Newsbriefs
8/6/99
Aussie-US Study Finds Harm-Reduction Less Harmful A joint US-Australian study released this week has found that American "zero-tolerance" policies cause more death and disease surrounding injection drug use than Australian harm-reduction policies. The study, which tracked 16 IV drug users in New York and Sydney over a period of three years, reports that after three years, half the New York subjects were dead, while all but one of the Australian subjects were alive. "HIV infection in IDU's, their sexual partners and children is now the driving force behind the epidemic in North America" the study said. "Despite adopting a hard line zero-tolerance approach to illicit drug use... the US has experienced in heroin purity, drug-related deaths, drug-related hospital emergency room presentations and AIDS cases relating to injection-drug use. "By contrast, Australia's approach, characterized by pragmatism, tolerance and bipartisan support for harm reduction, has achieved considerably better outcomes." New York Senate Passes Minor Rockefeller Reforms The New York State Senate this week passed a bill which would make modest reforms in that state's notorious Rockefeller Drug Laws. The reforms, first proposed by Governor George Pataki, would give mid-level appeals courts the right to reduce sentences from fifteen to ten years for some first-time non-violent offenders. The bill would also end parole for all state felons, requiring that they serve at least six-sevenths of their terms. Critics say that the reforms don't go nearly far enough, citing the need to place discretion in the hands of trial judges, and decry the elimination of parole, but Senate Majority Leader, Republican Joseph Bruno called the bill "a start in the right direction." Mexico Officials Investigate Police-Organized Crime Links Justice officials are currently conducting an investigation on the link between police and organized crime in Sinola, Mexico. Four officers have been indicted and 40 others are under investigation. Details of the investigation have not been released, but staff changes are expected to reach the highest offices in the police department. Mexican media report that Sinola is a state notorious for its drug trafficking and a center for marijuana and opium farming.
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