NSW Drug Raids - Police Need to Tell the Truth

Police capture a dangerous 60 year old in a bathrobe

When it takes six military style police officers with automatic rifles, machine guns and a tank to escort an old man in a bathrobe, you know we have a problem. But this is just lost on NSW police as Commissioner Andrew Scipione declared, "Today we haven't taken a tentacle off the beast, we've removed a very, very big beast”. Yeah, a beast in a red dressing gown.

For an operation that had been planned for 12 months, needed 500 officers and involved “alleged drugs barons” at the “top of the tree”, only $9 million worth of drugs were captured. Basically, a drop in the ocean considering how big the drug market is in Australia.

But like traffic cameras, the real prize is the income with over $14 million worth of seized assets. This might help explain why the NSW police used a tank and hundreds of paramilitary style officers.

Commissioner Scipione’s spin is just the latest in a long line of chest beating speeches where we, the public are duly informed that drug syndicates are running scared and will suffer greatly from a reinvigorated police focus. Of course, we have seen this numerous times before and most of us just forget as drug dealers return and go about their daily business.

A number of the people who were arrested today were people I started working on 30 years ago when I started working in the police force

--NSW police as Commissioner Andrew Scipione

Mixed in with the excited claims of success are some worrying discrepancies. Not that the police really notice when there’s so much to tell the awaiting media. Admitting that some of those arrested have been around for 30 years might make the commissioner feel good in front of the bright media lights but it’s also confession that the drug ring leaders have built a three decade old crime empire under the nose of the law. Not something to boast about.

Like the recent drug raids in Victoria, we are being led to believe that the police are winning a battle against drugs. The assumption that catching some drug dealers, especially drug syndicate leaders is going to have a lasting affect on the drug market is fanciful. In fact, it’s a down right lie … and the police know it. 

Ask yourself if you can remember the last multimillion dollar bust? Have we already forgotten that in 2008, WA police uncovered 22kg of methylamphetamine and 35,000 ecstasy tablets worth $77 million? What about when the Federal police seized 464kg of cocaine worth $160 million from a yacht in Brisbane. That was only two months ago. In September this year, 50kg of cocaine with a street value of $12.5 million was confiscated by NSW police in Minto. In January, police found 9000 mature cannabis plants worth $18 million in the Chaelundi National Park. Only two years ago, the AFP and Customs uncovered 3000 tomato tins that contained 15 million ecstasy tablets when they were shipped from Italy to Melbourne. It was a total haul of 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy with a street value of $440 million. They arrested 20 people for the crime. Any of this ring a bell?

The fact is, we will never make any significant dent in the drug trade. We will send many people to prison, reap hundreds of millions in assets and continue to smile for the cameras in front of an eager media. But the illicit drug market stops for no one. There is just too much money to made and there’s plenty to go around. Enough for drug mules, street dealers, corrupt authorities, crooked cops and those at the top.

History and experience from other countries clearly show that no amount of policing can stop the drug trade. The black market for drugs is valued at over $400 billion annually which is the 2nd largest industry on the planet. Larger than oil, manufacturing and food sales combined. Only military sales generate more income. With a global user base of up to 250 million people or 5.7% of the world’s population, it’s no wonder the illicit drug market is booming.

We should avoid congratulating ourselves on our efforts rather than our outcomes.

--Dr Don Weatherburn - Director of the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research

What we need to focus on is that there is a big difference between what the police claim and what the experts say. A recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald has Dr Don Weatherburn, Director of the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research doubting the success of the latest NSW raids. He points out that “research had so far been inconclusive on the long-term impact of drug law enforcement”. This view was reflected by Dr. Katie Willis, a senior research analyst at the Australian Institute of Criminology. Dr. Willis said it was also necessary to look at health-related results such as drug deaths, overdoses, and drug treatment. Our insatiable hunger for arresting people is blinding us to the human fallout as we lose sight of whether our strategies are benefitting society.

The big question is whether our attempts to wipe out the illicit drug market actually works. And like so many experts tell us, the answer is no. This presents us with a huge problem. Why do the police and governments continue with such a failed policy when there is no evidence whatsoever that it is successful? Shouldn’t this send the media and political opposition into a frenzy that the police and government are trying to fool us? Where’s the scrutiny? Where’s the demand for an enquiry into our flawed drug policy? Where’s the outrage that we are being lied to by our authorities and police?

At the end of the day while moralists pray, governments talk tough and police incarcerate people, criminals just keep getting richer and society becomes more dangerous. If the experts tell us this, why can’t the police?

Premature Cheers For Drug Busts

Sydney Morning Herald

Geesche Jacobsen and Nick Ralston

December 10, 2010

POLICE say they plan to target anyone seeking to fill the vacuum left by the arrest of 31 alleged drug distributors this week.

But the head of the Bureau of Crime Statistics warned yesterday that the results of the arrests should be judged on their impact on the price, purity and availability of the relevant drugs.

Police said the drug raids this week had taken out those they believe to be the major players in the middle level of the three tiers of the drug supply chain. Local police are targeting street-level drug supply, and specialist officers also work on putting the third level, drug importers, behind bars.

But Dr Weatherburn warned: ''We should avoid congratulating ourselves on our efforts rather than our outcomes.''

Research had so far been inconclusive on the long-term impact of drug law enforcement, he said.

