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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK Conservative Party's drug strategy " may" Quadruple Drug
Don Barnard Press Release
Thursday 12 Feb 2004 16/04 UK Conservative Party's drug strategy "may" Quadruple Drug Deaths! Will the UK Conservative Party reconsider their Swedish style drug strategy (policy)? According to a report on Swedish TVI News 11.02.04 - Drug related Deaths have Quadruple in ten years. FROM THE REPORT: "The number of deaths resulting from drug abuse have more than quadrupled in Sweden during the last nine years according to statistics from the countries six forensic medicine stations." "99 persons died in 1995 in connection with drug abuse. For the last two years the figures have been 425 and 413 respectively." Full translation of "Drug Deaths Quadruple" Swedish TV1 News 11.02.04 (SEE 1) THE Conservative Party has branded the reclassify cannabis offence to finance the war on addictive substances as "muddled and dangerous policy". And, has promised to reverse it. The Conservatives instead backs an uncosted strategy for the public to report suspected drug users and a huge expansion of drug rehabilitation facilities and prisons to lock the non conformist up - an approach described by David Blunkett as "unworkable". EDITORS/RESEARCHERS NOTE: The Legalise Cannabis Alliance was invited to make comment on the Conservatives strategy. The correspondence in relation to this can be found at: http://www.lca-uk.org/conservatives.php Next year there will be a general election, the main stream parties will be fighting on a law and order platform - DRUGS . So let battle commence: "We need sensible drug laws". Said, Don Barnard, of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance...Adding, the LCA document "Cannabis: Challenging the Criminal Justice System" at http://www.lca-uk.org/challenge.php is a step in the right direction in achieving this." It is important to get the reactions of the MP's, therefore, we are asking that you bring the document "Cannabis: Challenging the Criminal Justice System" to attention of all sitting MP's (PPC's) and get a statement on their position on the disposal of cannabis offences. Press Office The Legalise Cannabis Alliance Cyfreithloni Cannabis Cyfathrach PO Box 198, Norwich NR3 3WB http://www.lca-uk.org donbarnard@lca-uk.org _____________________________ NOTES: 1: Translation of report on Swedish TV1 News: Drug Deaths Quadruple The number of deaths resulting from drug abuse have more than quadrupled in Sweden during the last nine years according to statistics from the countries six forensic medicine stations. -This is alarming and probably reflects a big increase of both heroin andmixed drug abuse, especially amongst younger persons, says associate professor Peter Kranz of the Forensic Medicine Institution in Lund to the newspaper Upsala Nya Tidning. 99 persons died in 1995 in connection with drug abuse. For the last two years the figures have been 425 and 413 respectivly. According to Krantz these deaths are due to poisoning, overdoses and cases where abuse has caused damage to internal organs leading to death. Gothenburg spared for a time Narcotics related deaths have risen mostly outside of the Stockholm area and Skone. One of the reasons for this, according to Kranz, is that the use of heroin is escalating in Gothenburg, a town that was largely spared from the heroin problem until the middle of the 1990's. In 1995 there was only one narcotics related death registered in Gothenburg. 53 were registered in 2003. Drugs co-ordinator worried The governments drug co-ordinator Bjorn Fries is worried about the statistics: -The developments show that efforts must be redoubled on a broad front. The number of heavy drug abusers has increased and we must improve care for these people, he says to TT (the Swedish television news service) The number of heavy drug abusers is steadily increasing. At the end of the 1990's they were estimated to be 26,000 and Bjorn Fries believes that today they are upwards of 30,000. "Drug addicts refused care" What is causing the increasing mortality? According to Peter Krantz it is a reflection of increased drug abuse. Per Sternbeck of the National Organisation for Helping Drug Addicts (RFHL) agrees that drug abuse has increased, but he also has other ideas. -The reason is because addicts are refused care which is based on real needs, but instead on abstract ideas, he says to Swedish Television Text. In the RFHL we ask the question: Do you need to die just because you use drugs? Treatment centres stand empty Per Sternbeck explains that many treatment centres around the country are standing empty because local authorities will not pay for care while at the same time drug abuse is increasing. - I don't think the reason is ill will on the part of local authorities, but when they draw up their budgets caring for drug addicts is a long way down on their list. Smoking heroin becoming more common In Sweden amfetamin has long been the dominant drug amongst addicts. One of the reasons why heroin has increased so much in later years, he believes, is because the use of smoking heroin has spread. Smoking heroin is not regarded as being as dramatic as injecting - but it is only a short step to injecting. Smoking heroin is especially common amongst immigrant goups like Iranians, says Per Sternbeck. Today many are starting to smoke heroin in their older years. Spreading to many areas Medium sized towns today have their own local heroin markets, which was not the case once, when the drug was concentrated around Stockholm and Malmo. In the case of Gothenburg it is partially because the town lies on the road to Oslo, which has a dramatically rising heroin problem. Another reason, believes Per Sternbeck, is the general reduction in social services. - There is a strong relation between unemployment levels and drug addiction. Swedish Television News 11.02.04 http://svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=1804&a=174717 Translated by J Yates end
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