Thursday, 30 September 2004

Alexander slates Greens’ ‘shambolic’ drugs policies

United Future law & order spokesman Marc Alexander has slammed the Greens’ just-announced drugs policy as a totally disintegrated approach that seeks to ban legal products while legalising banned ones.

“Apparently, the Greens want to see sentences for drug abuse decided by health experts who will see only the physiological effects of drug abuse, but won’t have a clue about the criminal justice or social implications,” he said.

“And how can anyone who claims to have a working brain cell campaign for the legal use of cannabis when an ESR report in May 1999 showed that 57% of all completed suicides in the 15 – 25 year old age group tested positive for cannabis?

“The Greens are trying to dress up their flawed pro-drug policies by confusing drugs with drink. Yet the medical evidence is that a couple of glasses of wine a day will leave you feeling healthier and better. The same cannot be said for any amount of cannabis or methamphetamines,” said Mr Alexander.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>