Conservative Party's Drug Strategy May Quadruple

[shug]

16/04 UK Conservative Party's drug strategy "may" Quadruple Drug Deaths!

Will the UK Conservative Party reconsider their Swedish style drug strategy

(policy)?

According to a report on Swedish TVI News 11.02.04 - Drug related Deaths

have Quadruple in ten years.

FROM THE REPORT:

"The number of deaths resulting from drug abuse have more than quadrupled in

Sweden during the last nine years according to statistics from the countries

six forensic medicine stations."

"99 persons died in 1995 in connection with drug abuse. For the last two

years the figures have been 425 and 413 respectively."

Full translation of "Drug Deaths Quadruple" Swedish TV1 News 11.02.04 (SEE

1)

THE Conservative Party has branded the reclassify cannabis offence to

finance the war on addictive substances as "muddled and dangerous policy".

And, has promised to reverse it.

The Conservatives instead backs an uncosted strategy for the public to

report suspected drug users and a huge expansion of drug rehabilitation

facilities and prisons to lock the non conformist up - an approach described

by David Blunkett as "unworkable".

EDITORS/RESEARCHERS NOTE: The Legalise Cannabis Alliance was invited to make

comment on the Conservatives strategy. The correspondence in relation to

this can be found at: http://www.lca-uk.org/conservatives.php

Next year there will be a general election, the main stream parties will be

fighting on a law and order platform - DRUGS .

So let battle commence:

"We need sensible drug laws". Said, Don Barnard, of the Legalise Cannabis

Alliance...Adding, the LCA document "Cannabis: Challenging the Criminal

Justice System" at http://www.lca-uk.org/challenge.php is a step in the

right direction in achieving this."

It is important to get the reactions of the MP's, therefore, we are asking

that you bring the document "Cannabis: Challenging the Criminal Justice

System" to attention of all sitting MP's (PPC's) and get a statement on

their position on the disposal of cannabis offences.

Press Office

The Legalise Cannabis Alliance

Cyfreithloni Cannabis Cyfathrach

PO Box 198,

Norwich

NR3 3WB

http://www.lca-uk.org

donbarnard@lca-uk.org

_____________________________

NOTES:

1: Translation of report on Swedish TV1 News:

Drug Deaths Quadruple

The number of deaths resulting from drug abuse have more than quadrupled in

Sweden during the last nine years according to statistics from the countries

six forensic medicine stations.

-This is alarming and probably reflects a big increase of both heroin

andmixed drug abuse, especially amongst younger persons, says associate

professor Peter Kranz of the Forensic Medicine Institution in Lund to the

newspaper Upsala Nya Tidning.

99 persons died in 1995 in connection with drug abuse. For the last two

years the figures have been 425 and 413 respectivly.

According to Krantz these deaths are due to poisoning, overdoses and cases

where abuse has caused damage to internal organs leading to death.

Gothenburg spared for a time

Narcotics related deaths have risen mostly outside of the Stockholm area and

Skone. One of the reasons for this, according to Kranz, is that the use of

heroin is escalating in Gothenburg, a town that was largely spared from the

heroin problem until the middle of the 1990's.

In 1995 there was only one narcotics related death registered in Gothenburg.

53 were registered in 2003.

Drugs co-ordinator worried

The governments drug co-ordinator Bjorn Fries is worried about the

statistics:

-The developments show that efforts must be redoubled on a broad front. The

number of heavy drug abusers has increased and we must improve care for

these people, he says to TT (the Swedish television news service)

The number of heavy drug abusers is steadily increasing. At the end of the

1990's they were estimated to be 26,000 and Bjorn Fries believes that today

they are upwards of 30,000.

"Drug addicts refused care"

What is causing the increasing mortality? According to Peter Krantz it is a

reflection of increased drug abuse. Per Sternbeck of the National

Organisation for Helping Drug Addicts (RFHL) agrees that drug abuse has

increased, but he also has other ideas.

-The reason is because addicts are refused care which is based on real

needs, but instead on abstract ideas, he says to Swedish Television Text. In

the RFHL we ask the question: Do you need to die just because you use drugs?

Treatment centres stand empty

Per Sternbeck explains that many treatment centres around the country are

standing empty because local authorities will not pay for care while at the

same time drug abuse is increasing.

- I don't think the reason is ill will on the part of local authorities, but

when they draw up their budgets caring for drug addicts is a long way down

on their list.

Smoking heroin becoming more common

In Sweden amfetamin has long been the dominant drug amongst addicts. One of

the reasons why heroin has increased so much in later years, he believes, is

because the use of smoking heroin has spread. Smoking heroin is not regarded

as being as dramatic as injecting - but it is only a short

step to injecting.

Smoking heroin is especially common amongst immigrant goups like Iranians,

says Per Sternbeck.

Today many are starting to smoke heroin in their older years.

Spreading to many areas

Medium sized towns today have their own local heroin markets, which was not

the case once, when the drug was concentrated around Stockholm and Malmo. In

the case of Gothenburg it is partially because the town lies on the road to

Oslo, which has a dramatically rising heroin problem.

Another reason, believes Per Sternbeck, is the general reduction in social

services.

- There is a strong relation between unemployment levels and drug addiction.

Swedish Television News 11.02.04

http://svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=1804&a=174717

Translated by J Yates

end

[Citizen]

S what is the Conservatives policy?

[hairy face]

The Tory party want to go back to harsher penalties for cannabis users to deter people from smoking it, as in Sweden. Apparently they believe there is a choice between that and legalisation (but not the middle ground of decriminalisation).

So this news blows a big hole in their proposals.

[Boojum]

Well at least they're not holding Thailand up as an example of drug control, as they were a few weeks ago, though I'm sure Count Hovard & the wicked widdecombe of the west would like nothing better than driving round the slums shooting crackheads.