The headteachers of Britain's most expensive schools have been warned that the privileged backgrounds of their fee-paying students are not necessarily a protection against the "evil" of illegal drugs. A bereaved mother told them that many teachers and parents seemed to think that prosperity shielded their children from the drugs trade, but that dealers targeted public school pupils because they had money to spend. Elizabeth Burton-Phillips, head of Godstowe preparatory school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and a campaigner against illegal drugs, said: "Could it be that one of the significant problems that middle-class youth face in our independent schools is denial that your school could ever have any drug problem or the foolish belief that cannabis is not that serious? [continues 519 words]
Brian Paddick, Britain's most senior openly gay police officer, has announced that he is quitting, a year earlier than expected. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Paddick has recently been caught up in a dispute over the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes by armed police at Stockwell tube station, south London, in July 2005. Comments he made to the Independent Police Complaints Commission contradicted the version of events given by the Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair. But a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Authority denied that Mr Paddick had been given "gardening leave", and said that his early departure was "not unusual". He added: "He does not have to give reasons and we do not seek them." [continues 460 words]
BRUSSELS - Cannabis use has turned into a pandemic that is causing almost as much harm as cocaine or heroin, the head of the United Nations anti-drugs office says. He criticised governments, such as the UK's, which have downgraded the cannabis threat, saying that they have got the "drug problem they deserve". Antonio Maria Costa, the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, appealed to European political parties to agree a long-term strategy for reducing consumption of the drug, which he said was being used in 2004 by 164 million people worldwide. [continues 520 words]
Cannabis use has turned into a pandemic that is causing almost as much harm as cocaine or heroin, the head of the United Nations anti-drugs office says. He criticised governments, such as the UK's, which have downgraded the cannabis threat, saying that they have got the "drug problem they deserve". Antonio Maria Costa, the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, appealed to European political parties to agree a long-term strategy for reducing consumption of the drug, which he said was being used in 2004 by 164 million people worldwide. As well as being more widespread, the drug is "considerably more potent" than it was a few decades ago, he said. [continues 1110 words]
Drugs Bill To Bring In Compulsory Testing. Crackdown On Anti-Social Behaviour Tony Blair will this week make drugs the key battleground for the general election when he launches a sweeping crackdown as the centrepiece of his new legislative programme. The Prime Minister will use the Queen's Speech on Tuesday to highlight what aides claim will be a crusade to reduce the damaging effects on society of drug abuse. New powers to compulsorily test those arrested for minor crimes will be balanced by enhanced treatment programmes. Police will be allowed to prosecute users for possession even if the only drugs found on them are in the bloodstream. Laws that allow the closure of crack dens will be extended to enable councils to evict tenants who allow their properties to be used for even casual drug use. [continues 515 words]
Drug gangs have flourished in Brixton since the police began an experiment under which cannabis was effectively decriminalised, Oliver Letwin, the shadow home secretary, said yesterday. The remarks by Mr Letwin, who is seen as one of the leading social liberals in the shadow cabinet, suggests that David Blunkett will meet strong Conservative opposition if he carries on with his proposal to soften the law on cannabis. Mr Blunkett is expected to announce this month that he intends to reclassify cannabis so that possession of the drug for personal use ceases to be a criminal offence. [continues 97 words]
DAVID BLUNKETT, the Home Secretary, hinted that the Government may tolerate a softer line on cannabis offences as part of a drive to concentrate on the abuse of hard drugs. Mr Blunkett gave informal backing to an experiment in Lambeth, where the local police commander, Brian Paddick, has proposed that people found in possession of small quantities of cannabis should be let off with a formal warning rather than being arrested and cautioned. He argued that bringing a person to court can consume hours of police time, when the average fine for cannabis possession was around UKP45. [continues 221 words]
Lib Dem Leader Seeks Royal Commission On The Legalisation Of Cannabis Charles Kennedy, the new Liberal Democrat leader, last night stepped into a political minefield by calling for Parliament to consider softening the laws on cannabis as part of a drastic rethink of the Government's anti-drugs strategy. In his first interview since winning the party leadership last week, Kennedy told The Observer that a Royal Commission into Britain's drug laws was crucial. Accusing mainstream politicans of being out of step with public opinion, he also praised the courage of International Development Secretary Clare Short, the only member of the Cabinet to have raised the issue of legalising cannabis, and threw his weight behind Liberal Democrat party activists who have campaigned for an overhaul of the law. [continues 548 words]
The campaign to legalise cannabis will get its most powerful boost this week when a House of Lords committee calls for the drug to be available for use to relieve pain. A 70-page report of the Lords Science and Technology Committee urges a change in the law to allow derivatives of the drug to be used legally. But it stops short of saying the drug, banned in any form for more than a quarter of a century, should be permitted for recreational use. [continues 459 words]
Smokers will be segregated in all large restaurants and bars in areas fitted with expensive new ventilation systems under an agreement being thrashed out by health Ministers and the industry. The Government is on the brink of agreeing a new voluntary code of conduct, which will be seized on eagerly by licensees and restaurateurs as their last chance of avoiding an outright ban. Despite the cost of new ventilation - estimated at a minimum of UKP3,000 per premises - publicans who complain will be under pressure from their own industry to conform. Joe O'Riordan, proprietor of Papa Joe's and PR's nightclub in Hastings, Sussex, and chairman of the Guild of Master Victuallers, said: "Any licensee who chooses to ignore that advice from the leaders of the industry does so at their peril. They will be risking a total smoking ban that would have devastating consequences on the trade." [continues 342 words]
