cannabisnews.com: Coroner Questions Drugs Policy





Coroner Questions Drugs Policy
Posted by FoM on June 26, 2001 at 11:12:41 PT
The coroner wants a policy re-think
Source: BBC News
Birmingham's high-profile coroner Dr Richard Whittington has spoken out against people being "criminalised" for taking soft drugs like cannabis. The coroner, who retires at the end of this week, warned that the battle against hard drugs was being lost. He called for a complete re-think of the way society tackles illegal drugs. Dr Whittington, who has led numerous campaigns during his 25 years in office, said cannabis was only as dangerous as alcohol. 
"I don't believe we are winning this war and it is a war," he went on. "It is too much for police and society. "It is certainly not the sole responsibility of the police, it is society's responsibility and I don't believe society is in a position to control this. "I don't think I have an easy answer to it, that would be very conceited of me. "But I do question the fact that we turn all these people into criminals. Drug trafficking: "Certainly in the case of soft drugs I don't believe it is any more dangerous than alcohol, if not less dangerous," he said. The calls comes just weeks after the new Home Secretary, David Blunkett, pledged to "mobilise" the country to help cut crime and named drug trafficking as a priority. Mr Blunkett said he was pleased the prime minister had given his department responsibility for co-ordinating the fight against drugs, calling them "the biggest scourge of the modern era". Note: Dr Whittington admits there is "no easy answer"Source: BBC News (UK Web)Published: Tuesday, June 26, 2001Copyright: 2001 BBCWebsite: http://news.bbc.co.uk/Feedback: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/Related Articles:Scientists Still at Odds Over Taking Cannabishttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10150.shtmlBlunkett Backs Soft Approach on Cannabis http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10148.shtmlYard Relaxes Approach To Cannabis Offences http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10056.shtml 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #13 posted by lookinside on June 26, 2001 at 19:52:02 PT:
hustlers...
have always gotten by, at least til they burn someone or endup in jail...their lifestyles are usually more risky thanmost...regarding the nasa engineer who lost his family, wherever hegets his strength, more power to him...i don't believe icould live through that...i think that what he has sufferedis the greatest tragedy a man can face in this life...
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by jAHN on June 26, 2001 at 19:35:35 PT
Now....
...the wife of the NASA NUT is about to have ANOTHER baby?!?! Someone wake me when the Anarchy's Gone...
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by jAHn on June 26, 2001 at 19:33:21 PT
Instead, we get to...
..."feel comfortable" living next to a neighbor who is Obsessed/Addicted/COmpulsively in Love ((take your pick)) with the "Almighty jesus/God religion" who feels that "their kids are Devils that make the world a Hell" and in turn, "Killing them off to send them to Heaven- the "Better Place.!?!?" O......K.!!?!?!I'm referring to the NUTCASE who was married to that Junkie who Works for N.A.((ssHole))S.A. ((Nasa)) I thought that people who worked for NASA are SUpposeD to be "Intelligent"? ANd that they SURELY get enough $$$Dough$$$ to FUnd a Babysitter!!! BUt that's not too likely, because, uh....((Ya got ME!!))How could they DO this to 5 innocent, F #CKING CHILDREN?!?! ARRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!! HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLL??? How come?      HOW COME?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by dddd on June 26, 2001 at 19:04:25 PT
SWAMPIE
When you say "people making a living off the drug trade",,,areyou referring to law enforcement,,,,,,or (most likely),peoplewho make a living selling drugs underground.....If you were talkingabout the latter,,,I wouldnt worry too much.First of all,we will bedead by the time drug laws are relaxed,,,and second of all,,even if all drugs were legalized tomorrow,,,there would be plenty of timefor those in the dealin' game,to retrain for other occupations......I cant imagine a world where there were no illegal substancesor items to trade....I wouldnt worry about unemployed dealers thatmuch,,,,they are generally quite resourceful type people,.,maybethey would get jobs at Pot Depot,,,or DopeMart....dddd
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by SWAMPIE on June 26, 2001 at 18:11:39 PT
CORPORATE GOVERNMENT.....
I wholeheartedly agree with all of you that the entire mess that is going on between the big business sector,the government,the prison-industrial complex is only really a way for these sick,sadist bastards to take all of our time,money,and labor in the name of"prohibition"of as many of our rights as we will let them get away with!!It is basically the modern-day version of slavery,like was experienced by thousands of others in the early years of this country.They hab alot of rights and privliges taken away too,possibly moreso than what we lack now.The sooner that they realize that prohib won't work,the better it will be for all.The only thing I worry about is "how are the people that make a living off of the drug trade;and there are alot of them,what will mthey do to make a living?I have never dealt,and have always had a job,but I know many who have a rough time getting a job of any sustinence.What is going to happen,will they just fall through the cracks?Start robbing old ladies to feed their kids?I know that most wouldn't,but if the situation is hard,who knows??This is just a question that I feel needs to be answered/addressed,somehow...Any thoughts???  SWAMPIE
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by mayan on June 26, 2001 at 16:31:28 PT
WAKE UP!!!
