Drugs in Shetland

[junior]

Such an attitude amongst users though definitely reinforces the belief that few if any of them give a damn that there is anything illegal about it all, or of the consequences of being caught/done for it. In fact it could be said that the chances of being caught/done are so slight and/or ineffectual that they are worthless, and we are actually living with a free for all as I said earlier, any pretence of it being "banned" is but lip service and a farce.

 

Absolutely right, and that is one of the most worrying things (Fjool hinted at it) it is easy to become desensitised to law breaking once you have done it more than once, who here has only speeded in the car once?

 

I would say that for me personally substance use is more of a moral decision on what is right and wrong than about the risks involved in being caught (but maybe I just say that because the risks are insignificant ) The law doesn't dictate to me what is right and wrong, it can't possibly because its an ass in so many ways. If just one law is blatantly wrong, then immediately the rest of the laws have less repect.

[junior]

If someone wants a substance (to sell or use) then that is the substance they get.

 

Market forces still apply however; if something is more difficult to acquire, its rarity and therefore price goes up. If the price of a user's preferred 'tipple' gets too much then they may be inclined to try something else, just the once.

 

Market forces still apply but thats not an arguement that the substances being used/dealt get "harder" (for want of a more accurate word) as was the point in mags original quote. When it comes to illegal drugs the "harder" substances are already vastly more expensive to buy than "soft" ones.

[da ness tattie man]

In answer to the Dogs Against Drugs charity making access to soft drugs harder. The charity was set up after a Heroin user died from an overdose. I believe the aim of the charity is to rid Shetland of all drugs.

[peeriebryan]

When it comes to illegal drugs the "harder" substances are already vastly more expensive to buy than "soft" ones.

 

I don't think it's possible to compare like for like on a scale of progressively "harder" drugs. A heavy heroin user could spend the same amount of money as a heavy cannabis user on a daily basis. I've known people who consider heroin as 'better value for money' than cannabis.

 

A heavy cocaine user could easily be spending several hundred pounds a day, which if the monetary equivalent was spent on heroin, would surely result in overdose.

 

the Dogs Against Drugs charity making access to soft drugs harder. The charity was set up after a Heroin user died from an overdose.

To clarify, it wasn't a heroin overdose that was the cause of death, it was Methadone, which had been supplied by a 3rd party, who themselves had obtained it legitimately under prescription. It had nothing to do with drug smuggling or dealing

[crofter]

 

the Dogs Against Drugs charity making access to soft drugs harder. The charity was set up after a Heroin user died from an overdose.

To clarify, it wasn't a heroin overdose that was the cause of death, it was Methadone, which had been supplied by a 3rd party, who themselves had obtained it legitimately under prescription. It had nothing to do with drug smuggling or dealing

 

Anybody know how much heroin the dogs have "sniffed" so far?

[Twerto]

I think it's biggest haul was £50k worth of drugs that was found on a sandwick man as he came fo the boat.. ( i may ahve the figure wrong. but it was what sounded liek an extreme amount.

 

that was some months ago tho now..

 

I stil laugh at the fact the police turned up at a friend fo mine and asked to see inside a package that had just been delviered by the posty.. just to find out it was a box of chocolates his gran had posted up

 

( ive told this story before and the police denyed it on the old shetland forum.. so no doubt it wil be denyed again )

[peeriebryan]

Anybody know how much heroin the dogs have "sniffed" so far?

 

The dogs have been present when heroin has been discovered. However, it's debatable as to whether the dogs actually discovered anything which the police wouldn't have found anyway. As far as I'm aware, all the sizable hauls of drugs have been through police acing on tip offs or some other intelligence.

 

To avoid repeating previous discussion, there's a thread dedicated to the Dogs Against Drugs here which addresses many recent points.

[Dr WHO]

There is never ending breakthroughs with dogs against drugs, as you say Perrie Brian indeed much of the time the Police rely on tip offs and the fact remains open as to whether the dogs would have pulled out the low life, drug pushing, money grabbing, scum bag criminal ( Rant over sorry ), but I feel I must share this amazing information with you!!!

