadige afrekeningen met bommen en schietpartijen. Er worden zelfs geregeld handgranaten gegooid naar gebouwen.

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De Spaanse douane onderschept cocaïne in Vigo, begin deze maand AFP EU overspoeld door cocaïne, recordhoeveelheid onderschept

De hoeveelheid cocaïne die jaarlijks in de Europese Unie in beslag wordt genomen, stijgt razendsnel. Uit een rapport van het Europees Waarnemingscentrum voor drugs en drugsverslaving (EMCDDA) blijkt dat de onderschepte hoeveelheid van ruim 70 ton in 2016 verdubbelde naar ruim 140 ton het jaar erop.

Volgens het onderzoekscentrum heeft de cocaïne ook de hoogste zuiverheid in tien jaar. Dat wijst volgens de onderzoekers op een toegenomen beschikbaarheid van de drugs. Hoewel de coke steeds puurder wordt, valt dat aan de prijzen nauwelijks af te zien. De gemiddelde straatwaarde van een gram cocaïne in Europa ligt vrij stabiel tussen de 55 en 82 euro.

Een mogelijke verklaring die het EMCDDA geeft voor het groeiende aanbod, is de innovatie in de cocaïnemarkt. Zo is het voor aanbieders makkelijker om hun coke te slijten, door middel van bijvoorbeeld marktplaatsen op het darknet en via sociale media. Het agentschap spreekt van de "Uberisatie" van de cocaïnehandel, vanwege de handel via apps op smartphones.

Smokkel

De meeste cocaïne, 45 ton, werd in beslag genomen in België. Daarna volgt Spanje, met 41 ton. In Nederland werd 14,6 ton onderschept. Vooral de smokkel via containers in havens zou moeilijk te stoppen zijn. Dat geldt ook voor de smokkel in synthetische opiaten. Die zijn over het algemeen effectiever dan de natuurlijke varianten, waardoor ze in kleinere hoeveelheden gesmokkeld worden.

Vlak buiten de EU valt ook de rol van Turkije in de drugshandel op. Hoewel Turkije er niet uit springt op het gebied van cocaïnehandel werd er wel meer mdma en amfetamine onderschept dan in alle Europese landen samen.

Dat de cocaïnehandel de laatste jaren welig tiert in Europa, was al wel bekend. Verschillende politie- en opsporingsdiensten maakten de afgelopen tijd melding van grootschalige smokkel, bijvoorbeeld in Europese havens. Ook worden regelmatig drugsmarkten op het darknet opgerold door de politie.

Gevolgen voor gezondheid

Volgens het EMCDDA is het moeilijk in te schatten wat de gevolgen van het toegenomen cocaïnegebruik zijn voor de volksgezondheid. Dat komt vooral doordat de meeste methoden waarmee die inschattingen worden gemaakt zijn gericht op het gebruik van opiaten, zoals heroïne. Het gebruik van die drugs nam de afgelopen jaren juist af.

Wel is duidelijk dat meer mensen zich laten behandelen voor cocaïneproblemen. Opvallend is ook dat de onderzoekers er rekening mee houden dat het gebruik van crack in opmars is. Die coke, die wordt gerookt, wordt veel vaker in verband gebracht met problematisch gebruik.

De meest gebruikte drug binnen de Europese Unie is nog altijd cannabis. Volgens het rapport gebruikten in 2017 bijna 25 miljoen mensen in Europa cannabis. Cocaïne werd door 3,9 miljoen Europeanen gebruikt en partydrug mdma, dat in Nederland populair is, werd door 2,6 miljoen mensen gebruikt.

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Michael Gove says drug admission will not lead to US travel ban

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Michael Gove has said his use of cocaine in the past will not lead to him being banned from entering US, as he struggled to get his Tory leadership campaign back on track.

Gove dismissed as “foolish” the idea that American authorities could ban a prime minister from entering their country, even though some UK citizens have been stopped from going to the US after admitting to having taken drugs.

He acknowledged he was “fortunate” not to have been sent to prison for using the class-A drug while a journalist about 20 years ago but said it was unlikely to lead to a travel ban.

