Authorities are keeping a closer eye on member-only associations that claim to be not-for-profit Growing numbers of visitors are purchasing a few grams of marijuana while on holiday in Barcelona, a city that is already being described as the "Holland of the South." All one needs to do is become a member of a cannabis club, many of which advertise on the internet, and place an order by phone or online, as this newspaper has confirmed. Club employees can also be found handing out flyers in the streets and leading interested passersby to club premises to help with the registration process. Membership fees are around =C2=8020. [continues 306 words]
The Ministry Of Health Will Have To Authorize "Compassionate Use" Of The Drug On A Case By Case Basis Heroin as medicine. The Council of Andalucia is formally requesting permission from the Ministry of Health to administer the drug to a group of addicts in Granada as if it were an experimental medicine. The Council's decision is based on the clinical research with heroin it has undertaken, which shows that heroin maintenance improves health twofold over methadone in long term addicts who have not been able to give up the drug. The Health Ministry will have to authorize compassionate use of the drug on a case by case basis, but the formal request puts the Ministry in an awkward position. The department run by Elena Salgado has until now opted to turn a blind eye to heroin maintenance. [continues 684 words]
The Sale Of Hashish Remains Illegal In A Majority Of States Europe continues along a trend towards decriminalization of so-called illegal drugs. Of the 15 countries in the European Union, a total of seven do not punish personal consumption of any drug or only impose administrative fines. With regards to cannabis tolerance is near complete: only Sweden, France, Finland and Greece maintain penalties. Some countries want to go even further and call for legal medical marijuana, as is the case with Catalonia. Nevertheless, almost every country maintains penalties for the sale of drugs. [continues 465 words]
Catalonia And Andalusia May Initiate Experimental Treatments This Fall In less than 90 days, Andalusia, Catalonia and the other communities that wish to will be able to conduct clinical studies that dispense heroin as a treatment for addicts. The Heroin Committee, comprised of the Ministry of Health, independent experts and representatives of Spain's autonomous communities, yesterday gave the final research authorization, which will be supervised by the Spanish Agency of Medicine. Research subjects are limited to heroin addicts who have failed in other attempts at rehabilitation. [continues 812 words]
Washington Believes That Venezuela Supports Rebel Groups In Bolivia, Ecuador And Colombia The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States scrutinizes the Bolivarian intentions of the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, fearing that is proclamations for a Latin American Union transcend the political level and are carried out through economic aid that can be used by rebel, indigenous, and Creole movements of the region. The firing, last January, of the Venezuela Foreign Ministry's director of information and opinion, Miguel Quintero, seems related to these suspicions, as well as the imprudent closeness of the official with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). [continues 1064 words]
Peace is needed to eradicate drugs in Colombia, according to Klaus Nyholm, head of the UN Drug Control Program in Colombia and Ecuador. In an interview with the Cali El Pais, he said alternative programs to improve the lives of farmers are more effective in the fight against drugs than fumigation and repression of coca crops. "The guerrillas here have what [others] in Central America do not have, a way to finance themselves," Nyholm said. "It is no coincidence that in the three countries where the greatest amount of illicit drugs are cultivated in the world -- Colombia, Afghanistan and Burma [officially known as Myanmar] -- there is also armed conflict." [continues 143 words]
The decision mandates alternative treatment, even for repeat offenders with felony convictions. If a drug addict agrees to detoxification in a treatment center, the judges should revoke the prison sentence for the crime committed and facilitate rehabilitation. And it does not matter if the penalty is over two years in prison or if the offender is a repeat offender. The Supreme Court's groundbreaking decision is based on the understanding that drug addicts suffer from an illness. The decision establishes that crimes committed by drug addicts should be dealt with via safety measures (residency in a treatment center) that lead to social reintegration. [continues 677 words]