Drug seizures in the early 1990s had had no impact on price, purity or availability of the drug, but later seizures and arrests of heroin kingpins had led to an enduring heroin shortage, he said.

Some researchers said the heroin shortage was not the result of police work, but other factors.

A senior research analyst at the Australian Institute of Criminology, Katie Willis, said it was also necessary to look at health-related results such as drug deaths, overdoses, and drug treatment.

Dr Willis said it was also difficult to assess the impact of law enforcement because the size of the drug market was unknown. The police, she said, might have been tackling just ''the tip of the iceberg''.

But she said she expected the purity and availability of drugs to fall in the short term as a result of the arrests.

Yesterday, Henry Landini, 66, alleged to be one of the key players arrested on Wednesday, made a brief appearance in Bankstown Local Court. In a blue polo shirt, with his hair slicked back and wearing glasses, he did not apply for bail and it was formally refused.

He has been charged with supplying large amounts of amphetamines in Sydney's inner-west and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime.

In court his solicitor, Paul Kenny, rejected claims made by police that there was a risk Mr Landini might flee the country.

Another man arrested on Wednesday, Adel Muustafa, 24, also did not apply for bail but he did not make an appearance before the court. He has been charged with supplying cocaine in Sylvania and with firearm offences.

Related Articles in the Sydney Morning Herald

Premature Cheers For Drug Busts

Major Drug Raid Operation Removes 'Very Big Beast' In NSW, Allege Police

Drug Crime Leaps In NSW

Inject Reality Into Drug Debate

Bikies Fight For Lucrative Drug Trade

Drug Policy Stalls In Law-And-Order Gear

Holding Pattern On Drug Policy Is Costing Society

Boy, 14, A 'Drug Cartel Hitman'

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Drug War Success - 14 Year Old Hitman who Beheads People

Winning the War on Drugs

"El Ponchis" or 8th-grader, Edgar Jimenez is a 14 year old hitman for a Mexican drug cartel. He was recently caught by Mexican authorities and will join the growing list of detained children who were once employed by drug cartels to murder people. Not surprisingly, one psychologist has already classed Jimenez as a “psychopath”.

I don’t recall having ambitions to join a drug cartel when I was 14 years old and I certainly never imagined I would cut off some stranger’s head. There really must be some extenuating circumstances for young kids to behave in such a barbaric manner. But let’s not procrastinate here. These kids and indeed, much of society are victims of a bloody but futile crusade known as the "War on Drugs”. 

What did we really expect to happen? What was the outcome we envisaged when we freely let fanatical anti-drug zealots, religious nutters and ruthless, agenda driven politicians have their way without any formal scrutiny? Where were the evaluations? Why didn’t we take notice of the prison population explosion or the incredible level of street violence that grew each decade?

We watched on as drugs ripped apart communities. We didn’t help those ravaged by addictive drugs but instead, sent them to prison. We broke up families and incarcerated millions without caring for one moment if what we were doing was actually productive. There were only token attempts to address the underlying problem. Drugs were public enemy number one and the only approach was to be "Tough on Drugs”. But the "War on Drugs" and "Tough on Drugs" were not what it implied - it was a war on people. 

Why is the carnage caused by the drug war so oblivious to our leaders? Amazingly, it took many, many decades of worsening problems before they took notice of scientists and experts. But they even misused this scientific data and research to spin their own reasons for continuing their assault on drug users. Still, evidence through careful research was making the news and this led to the introduction of Harm Minimisation. Our experts and medical professionals were finally allowed to propose evidenced based programs that dealt with the realities of drug use and offered a humane, medical approach. Unfortunately, we had already endured almost a century of propaganda and most of the public didn’t know any better so any new ideas that made our leaders nervous were ceremoniously dumped, all with just one shriek of being ”Soft on Drugs”. 

Even in countries like Australia, global drug policies have created a wartime environment. Military style police units smashing up homes, paramilitary dog squads placed at train stations and government sanctioned, “Stop and Search” laws are not conducive with a civil society in times of peace. Locking up family members who suffer an addiction or choose to use relatively harmless drugs will not lead to a more cohesive community. The constant drone that we need to attack drug use in a war like manner hasn’t reduce drugs in our communities. Instead, like any war, it has produced massive casualties, especially children. 

The emergence of killers like 14 year old Edgar Jimenez is the result of our fanatical efforts to stop drug use. But it doesn’t stop there. All over the world, governments create the situation where violence and societal disarray are commonplace. Driven by political greed, the public are told how necessary the drug war is but there is very little effort to address the fallout. Nearly 30,000 drug related deaths in Mexico isn’t even enough to stop the government continuing their failed strategy. In the US, daily occurrences of inner city violence and murder fuelled by drug gangs isn’t enough. Terrorists funding their activities with inflated profits driven by drug prohibition, isn’t enough. So why would hundreds of kids running around cutting off people’s heads be enough either.

Teenage Cartel Hitman Is a U.S. Citizen

The Atlantic Wire

By Elspeth Reeve

December 2010

The floppy-haired 14-year-old turned, like any other modern teen, to YouTube to make his confession. But unlike a typical 8th-grader, Edgar Jimenez's was confessing to beheading people for a Mexican drug cartel for the price of $2,500 each. A hunt for the boy ensued, and this week, Mexican authorities nabbed the "hit boy" known as "El Ponchis" at an airport; he was en route to Tijuana, where he and his teenage sister were planning to sneak into San Diego. Why? He's an American citizen.