Pressed on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show about whether he had ever lied about his drug use to US immigration authorities, Gove said: “I don’t believe that I have ever, on any occasion, failed to tell the truth about this when asked directly.” He said he was not asked about drug use when he became a government minister.

The environment secretary has had to confront a series of difficult questions after his drug use while in his 30s was revealed in a new book by a journalist, Owen Bennett.

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Drugs expert barred from policy panel after criticising Home Office

Minister vetoed appointment of woman who called Home Office drug policy ‘utter BS’

A government minister vetoed the appointment of an expert to a public body after vetting found she had criticised the Home Office and called for drug policy reform, it has emerged.

Documents released under a subject access request also reveal that candidates for public bodies now have their social media profiles scrutinised by ministers, including posts regarding the “PM/government”, Windrush, Brexit and anything “diversity-related”.

An online search by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) secretariat found that Niamh Eastwood, the director of Release, the UK’s centre on drugs and drug laws, had described a Home Office policy position as “utter BS” and claimed it was “just making s**t up” in a tweet.
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Eastwood had been deemed appointable to the ACMD, which makes drug policy recommendations to government, by a Home Office advisory assessment panel.

Although it was recognised that her “contribution could enrich the group”, there was concern that she “may use the appointment as an inappropriate lobbying opportunity”.

It was suggested that Eastwood’s “clear views on drugs liberalisation” might impede her ability to be “impartial, and provide unbiased views”. When asked for comment, the Home Office claimed that the decision was made “on the basis of expertise”.

Vetting candidates for such appointments has been tightened following Toby Young’s brief time at the Office for Students after he came under scrutiny for a number of offensive tweets.

In a subsequent report, the Commissioner for Public Appointments highlighted a “possible lack of due diligence by the recruiting department” and there are now checks on “relevant social media content”.

Eastwood said during her interview that she was a critic of the government’s drug policy. The Home Office secretariat later flagged a number of critical tweets, including one posted in April 2018 which said:

^{The @ukhomeoffice provides a further response to the ACMD on #DCRS & it is UTTER BS! https://assets.publishing(...)Atkins_MP_to_OBJ.pdf … - misrepresentation of the evidence & just making s**t up!}

She was referring to a letter regarding drug consumption rooms (DCRs) sent by Victoria Atkins, the minister for crime, following a report on how to reduce opioid-related deaths in the UK.

The letter omitted to mention that DCRs have public health benefits and that there has never been an overdose within one of the facilities, instead focusing on the “implied acceptance of criminality” that their introduction – which Nicola Sturgeon has called for – could bring.

In the internal correspondence, the council’s secretariat said: “Having a different view to the Home Office is not a barrier to appointment, but the language and tone used identifies a concern that the candidate would find it hard to work alongside government and may use the appointment as an inappropriate lobbying opportunity.”

An email from the minister for crime’s office read: “The minister is content with the recommendations, apart from N Eastwood as a candidate.”

Atkins, who is the government’s spokesperson on drug policy, “voluntarily recused herself” from policies and decisions relating to cannabis last year after British Sugar began growing substantial amounts of the controlled substance under a Home Office licence to sell for medicinal purposes. Her husband, Paul Kenward, is the company’s managing director.

Corey Stoughton, Liberty’s advocacy director, said: “Rather than creating an echo chamber of ‘yes people’, the Home Office should be open to the sort of honest feedback and genuine scrutiny that comes with recruiting the best people available.

“Preserving the independence of these important advisory and oversight bodies is critical to stop damaging policies and bad practice from becoming entrenched. As a ministry that has produced more than its fair share of scandal and criticism, we should be particularly concerned about this practice from the Home Office.”

Eastwood, who sits on a number of other advisory groups, said people were dying from drug misuse in record numbers and she stood by her remarks.

“The Home Office has repeatedly presented the evidence on drug consumption rooms inaccurately and have refused to consider introducing these life-saving initiatives,” she said. “The fact that I do not agree with the Home Office’s position should not bar me from being on an independent advisory board; in fact it smacks of political interference and a fear of diverse views.”

She added: “It is shocking the Home Office is routinely checking whether applicants have commented on Windrush or Brexit, regardless of whether they have or not.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Ministers are responsible for appointing members to public bodies in line with the governance code on public appointments. They are provided with a choice of appointable candidates for each competition and will make the appointment objectively and on the basis of expertise.”

