cannabisnews.com: Ministers Declare 'War on Drugs' is Over
Ministers Declare 'War on Drugs' is Over
Posted by FoM on March 03, 2002 at 08:32:05 PT
By Neil Mackay
Source: Sunday Herald UK
This weekend Scotland's drugs minister has officially declared that the 30-year war on drugs is over. In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Herald, Dr Richard Simpson, also the deputy justice minister, said: 'The only time you will hear me use terms such as 'War On Drugs' and 'Just Say No' is to denigrate them.' Instead Simpson has pledged to ensure that Scotland's harm- reduction, methadone, and rehabilitation services are fixed.
Simpson, who was a prison doctor, said: 'I've never used the term 'teach children how to take drugs', but what I would say is that we need to provide them with information. We need to say 'we'd rather you didn't take ecstasy, but if you make that decision, here are the risks'. We have to give them all the information they need to take responsibility for themselves. 'It's not about us wagging a finger at young people as they won't pay attention to that -- so it's not worthwhile. We've got to be very realistic and not say 'you're going to die if you take ecstasy', what we will say is 'some people do die when they take ecstasy but we don't truly know why'.' He said that 'we can't pretend that we're going to stop the availability of drugs' or people using drugs, and the concept of 'Just Say No' had therefore been abandoned for good. In an another interview, the UK pensions minister Ian McCartney, whose son died of a heroin overdose because he was not given methadone in jail, told the Sunday Herald: 'It wasn't a prison sentence he got, it was a death sentence. There is no sense to the current system. Going to jail harmed my son and did nothing to address the cause of crime.' Now he is determined to change the system. 'I'm not just a government minister,' he said. 'I'm a parent too, and if I thought our strategy was flawed I wouldn't be part of it. The prevailing attitude both in and out of government towards addicts has been 'it's all your own fault'. That's why we have virtually no treatment services and a legacy of 3000 deaths a year. In 20 years, 60,000 people have died -- that's enough to fill Ibrox Stadium. That's why we need harm-reduction policies in place.' His Scottish government colleague Simpson also edged close to support for a Royal Commission on drugs saying that the debate was 'stifled', and issues such as legalisation and decriminalisation 'have to be addressed', adding: 'We can't have a genuine debate about these issues because some of the press turn around and say that's wrong. We need to have that debate, we need to be more sophisticated about our approach. I think this parliament has to talk about it much more openly.' As part of an in-depth Sunday Herald investigation into Scotland's drug problem, we found that some addicts wait as long as two years to get methadone. Simpson said there must be 'adequate resources' for all drug addicts and if services were not improved then 'questions would have to be asked of local health boards'. He attacked the jailing of addicts for short prison terms : 'Drug addicts going into prison and coming back out again is a waste of public money. It neither addresses their offending behaviour nor does it cut crime. It's purposeless ... We have our priorities wrong.' He added that he would like to see 'very, very, very many fewer' addicts going to prison. He favours exploring the concept of ecstasy testing kits in clubs to reduce risk. He is unconvinced whether or not cannabis is a gateway drug, adding that the Executive was less concerned with people possessing illegal drugs than with them resorting to crime to feed their habit. Backing David Blunkett's plan to downgrade the criminal classification of cannabis, he said: 'We need to concentrate on the most dangerous drugs and that is class-As such as heroin and cocaine. The reason for changing the classification of cannabis -- if we chose to -- is to send a clear message about priorities. It says to young people that we recognise that all drugs aren't the same. 'If we give messages that they are all bad then we will not be believed. Young people say alcohol causes five times the deaths that drugs do. Last year there were 1500 deaths due to alcohol and 292 from drugs. From a criminal point of view young men drinking and becoming aggressive is a significant problem ... cannabis is not associated with aggression.' Simpson said he looked on drug addiction as a health problem as well as a criminal one. Note: No more 'Just Say No' campaigns ... instead, harm reduction, rehabilitation and information will be the policy. Source: Sunday Herald, The (UK)Author: Neil Mackay Published: Sunday, March 3, 2002Copyright: 2002 Sunday HeraldWebsite: http://www.sundayherald.com/Contact: editor sundayherald.comMore Articles in Series:http://www.sundayherald.com/22675 http://www.sundayherald.com/22674 http://www.sundayherald.com/22673 http://www.sundayherald.com/22762 http://www.sundayherald.com/22653 http://www.sundayherald.com/22655 http://www.sundayherald.com/22764 http://www.sundayherald.com/22763
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Comment #19 posted by Morgan on March 04, 2002 at 13:51:20 PT
The ball is in their court...