Jimenez was arrested Thursday night, suspected of working for Pacific Sur, a gang that splintered off from the notorious Beltran Leyva cartel. The teen was paraded in front of news cameras, even as police guards wore masks for their own protection, yet another symptom of the persistent horrific violence that has plagued Mexico since the start of its drug war. As an American citizen, Jimenez will get "all appropriate consular assistance," CNN reports.

But shockingly, Jimenez is not unique as a child participant in this violence. Drug cartels--like their fellow fans of beheadings, Al Qaeda--are increasingly leaning on kids and women to help them maintain control over large areas of the country. Here are a couple of accounts on offer in the media as outlets attempt to contextualize.

Gangs Recruiting More Kids  

"The number of young people aged 18 and under detained for drug-related crimes has climbed steadily since President Felipe Calderón launched his assault on cartels in 2006," reports The Telegraph's Harriet Alexander. "Figures from the Attorney General's office show that there were 482 arrests of under 18s in 2006, and 810 in 2009. The tally this year is set to be even higher." A psychologist says Jimenez is a "psychopath," and that kids like him "like to kill, to steal, and they don't need to conform to society because they are mistreated and become very hostile from a young age." But The Houston Chronicle's Dudley Althaus points out that other teens have also been arrested for drug killings: 

Several Laredo teenagers were convicted in 2007 for carrying out killings on behalf of the Zetas, the violent organization entrenched in Nuevo Laredo and other towns along the South Texas border. One of those teens, Rosalio 'Bart' Reta, killed his first victim at age 13 and might have murdered more than 30 others before being captured.

Gangs Recruiting Women, Too

The Guardian's Jo Tuckman and Rory Carroll add, describing a taped confession of a women who said she worked for the Zetas "killing taxi drivers, police officers, innocent people and children." Photos of "her severed head in an icebox" were posted online a couple days later. The "number of women imprisoned for federal crimes, most of which are drug-related, has quadrupled in three years," a study found. Women are pulled into the cartels by their husbands or boyfriends.

Violence So Pervasive It's Changing the Language

Fox News' Steve Harrigan writes about his own experience in the area. "'Narcofosa' is a word I heard for the first time in Juarez. Narco means workers for the drug cartels and fosa means grave. We were standing in a mass grave where 20 narcos had been buried outside of Juarez. Because many of the bodies were decapitated, identification is unlikely. So the bodies are just put in unmarked graves in one section of the cemetery known as the narcofosa or 'the graves for the headless.'"

WikiLeaks Docs Show U.S. Frustrated with Mexico's Drug War

the Los Angeles Times' Tracy Wilkinson writes. "In contrast to their upbeat public assessments, U.S. officials expressed frustration with a 'risk averse' Mexican army and rivalries among security agencies ... The cables quoted Mexican officials expressing fear that the government was losing control of parts of its national territory and that time was 'running out' to rein in drug violence." One cable says: "Official corruption is widespread, leading to a compartmentalized siege mentality among 'clean' law enforcement leaders and their lieutenants. ... Prosecution rates for organized crime-related offenses are dismal; 2% of those detained are brought" to court.

Who Really Benefits from Operation Entity?

Victoria's largest drug raid - Operation Entity

The ferocity of large scale drug raids is awe inspiring for much of the public. Just look at the latest raid in Victoria - Operation Entity. It involved 630 people from the Drug Task Force, Criminal Proceeds Squad, Crime Department, Operations Response Unit, Regional Response Units, Australian Federal Police, local police, officials from the taxation department and even immigration officers . It has been described as the biggest drug raid in Victoria’s history. The raids were carried out on 115 different premises in Albanvale, Altona Meadows, Avondale Heights, Ballarat, Berwick, Burnside, Burnside Heights, Cairnlea, Caroline Springs, Dandenong, Dandenong North, Derrimut, Elphinstone, Footscray, Footscray West, Geelong, Hallam, Hampton Park, Hillside, Hopper’s Crossing, Horsham, Kings Park, Learmouth, Oakleigh East, Melton, Melton South, Narre Warren South, Noble Park, Noble Park North, Springvale, Springvale South, St Albans, Stawell, Tarneit, Taylor’s Hill, Tyrendarra, Warrnambool and Wyndham Vale. So far, 93 people have been arrested. So what was this raid about? 

Pot.

Yes, pot was the target with 13,893 cannabis plants being seized. For the million plus cannabis smokers in Australia, this must make their heads spin … and not from the pot. How do the police rationalise the massive resources put into this raid? Imagine if they targeted human slaves forced into prostitution or violent gangs. The amount of resources used in this pot raid might have actually reduced more serious crimes to the point of extinction. The sheer numbers of police involved could almost wipe out complete crime categories in Victoria. What it didn’t do, is have any real effect on the drug trade. They could repeat this raid in every Australian state, every month without ever making any serious dent in the drug trade. It must be disturbing for rational thinking people to watch these huge drug raids especially when they know the police are well aware the void will be filled in just a matter of days. It’s even more disturbing when the police admit it.

We all know that once we take out syndicates of this sort, other people will step in to fill the vacuum and our job is to make this as hard for them as possible.

--Deputy Commissioner Sir Ken Jones

With the current focus on designer drugs and clandestine laboratories, it came as a surprise that cannabis was the main target. Amassing such huge resources - paid for by the public purse - is largely considered wasteful for a drug that is less harmful than alcohol. With rapidly changing attitudes and the growing evidence that cannabis only affects a tiny percentage of the population, the police are having to turn up the rhetoric to defend their actions.

Perhaps the greatest scourge in our community is the vile traffic in illicit drugs - lives and neighbourhoods are destroyed while those who profit from this trade like to think their involvement goes on unnoticed. I say, think again.

--Deputy Commissioner Sir Ken Jones

Predictably, the key word used by police when facing the media was ‘drugs’ not ‘cannabis’. It’s much easier to sell ‘drug busts’ than ‘cannabis raids’ when the eyes and ears of the nation are fixed on you. But inevitably, when forced to reveal that the raids were just for pot, some sinister description like ‘high-potency’ was added. Why do the police have to resort to using the term ‘drugs’ when they talk about cannabis? The answer is simple. They know that a large percentage of the public are sceptical about the official government position on cannabis. The reality is that there are millions of users Australia wide and most of them have never had a problem. Add to this, the major concern of cannabis use - mental health disorders -  has most scientists finally concluding from years of research that moderate use will not greatly harm anyone with the exception of young people under 21 years old and those with a family history of mental health illness. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for the anti-pot brigade to put their case forward when the public, driven by scientific data, are rejecting their message as out-of-date, misleading and driven by an ulterior agenda.

The Event

The planning and resources used to carry out these raids is simply mind blowing. As we so often reminded, Operation Entity is the biggest event ever undertaken by the Victorian police. 630 people were needed to enact the searches with a massive level of support involved in the planning. 

The Operations Response Unit and the Victoria Police Crime Department led the charge with 410 officers executing warrants and searching premises. 12 teams of crime scene investigators then moved in and recorded the scene and collected evidence. 

The crime scene investigators conduct examination, enhancement and comparison of shoe, tyre and tool impressions, photography and/or video recording of crime scenes attended.

--Victoria Police News: A look into Operation Entity

Police had to utilise the whole Transport Branch to get officers to the raids and the Central Property Management Unit had to altered their structure just to store all the evidence. They also had to arranged for 15 interpreters, 4 botanists and the Central Metropolitan Fingerprint Unit completed almost a year’s work in one day. Police hired 30 trucks on the day just to transport evidence, seized cannabis plants and equipment.

Here’s the list of the special police departments and other organisations involved:

Drug Task Force, 

Criminal Proceeds Squad, 

Crime Department, 

Operations Response Unit, 

Botany Branch – Forensics

Central Metropolitan Fingerprint Unit

Crime Scene Examination Unit

Transport Branch

Interpreters

Central Property Management Unit

Regional Response Units, 

Local police, 

Australian Federal Police, 

Office of Public Prosecutions

State Revenue Office

Australian Taxation Office

Department of Immigration and Citizenship

Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC)

Australian Customs and Border Protection Service

Australian Crime Commission

Various power companies

The Result

According to Victoria Police, the result was a huge success. 93 arrests with more to come, 13,893 seized cannabis plants so far and the shut down of several organised drug syndicates. But how do they measure ‘success’? Was the success of Operation Entity worth the massive resources and planning? Those arrested were involved in criminal activities and the police have a duty to uphold the law. Growing industrial quantities of cannabis is a serious offence in Australia and the police acted accordingly by arresting them. But the big concern is the priority of Operation Entity and why wasn’t repugnant crime like forced prostitution, child pornography or violent street activity given the same treatment? What about organised extortion, the illegal gun trade and the gangs that terrorise our suburbs? These are insidious crimes that wreck lives and demean our society. Crimes against people will never be tolerated by the community and deserve a lot more focus from our law enforcers. Catching dope growers just doesn’t have the same urgency. 

One unspoken fact our law enforcement officers and law makers rarely mention is that no state in Australia has ever succeeded in dismantling the drug trade especially in relation to cannabis. Dope is so simple to grow, has an endless clientele and the profits are astronomical. The people who are happiest with Operation Entity are other growers and competing criminal organisations. There is a never ending list of potential growers to fill any void created by drug raids. The tougher the police are on cannabis, the more the price increases so growers will fight even harder for market share. This breeds violence and creates opportunities for organised crime to flourish. Cash is king in the criminal world and drugs offer an unlimited supply. I recall Chopper Reed telling us all that gone are the days of specialist crooks like safe crackers and bank robbers. Instead, he explains, that about 90% of all criminals are now involved in the drug trade. But it’s not just Australian states that have failed. Not even one single country has succeeded in making a dent in the drug market. This brings us to another unspoken fact from our law enforcement officers and law makers. Those countries with tough drug laws often have less success than nations with more liberal laws. In other words, being "Tough on Drugs" doesn’t usually lead to less drug use or a reduced drug supply. It can only be described as extraordinary why our politicians and police remain vigilant in their commitment to repeating the same mistakes every year. But it’s simply beyond words why they would push this approach even further.

The Hype

The Victoria Police website has posted seven news items about Operation Entity from November 23 to November 26. The media has responded by publishing an article about each post on a daily basis. It’s in our newspapers, on TV and updated online. We all know about it. But what is the message from Operation Entity? What has actually been achieved? The fact is we have seen these raids dozens of times before but the supply of cannabis remains in abundance. 

Today we have demonstrated that in protecting the community we will do all we can to stand between you and those who seek to exploit and prey upon you.'

