Thursday, October 20, 2005
Drugs on Sunday
Nobody could ever accuse the Wales on Sunday of being original. About halfway through yesterday's Plenary Session I received an e-mail from one of their reporters. I reproduce it below:
To all Welsh MPs & AMs
My name is Marc Baker and I am a journalist at Wales on Sunday newspaper in Cardiff.
I am e-mailing you to ask whether you have, in your lifetime, ever taken Class A, B or C drugs?
Could you please state when you took such drugs and of which kind they were. If you are unwilling to answer this question, could you please state why?
Marc Baker
Wales on Sunday
My betting is that most will not bother to reply. Still it is refreshing to see that investigative journalism is alive and well. In the old days such reporters spent days researching their topic, gathering evidence, hunting out sleaze and interviewing the underclasses of British society. They even staked out politicians in the hope of catching them embracing their mistress or inhaling something they shouldn't.
Now they ask us gently to put our head in the stocks and give up facts voluntarily that we would clearly not have told a living soul otherwise. It is a more pleasant and comfortable way of proceeding, but does it get results? We shall see.
Note: Just for the record (and because I know you will ask in the comments section anyway) I have never even smoked a cigarette, let alone used any illegal substances.
To all Welsh MPs & AMs
My name is Marc Baker and I am a journalist at Wales on Sunday newspaper in Cardiff.
I am e-mailing you to ask whether you have, in your lifetime, ever taken Class A, B or C drugs?
Could you please state when you took such drugs and of which kind they were. If you are unwilling to answer this question, could you please state why?
Marc Baker
Wales on Sunday
My betting is that most will not bother to reply. Still it is refreshing to see that investigative journalism is alive and well. In the old days such reporters spent days researching their topic, gathering evidence, hunting out sleaze and interviewing the underclasses of British society. They even staked out politicians in the hope of catching them embracing their mistress or inhaling something they shouldn't.
Now they ask us gently to put our head in the stocks and give up facts voluntarily that we would clearly not have told a living soul otherwise. It is a more pleasant and comfortable way of proceeding, but does it get results? We shall see.
Note: Just for the record (and because I know you will ask in the comments section anyway) I have never even smoked a cigarette, let alone used any illegal substances.
Comments:
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you should e-mail back stating every drug you have ever been perscribed by a doctor (using the medical name)
and see if the reporter gets so carried away that he publishes a story about you taking paracetamol.
and see if the reporter gets so carried away that he publishes a story about you taking paracetamol.
You should send all Wales on Sunday journalists the following:
My name is Peter Black and I am a Member of the National Assembly of Wales.
I am e-mailing you to ask whether you have, in your lifetime, ever taken Class A, B or C drugs?
Could you please state when you took such drugs and of which kind they were. If you are unwilling to answer this question, could you please state why?
My name is Peter Black and I am a Member of the National Assembly of Wales.
I am e-mailing you to ask whether you have, in your lifetime, ever taken Class A, B or C drugs?
Could you please state when you took such drugs and of which kind they were. If you are unwilling to answer this question, could you please state why?
The reality of course is that almost no-one under 40 can deny honestly that they've tried a spliff.
Our drugs law is a mess. It needs an open debate about realities. The physical and psychological dangers of drugs are of course real as are the dangers of overingulging in alcohol and reading the Daily Mail. But the law has no place in Policing what are esentially Moral matters.
Most deaths from drugs are directly caused by it's illigality:- Impurities, inconsistent strenghths, etc.
The so-called "gateway effect" of Cannabis leading to Heroin is again due to illigality. You go to buy some ganja and are persuaded to buy speed whilst stoned. Prohibition is a marvelous marketing tool for the unscrupulous.
Our drugs law is a mess. It needs an open debate about realities. The physical and psychological dangers of drugs are of course real as are the dangers of overingulging in alcohol and reading the Daily Mail. But the law has no place in Policing what are esentially Moral matters.
Most deaths from drugs are directly caused by it's illigality:- Impurities, inconsistent strenghths, etc.
The so-called "gateway effect" of Cannabis leading to Heroin is again due to illigality. You go to buy some ganja and are persuaded to buy speed whilst stoned. Prohibition is a marvelous marketing tool for the unscrupulous.
i take exception to that!
i've never taken an illegal substance, which includes trying a spliff!
it may or may not be the case that most drug deaths are from the causes you stated. however if you've ever seen the effects of someone who is on Heroin then you know that taking drugs isnt good for you!
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i've never taken an illegal substance, which includes trying a spliff!
it may or may not be the case that most drug deaths are from the causes you stated. however if you've ever seen the effects of someone who is on Heroin then you know that taking drugs isnt good for you!
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