What ARE they on? As one police force says it will let off heroin users, former top detective PHILIP FLOWER reveals the violence and misery that drugs can cause
By PHILIP FLOWER FOR THE DAILY MAIL PUBLISHED 18 December 2018
The gangsters and dealers flooding Britain’s streets with hard drugs will be delighted by news that Thames Valley Police plans to introduce the most lenient policy on illegal substances ever seen in this country.
Users found in possession of Class A drugs including heroin, cocaine and ecstasy will be sent on their way without so much as an official caution. Incredibly, the new policy is simply to let people off for drugs offences.
Their stash will be confiscated, and officers will politely recommend that the user visits an addiction advice service. That’s it. Police will not even follow up the incident, to find out how many users seek help as suggested.
I was a senior police officer for many years. The people I arrested in possession of drugs were often in a dreadful state, suffering with mental health problems that in many cases were caused by drugs.
It’s hopelessly naive to imagine that, left to their own devices, addicts will voluntarily seek out the help they need.
But the stupidity of this insidious policy goes much deeper than mere naivety. It actively erodes the police’s ability to exercise control on the streets.
From long experience, I know that in almost every case where officers follow up a petty drugs seizure, more crime will be uncovered. When police search a user’s address, they will frequently find more drugs, other users and stolen goods. Drug arrests, even for very small amounts, usually enable police to clear up other crimes and catch other criminals.
This can include the discovery of major organised crime rings. When I was in charge of the West End Central district of the Met in London, overseeing Soho, we pursued a robust drugs policy.
That was a direct response to theatres and businesses who told us customers were being driven away by the fear of crime associated with drug abuse.
What we discovered, thanks to a major covert operation, was that many people who claimed to be small-time users were frequently suppliers as well. They concealed their true activities by carrying only very small amounts of drugs, never enough to raise suspicion that they were the real dealers.
Suspicions
By studying CCTV of their activities, we exposed a sophisticated supply network. High-level dealers were bringing vulnerable people to the UK to sell drugs on the street.
They never carried enough for more than one or two customers at a time – never so much that it could raise suspicions that they were dealing. In fact, they always had a much bigger stash hidden nearby.
This was a clever approach because, when taken to court, the seller would claim they had it only for personal use.
Then they’d tell a sob story about their numerous social and personal problems, in the sure hope that the court would be lenient in its sentencing.
The gang bosses knew how to exploit this. The penalties they meted out to dealers who ‘grassed’ and co-operated with police were far more Draconian than anything the courts could threaten to impose.
Vulnerable youngsters were warned that their friends and family, often back home in another country, would be the ones to suffer if anyone stepped out of line.
This is the rule of fear that enables ruthless drug lords to operate networks stretching all over the country today, the so-called ‘county lines’ system.
For complete article https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-6502521/Former-detective-PHILIP-FLOWER-reveals-violence-misery-drugs-cause.html
Dear Doctors, who are mandated to do \’No Harm\’!
My name is Karen Randall. I am an emergency physician (also residency trained in pediatrics and family medicine). I spent numerous years as an academic teaching physician at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. I moved to Colorado to be back home. I moved here in 2013. I moved just in time to see this town I live in, Pueblo, go from a blue collar working town to a drug infested town that is not safe. I appreciate your article about brain sizes, https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/legal-pot/even-little-marijuana-may-change-teen-brain-study-finds-n95853, but I need you to stand with me and let kids know that this high dose highly concentrated THC is NOT alright for them. Our kids here are, without a doubt, using younger and using a lot more concentrated THC. We, medically, almost nothing about what high dose, high concentration THC products (without CBD – ? maybe some protection) will do to a person. I can tell you first hand what I am seeing and experiencing and we, as physicians need to get the facts out.
1) I have seen way more youth using than ever before. You must know that these middle schoolers and high schoolers are getting vape pens to vape marijuana, right? There is open concern about the vaping – which in itself will lead to lung damage, but, at least here, they are vaping pot.
2) Many are using earlier – emulating what the adults in their lives are doing and are dropping out of school. Our school district has a 38% chronic absenteeism rate. Imagine that for your school district and imagine, if you have children, how that might effect them.
