Raging drug addict caught selling heroin begs judge to send him to jail

Devon Live June 2019

Heroin dealer David Hensman asked judge to jail him (Image: Devon and Cornwall Police)

A self-confessed raging drug addict asked to be sent to jail after he was caught dealing heroin in a Devon town.

Chronic user David Hensman, aged 33, was caught red-handed by police selling the drug in Kingsbridge, a court heard.

A judge was considering an order to tackle his habit — but he demanded to be put behind bars.

Hensman, speaking from the dock of Plymouth Crown Court, said: “I am a raging drug addict. My lifestyle is chaotic. I cannot see me sorting myself out.

“I just feel that it is the way to go (prison). I want to go away and sort my head out. I am ready to make a change.”

Jailing him for two years, Judge Robert Linford told him: “Given the position you adopt, which is entirely understandable, I do as you ask.

“I do so with a heavy heart, you are clearly an intelligent man and you have something to offer.”

Hensman, of Well House Gardens in Kingsbridge, may well have gone to jail anyway — the usual destination for Class A drug dealers.

But Judge Linford asked him whether he would undergo a court order to treat and test his addiction, which prompted his response from the dock.

Hensman pleaded guilty to possession of heroin with intent to supply on June 20 last year.

He also admitted possession of small amounts of cocaine and cannabis for personal use.

For complete story  Legalizing Drugs Removes the very useful JUDICIAL EDUCATOR!

Up in Smoke: New York City Bans Pre-Employment Drug Testing for Marijuana

JD Supra June, 2019

Effective May 10, 2020, New York City employers may no longer test prospective employees for marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinols (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana. This bill- which is the first of its kind in the country- makes such testing an unlawful discriminatory practice under the New York City Human Rights Law.

The New York City Council passed the new bill on April 9, 2019 with a 41-4 vote. Councilman and Public Advocate, Jumanne Williams, sponsored the bill and testified in support of its passage that it would not “giv[e] permission for anyone to come to work high,” but rather is intended to remove a barrier to employment for New Yorkers, particularly those from communities of color. Williams stated that failed drug tests historically lead to a “depletion in the labor pool and the inability of many to advance their careers,” which is “harmful to employers and employees alike.”

While the bill, No. 1445-A, prohibits most New York City employers from requiring a prospective employee to submit to pre-employment testing for THC or marijuana, it contains several exceptions for certain types of jobs. For example, it permits testing for safety and security sensitive jobs such as police officers or peace officers, jobs requiring a commercial driver’s license, and positions requiring the supervision of care of children, medical patients, and other vulnerable persons. The bill also excepts jobs that require drug testing as a condition of receiving a federal contract or grant and notably does not interfere with required federal drug testing mandated by the federal Department of Transportation. The bill provides that the New York City Commission on Human Rights promulgate rules regarding its implementation in the year to come.

For complete article go to So now OHS stands for Only Help Stoners?

Blood on their hands: The decadent drug users who don\’t care about dark origins

The drug trail of misery to the UK – where cocaine use is the highest in Europe – involves environmental devastation, deadly violence, high-level corruption and crime

At a smart dinner party, where cocaine is passed around like canapes, the wealthy guests likely do not think about the class A drug’s dark origins.

Behind these decadent suburban scenes are the end result of a supply chain that involves environmental devastation, violence, high-level corruption and crimes including gang warfare, sex trafficking and terrorism.

The global trail of devastation that cocaine leaves in its wake is why London Mayor Sadiq Khan last year linked rising violence on the city’s streets to middle-class drug consumption.

And it is why Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick told middle-class drug users that they had “blood on their hands”.

Police Federation deputy treasurer Simon Kempton heaped blame on wealthy middle class people for the boom in class A drug sales.

He said: “If you look at why there is a market for cocaine from South America it is because people who can afford it are buying it and fuelling the problem.

“Street-level users are a problem because they steal to fund their habit. But on their own they will not support an organised-crime group.