--Deputy Commissioner Sir Ken Jones

The police keep telling us that without this operation, we are at the mercy of evil people who prey on our youth and exploit the community. We are told that these criminals make huge profits, derived from our misery, weakness and reliance on illicit drugs. What they don’t tell us is that most cannabis users get great pleasure from these evil wares and only purchase their stash from those arrested growers because there is no alternative … except becoming a grower themselves. There is also no mention of how the average pot smoker is now going to source their supply. Although most pot smokers aren’t compelled to keep a permanent supply, many will eventually start seeking out a new dealer. A lack of cannabis may also force some users to turn to harder drugs. This demand will drive new entrants into the marketplace as Operation Entity just fades into history.

It seems somewhat hypocritical that a much more harmful drug like alcohol is fully acceptable but a safer alternative is frowned upon. But it’s not just frowned upon, it’s actually illegal to the point where massive police raids like Operation Entity are rolled out. The dichotomy between medical experts and law enforcement on the topic of cannabis is staggering considering it’s 2010. It’s a real challenge to applaud the police when their message is so convoluted and contradictory.

This week's historic raids have struck a significant blow to organised drug syndicates across the state and have been an unprecedented success.

--Detective Superintendent Gerry Ryan

Reading through the dozens of articles about Operation Entity, I notice the police keep reassuring us that those nasty criminal organisations have been defeated and the lasting affects of the raids have made our communities safer. Sure, there’s talk of the need for ongoing operations but the message is clear - the crims have lost and the police have won. 

Disrupting networks of this sort is significant

[…]

Those involved will be brought to justice and their ill-gotten gains will be seized

--Deputy Commissioner Sir Ken Jones

Deputy Commissioner Sir Ken Jones revealed that during the two year investigation, an estimated $400 million had already been generated by the various drug syndicates. Oddly enough, he boasted that the police had seized $20 million in assets. That leaves a whopping $380 million shortfall which must surely raise some concern for those willing to do the sums.

Victoria Police were following the money trail. This has been very, very successful for us. We'll continue not only to seize the drugs, but we'll continue to seize assets throughout the day and later on in the week we'll apply to the courts for seizure of quite a number of assets across the whole state.

--Deputy Commissioner Sir Ken Jones

There’s been a lot of hype surrounding Operation Entity along with some remarkable comments. Being Victoria’s single largest police operation, it was bound to make headlines and it was inevitable that the authorities would trumpet it’s success. But this celebration of successful policing felt empty and forced. There was no moral victory or a clear cut feeling that we had fought and beaten something hideous. The rhetoric was thick with patronising messages that we had to be protected from nasty drug manufacturers and even ourselves. But in the end, we got the best of the police PR department, desperately trying to convince us that we needed Operation Entity as much as they wanted it.

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Cracker Comments: Oct - Nov 2010

Welcome to the latest instalment of Cracker Comments. Where self appointed experts, finger waggers and anti-science proponents assault us with their own, unique brand of moral imperativeness. 

Every week, we are treated to mind-bending analogies that defy logic and there’s no better topic than illegal drugs for these self proclaimed oracles to apply their craft. 

Brendan O'Connor

Role: : Home Affairs Minister (ALP)

Source: Sydney Morning Herald (AAP)

Date: October 2010

With almost half-a-tonne of cocaine worth over $160 million being seized in Brisbane, the authorities are jumping for joy. It’s emotional times like these that provide a perfect environment for over zealous authorities to open their mouth before engaging their brain. 

Home Affairs Minister, Brendan O'Connor would have been told on dozens of occasions that organised crime dealing in drugs would have their main source of income removed if illicit drugs were regulated by the government. Not only would this strategy be devastating for criminal gangs but it would most likely reduce about 80% of all crime. It would be like stamping out all future cases of theft in our community. Almost too much to comprehend.

It’s really simple - remove the profit incentives and crime stops. The problem is our current approach that tackles the drug trade just isn’t working and the massive profits remain. You see, we only capture about 10-15% of all imported drugs at the moment and that’s according to the authorities. The real figures are unknown and probably much smaller. By having the knowledge that drug regulation would wipe out most criminal organisations in Australia but deciding instead to settle on stopping only 10%, is not a very logical choice. All the rhetoric in the world is not going to change the situation especially when we have heard the same old line for nearly 50 years.

"What we do know is, that if we want to dismantle organised crime we must attack the money flow, we must attack their income source"

The police were very lucky to find the boat with $160 million worth of cocaine. They were tipped off by US authorities. Without this tip, there would be another multi-million dollar load of illicit drugs in Australia. Although $160 million is a lot of money on the streets, the actual value to the crims is minute. Heroin and cocaine is marked up by about 17,000% by the time it is consumed. Add to that the built in loss factor at a ratio of one in ten and the bosses aren’t too worried at all. You have to wonder if claims of upsetting the drug kingpins is really necessary or an attempt to be seen to be doing something.

"This is a great blow landed this week by our law enforcement agencies"

A “great blow” to who? Brendan O'Connor really means, a great PR exercise.

Steve Price

Role: : Shock Jock and Opinion Writer 

Source: HeraldSun

Date: October 2010

Steve’s love affair with booze once again portrays drug use as the villain for crimes that are mostly caused by alcohol.

