As Kings Cross continues to suffer the chaos of prohibition, the prohibition industry has a near stranglehold on the public image of drugs with their message of danger and eternal damnation. Yet professionals continue to publish balanced evidence telling a different story.
Here's a link to a very sober article which draws on no less than 52 scientific studies and concludes that the current popular myths about cannabis have little substance and it should be decriminalised. It's from the Journal of Current Opinion in Psychiatry, by Dr Wim van den Brink.
Of interest is the doctor's use of the term 'drugs of pleasure', which will get right up the noses of the prohibitionists, many of whom claim there is no such thing as recreational drug use (they must never have been to a pub!).
Pictured is a bizarre incident in which two police with sniffer dogs ran the length of Darlinghurst Road with their sniffer dogs chasing a local guy before illegally putting the dogs onto him. The dogs had not previously indicated him and no drugs were found. (The victim is the guy in the Nike top with his face blocked in yellow. The second dog is arrowed.)
What a waste of time and resources, and what a great way to make Kings Cross and Sydney an unwelcoming place. Tourists from more liberal countries cannot believe what they are seeing when such incidents occur (which is frequently).
PS (9/7/08): This succinct story from the Los Angeles Times neatly sums up the folly of prohibition and names those who benefit from it. It's not a pretty list, but the vested interests of hardline conservatives are clear.
2 comments:
Herald medical report
That wouldn't be the so-called medical report on which I've just posted a critique? It, too, ignores the vast bulk of evidence in the field. Disgusting.
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