“The big market is people with money to spend and they are often oblivious to the misery they cause because it is not on their doorstep.

“Middle-class drug users do not come across the radar of police because they are consuming it behind closed doors. There’s a lack of personal responsibility.”

Far from a victimless crime, taking cocaine leaves bloody footsteps and even death from the streets in our town and across the world.

Fore complete story https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/blood-hands-decadent-drug-users-16491263

Killer driver is FINALLY unmasked: Police officers\’ son, 18, who was spared jail despite ploughing into and killing two pedestrians in his parents\’ Audi while high on cannabis is pictured for first time

• Max Coopey, 18, smoked cannabis last August then drove his parents\’ Audi into John Shackley, 61, and Jason Imi, 48, killing them both
• Police officers\’ son Coopey pleaded guilty to drug-driving but was not jailed
• Thames Valley Police did not prosecute for causing death by dangerous driving, saying their investigation found no signs of impaired driving
• It was Coopey\’s sixth criminal conviction since the age of 12, mainly for drugs

For more https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7067187/First-pictures-drug-driver-18-hit-killed-two-pedestrians-driving.html

Over the weekend, The Hill published an article highlighting SAM\’s astounding winning record in state legislatures this year.

\”(The) win in Springfield comes at the end of a string of defeats in what was supposed to be a banner year of legalization. Even supporters of recreational use acknowledged their legislative agenda has run into more roadblocks than they expected.\”

Friend, many have told us we need to roll over and give up. Many have told us that marijuana legalization is inevitable. But we have proved them wrong time and time again this year.

Across the country, lawmakers considering legalization have met with SAM staff, felt pushback from our broad coalitions, and have decided to put public health, safety, and common sense above the demands of the marijuana industry and its lobbyists.

None of this would have been possible without your support and I hope you will continue to help us put people before profits. Click here to chip in and help keep us going.

All the best, Kevin Sabet, PhD – Founder and President

SAM and SAM Action

Advocates of legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes scored their most significant legislative victory of the year Friday when the Illinois state House gave final approval to a measure allowing residents over the age of 21 to purchase and use cannabis products.

But their win in Springfield comes at the end of a string of defeats in what was supposed to be a banner year for legalization. Even supporters of recreational use acknowledge their legislative agenda has run into more roadblocks than they expected.

Legislators in New Jersey, Connecticut and New Mexico hit the brakes on legalization bills this year, even though Democratic governors in all three states made clear their support. A New Hampshire bill stalled in the state Senate when it became apparent the legislature did not have the votes to override a likely veto from Gov. Chris Sununu (R).

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo\’s (D) effort to legalize recreational use through his state budget stalled, though the legislature is considering a separate bill.

\”Some progress has happened slower than we would have liked, of course,\” said Karen O\’Keefe, director of state policies at the Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization group.

Opposition groups have mounted surprisingly strong campaigns against legalization bills, in many states led by minority legislators who worry that increased access to marijuana will disproportionately impact their communities. Black caucuses in New Jersey and Connecticut have emerged as fulcrums  in the debate over legalization.

\”These communities in many ways across the country are marginalized, but when it comes to this specific policy issue they have a major say,\” said Luke Niforatos, a senior policy advisor at Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an anti-legalization group.

At the same time, those minority groups say their communities are not profiting from the booming marijuana industry, which remains overwhelmingly white.

\”For Big Tobacco and Big Marijuana, black addiction is a big-money hustle,\” said Rev. Gregory Seal Livingston, a civil rights advocate who opposed the Illinois legislation. \”It is not a business opportunity for blacks and other minorities because blacks and other minorities are the target.\”

Proponents have said that legalization would help mitigate the disparities of the war on drugs, which fell hardest on communities of color. A black man is almost four times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession as a white man, according to an American Civil Liberties Union study, though usage rates are virtually the same across racial groups.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) \”has repeatedly said that he believes legalization of adult-use marijuana is critical to eliminating disparities in the criminal justice system. Each week that marijuana remains illegal, approximately 600 people in New Jersey will be arrested for low-level drug crimes, with the majority of those being people of color,\” Alyana Alfaro, a Murphy spokeswoman, said in an email.

