SUICIDE is a deep well of grief, reproach and guilt. But it is not an argument. When someone kills himself, we offer our deepest sympathy to those left behind, as I do to the family of Edward Thornber, the Manchester schoolboy who ended his own life after being caught with cannabis. But we must not blame ourselves. In the end, those who take this sad step are the only ones responsible for it. I know that some will accuse me of harshness and cruelty, even for discussing this. Please believe me when I say that this accusation is mistaken. [continues 442 words]
A BAN on the so-called legal-high drug mephedrone is expected to be recommended by government advisers tomorrow. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) will call for the chemical, also known as Miaow Miaow or Bubbles, to become a class B drug. Users would face jail terms of up to five years, with up to 14 years for dealers. The drug, currently marketed as plant food, has been linked with seven deaths in the last two months. [continues 318 words]
Fu Lixin, emotionally exhausted from caring for her sick mother, needed a little pick-me-up. A friend offered her a "special cigarette" -- one laced with methamphetamine -- and she happily inhaled. The next day, three policemen showed up at her door. "They asked me to urinate in a cup," Fu said. "My friend had been arrested and turned me in. It was a drug test. I failed on the spot." Although she said it was her first time smoking the drug, [continues 796 words]
EVERYONE who is arrested should be tested for drugs so the nation can tackle the problem of addiction, it was claimed last night. Neil McKeganey, who leads the Centre for Drug Misuse at Glasgow University, is lobbying police forces and the Government to resume such tests, which are standard practice in the United States. McKeganey and colleagues last carried out the work nearly a decade ago, revealing that 70% of people who are detained by the police have drugs in their system. [continues 265 words]
THE Scottish Government was last night urged to get tough on drugs after it emerged that fiscal fines could be issued to those found in possession of Class A drugs. The call was made by Gavin Brown, the Conservative MSP for the Lothians, after the Crown Office admitted that the penalty, which is supposed to be used for minor misdemeanours, could be used to punish cocaine users. Brown spoke out after a reply to a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Conservatives revealed that the Crown Office could not "discount" the use of fiscal fines when dealing with Class A drugs. [continues 336 words]
Police believe at least 15 Scottish taxi firms are controlled by organised crime and used as a cover for drug trafficking, prostitution and money-laundering, Scotland on Sunday can reveal. Secret intelligence files seen by this newspaper show some private hire businesses in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and beyond have been infiltrated by major underworld figures. Detectives reported that 20% of the private hire firms in the Strathclyde force area - the country's biggest - were "linked with general criminal activity". Officers warned that ten "operated as part of organised crime groups". [continues 349 words]
Cunningham Had 'Previous' For Hurting Children And Had Joined Boyd's Chaotic Household Just 18 Days Before The Boy Died HE TOOK half a day to die. Brandon Muir, a fortnight shy of his second birthday, lasted 12 hours after a fatal blow from his mother's boyfriend. He was to spend his final hours standing, punished, against a wall; then propped up against a toilet as adults partied; and, finally, lying cold and alone under a coat on a settee. All this as his prostitute mother turned tricks to feed her smack habit and her partner of 18 days drank, smoked hash and had sex with an ex. [continues 1915 words]
Doctors were put on alert last night after two Scottish cocaine users nearly died from a rare condition linked with the drug. Medics were told to keep an eye out for methaemoglobinaemia, which can cause seizures, coma and death, after two cases were recorded in the Glasgow area. Two cocaine users were last night said to be "very lucky" to be alive after developing the condition, the first in the UK to do so because of the drug. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde yesterday said the two individuals, who have not been named, had fallen ill within a five-week period. [continues 228 words]
UK Minsters are accusing the SNP Government of deliberately sabotaging a key policy that would force drug addicts to seek help or lose benefits. Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell claims the Scottish Government is refusing to hand over details of the drug problem north of the border, effectively "blocking" the UK-wide policy. On Tuesday, Purnell will outline moves to stop benefits being paid to crack and heroin addicts unless they agree to try to break their habit. He says it is unacceptable for taxpayers' money to be effectively handed straight to drug dealers across Britain. [continues 262 words]
A MAN was last night seriously ill in hospital after being shot in the head in Edinburgh. The 26-year-old was found unconscious yesterday morning on the south side of the city, close to an area used by one of two warring drugs gangs. Police said the man had undergone emergency treatment for a gunshot wound to the head and was in a stable but serious condition in hospital. The man was discovered by a passer-by at 6am yesterday in Hazelwood Grove, which borders the Inch and Gilmerton areas. [continues 514 words]
DR Robert Newman once again rides to the defence of Scotland's methadone programme suggesting that with nearly half of Scotland's estimated 51,000 addicts on methadone that the programme should be extended even further -- presumably to the other half of our addict population ('The case for methadone', Letters, January 4). It is often said that no one treatment suits all addicts. There is a wisdom in that statement which seems to have eluded Dr Newman. Rather than seek to induct increasing numbers of drug users onto our methadone programme our drug policy has finally recognised that all drug abuse treatment (methadone included) must be about enabling addicts to become drug free. [continues 65 words]
