ITALY
The Italian MP of the Green Party Franco Corleone, who has proposed a law for the legalization of recreational drugs using Holland as a model, has gone to Amsterdam to study the Dutch situation, complaining that no Italian delegation has ever done so.
(PANORAMA 13/3)
ITALY
In a study carried out by the Military Health Authority on a sample of 35,000 young men during the routine check up for draft selection, found that one out of five 18 year olds use, or has tried at least once, illegal drugs.
(IL MESSAGGERO, LA STAMPA 09/03)
EUROPE
A report by the International Narcotics Board warns against the diffusion of Ecstasy and other drugs based on amphetamines. The European drug problem is currently represented mainly by the abuse of synthetic drugs which are often underrated by the governments.
(THE EUROPEAN 12/03)
USA
The Drug Enforcement Administration revealed that Colombian Drug dealers were on the verge of buying a submarine from the ex-Soviet Navy, when the plan was exposed by the agency.
(LA REBUBBLICA 09/03)
ITALY
A judge in Bologna has acquitted a prisoner accused of pushing, when three grams of heroin were found in his cell. This decision is in line with the current legal trend whereby the possession of any quantity of drugs can be considered pushing only when this fact can be proven, otherwise the accusation must be possession.
(CORSERA 09/03)
FRANCE
For the first time by initiative of the French Observatory on Drugs and Addiction the cost of battle against drug abuse has been calculated. In 1995 the costs were estimated at 4.72 billion Francs or 0.3% of the total state budget. These findings have led to the opening of a debate on the issue.
(LE MONDE 09/03)
GREAT BRITAIN
The government will finance a study to be carried out by two psychologists who intend to show that heroin is no more habit forming than nicotine or cannabis and how users can be reintegrated in a "normal" life style. Their assertion is that drug dependency is not automatic, but is determined by a series of personal and environmental factors.
(THE TIMES 09/03)
HOLLAND
The French, Dutch and Belgian police have initiated a new collaboration against illegal drug traffic thanks to a coordinated operation at border controls. 22,000 people were checked in one hour.
(El PAIS 16/03)
ITALY
24 hour long parties are forbidden in Italy so hundreds of ravers, mostly young people, traveled by bus to Nova Gorica in ex-Yugoslavia where an agency specialized in commercial raves had organized a meeting called "Promisedland".
(LA REPUBBLICA)
ITALY
Keeping 18,000 drug addicts in prison costs 6.3 billion Lire a day, equal to 2,200 billion Lire a year. The statistics were published by the president of the Justice Commission of the Parliament.
(LA STAMPA 17/03)
EUROPEAN UNION
During approval of a report on the application of the Schengen agreement, European parliamentarians approved an amendment proposed by three Radical party delegates, condemning France for the abuse of the exceptions to the free circulation of goods within the Union, in the name of the battle against heroin abuse.
(LIBERATION 13/03)
BOLIVIA
During his 24 hour visit, Jacques Chirac underlined the fact that for France, the responsibility for illegal drug traffic is shared by the countries producing drugs as well as countries consuming drugs, a policy different to that of the USA.
(LE MONDE 16/03)
ITALY
A 37 year old ex-drug addict, ex-robber, has started a new life for herself, but her judge discovers she may have to spend another 5 years in prison because she has kicked the heroin habit. If she were still an addict she might be able to get off.
(Panorama 20/03)
MEXICO
The new head of the drug abuse department is Mariano Herran Salvatti, a relatively little known lawyer who takes the place of Jesus Gutierrez Rebolla , who has been imprisoned under the accusation of having accepted kick-backs from cocaine dealers.
(EL PAIS 11/03, FINANCIAL TIMES 12/O3)
COLOMBIA
In protest against the USA, who refused to grant Colombia the certificate of good conduct in the fight against illegal drugs, Samper suspended programs in act for the elimination of opium and coca plantations.
(INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE 07/03)
MEXICO
On February 28, Mexico was granted the certificate of good conduct in the fight against illegal drugs and then with a resolution in the congress the decision was revoked. The motive seems to be that the DEA wants permission to send more agents into the country.
(EL PAIS 09-14/03, LE MONDE, SUEDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG 15/03)
PHILIPPINES
A 43 year old Italian, Mauro Ceccarani, was charged with the possession of a large quantity of hashish. According to Filipino law he could be sentenced with the death penalty which is applicable for anyone who is sentenced with possessing more than 50 grams of any type of illegal drugs.
(IL GIORNALE, LA REPUBBLICA,LA STAMPA 09/03)
ITALY
The Defense minister will propose a change in laws regarding drug dependency: addicts will be able to defer obligatory military service only if they undergo specific therapy.
(CORSERA, IL MESSAGGERO, LA STAMPA 11/03)
ITALY
Marco Pannella and another five leaders of the Reform movement have been indicted for having distributed 137 grams of hashish in Rome in August 1995, during a campaign for the legalization of recreational drugs.
(CORSERA, IL GIORNALE, IL MESSAGGERO, LA STAMPA 12/03, LA REPUBBLICA 12-13/03)
ITALY
A National conference on drugs organized by the Minister of Social Affairs, Turco, was held in Naples. Its conclusions will be reported to parliament but seem to be: neither prohibition nor liberalization. The government has not chosen a clear position but has tried to put together the different lines of thought of the majority. Discussion remains open.
(IL MESSAGGERO 08-13-14-15-16-17/03, LA STAMPA 09-13-14-15-16/03, LA REPUBBLICA 11-14-15-16/03, PANORAMA 20/03)
ITALY
The forth Iard report on the condition of young people shows that the young are more and more open to the use of illegal drugs. Cannabis smokers represented 18% of the sample group in 1993 and 31% today.
(CORSERA 19/03)
ITALY
According to Michele Coiro, the Chief in General of the Penal Institutions, prohibition has failed. The controlled distribution of heroin would be much better in reducing deaths from drug abuse, and would help reduce drug related crime and profits from the illegal sale of drugs.
(IL MESSAGGERO 19/01)
COLOMBIA
The Minister of Defense, Guillermo Alberta Gonzales Mosquera, has stepped down following accusations that he has accepted bribes from drug dealers. He is the tenth Minister of Defense to resign for the same reason.
(DIE PRESSE, EL PAIS, LE MONDE, NEUE ZUERCHER ZEITUNG, 18/03)
CHINA
In February, for the first time in China, a shipment of ecstasy coming from Hong Kong was intercepted. There is on the Chinese market however a similar substance known to locals by the name "ice".
(FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG 11/03)
COLOMBIA
In Bogota, a seminar on drug related issues in which experts from Colombia, Switzerland, and Germany participated, failed to produce interesting conclusions. The two worlds are too far apart, on the one hand there is the drug abuse problem in the western European countries (remember Zurich's ex drug park) and on the other, in South America, Medellin and the well organized international drug dealing cartel.
(NEUE ZUERCHER ZEITUNG, 11/03)