I'm curious as to what the counter-attack is going to be.Though I doubt this will get any media play over here, maybe a nice discrediting campaign of Dr. Simpson in the local papers? Like... Maybe he's a ... TERRORIST? (Cue dramatic music) Economic sanctions? Daisy Cutters? Maybe they'll get the Queen to visit with one of her hats. That always scared me.But seriously, if there is anyone over in Scotland who reads this board, let us know how this is going down.
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Comment #18 posted by kaptinemo on March 04, 2002 at 10:55:43 PT:
One thing leads to another...
El Toonces, if the US existed in a vaccum, I might be tempted to be darkly pessimistic. But I am not.As Europe becomes increasingly less enamored of American style DrugWars, it's dropping of this approach will begin to reflect in their social policies. All perfectly predictable. But what is not so predictable is what effect this will have in trade policies.As the EU becomes more autonomous from American political control, there are bound to be tensions between the two entities. This matter of the US using its' political and military clout unilaterally has already rankled them. To show their increasing independance, the Euros can be expected to find ways of accentuating that independence. They have already signalled their quiet displeasure with the American DrugWar by booting the US off the UN INCB last year. That displeasure is increasingly being made noticable; it is no accident that the term 'War on Drugs', an American term, is coming in for ridicule, here. We can expect even more of this in the future. It matters little that the Scottish government is not a totally sovereign entity capable of making its' decisions Gospel. What matters is that a government official has made his displeasure with the present regime of the DrugWar public. As the old advertising cliche went, "Let's run it up the flagpole and see who salutes it." A lot of other European parliament members are watching this rising flag very carefully. Changes in social policy generally lead to changes in international policy. Which in turn affects trade. The Euros are flexing their mercantile muscles, threatening to topple US dominance. The US knows it needs the Euros as a market. So pissing them off could prove to be increasingly expensive. Which is why we have not heard anything in our news media about the Lambeth/Brixton experiment in reducing penalties for cannabis possession. To bring that up is to also bring up US expectations of Euro compliance to US demands concerning the DrugWar...which Lady Europa isn't playing along with...which would lead some DrugWar hawks to conclude that 'something' must be done about them. And the only thing that 'can be done' is trade. And we already suffer a trade imbalance with the Pacific Rim countries; can we afford to enrage the Euros, too?That we live in 'interesting times' (as the Chinese mean the word/curse) is obvious to anyone. That this has entailed a change in the rules of the game has only just now, for many Americans, become an acknowledged fact...while the rest of the planet has been operating on those new rules for some time. We aren't the biggest kid on the block anymore, save militarily. And how much of our military operations is dependent upon foreign cooperation?John Donne said that "No man is an island.' If he continues to tick off what used to be our strongest allies over his DrugWar, Shrubya will be finding this out, shortly ...and painfully.
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Comment #17 posted by el_toonces on March 04, 2002 at 08:45:15 PT:
Not encouraged yet....