The department would not confirm whether any candidates had been vetoed by ministers in relation to criticism over Windrush.

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Turks-Nederlandse 'koning van heroïne' opgepakt in Spanje

In de Spaanse regio Galicië is een netwerk van drugssmokkelaars opgerold waar een Turks-Nederlandse heroïnehandelaar de grote leverancier voor was. Het gaat volgens Spaanse media om Sadullah U., betiteld als "koning van heroïne". Hij zou eerder deze week zijn opgepakt zijn met zeven kilo heroïne in zijn auto. Naast hem werden de afgelopen dagen nog 16 andere mensen gearresteerd.

U. wordt gezien als een van de grootste heroïnehandelaars van Europa. Naar verluidt woonde hij praktisch in zijn Audi A3, waarmee hij dagelijks grote afstanden aflegde. Ook wordt gemeld dat U. nooit mobiele telefoons gebruikte.

De Spaanse politie ontdekte in januari dat een drugshandelaar in de stad Ourense veel heroïne begon te verhandelen en startte een onderzoek dat tot de arrestaties van gisteren heeft geleid. Rechercheurs namen naast de heroïne ook 66 kilo speed en duizenden euro's in cash in beslag.

U. werd twee keer eerder gearresteerd. De laatste keer was in 2008 toen de Spaanse politie de grootste heroïnevangst ooit in Spanje deed. Toen werd meer dan 300 kilo drugs op een jacht bij Barcelona ontdekt. In 1994 belandde U. in de de gevangenis na de vondst van 118 kilo heroïne in Madrid.

Heel groot nieuws is dit niet in Spanje, zegt correspondent Rop Zoutberg. Galicië staat bekend als een van de grote invoerhavens van Zuid-Amerikaanse drugs. Vanuit de deelstaat worden grote delen van West-Europa voorzien van cocaïne en heroïne.

Zoutberg: "De drugsbendes waren vooral eind jaren negentig zeer berucht, ook door de drugsproblemen die ze in Galicië veroorzaakten. Tegenwoordig lijken de drugsbaronnen beter gecontroleerd, al zijn er zeker aanhouding als deze van tijd tot tijd."

Ohio attorney general blasts Cincinnati's new marijuana law

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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost blasts Cincinnati's new marijuana ordinance

He claims councilmembers were pandering for votes

CINCINNATI -- Ohio's attorney general blasted Cincinnati's new marijuana ordinance as useless Friday, saying councilmembers were pandering for votes and showed "disrespect" and "arrogance" for state law.

Attorney General Dave Yost rebuked the City Council's majority vote Friday in an interview with WCPO Anchor Craig McKee for WCPO's weekly Sunday news program, "This Week in Cincinnati."

City Council voted 5-3 Thursday to decriminalize possession of up to 100 grams. And there is no age limit on possession. The law takes effect 30 days after the vote.

Yost said state law doesn't allow anybody to be arrested for possession of up to 100 grams anyway, and the maximum fine for that having amount is $150.

"These laws are symbolic. They're not going to create any new cause of action," Yost said. "But it shows a disrespect for the law and an arrogance on the part of legislators in a city that want to wrest away from the state the responsibly for making laws. "

Councilmember Jeff Pastor, who co-sponsored the ordinance with Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman, said he respects Yost but disagrees with his claim that passing the law was just for votes.

"We're certainly not pandering for any votes," Pastor said in a statement to WCPO. "This is a human issue. This is righting a wrong."

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Op maandag 17 juni 2019 10:22 schreef Zomaar-een-Chinees het volgende:
Als een overheid al die cash vindt bij deze criminelen wat gebeurt er dan mee?

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Colombia leader hits out at 'hypocrisy' of middle-class cocaine users

Iván Duque decries social acceptability of drug that inflicts environmental and social damage on producers

Middle-class cocaine users are inconsistent hypocrites if they fail to recognise the environmental and social damage their drug use is inflicting on producer countries, the Colombian president has said during a visit to London.

