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Sri Lanka combats cannabis Sunil C. Perera and Geroge de Silva Lanka Everything Wednesday 28 Jun 2006 Sri Lanka combats cannabis – but UK assists to introduce cannabis tea Lanka Anti-drug campaigners say that cultivating, producing and selling cannabis is dangerous because it will give young people the impression that cannabis is commonplace.In Sri Lanka , the law enforcement agencies follow a similar view to curb cannabis, commonly known as Ganja. Meanwhile Sri Lanka’s Southern Police officials have made arrangements to set up a special police unit to curb illegal cannabis production, and end the cannabis menace.A special Police unit is now served in the Southern Province, said the Police sources.Thanamalwila – a rural sub town situated in the Southern part of Sri Lanka, which produce mass scale illegal cannabis stocks, now face official axe.According to the Thanamalwila police officials the Cannabis production is now reduced due to Police interference. “We could reduce this menace due to our special unit, said Police Inspector W.D.S.L.de Alwis .Speaking to media Mr.Alwis said, illegal cannabis producers and distributors use modern techniques to transport their products. However the Police could trace their illegal products, he said.During the first six months, the Thanamalwila Police traced 90 cases connecting to cannabis.The police said they have launched an awareness programme to educate children to end cannabis production and obtain their support to curb this menace.“Responding quarries made by media, Inspector Alwis said poverty is the main reason that gets people involved in illegal cannabis cultivation.According to our investigation, a number of big sharks assisted these farmers to grow cannabis in their chenas and jungle hideouts.However law enforcement officials cannot put their charges on these sharks, due to the lack of sufficient evidence, the Police said. Meanwhile the drugs watchdog of the United Nations has rebuked the UK government's policy change on cannabis, saying it sent a confusing message to young people. UN experts also warned that a major increase in the potency of cannabis means it now poses health risks similar to those of heroin. The decision to reclassify cannabis as a Class C drug - made by the Home Secretary in 2004 - was implicitly criticized by Antonio Maria Costa, the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, who warned of the growth in its use. Cannabis had become more potent in the past few decades and governments that maintained inadequate policies got the "drug problem they deserve", Mr. Costa said in the 2006 World Drug Report. He warned governments against playing party politics with the classification of cannabis as its harmful effects were "no longer that different" to the damage caused by cocaine and heroin. A spokesman said: "Cannabis is controlled as a Class C drug. It is harmful and illegal and no-one should take it. In January 2006 the Home Secretary accepted the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs recommendation that cannabis remain a Class C drug. This decision to retain its classification is supported by the police and by most drug and mental health charities." The Home Office said that consumption of cannabis had fallen from more than 28 per cent to 24 per cent in 16-24 year olds. Scotland has one of the worst drug problems in Europe, with an estimated 50,000 addicts. At least half a million Scots are believed to have smoked cannabis and 200,000 are believed to have taken cocaine. The European Commission has admitted that drug abuse in the bloc and the deaths it causes have reached "unprecedented" levels and that in any given month, 1.5 million Europeans take cocaine and 12 million use cannabis. Meanwhile an ice tea containing cannabis extract is hitting stores in the UK.C-Ice Swiss Cannabis Ice Tea is being marketed for its health benefits.All narcotic elements of the plant have been removed to make the drink legal - but the product is worrying drug experts.David Raynes, policy adviser at the National Drug Prevention Alliance UK, said: "This is a normalization of cannabis as an image in young people's minds."So many people come off the rails because of cannabis, particularly young boys and early teens."The chilled black tea is described as having "added hemp blossom syrup with an extract of hemp bloom".It comes in individual cardboard orange containers decorated with cannabis leaves and the slogan "fantastic natural feeling".Produced by an Austrian company and using hemp grown in Switzerland, the product is already available on the Continent and in South Africa.The £1.29 ready-to-drink cans are being distributed via health food shops. http://www.lankaeverything.com/vinews/business/20060628122602.php
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