 

 

Sniffer Wasps it’s true, watch out Dogs, you have a challenge,

 

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2144494/sniffer-wasps-dogs-redundant

 

[/b]

[da ness tattie man]

Peeriebryan said -"To clarify, it wasn't a heroin overdose that was the cause of death, it was Methadone, which had been supplied by a 3rd party, who themselves had obtained it legitimately under prescription. It had nothing to do with drug smuggling or dealing"

 

To be given a drug by a 3rd party, constitutes dealing no matter how you look at it. Methadone is a Heroin substitute,

 

(*** mod edit - keep your own personal subjective views of someone who has passed away out of this!! It is nothing more than a cheap shot! ***)

[da ness tattie man]

I was not taking a cheap shot at somebody that has passed away. It was my intention to point out that a Heroin addict will take Methadone if they can't get hold of any heroin.

 

This is not my view it is a statement of fact

[Njugle]

I think the point there was that it is not fair to presume dNTM, he may have been trying to quit his illegal addiction, in favour of a prescribed one for all anybody knows. However unlikely that may seem. It is not for us to invent 'facts'.

[McFly]

This is not my view it is a statement of fact

 

No.

 

It's a completely unfair generalisation.

 

Heroin addicts, much like the rest of us human beings, are individuals, and each addicts experience is unique. I have a good friend who was a heroin addict and they managed to get off it without the aid of methadone at any time.

 

So what you said was clearly not a "statement of fact".

[crofter]

Heroin is going to kill Shetland!

 

Anybody know if crystal methamphetamine is much used in Shetland yet? I've heard some horror stories from a friend (psychiatric nurse) and it would seem the effects are much worse than heroin - although only a class B drug.

[david_jam]

Crystal methalotmoreletters is being upgraded to Class A i do believe... whatever real significance that has. I might be wrong, but think I saw it in passing on the BBC News website.

[Njugle]

ITV.com[/url]"]The highly addictive drug crystal meth is being reclassified from a Class B to a Class A substance, alongside heroin and crack cocaine.

I've heard mention of it on the rumour mill, but you never know if a tale is being exagerated or not.

 

The most outrageous thing about this new poison is that it is alledgedly manufacturable "at home". A friend in the Antipodes has told me some interesting stories of its treatment in Thailand.

 

Here an appraisal from thenScotsman in 2003

THREE Thai police officers who gunned down a nine-year-old boy as part of a controversial drugs crackdown that has left more than 500 dead were arrested on murder charges yesterday.

 

In a war on drugs championed by Thailand's political leadership, but now under heavy fire from human rights groups, a pregnant woman was also shot to death.

 

The boy was killed by three police officers who posed as drug buyers during an operation in central Bangkok on Sunday night, said police spokesman Pongsaphat Phongcharoen.

 

The men had arrested a suspected trafficker who sold them more than 3,000 methamphetamine pills, the seizure of which has been a central focus of the crack-down. The man's wife sped away in a car with their nine-year-old son.

 

Three officers opened fire, killing the boy while his mother fled on foot.

 

Mr Pongsaphat said the three officers involved had been arrested on charges of murder. They denied the charges.

 

The prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's no-holds-barred campaign to root out drugs, from Thailand within three months, launched with great fanfare on 1 February, has seen about 500 people killed.

 

Bullet-ridden bodies have turned up daily, with drug suspects shot to death by masked gunmen. The Thai police have admitted causing only a handful of the deaths, insisting almost all the killings were by drug gangsters trying to silence possible informers.

 

A police spokesman said yesterday said only 22 of the dead were killed by police, acting in self-defence.

 

A poll published yesterday showed 70 per cent of Thai people were satisfied with the government's tough measures - although about half appear to believe that police were tacitly connected with the string of executions.

 

Hows that for spin!