In an interview with the Guardian on Monday, Iván Duque said that cocaine’s social acceptability had to end. “There are many people who present themselves as environmentalists, and if they want to be coherent, they must understand all the environmental damage that is caused by the production of cocaine – not just destroying tropical forests, [but] spreading chemicals in protected areas and destroying human capital,” he said.

Duque said that cocaine production leads to the destruction of thousands of hectares of tropical forest. “It’s not just big social damage, but environmental damage. How can you present yourself as a defender of the environment when you are creating so much harm? There needs to be an end to hypocrisy and inconsistency,” he said.

Asked what he thought of admissions by prominent British politicians – including the Conservative leadership candidates Michael Gove and Boris Johnson – that they have used cocaine, Duque said: “The issue with illegal drugs is, they not only have a bad effect on your health, but potentially on third parties. It’s not advice to candidates. Its advice to human beings.”

However, Duque also pledged to relaunch the aerial spraying of coca crops with herbicides within weeks – a process that has been widely criticised by farmers for devastating legal crops alongside illicit plantations.

Colombia suspended the aerial fumigation of coca, the raw ingredient in cocaine, in 2015 after the World Health Organization linked the herbicide glyphosate to cancer. The decision was later backed by the country’s constitutional court.

The US, frustrated by surging cocaine exports, has pressured Duque to resume aerial spraying and threatened to decertify Columbia as a partner in its war on drugs.

Duque said he was considering tougher measures against coca growers – not to please any third country, but because it was his country’s “moral responsibility to act”.

Colombia remains the world’s largest producer of cocaine exports, and a recent UN report said the total acreage under production was an estimated 17% higher in 2017 than 2016.

The drug trade has flourished despite the 2016 peace deal with the guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc). That accord was supposed to usher in a peaceful new chapter, but violence still rages as dissident rebel factions and rightwing paramilitaries battle for control of coca-growing territory once controlled by Farc.

Activists and social leaders have been targeted at unprecedented levels: 702 have been murdered since the peace deal was signed, while 135 ex-combatants have also been killed.

As Duque met potential investors in the City of London, protesters nearby laid the names of hundreds of murdered social leaders, human rights defenders and trade unionists along the pavement of Threadneedle Street.

Miriam Ojeda, originally from Cali, Colombia, who now lives in Denmark Hill, said Duque had betrayed the terms of the peace deal with the Farc. “All the institutions for peace have been sabotaged systematically,” she said.

“The government is telling the business community that everything is good in Colombia, but in fact these people have been killed since the peace agreement has been signed … Communities in Colombia are facing violence on a daily basis.”

Duque was relatively unknown until he won the presidency in Colombia last year after spending most of his adult life in Washington DC, working at the Inter-American Development Bank.

A rightwinger naturally allied to Washington, Duque has played a prominent role in the international effort to oust Nicolás Maduro, as the deepening crisis in neighbouring Venezuela has sent at least a million migrants across the border between the two countries.

Duque was one of the first Latin American leaders to recognise the opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who declared himself Venezuela’s rightful ruler in January. In March Duque declared that Maduro was “facing his last days”, but since then the opposition campaign has faltered.

“The current dictatorship has been in power for almost two decades and will not end overnight, but I think this time the diplomatic blockade has made the dictatorship the weakest it has ever been,” he said on Monday.

“It could take a day, a week, a month. [Maduro’s] military forces are broken, and day by day more of the military want to be on the right side of history. He is surrounded by people that any moment can turn their back on him. The three conditions are clear. We need an end to the dictatorship, a transitional government, and free and fair elections.”

Donald Trump and his hawkish national security adviser, John Bolton, have repeatedly warned that military intervention remains an option in Venezuela, but Duque warned against such measures. “A foreign military option [would be] very costly and very complex. The only viable way to put pressure on Maduro to step down and end this is for the military to put itself on the right side of history,” he said.

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Drugs met waarde van 1 miljard dollar gevonden in haven Philadelphia

Op een containerschip in de haven van Philadelphia hebben de Amerikaanse autoriteiten een partij cocaïne onderschept van 15.000 kilo.

Het gaat volgens het Openbaar Ministerie om een van de grootste drugsvondsten in de geschiedenis van de Verenigde Staten.

