With his son's drug charges generating headlines, Chinese star Jackie Chan said he felt shamed by his son's behaviour and hoped he will behave in the future. On Monday, Jackie Chan's son Jaycee Chan was prosecuted in Beijing for allegedly providing a venue for drug users, according to the People's Procuratorate of Beijing's Dongcheng District. The prosecution came three months after he was formally arrested following a drugs bust at his residence in the capital. "I hope that in the future, he could become an anti-drug spokesman and tell his experiences to young people," Jackie Chan said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua Wednesday. [continues 134 words]
Washington - Marijuana use may result in cardiovascular-related complications - even death - among young and middle-aged adults, a new study has warned. "In prior research, we identified several remarkable cases of cardiovascular complications as the reasons for hospital admission of young marijuana users," said Emilie Jouanjus, lead author of the study and a medical faculty member at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse in Toulouse, France. "This unexpected finding deserved to be further analysed, especially given that the medicinal use of marijuana has become more prevalent and some governments are legalising its use," Jouanjus said. [continues 239 words]
Lady Gaga says she has given up smoking marijuana after recording her new album 'Artpop'. The 26-year-old has been open about her use of the drug in the past, even declaring her love for cannabis as she lit a cigarette onstage in the Netherlands in September 2012, reported Contactmusic. However, Gaga chose to shun marijuana as she worked on her upcoming release. In an online chat she said, "No weed on Artpop. No. Weed in the bathtub though. Hahaha." The singer also told fans to expect edgy music on her new record, adding, "Artpop is very risky. If you're not taking a risk you're not breaking any boundaries." [end]
India needs to amend its skewed laws to legalise the use of hashish, says Arvind Kala Why doesn't a globalising India harmonise its drug laws with the rest of the western world? Holland, which legalised cannabis (charas) way back in 1976, has 1200 licensed 'coffee shops' where any individual over 18 can buy up to five grams of marijuana - enough for five 'joints'. Portugal has no criminal penalties for use, possession and acquisition of even illicit drugs in quantities up to a 10-day supply. Spain, Belgium, and Italy allow a person to use hashish privately. And in Britain's Brixton area of South London, the police don't prosecute a marijuana-user, they just confiscate his stuff. [continues 1002 words]
First-time visitors to The Netherlands are surprised to note sharply-pointed cannabis-leaf symbols at coffee-houses and pubs; places often frequented by people lighting up or eating hash omelettes and drinking hash tea. The Dutch have a laissez-faire attitude to cannabis. Holland ignores personal possession of up to 30 grams of such substances as marijuana (the dried flower, or "ganja"), hashish (the dried resin, or "charas") and bhang (the dried leaf). When the EU opened internal borders, Holland started receiving weekend "potfans" from France, Belgium and Germany. In effect, Dutch liberality led to the Eurozone easing its stance vis-a-vis soft drugs, though users from other nations risk punishment. [continues 573 words]
Ending The War On Drugs The illegal drug trade can only be curtailed if we legalise the industry, says Deepak Lal From the Andean countries -- Bolivia, Peru and above all Colombia -- to the Golden Crescent countries -- Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran -- to the Golden Triangle countries -- Myanmar, Thailand and Laos -- the US and the Western European war on drugs has created conditions for the actual or incipient failure of these states. This is because making drugs illegal has provided an immense incentive for illegal production in these states to feed the drug habits of a myriad Western consumers. The illegal profits are then used to fund arms, terrorism, and the promotion of extra legal 'institutions' which subvert the State. [continues 1268 words]
