Drug abuse

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Petition: Have the Misuse of Drugs Act Discussed in Parliament

April 5, 2013 Drug abuse

A new e-petition has been set up on the gov.uk website calling for an impact assessment of the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act. The petition has one year to collect 100,000 signatures, and if successful will prompt a debate of the effectiveness of the primary piece of drug legislation in the UK.

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Report from cross-party Parliamentary Group calls for radical drug policy reform

January 14, 2013 Drug abuse

A panel of peers from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform today released a new report. It focuses on ‘legal highs’, but also makes a number of other recommendations including decriminalising personal drug use and introducing a ‘class D’ to the current classification system, to allow carefully controlled sale of those psychoactives considered to pose a relatively low risk of harm. It is the third major report in as many months to recommend sweeping changes to UK drug policy.

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Have We Lost the War on Drugs?

Have We Lost the War on Drugs?

January 7, 2013 Drug abuse

Professors of Economics Gary S. Becker and Kevin M. Murphy put forward the argument for ending modern prohibition from an economic point of view.

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Comment: Politicians don’t have the guts to support us in public

December 6, 2012 Beckley in the Media

Politicians will say many things privately but never dare utter them in public, especially when in office. Only when they are out of power do they reveal their true feelings. And this is no truer than the when addressing the ‘D’ word – drugs. Support the regulation of drugs and your career could be over. Or could it?

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Mephedrone: the rise of heroin’s cheap rival

December 3, 2012 Drug abuse

Heroin, speed and cocaine use is down but mephedrone is more popular than ever since it became illegal. There is now an epidemic of addicts injecting it as ‘M-smack’

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Denmark: End of the road for the fix on wheels

November 29, 2012 Drug abuse

At a gathering in Kødbyen last week on Friday, advocates celebrated the establishment of a permanent injection room in Copenhagen and the release of a new book detailing the long-time struggle for such a facility. Mobile injection rooms have been operated for the past year out of two former ambulances.

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East European War on Drugs Fails

November 27, 2012 Drug abuse

Eastern Europe, with the notable exception of the Czech Republic where possession of some drugs was decriminalised in 2010, has some of Europe’s strictest drugs legislation. It also has some of the world’s worst drugs-related problems – and the two are inexorably linked, according to the Global Commission

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Photo: Reena Gurung/IRIN

THAILAND: Question marks over new approach to drug-users

November 26, 2012 Drug abuse

In September 2011, the government of Thailand moved to try and decrease the number of drug-users by 80 percent by adopting a more “softly, softly” approach, rather than sending people straight to jail. Progress on drug addiction is being made, say experts, but challenges remain.

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Rehabilitation Center (RIA Novosti / Pavel Lysizin)

Rehab or jail: Russian drug-addicts to have choice

November 23, 2012 Drug abuse

The Russian Drugs Watchdog is developing a program for those who are arrested after being found high on narcotics. The offenders will be able to choose between custody and treatment at a detox center.

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Heroin user - courtesy of BBC 2012

Thames Valley PCC: Candidates discuss drugs policy

November 15, 2012 Drug abuse

Candidates for the Thames Valley police and crime commissioner (PCC) election have given a mixed response to a report into the penalties for drug misuse.

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