I agree it is great the WoSD is ending in parts of Europe. However, if the WoSD was as important as some prohibitionists say (as in "we can't fight terror without fighting drugs" or "drugs are a NATIONAL SECURITY issue") and other allied countries are ending this war, one would expect major press coverage here since the issue is related to issues the major media is incessant about and indicates our allies may be "traitors" in our WoSD. But, still, they don't report on what is, as defined by THEIR very terms, a critical issue?A banana republic is sounding better and better. If was here in Key West in 1982, I too would have attempted secession when the Feds put up WoSD roadblocks on highway 1, thus totally blocking traffic to and from the mainland! Sorry to dampen your day with this comment, but I had to make it.El
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Comment #16 posted by kaptinemo on March 04, 2002 at 05:38:42 PT:
The 'Domino Effect'...for real, this time
As MikeEEEE pointed out, what we are witnessing is indeed a 'domino effect'...and of the same kind of proportions involved as the original one.For those of you too young to grasp the import of those words, the entire thrust of US policy during the 1960's and 1970's was to stop that supposed 'domino effect' of nation after nation falling under Communist influence. One nation would fall, and it would be used as a base to spread the Communist 'contagion' to 'healthy' nations.I'll leave it to historians as to effectiveness of such efforts. But one thing is becoming clear: the US is being increasingly isolated behind it's own version of a Sharps Curtain (with apologies to Winston Churchill) which has descended to surround an entire nation with darkness and lies. Other nations, fed up with the increasingly expensive (in every sense) DrugWar being orchestrated by dangerously clueless and increasingly bellicose American polls, have opted out. They see this for what it is: a transparent attempt to use American domestic policy as an excuse to meddle in foreign affairs of other nations for the gain of mega-corps that really run things economically, here. They have smelled this skunk's leavings, before, and don't want that particular polecat in their house, again...and who can blame them?Last year I asked: which English speaking nation will be the first to repudiate Uncle's insane DrugWar and decrim first: the UK or Canada? My money is still on the Canadians. But the Scottish part of the UK has sent as clear and unambiguous message as can ever be sent: the game's over; the DrugWar is finished. Time to do what should have been done so long ago. And to Hell with Uncle's dotty insistence on whipping the dead horse.
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Comment #15 posted by Shishaldin on March 03, 2002 at 23:37:29 PT
Could it happen?
Ahhhh, Nuevo, mi amigo!Don't forget the hempseed Energy bars to keep the revelers sustained and well-nourished during the celebration!A sea of green! The Scots understand! Sounds like a trip to the land of my forefathers is in order....Peace and Strength,
Thanks and Praises!Shishaldin
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Comment #14 posted by MikeEEEEE on March 03, 2002 at 23:01:06 PT
FoM
FoM, thanks for the info. It looks like Scotland is 1/3 of the whole Island. All of England isn't far behind them now. It's only a matter of time before all the brits are free. Lets hope that common sense spreads across oceans.This news made my day.:-)
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Comment #13 posted by Nuevo Mexican on March 03, 2002 at 21:27:04 PT
Unbelievable, but true!
And you can expect more fantastic attacks of common sense occuring worldwide, and in a neighborhooc near you! Try this: visualize the next awesome 'DRUG WAR ENDING' article in your mind and soon it will be posted here on C-News!
'U.S follows Scottish/European approach to drug education/legalization and economic boom follows, world trade soars'or 'The future is so bright, it's day-glo!','World Ectasy Rave takes place on Summer Solstice, fuel cell technology provides endless source of water and designated dance halls for millions of joyous revelers'
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Comment #12 posted by null on March 03, 2002 at 19:57:17 PT
one word
beautiful. :)
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Comment #11 posted by mayan on March 03, 2002 at 18:42:12 PT
Listen To The Tide...
slowly turning.I don't care if some of them cat's across the pond wear skirts, I think them Scots are alright! ...another crack in the dam.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on March 03, 2002 at 11:21:33 PT
Jose
I put the series links in the article. Just check them out. I'm almost sure I didn't miss any.