De partij drugs vertegenwoordigt een straatwaarde van zo'n 1 miljard dollar. De bemanning van het schip is aangehouden.

Verdere details zijn niet bekendgemaakt.

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Feds seize more than 16 tons of cocaine at Philadelphia terminal

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"This amount of cocaine could kill millions -- MILLIONS -- of people," US Attorney William M. McSwain said in a tweet.

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USAttyMcSwain twitterde op dinsdag 18-06-2019 om 20:16:37 This is one of the largest drug seizures in United States history. This amount of cocaine could kill millions - MILLIONS - of people. My Office is committed to keeping our borders secure and streets safe from deadly narcotics. https://t.co/nWPfgpGqYa reageer retweet

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Op woensdag 19 juni 2019 13:27 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:

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USAttyMcSwain twitterde op dinsdag 18-06-2019 om 20:16:37 This is one of the largest drug seizures in United States history. This amount of cocaine could kill millions - MILLIONS - of people. My Office is committed to keeping our borders secure and streets safe from deadly narcotics. https://t.co/nWPfgpGqYa reageer retweet

Die reacties

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Op donderdag 20 juni 2019 07:42 schreef theunderdog het volgende:

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Het is echt wachten tot die boomers en bejaarde dood gaan. Dan kan er eindelijk gezond, rationeel beleid komen.

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Families of people killed by drugs to march on parliament to demand decriminalisation

‘I’m walking for my son, so his existence isn’t meaningless, so that minds can be changed and attitudes altered’

Families of people killed in drug-related deaths will next week start a six-day walk to parliament to raise awareness of the harms of current drug policy.

The walk, organised by Anyone’s Child, a collective of families affected by drugs who are campaigning for legal control and regulation of the drugs trade, will start on 20 June and end with families sharing their stories outside parliament.

The group are calling on MPs to regulate drugs, putting doctors, pharmacists and licensed vendors in charge of the illegal narcotics market, which they say will save lives.

“I’m walking for my son Jake, so his existence isn’t meaningless, so that 22 years of loving is not wasted, so that minds can be changed and attitudes altered,” Chris Evans, who lost her son to a drug overdose, said.

“I’m walking 55 miles of the Thames Path for my dead sons Jake and Roland. Along the way we want to raise awareness and funding for our campaign,” said Rose Humphries, who lost two sons to overdoses.

Anne-Marie Cockburn, who co-founded Anyone’s Child, and who lost her 15-year-old daughter Martha to an overdose, said: “As I stand by my child’s grave, what more evidence do I need that things must change? I believe that my daughter would still be alive today had she taken something that was legally regulated.”

In the UK, 70 people die in drug-related deaths every week, according to research by the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).

James Nicholls, chief executive of the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, told The Independent: “This campaign wants to see a radical change to drug policy. All drugs can be harmful, but the law as it stands makes them much more dangerous. We want to see drugs legally regulated, as is the case for alcohol and tobacco.

“At the moment, people have no idea what they are buying and we see countless deaths every year from accidental overdose or poisoning. The amount of violence linked to supply is also spiralling. These families have experienced the tragic consequences of all this, which is why they’re calling for the government to bring the drug trade under control.”

Jane Slater, Anyone’s Child coordinator, told The Independent: “Our drug laws can harm anyone’s child. Keeping drugs illegal isn’t keeping our children safe, it’s putting them in danger. Our voices must be heard and our politicians must listen.”

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Op donderdag 20 juni 2019 19:19 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:

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Er zijn al wat ouders met gezond verstand.
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Op donderdag 20 juni 2019 19:22 schreef theunderdog het volgende:

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Ja, jawel. Maar het is over het algemeen wel echt een boomer dingetje.

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Catastrophic failure of the war on drugs

This vast unethical trade is co-created by politicians, including President Duque of Colombia, who back a policy of global prohibition, writes Danny Kushlick

In time-honoured fashion we see the tired trope of cocaine users’ responsibility for violence in Colombia (Colombian president says middle-class cocaine users are hypocrites, 18 June). It is 10 years since the UK and Colombian governments launched their “Shared Responsibility” campaign to highlight links between users and the criminal trade. It was dropped because it was ineffective in reducing demand. This most recent call will have little or no effect on demand, but does serve politicians’ need to distract citizens from the catastrophic failure of the so-called “war on drugs”.