 I agree dddd. Just like the O.J. trial. Elian. The election fiasco. McVeigh's execution. How much time did these stories take up? All of the news channels were covering these stories all day long. Sometimes it seems like nothing newsworthy is happening in the entire world! I gave up on the "corporate" media a long time ago. What is happening in Columbia should be front page material. Americans desperately need to read between the lines.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by dddd on June 26, 2001 at 15:17:40 PT
Diversion
....Lookinside,,,,you are so right-on,,,....".keep us entertained so we don't have the time to see what they are really up to..."....This is one of the most insidious,,deceitful,,criminal,things thatthe Evil Empire has mastered against its' 'subjects'!........It becomes immediatly obvious once you look at what the "news",feeds the people.A good example was the Elian Gonzales debacle,,,total media saturation.,,,Or,,consider the idiotic coverage of the spy planes crew return from China..........I mean ,,let's step back and think about it for a moment;,,if the media,"news",in this country was really a "free press",that was not owned,and operated bythe corporate government,,,,then we would be seeing at least one or two frontpage headlines about the ghastly Roundup cropdusting in Colombia!.....Again and again,,if you look at the major "headlines",,it becomes clearthat the general public is being sucsessfully faked out with diversionarybullshit,,that is designed to preoccupie the masses with relatively insignificantbullshit,as a diversion to what is really happening.....The most recent examplewould be the 'cash back tax rebate',,,,what a pile of choreographed CRAP!I hope there is no one out there who thinks that the national media is anywhere near "independant"!...The national media nowdays is little more than a well designedpropaganda machine/puppet show......If you doubt it,,just take a moment tosurf thru you local,and national news for a few nites....notice anything peculiar?d...d......d.........d...................................................................................................
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by jAHN on June 26, 2001 at 15:14:40 PT
Oooh oooh OOOOh...One more point...
...The last part I wanted to touch upon would be the Money lost in Our American Economy through means of daily Consumerism... HOW MUCH money would all of these "prisoners" be spending on New businesses, Food, clothing, etc...  think about itAnd keep on thinking about this simple facet of "US" being cheated
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by jAHn on June 26, 2001 at 15:12:27 PT
I hear ya, lookinside!
 That goes without mentioning the Simple fact that ALL of the people who've been Persecuted for an act that's NO more harmful than drinking a beer, brandy, sKotch, JD, ((OHHH how the list of OnceProhibited Cocktails just trails on and on)) could have been placed ((rather, Accepted)) in the Economic Society, therefore, creating More revenue for the Nation and its' "Leaders." BUT NO!Noone sees this tiny, YET IMPORTANT, facet of "Hiring the person who failed the THC test!" Let's get REAL!This Nation would SURELY be a whole lot better off if the "Warden-Like Pols" didn't feel that locking 'em up and "Workin' the "So Awefully Addicted" for mere Pennies per hour!!!  What a Loss for Economic stability and a QUITE a gain for the Warden Like Producers of Domestic "goods" such as Liscence Plates, SIlverware, etc...((I don't know EXACTLY what these people Produce, but I know they're Doin' it like Slave Drivers))
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by lookinside on June 26, 2001 at 14:45:14 PT:
agreed kap...
the "bread and circuses" i refer to are the front pageheadlines we've seen since "the shrub" tookoffice...anything and everything to keep our minds off ofthe crimes they are committing against the Constitution aswell as peoples of other countries...
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on June 26, 2001 at 14:07:11 PT:
Not 'bread and circuses'...but a treadmill
Consider this: how much of your time do you spend paying taxes? What would you do with the money if you had to pay only a fraction of what you make? You'd be able to do other things with it...like support cannabis law reform organizations. Back legal challenges to the drug laws in court. Hire top-flight lawyers to defend people ensnared in the clutches of the so-called Justice system. I could go on and on. But, you get the ideaWe're all on treadmills. Treadmills that make it almost impossible to challenge the very people who benefit from out being placed on those treadmills, as they directly gain from our labors and use the money against us. The handcuffs they place on our wrists during an arrest are paid for with our tax dollars. By the sweat of our brows are the means of our imprisonment created.The very last thing these people want is for you to have the means necessary to challenge them. People who have money have the wherewithal to be politically active. People who don't...are easily controlled.Bread and circuses...yeah, to some extant. You watch them through the bars of the rotating cage the antis try to keep us in, though.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by J.R. Bob Dobbs on June 26, 2001 at 13:57:43 PT
Marijuana vs. alcohol
>>Dr Whittington, who has led numerous campaigns during his 25 years in office, said cannabis was only as dangerous as alcohol.  How many cases of cannabis poisoning did he come across in his career, I wonder? Versus how many cases of alcohol poisoning?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by lookinside on June 26, 2001 at 12:15:08 PT:
"the biggest scourge of the modern era"
YUP! the war on drugs fits that description perfectly...itcauses repression, and loss of personal freedoms...creates ablack market economy that loses the government hundreds ofbillions of dollars a year in tax revenue...the warriorshave no idea how big this underground trade really is...andthe only way they'd get a clue is to put EVERYBODY through alie detector test...no harris poll will get thetruth...silence is too pervasive among those who enjoyrecreational drugs...we've learned the hard way...by putting so many of us outside the "fold", the drugwarriors have created an attitude that is far more tolerantof non violent crime in general...and much less trusting ofgovernment in general...  personally, i have NO respect for our federalgovernment...it's corrupt, and unable to respond to the willof the people...i liken mcveigh's execution to the bread andcircuses of rome...keep us entertained so we don't have thetime to see what they are really up to...i wonder how manycongressmen have swiss bank accounts?just color me cynical, frustrated and ANGRY!
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment