The chronology of cannabis

The chronology of cannabis

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2737 BC: Cannabis referred to as a "superior" herb in the world's first medical text, or pharmacopoeia, Shen Nung's Pen Ts'ao, in China
1500 BC : Cannabis-smoking Scythians sweep through Europe and Asia, settling and inventing the scythe.
1400 BC : Cultural and religious use of ganga or cannabis, and charas or hashish (resin) recorded used by Hindus in India.
c.600 BC : Zend-Avesta, Indian scripture, speaks of hemp's intoxicating resin.
c.500 BC : Gautama Buddha said to have survived by eating hempseed. Cannabis used in Germany (Hochdorf Hallstatt D wagon burial site). First botanical drawings of cannabis in Constantinopolitaus.
450 BC : Herodotus records Scythians and Thracians as consuming cannabis and making fine linens of hemp.
300 BC : Carthage and Rome struggle for political and commercial power over hemp and spice trade routes in the Mediterranean.
100 BC : Chinese make paper from hemp and mulberry.
70 BC : Roman Emperor Nero's surgeon, Dioscorides, praises cannabis for making the stoutest cords and for its medicinal properties.
c.30 AD : Jesus teaches: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man (Matthew 15:11). The Gospels refer to the New Wine and declare that it is best when the clusters are ripe.
100 AD : Roman surgeon Dioscorides names the plant cannabis sativa and describes various medicinal uses. Pliny reported of industrial uses and wrote a manual on farming hemp.
400 AD : Cannabis cultivated for the first time in the UK at Old Buckenham Mere
500 AD : First botanical drawing of hemp in Constantinopolitanus
600 AD : Germans, Franks, Vikings etc all use hemp fibre.
800 AD : Mohammed allows cannabis but forbids the use of alcohol.
1000 AD : The English word "hempe" first listed in a dictionary. Moslems produce hashish medicine and social use.
1150 AD : Moslems use hemp to start Europe's first paper mill. Most of the paper is made from hemp for the next 750 years, including Bibles.
1379 AD : Emir Soudon Sheikhouni of Joneima prohibits cannabis consumption amongst the poor, destroys the crops, and punishes offenders by pulling out their teeth.
1484 AD : Inquisitor Pope Innocent VIII outlaws hashish.
1494 AD : Hemp paper industry starts in England.
1545 AD : Hemp agriculture arrives in China.
1554 AD : The Spanish grow hemp in Peru.
1563 AD : English Queen Elizabeth I decrees that land owners with more than 60 acres must grow hemp or be fined 5 pounds.
1564 AD : King Philip of Spain orders hemp grown throughout his empire from modern Arhentina to Oregon.
1600 AD : Dutch achieve the "Golden Age" through hemp commerce. Explorers find "wilde hempe" in North America.
1606 AD : The British take cannabis to Canada for maritime uses.
1611 AD : The British start growing cannabis in Virginia.
1619 AD : Virginia colony makes hemp cultivation mandatory, followed by most other colonies. Europe pays hemp bounties.
1621 AD : Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy claims cannabis is a treatment for depression.
1631 AD : Hemp used as money throughout American colonies.
1632 AD : The Pilgrims take cannabis to New England.
1637 AD : The General Court at Hartford, Connecticut, orders that all families plant one teaspoon of cannabis seeds.
1639 AD : Massachusetts Courts follow Hartford.
1753 AD : Cannabis Sativa classified by Linneaus.
1763 AD : New English Dictionary says cannabis root applied to skin eases inflammation.
1776 AD : Declaration of Independence drafted on hemp paper.
1791 AD : President Washington sets duties on hemp to encourage domestic industry. "Make the most of the Indian Hemp Seed" ........President George Washington. (Library of USA Congress 1794 vol. 33 p.270). President Jefferson calls hemp a necessity and urges farmers to grow hemp instead of tobacco.
1800 AD : Cotton gins make cheaper fibre than hemp. Napoleon prohibits his men in Egypt from using cannabis, but to little effect.
1835 AD : The Club de Hashichines is founded.
1839 AD : Homeopathy journal 'American Provers' Union' publishes first report on effects of cannabis.
1840 AD : "Prohibition... goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control mans' appetite through legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not even crimes... A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our Government was founded"...........Abraham Lincoln (December 1840)
1841 AD : Dr. W.B.O'Shaughnessy, "On the Preparation of the Indian Hemp or Ganja" introduces cannabis to western science.
1845 AD : Psychologist and inventor of modern psychopharmacology and psychotomimetric drug treatment, Jacques-Joseph Moreau de Tours documents physical and mental benefits of cannabis.
1850 AD : Petrochemical age begins. Toxic sulphite and chlorine processes make paper from trees: steamships replace (hemp) sails; tropical fibres introduced.. USA census records 8327 hemp plantations of over 2000 acres each.
1854 AD : Bayard Taylor essay Visions of Hashish.
1857 AD : Fitz Hugh Ludlow publishes The Hasheesh Eater;
1857 AD : Smith Brothers of Edinburgh market cannabis indica extracts.
1860 AD : First governmental commission study of cannabis and hashish conducted by Ohio State Medical Society. It catalogues the conditions for which cannabis is beneficial: neuralgia, nervous rheumatism, mania, whooping cough, asthma, chronic bronchitis, muscular spasms, epilepsy, infantile convulsions, palsy, uterine haemorrhage, dysmenorrhea, hysteria, alcohol withdrawal and loss of appetite.
1868 AD : The Emir of Egypt makes the possession of cannabis a capital offence.
1869 AD : Tales of Hashish by A.C. Kimmens
1870 AD : Cannabis listed in US Pharmacopoeia as a medicine.
1870 AD : South Africa worried about cannabis use among Indian workers, passes a law forbidding the smoking, use or possession of hemp by Indians.
1876 AD : Hashish served at American Centennial Exposition.
1877 AD : The Sultan of Turkey makes cannabis illegal, to little effect.
1894 AD : British Indian Hemp Drugs Commission studies social use of cannabis and comes out firmly against its prohibition.
1895 AD : First known use of the name "marijuana" for smoking, by Pancho Villa's supporters in Sonora, Mexico.
1909 AD : Shanghai Conference: first international meeting on drugs is held to discuss opium. The USA passes an act to prohibit the buying or selling of opium for non-medicinal purposes.
1910 AD : African-American "reefer" use reported in Jazz Clubs in New Orleans, said to be influencing white people. Mexicans smoking marijuana in Texas. South Africa prohibits cannabis.
1911 AD : Hindus reported to be using ganja in San Francisco.
1911 AD : South Africa bans cannabis.
1912 AD : "Essay on Hasheesh" by Victor Rolson. Possibilities of putting controls on cannabis use is first raised.
1912 AD : Hague Conference; second international meeting on drugs. 46 nations discuss opium, morphine, cocaine, heroin and cannabis. The Hague Convention for the Suppression of Opium and Other Drugs, was drawn up, requiring parties to confine to medical and legitimate purposes the manufacture, sale and use of opium, heroin, morphine and cocaine; Cannabis was not included. (From Mandeson, D. From Mr Sin to Mr Big, A history of Australian Drug Laws, Oxford University Press Melbourne 1995)
1912 AD : First suggestions that cannabis should be banned internationally, at the First Opium Conference.
1915 AD : Utah State, then California and Texas outlaw cannabis. Cocaine banned in the USA.
1916 AD : USDA Bulletin 404 calls for a new program of expansion of hemp to replace uses of timber by industry.
1919 AD : Texas outlaws cannabis. Alcohol is prohibited throughout the USA. Cannabis is still legal in most States.
1920 AD : DuPont experiments with petrochemicals. Gang war takes over the alcohol industry, homicides increase drastically.
1923 AD : South African delegate at League of Nations calls for international controls on cannabis, claiming that it makes mine workers less active. Britain insists on further research.
1923 AD : Louisiana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington outlaw cannabis.
1924 AD : At the Second International Opiates conference Egyptian delegate claims serious problems are associated with hashish use and calls for immediate international controls. Sub-committee listens to Egypt and Turkey. Cannabis declared a narcotic. Cannabis Ruderalis identified by Lamarck.
1927 AD : New York outlaws cannabis.
1928 AD : UK Dangerous Drugs Act (September 28th) 1925 becomes law and makes cannabis illegal.
1929 AD : The Panama Canal Zone Report concludes that there is no evidence that cannabis use is habit-forming or deleterious, recommending no action be taken against cannabis use or sale.
1929 AD : South West states make cannabis illegal as part of a move to oust Mexican immigrants.
1930 AD : Henry Ford makes his motor cars out of hemp with hemp paint and hemp fuel. New machines invented to break hemp, process the fibre and convert the pulp or hurds into paper, plastics etc. 1200 hash bars in New York City. Racist fears of Mexicans, Asians and African-Americans lead the cry for cannabis to be outlawed.
1930's AD New mechanised hemp harvesting methods invented
1930 AD : Louis Armstrong arrested in Los Angeles for possession of cannabis.
1931 AD : Federal Bureau of Narcotics formed with Anslinger at the head. By now 29 US states have banned non-prescription cannabis
1934 AD : Anslinger refers to "ginger-haired ******s" in FBI official circulars.
1936 AD : South Western states call for FBI to ban cannabis.
1937 AD : Marijuana Tax Act forbids hemp farming. The Act was based on the Machine Gun Transfer Act which made it illegal to pass on machine guns without a government stamp - there being no such stamps available. By applying this strategy to marijuana, Anslinger was able to effectively ban hemp without contravening constitutional rights.
1937 AD : DuPont files patents for nylon, plastics and a new bleaching process for paper. Anslinger testifies to congress that Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug known to man. The objections of the American Medical Association are ignored. The Marijuana Transfer Tax Bill (14th April) introduced to US House, Ways and Means Committee, passed December, prohibits industrial and medical uses and calls flowering tops a narcotic. Violations attract 200 dollar fines. Birdseed, rope and cordage are exempted from tax.
1937 AD : DuPont patents plastics, seizing the opportunity created by cannabis hemp prohibition
1939 AD : LaGuardia Report started
1941 AD : Cannabis dropped from USA Pharmacopoeia
1941 AD : Henry Ford's car is made from and runs on cannabis.
1943 AD : Hemp for Victory program urges farmers to grow hemp to help war effort.
1943 AD : US Military Surgeon magazine declares that smoking cannabis is no more harmful than smoking tobacco.
1944 AD : New York Academy of Medicine reports marijuana use does not cause violent behaviour, provoke insanity, lead to addiction or promote opiate usage. Anslinger describes the authors as dangerous and strange.
1944 AD : New York Mayor's La Guardia Report "The Marijuana problem in the City of New York" concludes that smoking marijuana does not lead to addiction in the medical sense of the word, that juvenile delinquency is not associated with marijuana smoking and that the publicity concerning the catastrophic effects of marijuana smoking in New York is unfounded.
1944 AD : Anslinger threatens doctors who carry out cannabis research with imprisonment.
1945 AD : USA 'Newsweek' reports over 100,000 Americans use cannabis.
1948 AD : Anslinger now says cannabis users are peaceful and that cannabis could be used during a communist invasion, to weaken American will to fight.
1948 AD : United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 AD : Hollywood star Robert Mitchum arrested for cannabis.
1951 AD : UN Bulletin of Narcotic Drugs states over 200 million cannabis users in the world.
1952 AD : First UK cannabis arrest at Number 11 Club, Soho, London.
1955 AD : Hemp farming outlawed again.
1960 AD : Hippies, Vietnam Veterans, pop fans adopt cannabis.
1961 AD : UN Treaty 406 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs seeks to outlaw cannabis use and cannabis cultivation worldwide and eradicate cannabis smoking within 30 years (by 1991). USA representative is Anslinger.
1962 AD : President Kennedy sacks Anslinger. Kennedy using cannabis as a pain relief.
1963 AD : Kennedy assassinated.
1964 AD : Thelin Brothers open first US 'Head Shop'.
1964 AD : THC, tetrahydracannabinol, first isolated
1966 AD : Donovan becomes first UK celebrity to be busted for cannabis.
1967 AD : SOMA Times Petition in the UK urges legalisation of cannabis. The Beatles sign it. 3,000 people hold a 'smoke-in' in Hyde Park.. Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones are arrested and imprisoned for cannabis. This prompts a Times editorial 'Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?'. The convictions are quashed on appeal.. In the UK 2,393 persons arrested for cannabis offences.. In the USA over 3,000 joints mailed to addresses at random by Abbie Hoffman and the Yippies.
1968 AD : John Lennon arrested for cannabis possession.
1968 AD : 1 November : UK Government Wootton Report recommends cannabis possession should not be an offence. "Having reviewed all the material available to us we find ourselves in agreement with the conclusion reached by the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission appointed by the Government of India (1893-94) and the New York Mayor's Committee (1944 - LaGuardia) that the long-term consumption of cannabis in moderate doses has no harmful effects."
1968 AD : Campaign to stop US soldiers in Vietnam from taking cannabis - they switch to heroin.
1969 AD : James Callaghan, UK Labour Prime Minister, rejects the findings of the Wootton Report.
1969 AD : George Harrison arrested for cannabis.
1970 AD : Social use of cannabis receives widespread acceptance despite illegality; policy of decriminalisation sweeps across USA and Britain.
1970 AD : LeDain Report (Canada) recommended that serious consideration be given to the legalisation of personal possession of marijuana. It finds that cannabis use increases self-confidence, feelings of creativity and sensual awareness, facilitates concentration and self-acceptance, reduces tension, hostility and aggression and may produce psychological but not physical dependence. The report recommends that possession laws be repealed
1970 AD : R. Keith Stroup founds NORML 'National Organisation for Reform of Marijuana Laws', in UDSA.
1970 AD : USA Marijuana Transfer Tax declared unconstitutional.
1971 AD : British Misuse of Drugs Act classifies cannabis as a Class B drug with stiff sentencing. This bans the medical use of cannabis, ignoring the Wootton Report.
1971 AD : UN Convention on Psychotopic Substances
1972 AD : US President Richard Nixon says 'I am against legalising marijuana'.
1972 AD : Baan Commission presents report to Dutch Minister of Health and suggests that cannabis trade below a quarter of a kilo ought to be considered as a misdemeanour only.
1973 AD : Oregon considering legalisation
1973 AD : US Shafer Commission, appointed by Nixon, declares that personal use of marijuana should be decriminalised as should casual distribution of small amounts for no or insignificant renumeration
1973 AD : UN Convention of Psychotropic Substances: cannabis is a narcotic.
1974 AD : US Senate report on Marijuana-Hashish Epidemic and its Impact on US Security claims that cannabis use cause brain damage, a-motivation and genetic and reproductive defects
1975 AD : Hundreds of US doctors call for more research on cannabis.
1975 AD : Alaska legalises cannabis for personal use. Limit on amount is one ounce.
1975 AD : After 3 years of campaigning to abolish penal sanctions for the consumption of drugs, Pannella forces the police to arrest him, by smoking a joint in public.
1975 AD : Jamaica Studies reveal good health amongst prolific cannabis users. "No impairment of physiological, sensory and perceptual performance, tests of concept formation, abstracting ability, and cognitive style, and tests of memory."
1976 AD : Holland adopts tolerant attitude to cannabis and many coffee shops and youth centres allowed to sell cannabis.
1976 AD : USA New York Times (Jan 5) declares 'Scientists find nothing really harmful about pot'.
1976 AD : Ford administration bans medical research on cannabis. Research on synthetic cannabis analogues allowed to continue. Robert Randal is the first US citizen to receive cannabis from Federal supplies made under the Investigational New Drug (IND) Program.
1976 AD : DuPont declares cannabis is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco and calls for its decriminalisation.
1976 AD : USA President Ford bans medical research on cannabis.
1977 AD : President Carter thinks cannabis should be legalised.
1977 AD : The Australian Senate Standing Committee on Social Welfare (the Baume Committee) recommends treating drug use as a social / medical rather than legal problem. Also that criminal sanction of possession of cannabis be replaced by fines while retaining penalties for possession of hashish, oil and purified THC.
1978 AD : New Mexico allows cannabis sale for medical use.
1978 AD : The New South Wales Joint Parliamentary Committee upon Drugs recommends eliminating criminal sanctions for personal use of cannabis, implementing bond and probation penalties for first offenders and expunging records upon successful completion of these punishments. Also suggest retaining penalties for trafficking in cannabis.
1980 AD : Paul McCartney arrested for cannabis and spends 10 days in prison in Japan.
1980 AD : Costa Rica study reports good health in cannabis users.
1980 AD : May 10 : Smokey Bears in Hyde Park
1981 AD : The Coptic Study claims 'No harm to human brain or intelligence' through cannabis use.
1982 AD : An Analysis of Marijuana Policy, National Research Council of the National Academy of Science, concludes that "a policy of prohibition of supply is preferable only to a policy of complete prohibition of supply and use"
1983 AD : In the UK over 20,000 convictions for possession.
1983 AD : The USA government (Reagan / Bush)orders American Universities to destroy all 1966-76 research work on cannabis.
1985 AD : Winters and DiFranza reveal radioactive material in tobacco may account for half the lung cancer deaths; no radioactive material in cannabis.
1986 AD : 8 July : UK Drug Trafficking Offences Act introduced to enable confiscation of assets from drug dealers
1987 AD : The USA Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy says: "Cannabis can be used on an episodic but continual basis without evidence of social or psychic dysfunction. In many users the term dependence with its obvious connotations, probably is mis-applied... The chief opposition to the drug rests on a moral and political, and not toxicologic, foundation".
1988 AD : 6 September : DEA chief administrative judge, Judge Young, rules the US government should allow the medicinal use of cannabis. He says "Marijuana in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substance known to man". DEA rejects report.
1988 AD : 20 December : UN Convention against illicit traffic in narcotic and psychotropic substances, Vienna, includes cannabis
1988 AD : UK 23,229 people arrested for cannabis offences.
1989 AD : Presidents Reagan and Bush declare war on cannabis; shops selling smoking apparatus outlawed. Urine testing introduced. Recriminalisation, asset and property seizure, armed forces, prison camps, 'Just Say No' campaign, PFDA, DARE, tobacco and nuclear subsidies. Price - per - ounce cannabis worth more than gold. Worldwide prohibition entices organised crime to take control of the cannabis market and make huge profits. Reagan declares victory in War on Drugs. Secretary of State James A Baker reports global war on narcotic production is 'clearly not being won'.
1990 AD : Jack Herer, in his book 'The Emperor Wears No Clothes' offers $10,000 reward to anyone who can disprove his assertion that hemp can 'save the planet'.
1990 AD : Alaska recriminalises cannabis possession
1990's AD :USA voters pass regional measures to allow medicinal use of cannabis. Interest in this and other uses of hemp add new support to campaign for the legal right to social / recreational use of cannabis.
1991 AD : THC receptors found in the brain.
1991 AD : UK 40,000 people arrested for cannabis.
1991 AD : 'Mr. Marijuana', Howard Marks, arrested, taken from Spain to USA, and given 25 years imprisonment for trafficking in cannabis.
1991 AD : UK Judge Pickles advocates legalisation of drugs..
1991 AD : UK MP Tony Banks (labour) advocates legalisation of cannabis.
1991 AD : IND program dropped in USA.
1992 AD : January 22 :California Research Advisory Panel reports that prohibition has a more harmful effect on society and the individual than illegal drugs themselves.
1992 AD : February 19 : UK Government issue licenses to grow cannabis for industrial uses or scientific research
1992 AD : "Medicines often produce side effects. Sometimes they are physically unpleasant. Cannabis too has discomforting side effects, but these are not physical they are political"... The Economist March 28th 1992
1992 AD : USA over 340,000 arrests for cannabis.
1992 AD : Australia licenses hemp farm.
1992 AD : US Investigational New Drug (IND) Program dropped.
1992 AD : USA President Clinton admits he smoked cannabis but did not inhale. Howard Marks admits that he smoked cannabis but never exhaled.
1992 AD : 17 European Cities sign Frankfurt Charter agreeing to tolerate social use of cannabis.
1992 AD : USA Jim Montgomery, a paraplegic who smoked cannabis to relieve muscle spasm, busted for two ounces of marijuana in Oklahoma, arrested and sentenced to life plus 16 years.
1993 AD : Britain eases restrictions on hemp farming. Hempcore is first British company to get a license. Hemp clothes sold in High Street shops. February 19th.
1993 AD : Commander John Grieve of the Metropolitan Police calls for decriminalisation of cannabis.
1993 AD : Raymond Kendall, Head of Interpol, calls for decriminalisation of cannabis.
1993 AD : British Law Lord, Lord Woolf calls for legalisation of cannabis
1993 AD : 22 British MP's call for the establishment of a Royal Commission.
1993 AD : 44 British MP's call for a Royal Commission.
1993 AD : German High Court in Kruhe rules that cannabis prohibition is unconstitutional.
1993 AD : 19 British MP's 'welcome' the German court ruling.
1993 AD : 55 British MP's call for cannabis to be recognised and allowed for treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.
1993 AD : British Home Secretary Michael Howard declares 'War on drugs' and increases maximum fine for possession of cannabis to £2,500.
1993 AD : Over 72,000 UK citizens arrested for cannabis offences.
1993 AD : Canada permits a hemp farm in Ontario province.
1995 AD : Holland lowers the amount one can possess without prosecution to 5 grams (from 30) as a result of powerful international pressures from neighboring countries.
1995 AD : UK Channel 4 Pot Night (March) and BBC Panorama's High Risk (April).
1995 AD : UK Home secretary Michael Howard increases penalties for cannabis offenses.
1995 AD : Clare Short MP (Labour) calls for a Royal Commission on Cannabis and is reprimanded by her party bosses. (October)
1995 AD : European Cannabis Consumers' Union founded in Amsterdam.
1995 AD : USA Dan Perron forms Cannabis Buyers Club to distribute cannabis to the sick.
1995 AD : The European Council which defines political guidelines, orders a study of drug legislation and practice in the Union.
1995 AD : September 16 : First CHIC (Cannabis Hemp Information Club) conference in London.
1995 AD : Under the Clinton administration 1,450,751 people had been arrested for cannabis, 86% being for possession only
1995 AD : November 11 : British journal of the medical profession, The Lancet, states that "The smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health".
1995 AD : Dutch Policy in the Netherlands Studies
1995 AD : Henrion Commission Report, the official French State Commission in charge of drug policy supports decriminalisation of cannabis and calls for a two-year trial period of regulated retail trade in cannabis. The French Government reject these proposals.
1996 AD : Victoria (Australia) State Council urge decriminalisation of cannabis.
1996 AD : May 17 : Sow the Seeds Day, London. 1996 AD : CLCIA announce parliamentary candidates in forthcoming General Election
1996 AD : UK Liberal Democrats Party calls for a Royal Commission on cannabis.
1996 AD ; Lord McCluskey calls for consideration of decriminalisation in UK.
1996 AD : The Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence - Drug Notes - Cannabis 1996, p.8 says:
"All that can be said definitely is that 1) Cannabis use generally precedes the use of other illegal drugs. 2) Cannabis use does not necessarily (or even usually) lead to the use of other illicit drugs."
1996 AD : UK Janet Paraskeno, magistrate and director of National Youth Agency calls for 'legalisation and not decriminalisation'.
1996 AD : George Howarth MP (Labour) says his party do not want a Royal Commission because it might conclude that cannabis should be legalised which a Labour Government would not do anyway.
1996 AD : The Parliament of Luxembourg passes a motion calling for a program 'of common measures for the liberalization of cannabis and its derivatives' along with Belgium and the Netherlands, and the harmonisation of drug laws in Benelux countries.
1996 AD : UK Cannabis Awareness Month (September) on 68th anniversary of the law.
1996 AD : Ireland announces their plans to use cannabis as fuel to replace the use of the dwindling supplies of peat
1996 AD : Dutch town council at Delfzij decides to sell cannabis through their own coffee shop. They name the shop 'Paradox'. Profits used to provide information campaigns against 'soft drugs' in Dutch schools. Meanwhile the Dutch close many coffee shops, bowing to pressures from Germany and France.,br 1996 AD : The Canton of Zurich calls for legalisation of cannabis.
1996 AD : UK Crown Prosecution Service dropping cases of possession and cultivation against some ill people (MS) as 'not in the public interest to proceed'.
1996 AD : California and Arizona pass Propositions allowing the use of cannabis in the treatment of certain illnesses, Clinton is re-elected and the FBI threaten Doctors with prosecution.
1996 AD : A Swiss man, Zimmermann, is given a life sentence in the Maldives, for importing three cannabis seeds, found in his luggage as he flew in from India.
1996 AD : Legalise Ganja Jamaica formed.
1996 AD : In the New Zealand general election the legalise cannabis candidate in Mittertond received 30% of the vote. Overall they received 1.4% of the votes, insufficient to gain a seat under proportional representation.
1996 AD : 100 Italian MP's call for legalisation of cannabis in Italy.
1996 AD : The Sunday Times, 1 Dec, says that out of 45 UK judges questioned 16 wanted to see cannabis legalised.
1996 AD : CLCIA offices are destroyed by fire
1996 AD : June : Scottish Nationalist conference votes to allow cultivation for personal use and research into medical uses of cannabis
Sates "Relatively few adverse clinical effects from the chronic use of marijuana have been documented in humans. However, the criminalization of marijuana use may itself be a health hazard, since it may expose the users to violence and criminal activity."
1997 AD : An 8-year study at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine, concluded that long-term smokers of cannabis do not experience a greater annual decline in lung functions than non-smokers.
Researchers said: "Findings from the present long-term follow-up study of heavy, habitual marijuana smokers argue against the concept that the continuing heavy use of marijuana is a significant factor for the development of [chronic lung disease]"
"No difference were noted between even quite heavy marijuana smoking and non-smoking of marijuana."
Volume 155 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Clinical Care Medicine 1997
1997 AD : January16 : A court in Texas, USA, sentences medical marijuana user, William J. Foster to 93 years imprisonment for cultivation of one plant.
1997 AD : Two Swiss Cantons decide to legalise possession of cannabis in small amounts and ask the national Government to do the same.
1997 AD : The German State of Schlewig-Holstein legalise possession of up to 5 grams of cannabis.
1997 AD : After appeals for clemency from the Swiss Government and letters from CLCIA supporters, the Maldives releases Zimmermann, the man given life for three seeds.
1997 AD : Norwich City Council ban the CLCIA from more stalls because seeds had been given out at previous stalls, the seed being fishing bait. After a letter campaign the council agree that CLCIA can have the stall provided they agree not to give out 'anything which can be used to grow or take an illegal substance'.
1997 AD : In the USA a $2 million study to prove cannabis smoking can cause cancer fails and announces that it does not. The release of the report is delayed due to 'lack of supplies'.
1997 AD : Paul Flynn MP introduces an early Day Motion calling on the Government to recognise the medicinal uses of cannabis and to make it available in tablet form, also congratulating the citizens of California and Arizona.
1997 AD : February 11 : USA Federal Government Authorities, led by Barry R. McCaffrey, Director of National Drug Control Policy, resists the medical supply or cannabis in California and Arizona, threatening to prosecute Doctor's who prescribe or supply it.
1997 AD : UK Legalise Cannabis Party, sponsored by the CLCIA, nominates Howard Marks as Parliamentary Candidate for Legalising Cannabis in the General Election. He receives an average 1.3% of the vote over the four constituencies where he stands.
1997 AD : The UK elects a new Labour Government and the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, says he will not legalise cannabis.
1997 AD : Scottish Kirk (Church) comes out in favour of legalising cannabis
1997 AD : Rob Christopher, founder of CHIC - the Cannabis Hemp Information Club - in London, changes his name to Free Rob Cannabis and invites arrest by distributing cannabis cookies on the steps of the Department of Heath in London. He is not arrested.
1997 AD : USA marines use helicopters to destroy marijuana crops in Hawaii despite objections from the people.
1997 AD : The Kaiser Permanente Study (USA) - "Marijuana Use and Mortality" April 1997 American Journal of Public Health concludes "Relatively few adverse clinical effects from the chronic use of marijuana have been documented in humans. However, the criminalization of marijuana use may itself be a health hazard, since it may expose the users to violence and criminal activity."
1997 AD : Researchers at the University of California (UCLA) School of Medicine announced the results of an 8 - year study into the effects of long-term cannabis smoking on the lungs. In Volume 155 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Dr. D.P. Tashkin reported: "Findings from the present long-term, follow-up study of heavy, habitual marijuana smokers argue against the concept that continuing heavy use of marijuana is a significant risk factor for the development of [chronic lung disease. ..Neither the continuing nor the intermittent marijuana smokers exhibited any significantly different rates of decline in [lung function] " as compared with those individuals who never smoked marijuana. Researchers added: "No differences were noted between even quite heavy marijuana smoking and nonsmoking of marijuana."
1997 AD : June : A plaque placed on a park bench in Chapelfield Gardens in Norwich, commemorates Howard Marks stand as a Legalise Cannabis Candidate
1997 AD : July: The British Medical Association (BMA) recommends the provision of medicinal cannabis in the UK.
1997 AD : July: The Attorney General and Minister for Industrial Relations, Australia, JW Shaw QC MLC, announced the end of prison sentences for young cannabis offenders, saying that "I believe many parents would see the imprisonment of their son or daughter for using cannabis as particularly harmful."
1997 AD : July: SYDNEY MORNING HERALD July 21 1997 p5 reports "A survey of a traditionally conservative NSW electorate has shown overwhelming community support for the decriminalisation of cannabis." New South Wales then decriminalises possession of cannabis - up to 5 plants, 30 grams of leaf, 3 grms of resin and 2 grams of oil.
1997 AD : August: UK. After the shooting of a five-year old boy in Bolton in a drug-related attack, Labour MP Brian Iddon calls for a Royal Commission on drugs with a view to decriminalisation. The Sun conducts a poll that showed that over 40% of its readers are in favour of decriminalisation. Labour Home Office spokesman George Howarth says on Radio 4 News that cannabis causes harm and that Labour will never have dialogue on legalisation and that the only solution is to stamp it out.
1997 AD : On September 19th, Marco Pannella is sentenced by the Rome Court to 4 months imprisonment commuted to 8 months on probation, for distributing hashish at the Porta Portese.
1997 AD : September : Sir Paul McCartney, ex-Beatle, reconfirms his call to decriminalise cannabis.
1997 AD : September 28th : UK newspaper The Independent on Sunday, starts their committed campaign to decriminalise cannabis backed by over 100 names of celebrities, doctors, academics etc.
1997 AD : September 28th : A picnic in Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, to commemorate the sad prohibition laws is attended by over 100 people and cannabis is openly smoked on film by TV cameras. On this the 69th anniversary of the Dangerous Drugs Act, Rob Christopher and some 300 others gather in Hyde Park, London, to distribute cannabis cakes free to medical users. Rob then unsuccessfully attempted to turn himself in to the police.
1997 AD : October 8: Lord Bingham of Cornhill, the most senior judge in England and Wales backed calls for a public debate on the legalisation of cannabis. Just days after Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, ruled out moves to legalise cannabis
1997 AD : November 5 : EU Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties suggests that soft drugs should be legalised
1997 AD : December 3: The French secretary of State for Public Health, Bernard Kouchner, in favor of the supply of heroin to people suffering from severe heroin addiction. He also supports the medical application of cannabis, according to an interview with Dr Kouchner MD in the newspaper Liberation.
1997 AD : December 11 : Independent on Sunday hold their "Should cannabis be decriminalised?" conference in Westminster, London. Although all the MPs have been invited only 5 turn up. The conference was overwhelmingly in favour of legalisation
1997 AD : December 19th : DEA formally asked the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct "a scientific and medical evaluation of the available data and provide a scheduling recommendation" for marijuana and other cannabinoid drugs. This DEA request of HHS means that the DEA has for the first time made its own determination that sufficient grounds exist to remove marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Schedule I is supposed to be limited to hard drugs with addictive propensities and with no legitimate medical usage.
1997 AD : December 20 : British Home Secretary, Jack Straw (Labour) is told by the Daily Mirror that his son, William, sold 10 pounds worth of cannabis to a reporter Dawn Alford. Straw immediately escorts his own son to a police station to turn himself in. The lad is cautioned several weeks later.
1998 AD : March: Madrid - European and American scientists defended medical marihuana at an International Symposium on Cannabis and the Brain held at the Fundacion Ramon Areces. According to them, the plant is effective in treating people with cancer and multiple sclerosis, but is not addictive.
1998 AD : Australia : March : Victoria's police commissioner, Mr Neil Comrie, has admitted the fight against drugs has failed and is set to introduce a radical statewide plan to keep drug users out of courts.
1998 AD : Conservative MP David Prior becomes the third British MP to publicly admit having smoked cannabis. He is against legalisation.
1998 AD : MORE than 100 French artists and intellectuals signed a petition admitting to taking soft drugs and offering themselves for prosecution.
1998 AD : March 28: About 20,000 people marched from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square in the Decriminalise Cannabis March organised by the Independent on Sunday, CLCIA and others. Speakers in the Square included Howard Marks, Rosie Boycott, Paul Flynn MP and Caroline Coon. The new UK Anti-Drugs Coordinator, Keith Hallawell, arrogantly stated that the march was a Red Herring (irrelevant).
1998 AD : UK : Times 24 March 1998 : A judge allowed a liver transplant patient to go free after he admitted growing and using cannabis to ease his pain. Sympathising with him, Judge John Hopkin said: "I accept that's why you were growing it; to relieve the considerable pain you must suffer. That is against the law as it stands at the present time, but there is very substantial mitigation in your case." Richard Gifford, 49, a father of 6 was given a two year conditional discharge at Nottingham crown court after pleading guilty to producing and possessing cannabis. The judge said "Whether this substance should be obtained by prescription is a matter for parliament, but it does seem from a number of cases that appear before me that it is benefit to a number of persons." Paddy Tipping, PPS to Jack Straw, the Home secretary said the government has no plans to decriminalise cannabis "People like Judge Hopkin say the acknowledge there is a valuable medical effect, but there has been no compelling research done to suggest that".
1998 AD : April: Czech Republic - President Vaclav Havel vetoes a law banning possession of drugs for personal use and sent it back to Parliament, citing human rights concerns. "The President reached the opinion that the law would lead to the prosecution of victims rather than culprits," said spokesman Ladislav Spacek. Drug experts have warned that the legislation could lead to an increase in crime and drug prices and a decline in the willingness of addicts to be cured. - Reuters
1998 AD : 4 April: A man accused of growing and giving cannabis to his wife, a multiple sclerosis sufferer, was cleared by a jury's majority verdict of cultivating, cultivating with intent to supply, and supplying cannabis. Cab driver Alan Blythe, 52, of Runcorn, Cheshire, had used the defence of duress of circumstances, which the jury at Warrington Crown Court accepted. He claimed he had grown the cannabis and supplied it to his wife Judith, 48, because he was afraid that without it the acute symptoms of MS could trigger her suicide. The jury ignored the judge's suggestion that Mr Blythe had failed to prove duress of circumstances for the charge of cultivation. But they followed this advice in relation to possession, for which Mr Blythe was fined £100.
1998 AD : 21 April Belgium officially decriminalises cannabis after a decision by Minister de Clerck of Justice. That is you will not be prosecuted for possession for personal consumption.
1998 AD : SAN FRANCISCO April 22, 1998 -- A San Francisco marijuana club reopened under another name just a day after a court order shut down its predecessor.
1998 AD : Italy decriminalises possession of drugs and permits small scale cultivation of cannabis for own use.
1998 AD : Danny Tungate polled 7.6% of the vote as a Legalise Cannabis Candidate in the UK local elections, Catton Grove ward, Norwich
1998 AD : June 12: The UK Government has granted a license to grow and possess cannabis for the purposes of medical trials, to Dr Geoffrey Guy of GW Pharmaceuticals. The crop at a secret location in south-east England, is guarded by electrified razor-wire fences, security cameras and guard dogs.
1998 AD : Whilst US Federal Authorities make threats and arrests of Californian doctors who recommend cannabis and force the closure of most medical marijuana clubs in the state, Oakland by-pass federal law by appointing medical marijuana suppliers as deputies thereby making them immune from arrest.
1998 AD : Germany: A petition of 30 thousand signatures organised by the "Selbsthilfegruppe Cannabis als Medizin" in Berlin was handed in to the Senat of Berlin in March 1998. All governing parties (CDU, SPD, PDS and Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen) discussed the issue and unanimously support it!
The signaturess being collected currently, will be handed to the "Petitionsausschuss des Deutschen Bundestages" together with the 30 thousand from Berlin.. ACM, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Cannabis als Medizin (Association for Cannabis as Medicine ) 1998 AD : June 5; Colin Davies acquitted of cultivation in the UK after informing the jury of his medical need and despite instructions from the judge that they had to rule on law and evidence alone. See Rights of Jurors.
1998 AD : A group of Welsh Cannabis Smokers headed by Chris Rawley lays prosecution papers upon Jack Straw, Tony Blair, Lord Bingham, a Crown Court Judge and Tenby Magistrates, in the process of a public prosecution for crimes against humanity and peace, and crimes against children, for upholding an illegal prohibition of cannabis.
1998 AD : September 5: Release and The Lindesmith Institute organise the symposium "Options for Control in the 21st Century", with experts from around the world gathering in London.
1998 AD : October: CLCIA Chairman challenges local Judge on cannabis safety
1998 AD : November 11: UK. The House of Lords rule that based upon the evidence presented for them the Government should make cannabis available to the sick without further delay, but that they are against legalisation for recreational use. Jack Straw, Home Secretary, immediately rejects the House of Lord's Report saying that cannabis will not be made available until a suitable pharmaceutical standard preparation has been thoroughly tested.
1998 AD : November: "We.. say that on the medical evidence available, moderate indulgence in cannabis has little ill-effect on health, and that decisions to ban or legalise cannabis should be based on other considerations.": The Lancet, vol 352, number 9140, November 14 1998
1998 AD : December 24: Prince Charles tells a sufferer of Multiple Sclerosis that he has heard that cannabis can help.
1999 AD : January 21 : USA: Medicinal Marijuana Advocate, Steve Kubby and Wife Busted
1999 AD : February 23: UK: 55-year-old arthritis sufferer jailed for one year for using cannabis to relieve his pain
1999 AD : March 4 : ALASKA: Medical Marijuana Law Starts
1999 AD : March 15: USA: Federal Judge Gives OK to Pot Case
1999 AD : March 21: USA: Government Study Labels Marijuana A Useful Medicine
1999 AD : March 21: Only 8 People Can Legally Use Pot As MedicineA
1999 AD : March 23: GERMANY: Health Minister Supports Medical Marihuana
1999 AD : March 30: CANADA: Pot Users Take Fewer Road Risks Than Drunks Study Says
1999 AD : April 1: USA: Farmers Lobby to Legalize the Growing of Hemp
1999 AD : April 7: USA: Florida Supreme Court Hears Medical Marijuana Case
1999 AD : March: The LEGALISE CANNABIS ALLIANCE becomes an official political party in the UK. 1999 AD : April 9: UK: Pro-Cannabis Lobby To Stand in Norwich
1999 AD : April 23: SWITZERLAND: Legalising Cannabis
1999 AD : May 1 : Many thousands march for legalisation around the world
1999 AD : May 6 : UK: Local Election Results, May 6 1999: Legalise Cannabis Alliance candidates poll average 3.5%.
1999 AD : May 10: USA: NV Assembly Bill Eases Marijuana Penalties
1999 AD : May 20: UK Government objects to cannabis bill 95 MPs support MM bill. Eric Mann's parole revoked to silence him.
1999 AD : June 9 : CANADA: Two Patients Get Federal Go-Ahead To Smoke Pot
1999 AD : June 11: US Kentucky: Hemp Museum Opens Doors To History Of Versatile Plant
1999 AD : June 11: NEW ZEALAND: Advice To Review Dope Law Repeated
1999 AD : June 13: UK: Cannabis Inhalers In First Legal Health Test
1999 AD : June 21: CANADA: Compassion Club To Grow Pot In Homes Of Members
1999 AD : June 21: SCOTLAND: Doctors Back Legalising Cannabis:
1999 AD : June 24: JAMAICA: Official Encourages Cultivation Of Hemp
1999 AD : June 30: UK: Jails Chief Says Drug Test Regime Is Useless
1999 AD: September 6: UK: MS Patients Recruited To Test Cannabis Pill 1999 AD : Oct. 14: Kingston, Jamaica: The Jamaican Senate has unanimously approved a resolution establishing a commission to explore the decriminalisation of marijuana.
1999 AD : Nov 25: The Legalise Cannabis Alliance candidate in the Kensington and Chelsea By-election, Colin Paisley gained 141 votes, 8th out of 18 candidates.
2000 AD : Jan 12: CANADA: Hepatitis C Patient Wins Right To Smoke Pot
2000 AD : March 6: UK: First Conference Of The Legalise Cannabis Alliance
2000 AD : March 25: UK: Inquiry Calls For Softer Line On Hard Drugs - But Blair Says No
2000 AD : March 29: SWITZERLAND: Swiss Parliament Legalises Cannabis
2000 AD : March 30: Malaysian Gets Life For Growing Cannabis Plant
2000 AD: April 4: MALAWI: Minister Steps Up Campaign To Legalise Marijuana
2000 AD: May 4: The Legalise Cannabis Alliance fields 5 candidates in Norwich local elections (Sarah Homes, Mick Pryce, Hugh Robertson, Trevor Smith, Tina Smith), one in Peterborough (Marcus Davies). Derrick Large receives over 400 votes in the Romsey by-election won by a Liberal Democrat.
2000 AD: May 6: Hundreds of thousands of people march for the end of the War on Cannabis
2000 AD: June 28: CANADA: Medical Pot Grower Cleared
2000 AD: June 28: NETHERLANDS: Dutch cannabis vote irks cabinet
2000 AD: July 17: USA CA: Federal Judge Clears Way for Oakland Club to Distribute Pot to Seriously Ill Patients
2000 AD: July 31: CANADA: Pot Prohibition Unconstitutional, Rules Court Of Appeals
2000 AD: August 1: UK: Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment From Cannabis
2000 AD: August 15: USA CA: Appeals Court Approves Marijuana As Medicine
2000 AD: September 6: EUROPE: Dutch, Swiss and German Governments To Act on Marijuana
2000 AD: September 8: USA CA: Doctors' Rights Backed Under Pot Law
2000 AD: September 9: GUAM: High Court Ruling Backs Rastafarian's Sacrament - Cannabis:
2000 AD: September 14: USA CA: Feds Rule Doctors May Recommend Pot
2000 AD: September 28: UK: MS Sufferer Cleared Of Cannabis Charge
2000 AD: October: Canadian Government Will Legalize Medical Marijuana Use
2000 AD: October 20: UK: Cannabis Less Harmful Than Aspirin, Says Scientist
2000 AD: November 24: USA: CA: Study Of Pot's Benefits To AIDS Patients Gets DEA's Blessing
2000 AD: December 22: CANADA: Legal Marijuana Operation Opens
2001 AD: 4 January: CANADA: Firm Grows Medical Pot In Mine Shaft
2001 AD: 19 January: BELGIUM: Seen Decriminalising Cannabis Use
2001 AD: 10 March: SWITZERLAND: Move To Legalise Cannabis
2001 AD: 21 March: MEXICO: Leader Backs Call To Legalize Drugs
2001 AD: 22 March: UK: Lords Urge Legal Use Of Cannabis
2001 AD: 7 April: CANADA: Gravely Ill To Get Medical Pot
2001 AD: 26 April: USA: Legalize Marijuana, New Mexico Governor Urges
2001 AD: 11 June: Pot Smokers Just As Healthy - Study
2001 AD: 25 June: UK: Home Secretary Praises Cannabis Scheme
2001 AD: 1 July: UK: Drug Czar Recants: Cannabis Use Does Not Lead To Heroin
2001 AD: 4 July: CANADA: Legal-Marijuana Users To Get Photo Id Cards
2001 AD: 5 July: UK: In One Part Of London, Police Turn Blind Eye To Marijuana To Target Harder Crime
2001 AD: 19 August: FIJI: Marijuana a Fiji Election Issue: A Fijian high chief has said his people should be shot dead if found planting marijuana
2001 AD: 13 September: FRANCE: Koucher Opposes Drugs Law
2001 AD: 20 October: THE NETHERLANDS: Dutch Government Plans To Put Cannabis On Prescription
2001 AD: 14 December: INDONESIA: Marijuana Trafficker Gets Death Sentence
2001 AD: 16 December: UK: Study Finds No Cannabis Link To Hard Drugs
2002 AD: 25 January: NORWAY: Commission Set To Call For Decriminalization
2002 AD: 16 February: KENYA: Hashish Traffickers Jailed For 45 Years
2002 AD: 9 March: UK: Lib Dems back radical drug reforms
2002 AD: 12 March: CANADA: Doctors Want Marijuana Decriminalized
2002 AD: 14 March: UK: Reclassify Cannabis, Says Official Report
2002 AD: 1 June: MEXICO: Chihuahua Considers Legalizing Pot
2002 AD: 29 June: PHILIPPINES: Death For Marijuana
2002 AD: 10 July: David Blunkett's Announcement of reclassification of Cannabis, and Oliver Letwin's reply in Parliament
2002 AD: July: Australian Police Close Cannabis Cafe.
2002 AD: July: UK Drugs Tsar Halliwell Resigns Over Plans To Reclassify Cannabis Possession.
2002 AD: July: Canadian Judge Says Medical Cannabis Is Not Illegal.
2002 AD: August: Israeli Government Approves Use Of Cannabis By Terminally Ill.
2002 AD: October: Colin Davies Who Opened The Dutch Experience Cannabis Cafe In Stockport, UK, Is Sentenced To Three Years In Prison For Cannabis Offences.
2002 AD: November: Kenya Considers Legalising Bhang.
2002 AD: November: UK Doctors Announce Cannabis Extracts Used In Trials On MS And Pain Patients Proving Effective.
2002 AD: November: Czech Doctors Claim Cannabis Helps Sufferers Of Parkinson's Disease.
2002 AD: December: US Study Defies Gateway Theory That Cannabis Use Leads To Use Of Hard Drugs.
2002 AD: December: Canadian Judge Orders Police To Return Medical Cannabis.
2002 AD: December UK: Oakland, US, City Authorities Deputise Medical Marijuana Club Founders.
2003 AD: February: US Jurors Become Angry That Trial Judge Had Not Informed Them That Ed Rosenthal Was Deputised by City Authorities in Oakland, after they convicted him of cultivation.
2003 AD: February: UN Narcotics Control Board Questions Canada's Policy On Use Of Marijuana
2003 AD: February: US Police Arrest 55 Suppliers Of Cannabis Paraphernalia.
2003 AD: March: Pharmacies in The Netherlands Sell Medical Cannabis Which Is More Expensive Than Many Coffeeshops.
2003 AD: March: Danish Drug Dealers Go On Strike
2003 AD: March: JAMAICA: Bill To Legalise Ganja For Private Use
2003 AD: April: RUSSIA: Nostalgic Small Town Puts Cannabis On Its Flag
2006 AD: April: "Marijuana is the equivalent of heroin and cocaine". FDA issues statement denying that marijuana has
any medical benefits at all
2006 AD: May: Mexican Congress passes bill legalising all drugs for private personal use. The officially permitted quantities: up to five grams of marijuana; five grams of opium; 25 milligrams of heroin; 500 milligrams of cocaine; a few tabs of Ecstasy; small quantities of amphetamines and magic mushrooms; and up to a kilo of the sacred cactus peyote. Vicente Fox, Mexico’s president, pledges to sign the Bill - but capitulates to US government pressure 24 hours later. The bill is returned to Congress for revision.
2006 AD: October: CNN reports that Canadian troops "...battle 10-foot Afghan marijuana plants".
2006 AD: October: Medical marijuana advocate Ed Rosenthal, "the guru of ganja",is indicted on new criminal charges.
2006 AD: December: A UK court rules that chocolate bars laced with cannabis for multiple sclerosis sufferers are unlawful. The owners of “Canna-Biz” posted some 36,000 cannabis-laced chocolate bars to more than 1,800 multiple sclerosis victims
2006 AD: December: official US statistics suggests that marijuana is America's leading cash crop
2007 AD: April: Harvard university study shows that Delta-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana, cuts tumour growth in common lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread
2008 AD: Medical marijuana vending machines take root in Los Angeles. The DEA is not amused.
2008 AD: May : UK government announces cannabis will be upgraded from class C to Class B. Its scientific experts, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, recommend cannabis should remain class C.

Drunken and loutish holidaymakers have sent Britain's reputation abroad plunging to new depths.

Drunken and loutish holidaymakers have sent Britain's reputation abroad plunging to new depths.A shocking Foreign Office report reveals a huge rise in the number of arrests of Britons overseas.Figures covering 15 holiday destinations show there were 4,603 arrests last year, up 15.6 per cent.There were 4,603 arrests of Britons at 15 holiday destinations last year (file photo)
Arrests of UK citizens in Spain - by far the biggest problem country - have gone up by a third. In France, they have rocketed by 42 per cent in one year.The report makes clear the devastating impact of alcohol. It says: 'Many arrests are due to behaviour caused by excessive drinking.
'Be aware that travel insurance may not cover you if you have an accident whilst under the influence of alcohol.'The report, British Behaviour Abroad, highlights the perils of excessive drinking by women on holiday that could leave them more vulnerable to rape.
It urges women to cover up, wear 'appropriate dress' and behave in line with local customs noting: 'Alcohol is the most frequently used drug in drug-assisted rape.'
The highest number of reported rapes was in Spain, with 29, followed by Greece (28) and Turkey (21)
Scenes of drunken behaviour have become an all-too-common feature in holiday destinations.On the Greek island of Crete, police trying to clean up the reputation of popular resorts such as Malia have warned British tourists that they face arrest if their drinking looks as if it could get them into trouble.Zakynthos, too, has been blighted by alcohol-fuelled violence. Many blame the thousands of young British visitors, attracted by cheap drunks and raucous night life.Heavy drinking and loutish behaviour by rowdy British tourists has become so bad in the island's biggest resort of Laganas that the mayor has raised the matter with the British ambassador to Greece.
Mayor Dionisis Komiotis has condemned inappropriate behaviour in his town and wants to see families returning to the resort.He said: 'We don't want the young people to walk out naked to cause problems and damage.'We don't want them to annoy the rest of the guests and tourists and, of course, put their own lives in danger.
'We want the young people to enjoy themselves and go back home healthy and happy.'

case of a woman who died when bags of smuggled cocaine burst inside her body hours after hi-tech screening at Heathrow Airport

Even after the embarrassing episode of a Tanzanian national taking a flight from Mumbai to Malaysia carrying 1.3 kg heroin in his stomach, the Mumbai Airport authorities are still to procure equipment that can actually detect narcotics carried within a person’s body.
The Tanzanian national had flown to Malaysia from Mumbai on August 11. Though the man was carrying 1.3 kg heroin in 80-odd one-inch packets in his stomach, they went undetected by the newly installed Itemiser3 system-contraband detector at the Mumbai Airport. Though the 26-year-old man was able to give a slip to customs officials here, he slipped into coma after collapsing on board.
He was rushed to a hospital in Malaysia soon after the plane landed. An X-ray revealed that the man had packets of heroin in his stomach. The drugs, doctors said, had leaked into his stomach. The man was subsequently arrested on drug-trafficking charges.
Following the slip in the security procedure, the Mumbai Airport is now planning to install state-of-the-art walkthrough explosives and narcotics detectors in the next six months at an estimated cost of Rs Rs 68.5 lakh.
Mumbai customs officials had failed to detect the drugs carried by the Tanzanian national as the Rs 15-lakh-Itemiser3 system-contraband detector can detect drugs only in suspicious baggage and parcels, not when they are hidden in body.
In order to nab offenders such as in this case until now, customs officials have had to rely solely on tip-offs.
“We have to rely on our intelligence officers for information about suspects or on sniffer dogs,” G Ravindranath, additional commissioner, customs, said.
The Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) is currently waiting for approval from the aviation ministry and Bureau of Civil Aviation (BCAS) to install new narcotics detectors at the airport.
“We will install these walkthrough explosive and narcotics detectors within a period of six months,” Philip Cash, managing director, MIAL said.
These new detectors or ‘puffers’ will be used to scan only profiled passengers.
“It is difficult to scan or frisk all passengers that come to Mumbai Airport every day. Only those passengers who behave suspiciously will be scanned by this new device. The machine may not help us detect narcotics within the body, but it will definitely boost our security procedures,” a customs official said.
‘DRUG MULES’ WHO HAD GIVEN AIRPORT CUSTOMS A SLIP DEC 10, 2007, HEATHROW:The effectiveness of equipment and procedures designed to catch ‘drug mules’ had been called into question following the case of a woman who died when bags of smuggled cocaine burst inside her body hours after hi-tech screening at Heathrow Airport failed to pick up that she was carrying drugs.A post-mortem revealed that Nicola Last’s blood was “saturated” with cocaine, but customs officers did not spot that her body was packed with 34 bags of the class A drug, worth Rs 39 lakh.
JUNE 28, 1999, MUMBAI: Alhaji Soni Giwa managed to give Mumbai Airport authorities the slip even though he was carrying around 35 four-inch-long capsules containing heroin in his abdomen. Later, he was found unconscious near Santacruz station and was taken to hospital. When Giwa’s body was opened up for an autopsy, several small capsules were found in his abdominal cavity, one of which had burst open, the police said.These capsules were covered with tape and contained white powder, possibly heroin.

90 percent of the world's heroin is grown in Afghanistan, almost all of it is shipped through the Port of Karachi

Last week the governor of the Afghan central bank adjusted World Bank estimates for his country's economic growth in 2008. What was the verdict? A 50 percent decrease in gross domestic product (GDP). Among the reasons cited for the change were a harsh winter, drought, rising food prices and a significant decrease in foreign investment. The latter, he noted, is driven by the increased activity of the Taliban insurgency, corruption and poor infrastructure. One aspect of the economy he did not directly refer to is the opium trade. Why not? Coincidentally, that sector is doing just fine.
At a time when foreign policy and military debates are shifting toward Afghanistan and how to secure its stability and development in the context of US national security interests, it is only fair to put counter-narcotic strategy on the hot seat. Specifically, what can we do to improve it? To answer this, we must first recognize two caveats. First, counter-narcotic strategy is a long-term affair requiring a balance between aggressive measures, e.g. eradication, and softer approaches, e.g. poverty reduction. This means that the slashing of poppy fields must be complemented by the creation of alternative sources of income and regional interdiction of drug shipments. Second, the policy is only as reliable as the government institutions it empowers. For instance, legal prosecution of narcotic traffickers is wholly dependent on competent judicial systems including incorruptible police, lawyers, and judges. With these assumptions in mind, let's look at two inhibitors of successful counter-narcotic strategy—corruption and regional cooperation.
The head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Afghanistan last month spoke of criminal networks that maneuver for the release of drug trafficking suspects from pre-trial detention with a single cell phone call. With a process that painless, it is not difficult to assume that these are the same networks with political connections up to the highest level of government in Kabul. According to the State Department's former coordinator for counter-narcotic strategy in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai instructed the attorney general to refrain from prosecuting senior government officials accused of corruption, and in some cases collusion in the drug trade, "for political reasons."
A strategy to target these drug trade actors at the top of the food chain, senior government officials and agents of the trafficking network, should be actively pursued. This plan should involve restricting access to financial resources by freezing bank assets, limiting movement by placing restrictions on travel, and the immediate removal of provincial-level law enforcement administrators compromised by corruption. Collaboration on complementary counter-narcotic strategies with other countries in the region is another factor to consider.
Recent developments give hope to the prospect of cooperation in combating the flow of narcotics across Asia and the Middle East. Coalition warships in the Arabian Gulf, consisting of the US and British navies, seized over 30 tons of narcotics in the past few months according to a recent US Navy statement. In the United Arab Emirates this week, police seized nearly US$11 million worth of heroin and arrested 19 Afghan suspects in connection with the seizure. Even the military dictatorship regime in Burma got into the act, claiming the arrest of over 300 traffickers and multiple opium seizures during the month of July.
European nations with diplomatic contact in Tehran, some whose troops in NATO are fighting the very same Taliban financed in part by the drug trade, would do well to openly raise their concerns over regional narcotic trafficking with the Iranians. Another immediate neighbor, Pakistan, also needs to take ownership of its complicity in the regional drug trade. As a Brookings Institution senior expert on the Middle East and South Asia recently noted, "If 90 percent of the world's heroin is grown in Afghanistan, almost all of it is shipped through the Port of Karachi."
US pressure on Pakistan to chase drug trafficking within its borders and on its shores is imperative. The billions of dollars being wired through the US Defense Department to the government in Islamabad for anti-terrorist assistance can be leveraged for greater cooperation on this front. The Taliban and affiliated insurgents, who roam freely in the tribal border areas in western Pakistan, directly profit from the opium trade. These groups may be able to eventually recover from the financial repercussions of a disrupted drug trade, but it would nonetheless knock them off balance and debilitate their ability to readily procure the resources necessary to inflict the kind of damage witnessed in last month's Indian Embassy bombing in Kabul or the recent bridge bombing in Peshawar. Indeed, Pakistan must remain an ally and conducive to US interests in the region. However, a little tough love diplomacy with Islamabad in the context of counter-narcotic strategy is warranted under the circumstances. Rooting out internal corruption in Afghanistan and leveraging regional support are not a comprehensive counter-narcotic policy. Increased focus on these two areas, however, could stimulate foreign investment for the Afghans and weaken an enemy in the region.

280 people were admitted to hospitals in the Bristol area due to drug problems last year, according to new figures.

280 people were admitted to hospitals in the Bristol area due to drug problems last year, according to new figures.
The Department of Health data shows that more than half of admissions for drug poisoning and drug-related mental health disorders in the former Avon area from 2006 to 2007 were in the Bristol local authority, where a total of 155 people went into hospital.
The latest figures form part of an annual report carried out by the Government to determine just how many people are using drugs across the country.
As well as the numbers of hospital admissions by primary care trust – the local authority areas that commission health services – the report had statistics for the number of under-16s taking drugs and figures for drug-taking by age, gender and type of substance.
In Bristol 139 people were admitted to hospital for drug poisoning, much lower than in Leeds, which reported the highest number of admissions with 236 during the 12-month period. In the South West the next highest number of admissions was in Devon where there were 103 cases.
Bristol recorded 16 hospital admissions for mental health and behavioural disorders associated with drug-taking, while Somerset had 115.
In Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) there were 43 drug poisoning incidents, 29 in North Somerset and 35 in South Gloucestershire.
Drug-associated mental health admissions accounted for eight cases in B&NES, eight in South Gloucestershire and less than six in North Somerset, although the PCT would not reveal the exact figure.
University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust said that drug-related diagnosis accounted for about 1.6 per cent of all people admitted to hospital in 2006 to 2007. In North Bristol drug-related admissions accounted for 1.7 per cent of all admissions.
Associate director of public health in Bristol, Barbara Coleman, said: "Treatment for drug misuse is a priority in Bristol. Figures for the treatment of drug misuse will be higher than elsewhere in the South West as we've got many more problem drug misusers in Bristol than any other area in the South West. However, we're making significant improvements to care in Bristol.
"In Bristol there are estimated to be around 8,000 drug misusers and more than 50 per cent are currently in some form of treatment programme."
Initiatives in the city include shared-care services with GPs supported by experts such as the Bristol Drugs Project.
There are also specialist nurses at the BRI who are able to recognise if a patient admitted for any reason, is a drug misuser. They can then ensure the patients get appropriate care. These nurses are also training other nurses to recognise drug misusers and to be able to refer patients on to other services.

legalisation would be "less harmful than the current strategy" and that an "overwhelming majority of professionals in the field" agree with that view.

The UK has the highest rate of drug misuse in Europe and the abuse of illicit drugs is a major social problem, not least because of the public health implications. Aids/HIV and other blood-borne diseases are global pandemics and there is a huge ignorance in the UK about these, and sexually transmitted infections, which are also linked with drug abuse. The legalisation of drugs would lead inevitably to a greater number of addictions, an increased burden on the health and social services, and there would be no compensating diminution in criminal justice costs as, contrary to the view held by legalisers, crime would not be eliminated or reduced. A great deal of media attention has been focused on a call for the legalisation of drugs by a former civil servant who was responsible for the Cabinet's anti-drug unit. In The Independent last week, Julian Critchley said that legalisation would be "less harmful than the current strategy" and that an "overwhelming majority of professionals in the field" agree with that view.
Now he has become a teacher, his dangerously naive views appear to be more harmful than an inadequate UK drug policy, and he must associate with a limited group of professionals if his assertion is not gross exaggeration. The majority of people in the UK do not wish to see drugs legalised, and only 6 per cent of the global population between the ages of 15-64 use drugs; this is hardly justification for legalisation.Perhaps it is not widely known that there is a global movement to overturn the United Nations Conventions and secure the legalisation of all drugs driven by people who see huge profits to be had from marketing another addictive substance. Research has demonstrated that the dependency rate for "legal" drugs among those who chose to use them would be around 50 per cent, the same as tobacco, which is why major companies are turning to developing countries in order to encourage smoking.
Recently, a TV programme discussed the issue, and several members of the public phoned in their views, most of which were responsibly opposed to the misuse of drugs. However, it was alarming to hear several people say that they thought that legalising drugs would be the most effective way of dealing with the problem. All of these good people believed that such action would defeat the traffickers, take the profit out of the drug trade and solve the drug problem completely. There was no consideration given to the fact that there is a thriving black market in the legal drugs of alcohol and tobacco, and no awareness of the huge administrative burden that would be created by setting up a government department to tax and administer drugs if legalisation had occurred. There was no awareness of the devious ways in which drug traffickers would circumvent the legislation and no thought given to the huge increase in addiction/dependency that would automatically follow such an ill-advised move, with the tremendous damage that would be visited on the health services in perpetuity. The tax demands would rocket as a consequence.
It is always asserted that legalisation would take the profit out of drug trafficking and would result in a huge drop in crime but, short of the Government distributing free drugs, those who commit crime now to obtain their drugs would continue to do so if they became legal. It is seldom made clear which drugs the legalisers are referring to and to whom they should become available. Is it the position that they wish to legalise "crack" and will all people, regardless of age and mental condition, be able to buy them?The cumulative effects of prohibition and interdiction, combined with education and treatment during 100 years of International Drug Control, have had a significant impact in stemming the drug problem. Legalisation would be likely to convince people that any legal activity cannot be very harmful, increase the availability of drugs, increase the harmful consequences associated with drugs and remove the social sanctions normally supported by the legal system.All drugs, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, can be dangerous if they are taken without attention to appropriate medical advice. Instead of calling for legalisation, it would be far more sensible, as Nick Harding suggested in his article about cannabis use in yesterday's Independent, to seek improved policies. The compassionate and sensible approach should be that we do everything possible to reduce addiction and drug abuse, not encourage it.

One in three British children lives in relative poverty

One in three British children lives in relative poverty, Government advisers claim. Soaring numbers are depressed and in fear of crime, says a report from the four children's commissioners in the UK. Compared with youngsters in mainland Europe, they drink a lot more alcohol, start having sex earlier and are more likely to use cannabis, it adds. The findings, to be presented to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva this week, will be a setback for Gordon Brown, who has placed a high priority on closing the gap between children from rich and poor families.A third of children in the UK are now living in poverty, according to Government offendersIn the report, the commissioners say: 'It is unacceptable that a country as wealthy as the UK has 3.8million children (one in three) living in relative poverty.'Nearly 1.3million children are living in severe poverty in the UK and there is a relatively high likelihood of severe poverty among children living in London, Wales and Northern Ireland.' The mental health of children in England has 'deteriorated' over the past 30 years, say the authors. They place some of the blame on the 'target-driven' education system which leads to 'increased anxiety and stress'. They insist that a key priority for the Government must be to tackle the 'adverse effects of testing on children'. The report declares: 'Children feel increasingly pressurised, in particular, by school, exams and commercial marketing.'
It is also critical of high-profile attempts to tackle bullying which largely fail to work.

study by the children's commissioners covering England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland found: "Compared to other European countries

A study by the children's commissioners covering England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland found: "Compared to other European countries, children drink a lot more alcohol, engage in early sex and are more likely to use cannabis."Children feel increasingly unsafe in their local area, with one in four concerned about violence, crime and weapons."The commissioners also hit out at growing "discrimination" against youngsters.They said shop signs banning two or more children made them feel like second class citizens.The report, to be given to the United Nations in Geneva this week, also criticised the education system for setting too many targets and exams.

British children are being "demonised" by a society that is locking too many of them up, according to watchdogs.

British children are being "demonised" by a society that is locking too many of them up, according to watchdogs. The joint report by children's commissioners for all parts of the UK said attitudes towards youngsters were hardening across the country.
The experts said crime committed by children had fallen between 2002 and 2006, but the numbers criminalised had gone up by just over a quarter. Their conclusions are part of a United Nations review of standards in the UK.
The four commissioners were appointed in a move to ensure children's rights are more effectively recognised by policy-makers. Their report will be presented to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. In their document, the commissioners said most children were happy and that policy-makers were trying to improve the situation. Ben Kelly on how he's turned his life around
They added that too many children were being put through the criminal justice system and the poverty experienced by one in three youngsters was unacceptable for a rich nation. The experts said more children were scared in their neighbourhoods and, citing previous studies, drank more alcohol, had deteriorating mental health and felt more pressure at school than their European peers.
Public bodies are legally bound to put the best interests of a child first in decision-making. But the commissioners said this key legal safeguard had failed in some parts of the youth justice system for England and Wales. "The system is dominated by a punitive approach and does not sufficiently distinguish between adult offenders and children who break the law," says the report. "Compared to other European countries, England has a very low age of criminal responsibility and high numbers of children are locked up. Too many children are being criminalised and brought into the youth justice system at an increasingly young age."
The report attacks the use by some shop-keepers, businesses and local authorities of the Mosquito teen deterrent.
The device emits a high-pitched squeal which can generally only be heard by the under-25s. While ministers had not endorsed Mosquito, the commissioners said they had also done nothing to ban technology which indiscriminately affected those within its range.
This over-use of custody absorbs vast resources which would be better spent on tackling the causes of these problems by preventive work in the community Paul Cavadino, Nacro Kathleen Marshall, Scotland's commissioner, said: "We have highlighted areas that remain a concern, including significant differences in juvenile justice in some parts of the UK and the public's attitudes towards children and young people. She added: "We look forward to briefing the Committee in Geneva to outline the findings of our report and to work with the Committee to make sure we can help improve things for children and young people in a tangible, sustainable and meaningful way." Responding to the report, Children's Minister Beverley Hughes said: "We are 100% committed to improving children's wellbeing. Over the course of this government more than 600,000 children have been lifted out of poverty, almost 3,000 children's centres have been built and school funding has been increased by 87%.

new study, commissioned by the Scottish Government, reveals the depth of the nation's drink and drug problem and its relation to homicide and suicide.

new study, commissioned by the Scottish Government, reveals the depth of the nation's drink and drug problem and its relation to homicide and suicide.Researchers found there were 500 killings in Scotland over five years and 5000 suicides over six years. Both these figures amount to almost double the rates for England and Wales.
The report, Lessons for Mental Health Care in Scotland, looked at all suicides and homicides as well as those committed by people who had sought help from mental health services.It shows suicide rates in Scotland stood at 18.7 per 100,000 of the population, compared to 10.2 per 100,000 in England and Wales.Homicide rates north of the border were 2.12 per 100,000 people compared to 1.23 per 100,000 in England and Wales. Only 28% of the people who took their own life and 12% of killers had recently been mental health patients.This north-south divide was highest among teenagers, the report, carried out by Manchester University, found.
"Alcohol and drug misuse runs through these findings and appears to be a major contributor to risk in mental health care and broader society," said Professor Louis Appleby, director of the study."The findings suggest alcohol and drugs lie behind Scotland's high rates of suicide and homicide and the frequency with which they occur as antecedents in our report are striking."The stark revelation comes as ministers prepare to unveil radical legislation.New Action on Alcohol proposals will make it illegal for anyone under 21 to buy alcohol to take away, mirroring similar approaches in Sweden, Iceland and the US. However, 18-year-olds would continue to be served in pubs, bars and clubs.The proposals, expected to be made public tomorrow, include setting minimum prices for alcohol and banning three-for-two or buy-one-get-one-free deals.The Manchester study by the university National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness is to be published today.
"There has been a welcome recent fall in the suicide rates among the general Scottish population but, despite this, the most striking feature of rates north of the border is how much higher they are than in England and Wales," Mr Appleby said.
"Similarly, the homicide rate in Scotland is substantially higher than in England and Wales."Unlike suicide rates, national homicide rates were boosted by concentrations in certain areas of the country, namely Glasgow and Argyll and Clyde.
The report found that, in common with England and Wales, homicide was a crime committed primarily by young men against young men, the weapon usually a knife.
"The rise in homicide rates in recent years is the result of an increase in killings by young people, mainly men under 25 years, but most are not mentally ill. Therefore, a public health approach to homicide would target alcohol and drug use before mental health illness," said Mr Appleby.
Of the 1373 patient suicides in the report, there was a history of alcohol misuse in 785 cases, an average of 131 deaths per year; a history of drug misuse was seen in 522 cases, or 87 deaths per year.
Of the 58 patient homicides, 41 had a history of alcohol abuse and 45 had drug misuse. Among all perpetrators, whether patients or not, drug and alcohol dependence were the most common diagnoses. In both suicide and homicide, most were not under the care of addiction services.
Meanwhile, a separate report out today highlights that Scotland's drinkers are failing to recognise they are consuming alcohol in quantities damaging to health.
The research by NHS Health Scotland found half the drinkers, who completed drinking diaries as part of the study, drank at least twice the recommended weekly drinking limit - 21 units for men and 14 units for women - and three-quarters reported at least one episode of binge drinking the previous week.
Although problem drinking was still strongly associated with deprivation, high levels of consumption among affluent and middle-aged groups were apparent.
Susan MacAskill, senior researcher from the Institute for Social Marketing at Stirling University and Open University, said: "When people were asked to itemise their drinking over the previous week, many were very surprised by how much they had really drunk."

Sweeping plans to toughen up community penalties and restore confidence in the criminal justice system will be published this week.

Sweeping plans to toughen up community penalties and restore confidence in the criminal justice system will be published this week. Under the proposals, offenders serving community sentences could be required to wear jackets identifying that they are being punished for breaking the law. The plans have been drawn up by Louise Casey, former head of the Government's Respect Unit. The Guardian reported that while they appeared to have the backing of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, some ministers close to PM Gordon Brown believed they were too punitive and would play to Conservative claims of a "broken society". Other measures were said to include the appointment of a public commissioner to represent victims of crime and giving police community support officers powers to detain and issue fixed penalty notices for disorder. Community punishments would be redesignated as "community payback" and responsibility for running them transferred from the probation service to a new organisation focused on punishment rather than rehabilitation. The courts service would be encouraged to set up websites to publicise convictions and sentences passed, while responsibility for publishing crime statistics would be taken away from Home Office ministers in order to restore credibility.
Officials however played down suggestions that the report would call for the publication of the "conviction posters" showing people who have been found guilty of a crime. Ms Casey was commissioned by Mr Brown to draw up the proposals after the Respect Unit was disbanded last year. A Cabinet Office spokesman confirmed the report was "due to be published shortly".

alcohol, which is reputedly "often cheaper than water" in some Scottish supermarkets.

The Scottish government has "bold proposals to deal with the issue" of the "impact on crime and anti-social behaviour" of people drinking alcohol, which is reputedly "often cheaper than water" in some Scottish supermarkets.
(Where that leaves the stereotype of Scots as careful with money, I don't know. Why would they buy water from supermarkets rather than getting it near-free from a tap? Perhaps they are all drunk.)To solve the problem of cheap and plentiful products and consumers willing to consume them, it is proposed to institute minimum prices - with the enthusiastic support of specialist retailers, from whom the "cheaper than water" claim comes - and to raise the minimum age for buying alcohol to 21 in Scotland. The evidence that this will do anything to mitigate the alleged problems is, of course, lacking.Also in the absence of evidence, I have a prediction about the effect on crime of minimum prices and reduced availability for alcohol. Crime will go up. Not only will new criminal offences have been created, but since many will find it more difficult to get booze, some of them will steal it.

Misuse and Addictions Week

Misuse and Addictions Week, an awareness week supported by the home office runs from June 23-30th. During this week treatment agencies have an open door policy allowing addiction-treatment providers, referrers and commissioeinrs along with the general public to learn what services are available to them to help curb addiction. The awareness campaign coincides with the United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse which is held on June 26th. The UN Office on Drugs & Crime launches this day every year to raise awareness.
Dan Butcher, founder of The Recovery Network (a social networking internet platform that provides real time education, a support network and social assistance to anyone affected by addiction) has been lobbying for some time now to have June 26th recognized as not only a global day of awareness but also UK Day against Drug Abuse. He's had several meeting in the house of Lords in order to achieve this goal. He hopes awareness campaigns such as these will help people to realise that it is an illness rather than a weakness. The Recovery Network launched on November 5th 2007 and the website currently helps to support an online community of over 2,000 registered members. Its members consist of addicts wishing to confront their addiction for the first time, recovering addicts and the friends and family members of both. Recovering Coke Addict and Founder Dan says: "This campaign is only one step in winning the war on addiction. The UK government needs to take a much more active role in supporting those affected by addiction. Millions of people have been affected either directly or indirectly by the devastating implications of drug addiction'. As well as tackling drugs and reducing drug-related crime in communities across the country, National Drugs Tackling Week will also highlight support services available such as The Recovery Network. Dan Butcher aims to create as much awareness as possible during this crucial week.

Brian Wright is being chased for £45million in profits from his billion-pound cocaine smuggling operation,

Brian Wright is being chased for £45million in profits from his billion-pound cocaine smuggling operation, a court heard.The 61-year-old godfather — who was known as The Milkman because he always delivered — is serving 30 years in jail after being convicted last year. In 2004 he was said to be worth £600m and prosecutors have this week been trying to claw back the proceeds of his crimes at Woolwich Crown Court.But Wright, who had a house in Frimley, claims he has no assets left. He is refusing to attend the hearing despite being brought from Whitemoor Prison in Cambridgeshire to the high-security Belmarsh jail in south London.His barrister Jerome Lynch QC told the court: “His position is he has nothing and no matter how much he says it, that will not be accepted.“Everything he paid for was paid for in cash and rented.“The approach the Crown has taken is so unrealistic that it is pointless engaging and he takes the view that it almost doesn’t matter.
“He is nearly 62 years of age, and is serving 30 years. He will not see the light of day.“One can understand a man of his age taking that approach when it is likely he will die in jail.”Mr Lynch said Wright’s wife died last year and added: “Is it really supposed that this man who allowed his wife to die in a rented apartment in Spain is the holder of £45million?’But Wright is refusing to give evidence in court to back up his claims he has no money left.“He has no intention of going into the witness box to give any further evidence other than that which he gave in the trial,” said Mr Lynch.
Brian Wright led a double life as a notorious horse-racing punter and a major league gangster before his arrest in Spain 2005.He rubbed shoulders with royalty, boasted a celebrity lifestyle.He laundered his drug money by making huge wagers on horse racing.Wright, married for 43 years, even boasted of meeting singer Frank Sinatra and film star Clint Eastwood.His wealth afforded him a house in Frimley, his rented luxury apartment in Chelsea Harbour, and a £2m villa — named El Lechero, the Spanish for The Milkman — in Spain.He had a box at the Royal Ascot race meeting for 14 years and was a member of the exclusive clubs Tramps and Annabels in London.
Wright was finally nailed by a Customs and Excise operation which began after a boat named Sea Mist was boarded by Irish Police at Cork Harbour on September 29, 1996.
Officers found 1,230lb of cocaine — valued at more than £50m — hidden in the dumb waiter of the yacht.The shipment was meant to have been smuggled into the UK and stored at a safe house in Lymington, Hampshire, but the gang fled the property after hearing of the arrest of the crew.Left at the house was Brian Wright’s Channel 4 Racing Diary containing contact numbers for other members of his cartel, as well as dozens of famous names in horse racing and TV. In 1997, police began bugging Wright’s exclusive riverside flat in Chelsea Harbour and following him and his friends, including right-hand man Kevin Hanley.The next year, as three more shipments successfully arrived in the UK via Poole, Dorset, and Salcombe, Devon, Wright was arrested over horse-fixing allegations.
He was released on bail and in December 1998 he left the UK for Spain after having a heart bypass operation.But on February 12, 1999, Wright’s son Brian Anthony Wright and son-in-law Paul Shannon were among 15 people arrested in connection with the smuggling investigation. Five days after his son’s arrest, Wright Snr paid £20,000 through his daughter Joanne for a private jet to take him and jockey Declan Murphy to Northern Cyprus.Because the territory had no extradition treaty with the UK, he was effectively safe from arrest until he moved on to Spain in 2002.
It was only in the spring of 2005 that Wright Snr was arrested in Marbella and flown back to Britain to face trial.The same year, police arrested Hanley’s girlfriend Anni Rowland for laundering drug money and found nearly £70,000 at her home in Great Burford, Oxfordshire.
Wright, whose last known address was in Cadiz, Spain, denied one count of conspiracy to evade the prohibition on the importation of a controlled substance and one count of conspiracy to supply drugs.
His only previous conviction is for dishonesty, obtaining property by deception, in the late 1970s.
Wright Jnr, now 40, of Ridgemount, Weybridge, Surrey, was found guilty of drugs importation and jailed for 16 years.
Paul Shannon, now 42, of Lockier Walk, Wembley, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply and jailed for five years.
The hearing continues.

Passive Alert Narcotics Detection Animal (PANDA) scans people for the presence of drugs such as heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamines.

If the dog thinks a person is carrying drugs they will sit next to them. Officers then have a power t