uk
Criminalising drugs is harming medical research
by Jon White, New Scientist
David Nutt, former adviser to the UK government, says the ban on drugs like ecstasy is hampering neuroscience
How do the drug laws in most countries affect scientific research?
One of the things I find very disturbing about the current approach to drugs, which is simply prohibition without necessarily any full understanding of harms, is that we lose sight of the fact that these drugs may well give us insights into areas of science that need to be explored and may give us new opportunities for treatment.
In what way?
Almost all the drugs of interest in terms of understanding brain phenomena such as consciousness, perception, mood and psychosis are illegal. And so there is almost no work done in this field.
How bad is the impact? Read more »
Teen pot use no longer barrier for migrant
Experimenting with marijuana in his teens is no longer blocking a British computer programmer and his family from settling permanently in Saskatoon.
"It's such a relief," said 37-year-old Chris Tarttelin in an interview Friday evening.
Just a week ago, Tarttelin was facing a Citizenship and Immigration Canada deadline that was impossible to meet. He was ordered by a visa officer at the Canadian High Commission in London to have a psychiatric assessment because he admitted during his mandatory medical examination that he tried marijuana as a teenager. But the Saskatoon doctor referring him to the specialist couldn't get an appointment in time.
Do pot smokers have to get their head checked?
By: Guidy Mamann, Metro CanadaShould a person who has used marijuana be required need to have their head examined?
That is the question that arose this past summer when a lawyer in my office received a very unusual request from a Canadian visa post relating to the application for permanent residence of one of our clients.
The applicant underwent the standard medical test that all intending immigrants must take before being approved for landing in Canada. During the course of the test, the doctor asked him whether or not he had ever used drugs.
The applicant admitted to the use of marijuana.
Honesty may cost man life in Canada
By: Lana Haight, National PostA British computer programmer says his moment of candour about a youthful dalliance with marijuana is putting his dream of living in Canada in jeopardy.
Chris Tarttelin, 37, said he has been ordered by Citizenship and Immigration Canada to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to make sure he's not suffering any lingering effects from having tried cannabis when he was 18.
If he fails to get a psychiatric assessment by tomorrow, he said, it could block his application to immigrate.
Not just junkies: the stigmatising of drug addicts
By. Diane Taylor, GuardianDrug addicts have a lot in common with other marginalised groups, such as sex workers, people with disabilities and asylum seekers in that many people have never met them and know very little about the realities of their lives. Where there is a void of factual information, stigma and prejudice often rush in to fill the space. This week's report from the UK drugs policy commission, Sinning and Sinned Against: the Stigmatisation of Problem Drug Users, confirms this. The report finds that many people don't like drug users and that this dislike hinders the prospects of social integration and future employment for this group.
Decriminalize heroin and cocaine, says top U.K. doctor
By: Debra Black, The StarA debate over the decriminalization of heroin and cocaine has erupted again in Great Britain after a private statement by the one-time head of the Royal College of Physicians was leaked to a drug-reform campaign group and the media.
Sir Ian Gilmore, the former president of the Royal College of Physicians, made the statement about his feelings on the country’s drug policies in a private bulletin to the members of the college.
In it he called for a change in tactics, decriminalizing illicit drug use and treating addiction as a health problem not a criminal problem.
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