"Paedophiles roam the streets looking for victims, while bullies and teenagers high on drugs are desperate to rob any defenceless kid of their mobile phone or runners, or both"

How many cases have you read about where “bullies and teenagers high on drugs” have robbed a “defenceless kid of their mobile phone or runners, or both”? Let’s see, mmm, oh yeah … zero. That honour goes to bullies and teenagers pissed out their minds.

News Ltd Reader

Source: PerthNow

Date: October 2010

An article titled, Brazen Street Prostitutes Working Close To Perth Police HQ from Perth’s The Sunday Times attracted some bizarre comments. None so more than this cracker.

"Its a very dodgy area around there. Wouldn't surprise me if most of them were druggies financing their habit. Its when local residents get propositioned that it becomes bad. How about some undercover policewomen around there?? This is what they do in the movies & it seems to work!!!"

--pinkmini of Perth

Yes, it’s real.

Bob Falconer / Russell Armstrong

Role: : Former West Australian Police Commissioner / West Australian Police Union President 

Source: The Australian

Date: October 2010

As the use of tasers by police becomes more common, it seems the reasons become more fanciful. Bob Falconer rejected the idea that it is because there is no longer minimum height and weight standards for police but had his own explanation.

"Years ago, heroin was an analgesic -- they got sleepy, they got dopey. Now they're using drugs that give them the strength of five human beings and make them extremely unpredictable and violent"

Incredible … some drugs give you the strength of five human beings! Not to be left out, West Australian Police Union president Russell Armstrong added this:

“People fuelled by alcohol and drugs can't control themselves and start punching police”

Well done Bob and Russell.

Remember PCP? It too had the magically ability to give people super-human strength. Incredibly it was completely debunked by science. Who would have thought that some people would exaggerate the effects of drugs?

Sophie Mirabella

Role: Federal MP (Lib)

Source: The Border Mail

Date: November 2010

We all know that Sophie Mirabella can be a goose but blatantly misleading the public, time and time again is just going too far. Sophie’s anti-drug sentiments might be well known but they are not based it on anything factual. Repeating the same old line which is devoid of the truth isn’t winning Sophie any credibility.

“The Greens like to hide what they are really about. They have a motherhood statement about not legalising illegal drugs but they contradict themselves on their own website, in their own policy by saying they support prescribed heroin trials, cannabis use”

Like so many other anti-drug zealots, Sophie misses the point of the Greens’ drug policy. Medical marijuana and prescription heroin are medical programs and have nothing to do with legalisation. The Greens make it quite clear that they don’t support the legalisation of any illicit drugs but they do support Harm Minimisation and evidence based policies. A far cry from making all drugs legal.

Michael Mischin

Role: : Parliamentary Secretary to the Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services (Lib) 

Source: Mischin.Blog

Date: October 2010

As we all know, WA are changing the state’s cannabis laws. Many people including experts, argue that they are not making these changes based on any evidence but purely for political and ideological reasons. The fact is, the previous policies were working while all others states with harsher laws, similar to the proposed changes, were continuing with increased drug related problems. But don’t let science, history and evidence get in the way of a good political spiel.

“Cannabis is not a ‘soft’ drug.

It is not a ‘recreational’ drug.

It is not a harmless drug.

It is a gateway drug.

Use of cannabis also increases the risk of mental illness such as schizophrenia.

It is a drug that ruins lives and I am proud that we have reversed the failed policy of the previous government.

[…]

Yes, these are tough moves but we need strong laws like this that send the right message about cannabis – that it is dangerous.”

You have to laugh. Sanctimonious boneheads frothing at the mouth because of a relatively harmless drug (for most adults) but saying very little about the carnage caused by their favourite drug … booze. Selective facts mixed in with exaggerations and lies. Claims that tough, failed and outdated law are necessary to 'send the right message'. Yes, it would be funny except these self-important, agenda driven politicians cause more pain, more carnage, more misery and more problems than cannabis ever will. 

Barry O'Farrell

Role: : NSW Opposition Leader (Lib)

Source: ABC News / Hansard

Date: October 2010

One of the true joys in life is watching politicians make an ass of themselves. It’s especially sweet when they make some grandiose proclamation to make an important point but it completely contradicts the facts. When this happens, I immediately have visions of 17th century religious leaders proclaiming the earth is flat and we should be thankful they are protecting us from falling off the edge of the world.

We got to see this during the MSIC debate in the NSW parliament last month where we heard from some politicians who opposed the safe injection centre. Although most of those present in parliament during the debate were wise enough to accept the overwhelming evidence and advice from experts. some were working on their own “flat earth” theories.  But regardless of their impassioned views that MSIC was “encouraging drug use” or ‘sending the wrong message”, none of them focussed on the extensive evidence that proved the effectiveness of the clinic. One of those politicians though - Opposition Leader, Barry O'Farrell - did seem to grasp the importance of evidence based policy. 

“It’s not the way to run drug policy, where policy and programs should be evidence-based, not based on the views of 12 people sitting in a marginal seat”.

The problem was that Barry had just finished denouncing the MSIC program and all the evidence that formed the government’s drug policy concerning the centre. Maybe, the evidence was not the evidence he wanted? Who cares, he had his own theory.

“I oppose this legislation because it fails to meet both the goals set down by the government when it started it

I oppose it because of my concerns the state's harm minimisation policy pays too little attention to advocating no drug use, to rescuing people from their terrible addiction, and pays too much attention to trying to manage those addictions.