States that have already legalized marijuana have made efforts to increase the number of minority-owned businesses in the nascent industry, to mixed results. California\’s legislature approved $10 million to help low-income and minority-owned businesses open pot shops. Massachusetts prioritized minority-owned businesses as it began distributing licenses after voters there approved a legalization ballot measure.

Maryland is working on plans to award new marijuana cultivation licenses to minority-owned businesses, though some of the firms that own the 15 existing licenses have sued to stop the expansion plans.

\”There was hope that passing legalization would help with all the inequalities that have plagued the drug war,\” O\’Keefe said. \”A lot of people, including us, have been disappointed that there hasn\’t been as much diversity in the industry as there could be.\”

Legalization opponents publicly support some efforts to end elements of the war on drugs, even if they don\’t support recreational use. North Dakota and New Mexico this year became the latest states to decriminalize marijuana possession, an approach those legalization opponents say more adequately addresses the root problem.

\”If we\’re having concerns about incarceration, let\’s look directly at incarceration and decriminalization and expungement,\” Niforatos said. \”It is a way to precisely address the concerns of these communities that are disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.\”

Marijuana backers have had some success around the margins this year. Iowa\’s Republican-led legislature approved an expansion of low-grade medical cannabis, though Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) vetoed the bill. Georgia legislators approved a measure to allow in-state cultivation of medical marijuana. Legislators in Guam this year legalized marijuana for recreational use, the second U.S. territory to do so after the Northern Mariana Islands.

And the Illinois bill is significant: If Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signs it as expected, Illinois would become the first state to legalize recreational sales of marijuana through its state legislature, rather than through a ballot measure approved by citizens.

Vermont\’s legislature approved the use, though not the sale, of recreational marijuana in 2018, a compromise between the Democratic legislature and Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican.

The disappointing year for marijuana backers is only a prelude to what is expected to be a series of difficult fights in 2020. Legalization proponents will try again in states such as New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and ballot measures are likely in states such as Florida, Arizona and Ohio, three states where earlier efforts fell short.

\”There could be serious, viable efforts to legalize marijuana in as many as a dozen states next year,\” O\’Keefe said. \”While it\’s hard to predict how many will pass, it\’s all but certain that the number of legalization states will continue to grow with each passing year.\”

About SAM: Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) is a nonpartisan, non-profit alliance of physicians, policy makers, prevention workers, treatment and recovery professionals, scientists, and other concerned citizens opposed to marijuana legalization who want health and scientific evidence to guide marijuana policies. SAM has affiliates in more than 30 states.

Harm reduction drugs policies not working in Scotland

Scotland’s drug problem is getting worse despite the Scottish Government spending more than £740 million on trying to tackle drug and alcohol abuse over the last ten years.

A report by Audit Scotland reviewed the effects of the Government’s strategies for addicts, concluding that Scotland’s drug problem has not improved in a decade.

According to official statistics, the number of drug-related deaths is expected to reach 1,000 this year.

‘Significant issues’

Scotland has an estimated 56,000 problem drug users.

Statistics last year revealed that drug-related deaths in Scotland rose from 545 in 2009 to 934 in 2017 — eight times higher than the average for EU nations.

Graham Sharp, Chairman of the Accounts Commission for Scotland, said: “Problem drug and alcohol use and their impacts continue to be significant issues for Scotland.”

‘Out of control’

Earlier this year Professor Neil McKeganey, a leading academic in the field, said the Scottish Government’s emphasis on so-called harm reduction policies is to blame for growing drug problems.

Between 2013 and 2017 heroin-related deaths more than doubled in Scotland, while deaths from anti-anxiety drugs such as diazepam rose from 195 to 552.

