char1ie

Sorry Amanda, I thought you'd started this thread by saying that you thought all drugs should be legalised. And ended by saying prohibition isn't working, we need a rethink. Did I make a mistake? They're not the same things. I think everybody would agree that there are areas of drug control that don't work. But not many people seem to want all drugs to be legalised, even with a degree of licensing. Charlie

And with things twirling and shifting... Charlie

Personally I think it's time that hallucinogens come back into fashion. Bring back: http://www.me.ngb.army.mil/ddr/LSD%20pics/lsd6.gif http://www.talktofrank.com/uploadedImages/Drugs/LARGE%20PHOTOS_lsd.jpg http://www.hypereall.com/images/acid/lsd_blotter_ap_plastikman.jpg Maybe New Year's Eve at the neighbours house. Charlie

Playing? Amanda, your first post said "I think all drugs should be legalised". Charlie

And the results of a three year trial in Germany of prescribing free heroin: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/5043766.stm Charlie

And on the subject of heroin prescriptions we were doing fine in the UK for most of the 20th century until 1965 when the law changed to only allow doctors with a Home Office licence to prescribe. Since then addiction and crime have gone up: Heroin has been prescribed in England for the treatment of heroin addiction for almost 100 years. For many years, England was almost the only country where this occurred, and the British system was consequently the subject of international curiosity. In spite of this long history, very little research has been carried out locally, and until recently, there were no guidelines as to best practice. In 1965, it was decided that only doctors with a Home Office license could prescribe heroin. Since that time, the proportion of opiate addicts treated with heroin has greatly diminished, as has the number of doctors willing to prescribe. One doctor in particular remained an enthusiastic proponent of heroin prescription. His claims impressed some Swiss clinicians, who proceeded to establish a multicentre trial in Switzerland. This was followed by a similar trial in the Netherlands. These trials apparently indicated that a proportion of treatment-resistant opiate addicts could respond well to heroin, although the researchers' conclusions have been disputed. The National Treatment Agency in England is now developing guidelines for good practice based on this new information and is planning to set up some pilot sites. It is likely that practise in England will remain somewhat different from continental practice, particularly with respect to long-term supervised injecting. It is unclear how much funding will be released to support heroin prescription. Without adequate funding, it is likely to disappear.

I love the way you have changed your stance on this thread Amanda. Can I ask what actions you intend to take to further your understanding of the challenges of drug law and rehabilitation? Have you thought about volunteering at a drug addiction treatment centre? Visit a needle exchange? Spend time with the police to talk about their views on drug crime? Talk to victims of crime? It strikes me that you have more experience than almost anyone on this forum of the harm that drugs can do. Charlie

Klaus, I think that your post is very sensible and along the lines of what I think about drug control. ????, your post is just pointless. Everybody makes mistakes with their grammar. In fact, I quote from your latest post on this forum: "there's also a long eatblshed train station" Charlie

What did you say to Weatherspoons, Jim? Have you asked them to vacate the premises so that you can turn it into a cinema? Or have you asked them to run the pub as a cinema? I'm going to guess that the reason the cinema closed is that it isn't a viable business. Charlie

ChavWivaLawDegree Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Even the Police admit it isn't working. Very true. But the police aren't saying "legalise all drugs". In my original post I said that heroin addicts should be treated as victims rather than criminals and prescribed free heroin. This is a great way of preventing crime and has been shown to work. In fact I think there is a trial going on at the moment in the UK. Charlie

Chasing two kids. Not very well I think. I got the impression that the kids got away. Charlie

I have an old broken Minimoog that you can have. Please feel free to pop over and collect it. Charlie

"Total failure of prohibition" isn't actually correct. Prohibition does work to some degree. Charlie

Amanda, you started this thread by saying you "think all drugs should be legalised." Does this mean that you have changed your stance? And that you now believe that the powers that be need to examine alternatives to prohibition? A good outcome from an interesting and informed debate. Charlie

Horsebox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Charlie, > > The prohibition of all drugs has been an absolute > massive failure. Almost all illegal substances are > pretty much freely available. > > The "War On Drugs" is lost. > > You/me/your children can easily go and score > whatever is wanted. > > It will take brave politician to admit this and to > then drive forward a new way of thinking. > > Surely legalised drugs, with licensed vendors and > applied age restrictions is a fresh and possibly > more successful way of tackling the problem? > > I refer to the tired example of the Nederlands, > which has a lower percentage of it's youth using > cannabis on a regular basis, when compared to the > UK. > > I just can't see a logical argument against trying > another way, when the current attempt is such a > miserable failure. > > Horse. Horse, the Netherlands has not legalised all drugs. It has decriminalised cannabis. Anybody who recommends the legalisation of all drugs has to consider what effect it would have on usage, and I can't imagine that you think that by legalising crack cocaine and heroin, their usage would go down. The prohibition of all drugs works quite well. My son can't walk into an off licence and buy a gram of coke, and I wouldn't want him to. And what "war" are we talking about? I don't think anyone in this country has ever had a war on drugs, more a systematic effort to police, prosecute and control. Charlie

What establishment should be licenced to sell a highly addictive drug that is very harmful to users? I understand that it's bad that criminals own the supply chain but is legalisation of something so harmful the solution? Wanting to get shitfaced and being addicted to something are very different things. Charlie

And as a follow-up, Amanda, do you think the government should legalise crack cocaine and allow it for sale, using the tax to pay for drug-users' treatment? Be careful, this is a public forum and your answer will be available for journalists to see. Charlie

It's such a massive subject for discussion, and each drug potentially requires its own thought. I am all for decriminalisation of cannabis. And I also believe that heroin addicts should be treated as victims rather than criminals and proscribed free, managed heroin. However the "free all drugs" banner does not take into account the myriad of harm, addiction, legislation and crime that need to be considered in assessing each drug. Charlie

Good spot. More Wire Season 5 promos: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+wire+5&search=Search Charlie

Lights in the sky? On firework night? Whatever could they be? Charlie

Series 5 is only 10 epsidodes apparently. Begins in January I think. I'll be busy on the Bittorrent. Focuses on the role of the media, and the failure of journalists to highlight failings in Baltimore's crumbling system. Charlie

I thought it was strange that McNulty makes appearances on the Catherine Tate Show. Charlie

The site is at least a few months out of date. I think this is because it relies on public info which isn't updated for sometime. Charlie

Hmmm, is that the third time we've had that joke on the EDF? And I'm sure it was funnier both other times. Charlie

Yesterday I watched Cocaine Caowboys - a mind-boggling account of the drug trade in Miami in the early 80s. Fascinating. The details about the huge amounts of cash coming in an out of the city are superb, and the fact that there was almost no border control or law enforcement when the major importations started in 1979. A great documentary, if a little fast paced. And King of Kong. A very anorakish documentary about the world record holder on Donkey Kong and a new upstart trying to take his world record. I enjoyed it. Charlie