Thirdly, I oppose it because I don't believe there is any safe level of drug abuse and I think it does send the wrong message.

Ahead of next year's election campaign I would encourage the premier to put funding into services that will enable those who use this centre, who want to beat this addiction, who want to get access and are prepared to pursue access and treatment through drug rehabilitation services, to get the help they deserve to rid them of their addiction.”

Ironically, Barry O'Farrell accused the Premier of playing politics over the issue.

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All Drugs Are Not The Same

People love drugs … this is a fact.  And many people will use drugs. Another fact.

Some will overdose, some will get sick and some will want to go home, But the vast majority will get what they paid for … a hellava’ good time. Yeah, yeah, I hear you - drugs are bad, drugs can hurt you - but so can anal sex but that act is performed at least a million times a year without a lot of complaints. 

Funny enough, the same people who complain about others having anal sex also complain about drugs.  You know the type I mean. Arrogant, conservative, self-righteous, self-important, self-appointed guardians of all things moral. They use jargon like “family values”, “personal responsibility”, “do the crime … do the time” or remind us that things were different in 1956. They were once called wowsers. 

Wowser

[noun] Austral./NZ informal - a person who is publicly critical of others and the pleasures they seek; a killjoy

One common mistake made by wowsers / the media / the government / anti-drug zealots / the police / moral crusaders etc. is lumping all drugs together under the one umbrella. You often hear the police blame someone’s actions on being “under the influence of drugs” or the media describe erratic behaviour due to drugs. On Channel 7’s, The Force - Behind the Line, I heard one police officer describe a suspect as showing typical signs of drug use - hyperactive, extremely restless, nervous and pinpoint pupils. What drug causes that? The victim was caught with speed which explains most of the symptoms except pinpoint pupils are typical of heroin use not speed. Amphetamines(speed) make your pupils bigger, not smaller. This is a classic example of how all drugs are lumped into one category. 

But, all drugs are not the same. Some people perceive them to be like different kinds of liquor. e.g. whisky, beer, wine, cognac. They all look and taste differently but the effect is the same … you get stoned. Drugs though, offer a rich variety of effects, some of which can be compared to activities in the physical world. Jumping out of an aeroplane might thrill the adrenaline junkies but it doesn’t even come close to what first hooked a heroin addict. Being as cool as James Bond involves years of practice, exercise and training but why bother when a line of coke can give you same confidence? What about sex? Option one - Seven years in India learning the Karma Sutra, four years of attending the gym followed by two years of studying Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts or even A Couple’s Guide to Automobile Repairs. Option two - an ecstasy pill.

Another common misrepresentation is that unhappy people turn to drugs to dampen their emotional pain. That’s like saying all drinkers “hit the booze” to “drown their sorrows”. Of course, most drinkers indulge in alcohol because it’s enjoyable and it’s no different with drugs. And which “drugs” do they turn to? I find it hard to imagine that someone with a great burden on their shoulders will turn to ecstasy to block out the world. Or someone with suicidal tendencies overdosing themselves on pot in a half hearted attempt to end it all. I turned to heroin after the death of my wife when booze wasn’t killing me quickly enough or dampening the unbearable sorrow I was feeling. Before then, I had only used drugs like speed to enhance my night out or to experience the trippy pleasures of mushrooms, LSD and dope. The point is, I turned to a particular drug like heroin, not ice, weed or cocaine. Who knows what might have happened if I took up LSD instead of heroin?

What attracts people to different types of drugs? My experience is that people want certain drugs for different reasons. Alcohol is for socialising, dope is for chilling out, speed/ice/cocaine for partying, LSD/mushrooms for experimenting and heroin for multiple reasons. But according to many sources like the media, it’s irrelevant because … drugs are bad, mmkay!

This blanket approach to drugs has been enforced around the globe for the last 100 years. Now when any new drug appears on the market, it gets slotted under the “drugs” umbrella without any scientific examination or analysis of it’s social effect. Ecstasy(MDMA) is a classic example of how an over zealous organisation like the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) ignored all input from medical / scientific groups and pushed for a schedule I drug classification. This was despite a court ruling that it should not be banned, advice from medical experts and the successful trials that showed it to be a possible treatment for PTSD, depression and other disorders. The DEA used it’s special authority granted by the government to override the court’s decision, ignore scientific advice and make it’s own judgement. MDMA was banned and classed as a schedule I drug.

US Schedule I Drug:

(A) The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.

(B) The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.

(C) There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision

--Wikipedia: Controlled Substances Act

Many countries including Australia now just mimic any scheduling decisions made by the US and the UK. Not surprisingly, the only exception is when they lower the classification of a drug. It would have been interesting to see what happened if Proposition 19 in California was passed and cannabis became legal. If the example of how Australia managed the classification of UK legal highs or MDMA is any thing to go by, then we are doomed to retain only stricter scheduling of drugs but ignore any changes that reflect a loosening of restrictions.

But it’s not just government classifications that get the blanket treatment. The scheduling of drugs is also driven by how society views these substances. And this is where the sensationalist media and political rhetoric comes into action. These potent forces have been pumping disinformation into us for decades and now much of the public believes their spin. And why wouldn’t they? Just mention heroin or crack and watch instantly as normal, rational human beings turn into judgemental, irrational zealots. Try pointing out the facts and watch as disbelief overrides all evidence and reality. Listen up to the amazing array of myths that will used to attack your “extremist” views. Why is it is so damned hard to expose decades of propaganda from the government, anti-drug nutters and the media.