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Comment #9 posted by Jose Melendez on March 03, 2002 at 10:52:36 PT:
Part Three Of Five - Losing The War On
'People don't commit crime because they use cannabis: they commit crime because they are unemployed and on
smack. Many would never become criminals if they had never got involved with drugs. And some end up as
criminals because of just one reason -- social exclusion. Superintendent Alastair McNaughton, who heads Strathclyde Police's Spotlight campaign to tackle serious crime,
UK: Series: Part Three Of Five - Losing The War On Drugs
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Comment #8 posted by E_Johnson on March 03, 2002 at 10:29:03 PT
US prison doctors and human rights
I was at a panel discussion on human rights at the National Academy of Sciences and first they had all these experts of torutre in other countries come on and tell us about how Tibetans recover from torture by the Chinese, and how the survivors of rape in the Bosian rape camps were treated, and the process of becoming a torturer and numbing of compassion and the consequences down the road for those people when the numbing stops...And then the last speaker was this guy who'd been a prison doctor in America, and he said he'd been through that same story because as a prison doctor you have to see things that any ethical doctor would and should protest and stand up against but he says people in the system get numbed to it by repeated exposure.And he told us that the human rights crisis in America is with drug prisoners, especially people who enter prison with medical problems, often serious, related to their addictions.He spoke about woman who had a medical crisis and died in a jail cell because the police decided she was just a filthy drug addict and didn't deserve medical care because of that.The doctor said that for him, that was where the numbing stopped.Glad to see another recovered prison doctor taking a stand.
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Comment #7 posted by Jose Melendez on March 03, 2002 at 10:03:08 PT:
(grin) where is the outrage?
Saturday, March 02, 2002
Bong maker wins national Republican business award
News-Journal wire services
SARASOTA -- A businessman indicted for making pipes commonly used by marijuana
smokers won an award from the National Republican Congressional Committee and
was in the running Republican of the Year.
Chris Hill, 30, of Sarasota, was named one of the 500 businessmen of 2001 last week,
making him a candidate for the party's top honor. He was also an honorary member of
the committee's business advisory council, which made him a candidate for the
Businessman of the Year award.
Bong maker wins national Republican business award
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Comment #6 posted by ekim on March 03, 2002 at 09:45:49 PT:
does anyone know what is up with Dick Cowan
On Pot tv page it says he is doing his last pot tv show this comming week. www.marijuananews.com click on 420. Was he on the NY chat room last week. On a different subject Gov. Johnson could team up with Gov. Venture and make one hell of a statement.mike
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Comment #5 posted by Toker00 on March 03, 2002 at 09:42:21 PT
A Prayer for America.
Just wanted to share this with all.http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/thread.shtml?1x39879Peace. Realize, then Legalize.
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Comment #4 posted by Lehder on March 03, 2002 at 09:32:45 PT
Scotland
That's right, Sean Connery, James Bond, is from Glasgow. He's a great actor today because instead of sitting in a public schoolroom he cut classes to read Shakespeare in the library. We can't lose now. The Axis of Evil - Bush, Cheney, Ashcroft - is looking stupider by the minute. Read it and weep, boys, and check your atlases before bombing Scotland. Because that would mean war with Great Britian, and I'll be working for Her Majesty and 007. Call me unAmerican.
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Comment #3 posted by Toker00 on March 03, 2002 at 09:24:42 PT
...and the TRUTH shall set you free!
It is amazing how the Bible speaks of the truth being poured out all over the earth in the End Times. I'm not a religious nut, but think about it. The internet is the tool. You think these minds were changed because of political pressure from write-in constituants, or wherever they get their political pressure from? No. It was changed by TRUTH. Spread worldwide via the Internet. Many things will change on this earth as the TRUTH makes it's way around the world. Not just truth about Cannabis, but of the corrupt ways of the leaders of this world, and even our own inner evils we fight with daily. It's flooding the world, but you won't drown from it. You will ride it into a new consciousness of Man. Ruled by GOD. I think of GOD as Galactical Organization and Development.Peace. Realize, then Legalize.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on March 03, 2002 at 09:11:55 PT
MikeEEEEE
I wondered to and went and got the World Atlas!http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/uks.htm
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Comment #1 posted by MikeEEEEE on March 03, 2002 at 09:01:30 PT
Break in wall
Is Scotland the northern part of England, how big is the area, does anyone know?Watch for the dominio affect.
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