Cannabis and Depression Study Proves Need for Drug Law Reform...

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Cannabis And Depression Study Proves Need For Drug Law Reform...




NZ Health Select Committee NORML Norml Phil Saxby Contributor:

 A study suggesting a link between early cannabis use and depression provides further evidence in support of reforming the Misuse of Drugs Act, said NORML President Phil Saxby today.



Mr Saxby's statement comes in response to a new study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, which suggests that children and teenagers who smoke cannabis may have a somewhat heightened risk of developing depression.



"Researchers cannot conclude whether or not the drug itself is to blame", Mr Saxby pointed out. "But that doesn't alter outcomes linking early cannabis use before the age of 17 with a 50 percent increase in the risk of developing a depression 'spell' later on in life."



"This is significant because the rate of early cannabis use in New Zealand has been growing at an alarming rate. Between 1998 and 2001, the number of young people aged 15 to 17 years who used cannabis 10 or more times a month increased by a staggering 300 percent." *



New Zealand now has the highest rate of teenage cannabis use in the world.



"NORML is concerned by any data linking early onset of cannabis use with later consequences for mental health, and has a strong adults-only policy for cannabis use. We certainly don't want children using it and we call for cannabis to be regulated in such a way that it's difficult, not easy, for them to buy," Mr Saxby said.



"Current policy - prohibition - only encourages the growth of 'tinny shops' and as everyone knows: those places don't ID their customers. Most Kiwi 15-year olds find it easier to buy cannabis than beer."



"For adults, cannabis is a low-risk drug which needs regulating: control its production; license outlets; tax sales and make it R18, consistent with alcohol. As 400,000 Kiwi adults currently use cannabis, we desperately need a system which a) stops criminalising them and b) restricts access by young people."



"Why does the Government continue allowing organised criminal gangs to decide where, when, to whom, and at what price illegal drugs get sold in New Zealand?" he asks. "What other local industry worth many millions of dollars each year is left in the hands of organised criminals rather than being taxed and properly controlled?"



(*NZ Health Select Committee, Inquiry into the Public Health Strategies Related to Cannabis and the Most Appropriate Legal Status, 2003; p.12


Acknowledgements: Voxy.com

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"Switched on Gardener" gone to pot - police now need to put forward a strong case

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"Switched on Gardener" gone to pot - police now need to put forward a strong case...






Warren Brookbanks, Auck Uni, says cannabis case involving 250 people will be complex but police have taken time to gather enough evidence



A law expert says the criminal case against a nationwide garden store facing more than 700 drugs charges will be complex when it gets to court.



Police raided 16 branches of the Switched on Gardener, charging 250 people with a raft of drugs charges. Directors and managers of the companies have been arrested and will be facing charges including cultivating cannabis and participating in an organised criminal group. It is alleged that cannabis growing equipment was sold at the stores to commercial growers. The arrests follow a two year investigation.



Deputy Commissioner Rob Pope says the bust will break the cornerstone of the illicit cannabis cultivation industry.



"Cannabis is the most abused controlled drug in New Zealand. The harm that this drug causes New Zealand communities can be conservatively estimated at $430 million a year. It hurts every community in every part of the country.?



Mr Pope says undercover officers purchased equipment, were given advice on how to grow cannabis and even purchased cannabis clones and other drugs over the counter. Police also seized methamphetamine, LSD, ecstasy and firearms.



Prof Warren Brookbanks from Auckland University says even though the case will be complex, it is not unknown territory for police.



"I imagine there will be a lot of criminal litigation arising out of this as the individuals defend the charges. They will be charged with a wide range of different offences under the Drugs Act."



Mr Brookbanks believes police have taken their time to gain sufficient evidence.



The Police Minister is praising good old fashion detective work for the exposure of the ring. Judith Collins says it has been a long hard slog for those involved.



"I'm very pleased with the fact that police have been able to bring the matter to such a successful conclusion in terms of the investigation, which involved a lot of undercover work."



Ms Collins says the number of arrests and charges shows how deeply these activities have affected communities.

New Kiwi drug to help gout sufferers...

A sore and swollen toe is the telltale sign of gout, which affects more than 45,000 New Zealanders


A New Zealand research company has invented a new drug which it hopes will help the millions of people worldwide who suffer from gout.

The drug has just begun clinical trials in humans with the debilitating disease and if it is successful it could bring millions of dollars into the New Zealand economy.

A sore and swollen toe is the telltale sign of gout, which affects more than 45,000 New Zealanders.

But a home grown research team headed by Richard Furneaux has invented a new treatment which it hopes will bring more effective relief to those affected in New Zealand and overseas.

“It may turn out as effective or more effective and easier to take and will have less side effects,” he says.

Gout is caused by too much uric acid in the blood which causes crystals to form in joints.

Mr Furneaux says inflammation then causes a sort of arthritis.

“It's very painful and quite crippling,” he says.

The new drug aims to prevent uric acid being formed.

Human trials of around 200 gout patients are currently underway in 20 hospitals across the United States.

Gout is the third most common form of acute arthritis in New Zealanders.

Sandra Kirby, chief executive of Arthritis NZ, says in some centres it is the leading cause of people missing work.

“There's some studies in Counties-Manukau where incidence are very high which shows that it's one of the leading causes of people taking time off work,” she says.

“So you can imagine if your foot is swollen and sore, your hand is swollen and sore, and then working, walking, many of the things that are good for you become impossible.”

The seven year project is a combined effort between Kiwi company Industrial Research Limited and an American company which has injected more than $200 million into IRL's research.

“We're hoping that more and more of this will be done here and so we can actually have a pharmaceutical development industry in New Zealand,” says Mr Furneaux.

There are already effective treatments for the illness but 5 percent of gout patients can't tolerate them.

It's hoped this treatment will not only suit everyone but will also lead to other significant drug developments.

Acknowledgements: 3 News, Charotte Tonkin,

Two Asians jailed for total of 30 years...

Two Asians jailed for 30 years for supplying drugs:

Two men charged with the supply of more than $5 million worth of methamphetamine have been sentenced to a total of 30 years in prison.

Chen Wei Huang, 25, and Zhong Wei, 26, were arrested in December 2006 following a year-long investigation. Both were sentenced today to 15 years in jail, with no minimum term.

Taiwan national Huang pleaded not guilty and was convicted by a jury in February on six charges of supplying methamphetamine in October 2006.

Sentencing Huang, Justice Peter Woodhouse said he did not accept he was a middle man.

"You had a significant hand in initiating drug dealing. You handled large sums of money and you played a very important role well beyond that of a courier," Justice Woodhouse said.

- NZPA