3) I have seen numerous acutely and frankly psychotic young people who have only done cannabis. The youngest acutely psychotic person I have seen so far – 13 yo. I am not talking about seeing a child or youth on occasion who is psychotic, it has become routine. That is the saddest aspect of all of this. The industry has pummeled our community with retail and “medicine” stores. Pueblo has about 160,000 people, we have nearly 50 retail stores. Our community is predominantly a community of color. I would hazard a guess that there are not 50 retail stores in Aspen, Vail or Breckenridge. These kids use younger and then drop out of school, they have no skills, no education, and due to chronic cannabis use, they have no motivation to change their lives. Those who have supportive families, who want to change, find that there are minimal resources for kids who become addicted to cannabis. These families (69% of our community is on medicaid) most of the time, have no resources or finances to send them to a long term rehab facility. These kids end up on the streets. Sadly, their drug usage doesn’t stop at cannabis. I recently saw a high school kid (18) who had been using cannabis with his friends. He told me his parents were “ok” with that because it was just cannabis. He and his senior in high school friends, moved on to LDS and cocaine. These are kids. The child in question was living with his grandmother who has no resources other than what medicaid will cover to get him treatment. Those children who use, whose parents are sober and want their children help, often tap every financial resource they have – including retirement, home equities, savings, etc. This leaves parents – at a time when they should be saving for retirement, destitute, needing to live on a hopeful social security.
4) There is no question that maternal use of cannabis while pregnant leads to fetal harms – the full picture of those harms won’t be apparent for another 5-10 years, until these babies being born now start school. A recent University of Colorado study found that a huge percentage of medical dispensaries in Colorado were recommending cannabis for pregnant women. https://www.denverhealth.org/-/media/denver-health-marijuana–pregnancy-study.pdf?la=en&hash=7CF1182B6937B9E4267378A1E5F04D8ED221DC6C
5) The cannabis industry has commercialized and weaponized all aspects of THC and CBD. Did you know that you can purchase a THC infused tampon? Did you know that many irresponsible cannabis companies promise that cannabis will cure their cancer? Did you know that, based on that alone, patients in our community are being placed straight from the ED to hospice when their cancer is too extensive to provide anything but comfort care? I recently saw a 39 y/o male who elected the “cannabis cure” for his brain cancer. It did not work. Who do we hold at harm for that? The patient, who was clearly misled by the industry? The doctors, who can’t save him when he presents with end stage/terminal cancer? The industry? I will enclose a few ads to support this claim at the end.
Finally, please, as a physician – do no harm. Do not promote a product that is so damaging and has so many consequences. Know that what the industry is selling now, in no way, shape or form, resembles the pot of Woodstock. This is supercharged high potency THC – a hallucinogen. You do not have to take my word. You are a physician. Come work a day in my ED with me. We are the 3rd busiest ED in Colorado. I have a longitudinal study and data base at my hospital. Not only did cannabis use go up, but in the last 5 years, all drug usage has gone up and in the last 8 months, methamphetamine use has tripled. Help inform the public that there are significant harms.
Feel free to contact me. You have my email. I am asking you as a physician, to speak up for our youth. Do not promote a product that does and will have devastating consequences.
Sincerely
Dr. Karen Randall, FAAEM
VP Case Management SCEMA
Chairman of the Board, SCEMA
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Big tobacco and big business are getting into bed with cannabis … big time Exclusive Dec 17, 2018
A move by one of the largest tobacco companies in the United States to buy half of cannabis company Cronos for $US1.8 billion ($2.5 billion) this week signals the gold rush into the marijuana industry is booming.
Altria, which owns Philip Morris — maker of Marlboro, Benson & Hedges, Alpine and a host of other cigarette brands — is desperately trying to replace sliding sales as smoking, and smokers, literally die out.
US government agency, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, says the percentage of people who smoke in the US has plunged off a cliff in recent years — down from 20.6 per cent in 2008 to just 14.1 per cent in 2017.
As the long downtrend snowballs, Big Tobacco is eyeing a budding cannabis market that has a much healthier, long-term outlook.
Proponents of legal marijuana have spent decades fighting a slow battle for mainstream acceptance. Now, with recreational use legal in Canada as well as many US states, the vultures have begun to circle.
Canada became the first Group of Seven country to legalise adult recreational use of pot in October. Nine US states and Washington DC also allow recreational marijuana use, while 31 states and Washington DC allow medical marijuana.