Just recently, Professor David Nutt was sacked from the the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), who are a group of scientists, academics and doctors commissioned by the UK government to advise on drug policy. His crime was telling the truth. Prof. Nutt was simply providing evidence that some drugs like cannabis, LSD, mushrroms and ecstasy(MDMA) are much safer, and that alcohol is far more dangerous, than the official government position or the public’s perception. The UK Home Secretary decided that maintaining flawed information about drug harms was more important than the facts so he sacked Prof. Nutt claiming he was out-of-line for criticising government policy. Can you imagine any other scientific issue that would prompt a government to dismiss the evidence and remain fooling the public with flawed information? 

Professor David Nutt has since created his own group called, the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs. Last week, they published a scientific paper in the respected Lancet medical journal that measured the rates of harm from illicit drugs, alcohol and tobacco. The results showed that alcohol is the most dangerous drug in the UK, overshadowing heroin and cocaine. At the other end of the scale, mushrooms, ecstasy and LSD were well down the list. As expected, the report has caused a frenzy of newspaper articles. 

Background

Proper assessment of the harms caused by the misuse of drugs can inform policy makers in health, policing, and social care. We aimed to apply multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) modelling to a range of drug harms in the UK.

Methods

Members of the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, including two invited specialists, met in a 1-day interactive workshop to score 20 drugs on 16 criteria: nine related to the harms that a drug produces in the individual and seven to the harms to others. Drugs were scored out of 100 points, and the criteria were weighted to indicate their relative importance.

Findings

MCDA modelling showed that heroin, crack cocaine, and metamfetamine were the most harmful drugs to individuals (part scores 34, 37, and 32, respectively), whereas alcohol, heroin, and crack cocaine were the most harmful to others (46, 21, and 17, respectively). Overall, alcohol was the most harmful drug (overall harm score 72), with heroin (55) and crack cocaine (54) in second and third places.

Interpretation

These findings lend support to previous work assessing drug harms, and show how the improved scoring and weighting approach of MCDA increases the differentiation between the most and least harmful drugs. However, the findings correlate poorly with present UK drug classification, which is not based simply on considerations of harm.

Funding

Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (UK).

Source: The Lancet

What this report doesn’t cover though, is how these drugs would rate in a world without prohibition. By far, most problems from drug use is attributed to our drug laws. It’s the illegality of these substances that causes more damage than the drugs themselves. Heroin, for example is basically non toxic and can taken for decades without much physical damage. Cocaine, speed and GHB taken occasionally will not greatly impact on your health unless of course, it’s cut with drain cleaner. Smoking naturally grown cannabis in moderation will not usually hurt any adult who doesn’t have a history of mental health disorders. Popping an ecstasy pill (pure MDMA) every few months is not going send most people to rehab. Although moderation is the best defence against the potential, nasty side effects of illicit drug use, prohibition is the real culprit. Prohibition removes all the safe guards that could be included with regulated sales of these drugs. Prohibition puts the safety of drug users in the hands of criminals and dealers who offer no quality control or age restrictions. Even that junkie stereotype is purely a result of drugs being illegal. It’s not the drugs that make junkies look skinny, dirty and homeless - it’s the desperation from dodging police, being maligned by the public and that never ending search for money that leaves very little for rent, food etc.

For many, their deep-seated views on drugs are not going to change anytime soon. Most of the population has never experienced a world without drug prohibition and after a lifetime of misinformation and the constant drone of anti-drug sentiment, the demonising of drugs has been very effective. Separating substances into groups based on their harm might go a long way to educating the public and hopefully provide some sanity in the drug debate. We don’t want a repeat performance of Liberal hack, Chris Pyne dribbling on about pot and heroin being equally as dangerous. These theatrical performances might appease dorks like Pyne but they do nothing to keep people safe. Nor does the popular trend of outing one’s self as having tried pot at university but declaring it’s now unsafe to do so because of the latest research. Over the last few years, we have had Australia’s top politicians admitting to smoking the evil weed but warning others not to follow suit. Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott, Wayne Swann and Malcolm Turnbull have all made this admission but it took the current US president to actually come clean. When asked if he “inhaled” - a reference to former US president who said he tried pot but didn’t inhale - Obama said, “that’s the point, isn’t it”.

We have to end the “drugs are bad … mmkay” mentality. All drugs have specific harms when abused but some, more than others. Inexperienced people shooting up hard drugs is not a good idea but overall, binge drinking causes more harm than intravenous drug use. Dozens of night-clubbers taking ecstasy in it’s pure form will not cause anywhere near the carnage inflicted by boozers in the same venue. Smoking pot each night for years on end will only produce a tiny group of dependant users compared to drinkers who consume similar amounts to achieve the same intoxication. And contrary to popular beliefs, methamphetamines like ice cause a fraction of the violence that alcohol bestows on the community each week. 

These facts need to be explained to the public along with the truth about legal drugs like alcohol, tobacco and prescription medication. Although it’s changing slowly, all illicit drugs are still seen as something that only desperate, low life druggies will consider while incredibly, booze is considered a safe alternative. The facts are out there but if our leaders and the media are not prepared to tell us the truth then the public will remain victims of deceit and agenda driven policy. We deserve better.