With reference to the article 'Methadone fails to reduce heroin use or cut crime' (December 14), it's tough to believe that the article, and Professor Neil McKeganey, whom it quotes, refer to the study recently published in the journal Public Health. Far from the gloomy assessment the headline suggests, the authors (and Prof McKeganey was one) report that methadone patients were found: ". significantly more likely (compared to those receiving any other therapy] to achieve a reduction in the frequency of their illicit drug use." And they note: "Of course, there are public health benefits consequent on reductions in the frequency of heroin use." Thus, not surprisingly, their article concludes with the observation that the findings ".confirm the value of methadone-maintenance services." All in all a pretty compelling argument in favour of maintaining - and expanding - methadone maintenance treatment in Scotland. Robert Newman, Beth Israel Medical Center New York [end]
A LEADING drugs expert will this week recommend that 'shooting galleries' are set up in Scotland to allow heroin addicts to inject drugs safely. Larry Campbell, a Canadian senator, believes a similar scheme in Vancouver has saved many drug addicts' lives and cut the risk of infections from dirty needles. At one state-funded clinic in Vancouver, addicts bring their own drugs and are given clean needles to inject, overseen by nurses who can monitor them for signs of an overdose. [continues 226 words]
ONE in 10 Scottish teenagers over the age of 16 is now taking cocaine as the cost of the illegal drug has fallen following record harvests in South America. The extent of the cocaine crisis among the country's youth is revealed today in two surveys compiled by police and by drugs, health and education experts for the Scottish Government. Police chiefs are also warning that a combination of cheap cocaine and alcohol is putting a new generation at risk of serious health problems. [continues 2141 words]
WHEN the BBC's Ashes To Ashes crashed garishly onto our screens this month, it brought back more than just some dodgy 1980s fashion and even dodgier music. The show also revived the classic image of the cocaine user: a well-paid, well-dressed 20-something taking time out from a busy and successful career to snort a few lines for kicks. It is a stereotype that largely persists, even without the reminder of a bit of retro TV. As this newspaper reveals today, the reality of cocaine use in 2008 is very different. You don't have to be rich to afford the so-called "champagne" drug - after record harvests in South America a line of coke can cost as little as UKP5. You don't have to work in London or any of Scotland's cities to get your hands on it either - we have the third highest use of cocaine in Europe and police say it is available on the streets of most towns and villages. Most concerning of all, you certainly don't have to be an adult to know where to get it and how to use it. [continues 601 words]
GPs Refuse to Wait for New Spray to Be Licensed SCOTTISH doctors have started prescribing cannabis on the NHS before it is officially licensed in a bid to relieve the pain of multiple sclerosis sufferers. Medics, apparently frustrated by years of trials of medicinal cannabis, have decided to wait no longer and are legally obtaining the drug Sativex direct from the manufacturer. Doctors are allowed to prescribe unlicensed drugs in the UK if they think it is in the best interest of their patient, but they are liable for any unforeseen consequences. [continues 591 words]
THE premature retirement of the policeman leading Scotland's war on drugs was not a surprise. Graeme Pearson announced his intention to go, more than two years ahead of schedule, in August. His decision brought tributes for his considerable work as head of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) - and many regrets that he had opted to leave the job early. Today we reveal exactly why Pearson has quit. It makes very worrying reading and raises serious questions about our ability to combat one of society's worst scourges. To recap our exclusive interview with Pearson, the outgoing SCDEA leader feels that he has been hamstrung by overbearing bureaucracy, a lack of co-operation from the politicians and fellow senior policemen who were supposed to back his work, and a fundamental lack of resources to get the job done. It is rare indeed for even a retiring officer to lay bare the flaws inherent in such an important part of our criminal justice system. His devastating critique must be taken seriously by his former political masters, and his comments must be acted upon. [continues 562 words]
A RADICAL scheme to bump up the price of legal crops in Afghanistan to help deter farmers from producing heroin is being planned by Gordon Brown. The "big drug men", including the financiers and shippers, would also be targeted with travel bans and their bank accounts frozen as part of the fight against the Taliban. The Prime Minister will highlight the conflict in Afghanistan in his first annual foreign affairs speech at the Mansion House in London tomorrow. The Government appears to have rejected suggestions that opium production be legalised and sold as morphine. [continues 382 words]
THE police chief spearheading Scotland's war on drugs quit his post last night, blaming bureaucracy, under-manning and lack of co-operation. Graeme Pearson, head of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA), took an explosive sideswipe at ministers and fellow police chiefs as he left office more than two years early, declaring he "would not apply for his own job". Pearson complained that his agency had never been fully staffed, revealed some Scottish police forces refused to release experienced officers for anti-drug campaigns, and suggested there was a lack of ambition at the highest levels in dealing with the menace of drugs. [continues 924 words]
A WOMAN who succeeds in a field dominated by men is always intriguing to the public, but when that field happens to be big-time cocaine trafficking, and the woman is graced with both charm and beauty, a criminal celebrity is born. Ever since her arrest last month, Sandra Avila Beltran, better known as the Queen of the Pacific, has been receiving the kind of press that would have made Jesse James envious. Mexicans are closely following the case against her and the efforts to extradite her to the US, where she is wanted in Florida. [continues 683 words]