The cannabis ban continued to unwind when the Farm Bill was passed by the US Senate in June. It included provisions for the legalisation of industrial hemp, a source of the ingredient cannabidiol, or CBD — one of the primary cannabinoids that occur naturally in cannabis.
Big Tobacco’s first strike on cannabis came in June when British giant Imperial Brands — the world’s largest producer of cigars and fine-cut tobacco that produces more than 320 billion cigarettes a year — bought a share of Oxford Cannabinoid, which is developing medical therapies from cannabis.
It’s easy to see why Big Tobacco sees a link between cigarettes and marijuana: both can be smoked and vaped, both have mood-altering components and both are easy to mass produce.
Big Tobacco also has the money and the clout to engage in serious research, and investment in cannabis companies can help overcome some serious image problems.
With cannabis associated with sickness, addiction and death for decades, experts say a move into beneficial medical, and more healthy, products could be a major boost for their brands.
Tobacco companies also have some of the world’s most powerful marketing and political lobbying machines — tools that could be leveraged to ensure regulated, safe products and workable, consumer-driven legislation.
Marijuana companies have to deal with a maze of regulations. Tobacco companies are already experts at handling regulations.
“There’s always been the expectation that big business was going to come in,” Bethany Gomez, director of research at Brightfield Group, a cannabis market research group, told The New York Times.
“Now we’re past the point of no return.”
Consumers are expected to spend $US57 billion ($79 billion) a year worldwide on legal cannabis by 2027, according to Arcview Market Research, a cannabis-focused investment firm. In the US, spending is tipped to grow from $US8 billion ($11.1 billion) last year to $US47.3 billion ($65.8 billion) in 2027.
For more Big Tobacco 2.0 — More Carnage Coming!
New study finds that marijuana can reprogram sperm genes
The Verge December 20, 2018 ![\"\"](\"http://www.dontlegalizedrugs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Gastroschsis1.png\" "\\"Gastroschsis\\"")
We already know that cannabis lowers sperm count, but new research suggests that the drug actually causes genetic changes to the sperm itself – which might have implications for the health of a potential baby.
For a study published today in the journal Epigenetics, scientists at Duke University compared the sperm of two groups of rats: those who had been given tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, and those who had not. Then they compared the sperm of 24 human men who smoked marijuana weekly versus a control group who used marijuana no more than 10 times in their life and not at all in the past half-year. In both cases – rats and humans – marijuana changed how genes work in sperm cells.
Think of your DNA as a list of instructions for making proteins, and genes as small subsets of that list. Our body has little chemical tags (called methyl groups) that get added to the DNA at specific regions, explains Susan Kay Murphy, a professor of gynecology at Duke and co-author of the study. These chemicals don’t mutate the genes themselves, but they do affect how they’re used, like deciding which instructions are followed and which aren’t.
In both rats and humans, the cannabis affected many different genes involved in two different pathways. (Think of pathways as another set of instructions, this time for regulating various bodily functions.) One is important for organs to reach full size, and one plays a role in cancer and suppressing tumors. “That just blows my mind,” says Murphy. “How do you even reconcile that, biologically, an entire pathway is going to be affected by these changes?”
This doesn’t mean that smoking cannabis will lead future children to be more vulnerable to cancer. Murphy is very clear that this is a pilot study originally intended to see if cannabis even has any genetic effect on sperm. The sample size is small, and they didn’t control for the concentration of THC the human recruits smoked. The scientists did, however, measure THC in the urine and noted that more THC in the urine correlated with more changes.
“This is a smaller study, but with concerning implications,” says Bobby Najari, a urologist at NYU Langone who was not involved in the study. Najari already counsels men who use marijuana regularly to cut back because of the effect on sperm count. “I think one of the important positive things about research like this is that it may further motivate men to change their health,” he adds. “It’s one thing to talk about sperm count, another when you’re talking about the potential health of the child.”
Both Najari and Murphy stress that future research needs to be done, and the Duke team is already working on follow-up studies. Are those changes reversible? Will they even end up affecting a potential baby? “I want to be very careful to not have the results turned into something that they’re not,” says Murphy. “It’s not intended to scare people. Our whole objective is to learn more about biology and what effects there might be.”