Anyone who buys illegal drugs does contribute to the criminal market. However, this vast unethical trade is co-created by politicians, including President Duque of Colombia, who back a policy of global prohibition. Duque’s predecessor, President Santos, said he would consider legalising cocaine in 2011, and is now a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which collectively supports the legal regulation of drug markets. Unless and until policymakers begin to seriously engage with the issue of who controls the international drug trade, we cannot make progress in reducing opportunities for organised crime and improving international development and security.

Danny Kushlick
Head of external affairs, Transform

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Congress Votes YES to Protect Legal Marijuana

For the first time ever, the House of Representatives just voted to restrict the Department of Justice from interfering with the states that have legalized adult-use marijuana.

The importance of this 267 to 165 bipartisan vote on the Blumenauer amendment cannot be overstated. Today, nearly one in four Americans reside in a jurisdiction where the adult use of cannabis is legal under state statute.

Today’s action by Congress highlights the growing power of our movement and the work of NORML leaders all around the country.

“It’s past time we protect all cannabis programs,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer, co-founder of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and lead sponsor of the amendment. “We have much more work to do. The federal government is out of touch and our cannabis laws are out of date. I’m pleased that the House agrees and we are able to move forward.”

Now, we must shift our focus to the Senate and ensure that they do not move to strip out these hard-fought protections.

Make a contribution to our Senate Education Fund right now so we can do a full-court-press and cure those Senators who are suffering from Reefer Madness!

Never in modern history has there existed greater public support for ending the nation’s nearly century-long failed experiment with marijuana prohibition. Now is our time to make our voices heard in the halls of Congress.

Together, we’re going to win this vote, and ultimately end marijuana prohibition from sea to shining sea. Together, we will legalize America.

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Cocaine user spared jail on Michael Gove plea

A class A drug user walked free from court yesterday after the judge ruled he should “suffer no more for dabbling in cocaine” than Michael Gove.

Judge Owen Davies QC upheld a legal argument with the defence that he should not be punished any more than the former Lord Chancellor.

Gove, who is still in the running to become the next Prime Minister, has admitted to taking the drug at parties twenty years ago.

Those caught in possession of a class A drug can be sentenced to up to seven years in prison, which Gove himself admitted he was “fortunate” to avoid.

But the defendant, who has not been named, was given a conditional discharge after suggesting “he should suffer no more for dabbling in cocaine than should a former Lord Chancellor.”

A source close to Judge Davies explained yesterday that he made the remark during legal argument with the defence, and not during sentencing.

“I think the judge was trying to make a joke rather than a political point,” the source told the Telegraph.

Tim Kiely, who represented the defendant in court, tweeted: “Who says humour and justice don’t mix?”

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The new drug highway: Pacific islands at centre of cocaine trafficking boom

Explosion in number of boats carrying cocaine and meth from Latin America to Australia is causing havoc for islands on the way

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It is the drug route you’ve never heard of: a multibillion-dollar operation involving cocaine and methamphetamines being packed into the hulls of sailing boats in the US and Latin America and transported to Australia via South Pacific islands more often thought of as holiday destinations than narcotics hubs.

In the past five years there has been an explosion in the number of boats, sometimes carrying more than a tonne of cocaine, making the journey across the Pacific Ocean to feed Australia’s growing and very lucrative drug habit.

Caught in the middle are countries such as Fiji, which the Guardian visited as part of a series investigating the Pacific drug highway. Other countries affected include Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and New Caledonia, whose waters and beaches are being used as storage grounds for billions of dollars worth of illicit drugs.

Hundreds of kilograms of cocaine have washed up on remote Pacific beaches, ships laden with drugs have run aground on far-flung coral reefs, and locals have discovered huge caches of drugs stored in underwater nets attached to GPS beacons.

“Draw a direct line between Bogotá and Canberra and it goes straight through the islands,” says Dr Andreas Schloenhardt, professor of criminal law at the University of Queensland.

