cannabisnews.com: Penalties for All Illegal Drugs Under Review 





Penalties for All Illegal Drugs Under Review 
Posted by CN Staff on January 26, 2004 at 18:56:10 PT
By James Meikle, Health Correspondent
Source: Guardian Unlimited UK
The government's advisers are to review the system of classifying illegal drugs, an exercise which may pave the way for a further overhaul of the narcotics laws.They plan to review the harmful effects of all the substances governed by the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act, which seems sure to revive the debate about whether ecstasy should continue to rank with cocaine, crack, heroin, LSD and magic mushrooms.
The relaxation of penalties on cannabis ,which takes effect on Thursday, is the first substantial change for 30 years. Sir Michael Rawlins, chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which recommended the cannabis changes in the 1980s, said yesterday that it was time to consider whether to go further. He said his members were investigating new ways of measuring the relative harmfulness of all illegal drugs, which are at present classified as A, B and C, with A being judged the most harmful and attracting the biggest penalty for possession, up to seven years in prison. He said: "Quite clearly these things can't be locked into aspic for all time. If you are going down the route of having classification of drugs you do need to have an arrangement whereby they are reviewed from time to time." Sir Michael, professor of pharmacology at Newcastle University, insisted that he did not have a view on ecstasy, but said the council planned "a systematic trawl" through the rankings, which have been unchanged since the early 1970s. The council, established by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, divided drugs into the three categories. "The basis on which it did it nobody knows. The records do not explain why... The basis on which any of the things were classified is obscure from reading the minutes. They won't tell you."Any new system would try to bring "more objectivity into the whole process," Sir Michael said. "There won't be anything out in a hurry. It will take a year or two before you see anything come around." He said "things may shift", but added: "I think it would be wholly unlikely that amphetamines [now class B] would be made class C, for example. But we must make sure these things don't get locked into a time warp."His remarks suggest that the system could face a far bigger shake-up than that envisaged by David Blunkett, the home secretary, when he decided the cannabis penalties could be changed. The council's remit is to "keep under review" drugs whose "misuse appears... capable of having harmful effects sufficient to constitute a social problem".It can make its own recommendations, as it did on cannabis, but home secretaries are not obliged to act on them. It suggested changing cannabis from class B to class C because the status was "disproportionate" in relation to both its inherent toxicity and that of other drugs, such as amphetamines, which attracted the same maximum penalty for possession of five years in jail. But it made it clear that cannabis was "still unquestionably harmful".Last night Mr Blunkett once again ruled out any change of status for ecstasy because, he said, it killed "unpredictably".The independent Police Foundation inquiry into the Misuse of Drugs Act in 2000 recommended changing ecstasy's classification from class A to class B in the light of evidence it may be "several thousand times less dangerous than heroin" and not as addictive as other class A drugs.MPs on the Commons home affairs select committee made a similar plea last summer. Ecstasy's use is thought to have declined recently but Nick Stevenson of the magazine Mixmag recently said it was still "the number one drug of choice for clubbers". Special Report: Drugs in Britain: http://www.guardian.co.uk/drugs/0,2759,178206,00.htmlSource: Guardian Unlimited, The (UK) Author: James Meikle, Health CorrespondentPublished: Tuesday, January 27, 2004Copyright: 2004 Guardian Newspapers LimitedContact: letters guardian.co.ukWebsite: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Related Articles & Web Site:Drugs Uncovered: Observer Special http://freedomtoexhale.com/dc.htmVoters Want Even Softer Line on Cannabis http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18220.shtmlEnd The Confusion Over Cannabis http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18159.shtmlLeniency Urged Towards Grow Your Own Cannabis http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15960.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by schmeff on January 27, 2004 at 11:26:25 PT
Sustainable Drugs
DEA/Drug Warrior response to the idea "There are sustainable drugs like cannabis which can be taken day after day with little meaningful tolerance and the user's body is in a state of equilibrium.":
If you take cannabis (or any drug) day after day, eventually you will die.Makes a great sound bite and is true of any substance i.e. if you breathe air day after day, eventually you will die.The DEA: They're not happy 'til you're not happy.
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Comment #2 posted by yippierevolutionary on January 27, 2004 at 07:14:49 PT
How I classify the harmfulness of drugs
Our man Dennis Kucinich has said sustainability is a central focus of his campaign and his whole life, in every issue.For me sustainability is the most important question in the drug debate.There are sustainable drugs like cannabis which can be taken day after day with little meaningful tolerance and the user's body is in a state of equilibrium.Then there are unsustainable drugs like the amphetamines and cocaine. The user has to constantly escalate the dosage in an impossible attempt to bombard his brain with more and more of what his brain wants less and less of. These highs can not be maintained and eventually there is a crash.Alcohol is in the unsustainable column, along with ecstacy which is extremely unsustainable unfortunately.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on January 26, 2004 at 21:31:30 PT
Two Articles from The Guardian Unlimited UK
Obesity Pill Fuels £33bn Merger: http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,11882,1132040,00.htmlFrom The Munchies To a Slimming Drug: http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,11882,1132027,00.html
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