Cannabis users who start by smoking skunk up to five times as likely to become dependent, study suggests
The Independent December 18, 2018 3:23 AM
Cannabis users whose first experience with the drug is with potent “skunk” strains are nearly five times more likely to go on to show signs of dependence, US researchers have said.
Researchers found higher concentration of THC, the molecule which causes its psychoactive “high”, increased the likelihood that users would develop cravings or risky drug use that disrupts their day-to-day life.
Despite medical or recreational cannabis use being legalised in a growing number of states and countries there is little regulation on potency – even though this is routine for drugs like alcohol which also cause impairment and dependence.
“THC has linearly increased over two decades,” said Dr Brook Arterberry, an assistant professor of psychology at Iowa State University who led this research.
“Based on the results, states may want to think about the available potency levels of cannabis products, especially with the changing legal landscape of cannabis.”
Increases in THC content have been made possible because of modern growing techniques and in America average levels have risen from 3.5 per cent THC in 1994 to 12.3 per cent in 2012.
In the UK high-potency skunk has pushed out virtually all other types, and experts warn that mental health disorders like psychosis are more common in people who use these stronger strains.
For the study, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Dr Arterberry and colleagues used data from a long-running health survey of young people age 11 to 26 who have family history of substance abuse.
In annual follow-ups, users who reported that they had started smoking skunk — with an average THC content of 12.3 per cent — were 4.8 times more likely to have one or more symptoms of cannabis use disorder when compared to those smoking a 4.9 per cent strain.
Cannabis is not typically thought of as addictive in the same way as heroin, cocaine, or even alcohol, where withdrawal can have serious physical health effects. However, it can cause irritability, sleep disruption and other effects that make heavy users dependent.
“This is the first step toward understanding the influence of potency,” Dr Arteberry said. “While more research is needed, the risk associated with higher potency highlights the need for early intervention and targeted prevention efforts.”
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Not only the US, but the entire planet owes SAM a great debt of gratitude – THANK YOU SAM!!!
Public Health\’s Biggest Victories Over Big Pot in 2018
Public health and safety advocates, including Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action (SAM Action) and its state affiliates, are celebrating a year of victories against the growing marijuana industry as multiple marijuana legalization bills failed from coast-to-coast.
(1) NORTH DAKOTA GAVE THE INDUSTRY THE BOOT – RESOUNDINGLY
Healthy and Productive North Dakota, SAM Action\’s affiliate in the Peace Garden State, and other supporters, worked hard and defeated Measure 3 by the second-highest margin in the recent history of such ballot measures. This proposition would have created one of the worst recreational marijuana laws in the country.
The truly grassroots, volunteer coalition there stopped Big Marijuana from taking root.
(2) GARDEN STATE POT WOES: \”FIRST 100 DAYS\”? I DON\’T THINK SO…
After promising to legalize pot within 100 days of taking office in 2017, New Jersey will enter 2019 with no recreational marijuana market, thanks to the hard work of parents and advocates across the state. SAM Action, New Jersey Responsible Approaches to Marijuana Policy (NJ-RAMP), and partners have successfully worked to slow down the effort. Murphy and company simply do not have the votes to legalize pot in the Garden State.
(3) ILLINOIS PRO-POT POLITICIANS DIDN\’T STAND A CHANCE
In Illinois, Healthy and Productive Illinois (HPIL) worked diligently in conjunction with local leaders, including students from Adlai Stephenson High School, to defeat a bill that would have put the question of marijuana commercialization on the ballot.
In April, HPIL, SAM, and Stephenson High School Students held a press conference highlighting a cost report that found marijuana legalization would cost the state of Illinois upwards of $670 million, far outweighing prospective tax revenues. After this, pro-pot politicians lost traction on their plan and the session ended with no legalization.
(4) VERMONT SAID \”NOT SO FAST\”
In Vermont, several legislators attempted a \”Hail Mary\” by trying to quickly move a bill to legalize retail sales late in the session. SAM Vermont stepped in and brought about a victory for public health as the bill was overwhelmingly voted down in the House of Representatives.
(5) POT GOES DOWN THE DRAIN IN DELAWARE
In June, the Delaware House of Representatives shot down a bill seeking to legalize marijuana in the First State. By a vote of 21-15, state lawmakers deflated the hopes of Big Marijuana at expanding into the state and stood strong in support of public health and safety.