The Pacific has been a transit point in the drug route for decades, but law enforcement and security analysts told the Guardian the use of the route appears to have increased dramatically in the past five years. Since 2014, Australian federal police have been involved in the seizure of about 7.5 tonnes of cocaine shipped in small vessels such as yachts through the region and intended for Australia.

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Some of the larger Pacific nations are starting to see serious cocaine and methamphetamine addiction, as well as associated gang violence, crime and police corruption.

Superintendent Brett Kidner, who served as senior liaison officer for the AFP in the Pacific region from 2016 to the beginning of 2019, said during his time based in Suva he noticed a “shift in attitudes” toward illicit drugs among Pacific nations.

“Whereas initially they considered it predominantly a problem for Australia and New Zealand, and they were merely transit points, at the end there they were starting to see a significant increase in their domestic use … I definitely saw an increase in use in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa.”

The transnational shipment of drugs through the Pacific is not the only cause of Fiji’s burgeoning domestic drug problem, says the country’s police commissioner, Sitiveni Qiliho, who spoke to the Guardian on a police boat during a patrol along the west coast of Fiji’s main island. A booming tourism industry and increasing wealth in the country also play a part.

“When [traffickers] get in drugs, normally they drop off a few kilos for payment and that is what goes into the market, so that increases the usage,” Qiliho says.

Ian Collingwood, who has lived in Fiji for most of his life and has fallen into drug addiction, told the Guardian that the nation’s drug problem could no longer be described as emerging but as “well-emerged and sizeable”.

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Home Office refuses to defend UK Government drugs policy

The Home Office has refused invitations from the Scottish Affairs Committee to give evidence on the UK’s drugs policy, despite rising numbers of drug-related deaths in Scotland.

Following requests to give evidence defending the UK’s current drugs policy and its impact on Scotland, Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability, Victoria Atkins MP has told the Scottish Affairs Committee she will not appear in front of the Committee.

Review of UK drugs policy needed

During the Committee’s ongoing inquiry into Problem Drug Use in Scotland, the Committee has heard evidence that UK drug policy should be reviewed to better support the recovery of drug users. The Committee’s evidence suggests that the Misuse of Drugs Act is restricting the Scottish Government’s ability to address the rising number of drug-related deaths in Scotland, for example by preventing the opening of Safe Consumption Rooms, meaning urgent reform of UK Government policy is required.

No appearance before Committee

The Committee has asked the Minister to appear in front of the Committee on numerous occasions to account for the UK Government’s drugs policy and has been told in the most recent communication that the Minister “is not offering any dates for her appearance”.

Chair's comments

Commenting on the Home Office’s refusal to account for its policy, Committee Chair Pete Wishart MP said:


.. “When hundreds of people are dying each year from drugs in Scotland, it is reprehensible that the Minister will not come to the Scottish Affairs Committee to answer some important questions about the UK’s drug policy.

.. If the Government is confident that it is taking the right approach to tackling drug misuse it should be willing to appear before my Committee to defend its position.”

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Italiaanse ‘Cocaïnekoning' ontsnapt via het dak uit gevangenis in Uruguay

De Italiaanse maffiabaas Rocco Morabito (52) is ontsnapt uit de gevangenis in de Uruguayaanse hoofdstad Montevideo. Via een gat in het dak konden hij en drie andere gedetineerden uit de gevangenis vluchten, zegt het ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken in Uruguay.

Na de ontsnapping beroofden de gedetineerden een vrouw in de omgeving van de gevangenis. De groep is nog steeds voortvluchtig.

Morabito is volgens de Italiaanse autoriteiten een topfiguur binnen de beruchte maffiafamilie 'ndrangheta. De maffiafamilie die oorspronkelijk uit Napels komt is wereldwijd actief, ook in Nederland. In december vorig jaar hield de Nederlandse politie een grootschalige actie tegen de maffiaclan, onder andere in Limburg waren er invallen. De bijnaam van Morabito is de 'Cocaïnekoning van Milaan'.

Salvini: 'Ontsnapping is schandalig'

Het maffialid was sinds 1994 op de vlucht. In 2017 werd Morabito gearresteerd in Uruguay. Hij zat sindsdien in de gevangenis, in afwachting van zijn uitlevering aan Italië. In dat land moet hij nog een gevangenisstraf uitzitten van dertig jaar, onder meer voor drugshandel en lidmaatschap van een criminele organisatie.