For complete article go to Harm Reduction ONLY — a Failure?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 14th, 2019

CONTACT: Colton Grace [email protected] (864) 492-6719

COLORADO PRAISES BILLION DOLLAR POT REVENUE WHILE EDUCATION FUNDING SUFFERS

(Denver, CO) – This week, it was reported that the state of Colorado has surpassed $1 billion in taxes and fees since the legalization of marijuana in 2014. Luke Niforatos, spokesman for the Marijuana Accountability Coalition, a Colorado-based watchdog group dedicated to exposing the harms of the marijuana industry, release the following statement in response:

\”Before we are too quick to pat ourselves on the back for taking in $1 billion in tax revenue of the back of an addictive substance, let\’s do some math. It took six years to reach a billion dollars of revenue, that is averaging under $200 million per year. An absolute drop in the bucket of our state\’s budget.

\”Lost in the discussion of how much marijuana taxes have brought in is how much those tax dollars have cost Colorado. One recent study found that for every dollar marijuana taxes generate, $4.50 must be spent to mitigate the societal harms. Marijuana taxes were purported to be a boon for our education, how is that working out? As it stands, we are 42nd in the country for school funding and 50th for teacher wage competitiveness.

\”Let\’s not be so quick to praise the marijuana industry while our teachers are walking out of the classroom to protest their stagnating wages, while our state is playing host to multiple foreign cartels growing illicit pot, while mental health issues abound, our homeless rate skyrockets, and our roads grow more and more unsafe by the day due to impaired driving.\”

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About MAC: The Marijuana Accountability Coalition (MAC) is a coalition made up of individuals and organizations united for one common purpose: to fearlessly investigate, expose, challenge, and hold the marijuana industry accountable. If you care about the future of Colorado and holding Big Tobacco 2.0 (The Marijuana Industry) accountable, please join us.

CDC: Middle-aged women are fastest growing segment of addicts: Addiction centers report spike

America\’s drug crisis is taking a deadly toll on a group you might not expect. A recent report from the Center for Disease and Control shows the number of \”middle-aged\” women who died of overdose has quadrupled since 1999.

Many of these women are getting hooked not just to pain pills and heroin, but also to alcohol. Christine Wolfe was one of them.

\”I never dreamt in a million years that I would become an alcoholic. I could not stop; my children begged me to,\” said Wolfe.

During her darkest times, Wolfe said she would hide alcohol in water bottles and try to hide her addiction from her family, but they were on to her.

For Pamela Aguilu, the drug of choice was prescription pain pills. She got access through them legally, through her doctors after spinal surgeries. She said initially it had helped with her pain. \”I would say I got addicted right away. I was taking massive amounts of oxycodone,\” said Aguilu.

Both women say their addictions destroyed relationships and their own families. It destroyed trust between them and their children and took over their lives. For both Wolfe and Aguilu, the out of control addiction started later in life.

\”I did not start drinking until I was 47,\” said Wolfe.

Both women are also part of a dangerous trend being tracked by the CDC right now. Studies show the fastest growing segment of addicts in the country is middle-aged women, most of whom are mothers.

\”Soccer moms become addicts. Soccer moms, moms that are engaged with their children — we are just as liable to become an addict as anybody else,\” said Aguilu.

Researchers call it an \”evolving epidemic.\” The number of overdose deaths in this population has increased by 260 percent since 1999.

Wolfe said she was surprised she is alive today.

\”Very surprised. There are times I should\’ve been dead. My blood alcohol was so high– like 0.56. That can cause strokes, that causes your heart to stop,\” said Wolfe.

Aguilu was also grateful not to become a statistic. She said her rock bottom hit when her landlord called the cops on her for making too much noise. She found herself facing a female police officer who had broken into her home and was asking her if she was okay.

\”The last thing I remember is the ER physician saying we need the Narcan now and then I was out. I was out for two days,\” said Aguilu.

The big question researchers are still trying to answer: why middle-aged women?

For more https://www.local10.com/news/national/cdc-middleaged-women-are-fastest-growing-segment-of-addicts