Governor John Carney repeatedly stated that he was opposed to legalization and a large coalition of police groups, doctors, hospitals, and several of the state\’s largest employers led by Keep Delaware Healthy and Safe, a SAM Affiliate, and AAA-Mid-Atlantic, rose to the occasion to defeat this reckless proposal.
(6) GRANITE STATE STANDS STRONG
In New Hampshire, the House voted to send a bill – which would have allowed possession of three quarters of an ounce and three plants – back to a study committee, which killed the bill for the remainder of the year. New Futures, a SAM partner, worked diligently within the state to urge legislators to heed the lessons of other states that made the mistake of legalizing marijuana.
(7) BIG POT\’S BIG POCKETS COULDN\’T AFFORD CONNECTICUT
Earlier in April, pro-pot advocates were ready to declare victory in Connecticut as a bill to legalize marijuana was passed out of committee. Fortunately, state lawmakers sided with science and health officials over the pot industry and refused to bring the bill to a vote in either chamber before the session expired. Earlier in the year, the Connecticut chapter of SAM (CT-SAM) released a comprehensive cost study finding that marijuana legalization would cost the state $216 million, well exceeding the projected revenue of $113 million.
(8) RHODE ISLAND AFFILIATE ANNUALLY SMACKS DOWN POT EXPANSION
In Rhode Island, our partners have been extremely successful in fighting back Big Marijuana\’s attempts to expand into the state. Their tireless efforts have resulted in legalization bills being defeated in the legislature every year for the last seven years.
Additionally, they have defeated numerous attempts to expand the number of marijuana dispensaries and have succeeded in establishing local control over pot-related zoning ordinances in towns and cities. When the state was rushing to legalize pot, our partners were able to orchestrate the creation of a bi-partisan group to study the potential impacts of legalization on the state.
\”While the pot industry wants folks to believe that commercialization and legalization is inevitable, the results we have seen in these states challenge that assertion,\” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, founder and president of SAM. \”The wins in these states call for celebration, but we know Big Marijuana won\’t give up easily – they have too much money on the line. We won\’t ever give up either – we have the future of our country on the line.\”
AND FOR GOOD MEASURE…
We\’re not giving up on states like Michigan, where pro-pot interests panicked and poured millions of dollars in at the last minute. In fact, thanks to our inner-city outreach, we outperformed in Detroit and SAM Action\’s partner, Healthy and Productive Michigan (HPMI), remains the state voice standing up against the industry. HPMI is now organizing local community \”opt-outs\” to reject pot shops.
Speaking of opt-outs, Massachusetts should also be mentioned: More than two years after voting in favor of pot, only a small handful of communities have shops up and running. A major opt-out effort has been successful throughout the state, with communities such as Concord, Burlington, Foxboro, and all of Cape Cod opting out of marijuana establishments.
Our efforts in California in helping local communities push back against the industry continue, also. Parents and educators across the state weighed in and kept marijuana out of school nurse office when the marijuana industry wanted it. The League of California Cities is leading efforts to maintain control as Big Pot tries to roll back regulations that prevent billboards and marijuana delivery services. Additionally, 85% of cities and towns in the state have opted out of commercialization.
This last year was one public health advocates can look back on with pride.
Advocates across the country all came together to push back on Big Marijuana\’s attempts to further their addiction-for-profit scheme and together, we notched resounding victories. That said, we cannot rest on our laurels just yet. The industry will be back next year and will be looking for revenge. Let\’s keep working together to keep our nation healthy.
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OREGON MOTHER LAMENTS THE HARMS BROUGHT ON BY LEGALIZING POT
The availability of substances became rampant in the wake of legalization, and yes it was affecting our oldest son Trevor, now 16.
The Slippery Slope
Trevor moved beyond marijuana and got involved in so much more:
- Dealing/trading other drugs, pills and alcohol
- Stealing from friends and family
- Driving without a license or even a permit
- Skipping school, lying and promiscuity
The effects of drugs on the teen brain are horrific. Many adults don’t even know, and many kids have no idea what they are doing to their brains when they’re doing pot. One must live through it in their own home, with their own child, to understand the dynamic and heartache this behavior brings. In our situation, the county juvenile services became imperative. We were forced to turn our own son over to authorities. Without the police and the county services, Trevor would not have progressed so far in the right direction.
For Complete story go to DON’T-Legalize-DRUGS