De Italiaanse minister van Binnenlandse Zaken Matteo Salvini noemt de ontsnapping op Twitter schandalig. Hij wil dat de autoriteiten in Montevideo ophelderen hoe Morabito de benen kon nemen. Salvini zei dat hij op Morabito zal blijven jagen.

De drie andere mannen die ontsnapten met Morabito zouden worden uitgeleverd aan Brazilië en Argentinië.

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Illegal drug classifications are based on politics not science – report

Global Commission on Drug Policy calls for a reclassification of drugs including cocaine, heroin and cannabis

Illegal drugs including cocaine, heroin and cannabis should be reclassified to reflect a scientific assessment of harm, according to a report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy.

The commission, which includes 14 former heads of states from countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Portugal and New Zealand, said the international classification system underpinning drug control is “biased and inconsistent”.

A “deep-lying imbalance” between controlling substances and allowing access for medicinal purposes had caused “collateral damage”, it said. Such damage included patients in low- and middle-income countries forced to undergo surgery without anaesthetic, to go without essential medicines and to die in unnecessary pain due to lack of opioid pain relief.

Other negative consequences were the spread of infectious diseases, higher mortality and the global prison overcrowding crisis, the report said.

“The international system to classify drugs is at the core of the drug control regime – and unfortunately the core is rotten,” said Ruth Dreifuss, former president of Switzerland and chair of the commission. She called for a “critical review” of the classification system, prioritising the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) and scientific research in setting criteria based on harms and benefits.

Restrictions on milder, less harmful drugs should also be loosened, the commission said, to include “other legitimate uses”, including traditional, religious or social use.

Some illegal drugs, including cocaine, heroin, cannabis and cannabis resin, were evaluated up to 30 years ago or have never been evaluated, Dreifuss said, which seriously undermines their international control.

Asked whether these drugs should be reclassified, Juan Manuel Santos, the former president of Colombia, replied “yes”. “The scientific basis is non-existent,” Santos told journalists at an online briefing to discuss the commission’s report.

“It was a political decision. According to the studies we’ve seen over past years, substances like cannabis are less harmful than alcohol,” he said. “I come from Colombia, probably the country that has paid the highest price for the war on drugs.”

After 50 years, the war on drugs has not been won, Santos said. It had caused “more damage, more harm” to the world than a practical approach that would regulate the sale and consumption of drugs in a “good way”.

The WHO estimated in 2011 that 83% of the world’s population lived in countries with low or non-existent access to opioid pain relief.

The commission’s recent report looks into how “biased” historical classification of substances, with its emphasis on prohibition, has contributed to the world drug problem. Under the current system, in place since 1961, decisions on classifying drugs are taken by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), a body of UN member states established by the UN Economic and Social Council. The WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence provides recommendations to the CND. However, the recommendations are then voted on by the CND members, leaving them open to political decisions.

Helen Clark, the former prime minister of New Zealand, said the WHO should make decisions on drug classification based on health and wellbeing. More harmful drugs would require a higher level of intervention, she said.

“The international community should recognise that the system is broken,” said Clark. “They should recognise the inconsistencies and it should trigger a review.”

Risk thresholds, such as those used for alcohol, should be used for illegal drugs rather than the “absolute precautionary principle”, she said.

The commission called on the international community to move towards the legal regulation and use of drugs. In January, the WHO recognised the medical benefits of cannabis and recommended it be reclassified worldwide.

Michel Kazatchkine, French physician and former executive director of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said that 75-80% of the global population do not have access to medicines and “all of the reasons are linked to repression and prohibition-based control systems”.

“These restrictive policies under international control have been impeding and are continuing to impede medicines that are not only needed, but are on the WHO list of essential medicines.”

He said a “crisis of regulation” in the US had led to the “dreadful consequences” of the opioid crisis, as a result of which 72,000 people died in 2017.

“We need to think of these things with a fresh outlook,” said Anand Grover, the former special UN rapporteur for health, India. “We can’t go with the cultural biases of the west.”