|
Europe:
Crackdown
in
Georgia
9/9/05
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/402/tblisi.shtml
According to reports from
drug reform activists in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, authorities
there have embarked on an unprecedented effort to crack down on drug use
and drug trafficking. In a message to the Central
and East European Harm Reduction Network, Georgia drug reformer Levan
Jorbenadze reported that the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has
taken to posting the names of alleged drug dealers on the walls of neighborhoods
in the capital city, Tblisi, and is calling for citizens to turn in drug
dealers and users.
This vigilante-style move
against the drug trade began in the middle of last month and was foreshadowed
in an August 17 news conference where Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili
announced rewards of up to US $555 for the capture of drug dealers.
That news conference took place the same day police seized 10 pounds of
opium in the village of Ponichala -- the largest drug bust in Georgia history.
"We hope to see mass arrests
of people involved in drug trade... but we need help from society," said
Merabishvili. "The Ministry of Internal Affairs cannot do the job
by itself. Yes, maybe the ministry will seize many drugs in the future
as well, but unfortunately, the amount of drug users and dealers has not
declined in Georgia," he said. "We have to make drug users unpopular
people and treat them as dangers to the public so that they feel uncomfortable
in Georgian society. Over the recent years, drug use has become fashionable
and popular," he complained. "It is necessary to change the attitude
towards social problems throughout Georgia."
-- END --
|
Issue #402
-- 9/9/05
Feature:
Regional
Anti-Prohibitionist
Conference
Gets
Under
Way
in
Buenos
Aires
|
Weekly:
This
Week's
Corrupt
Cops
Stories
|
Europe:
Contender
for
British
Tory
Leadership
Says
Legalize
Drugs
|
Asia:
Afghan
Opium
Production
Essentially
Stable
This
Year
Despite
Crackdown
|
Press
Release:
Lawrence,
Kansas,
Moving
to
Shift
Marijuana
Prosecutions
to
Municipal
Court
to
Avoid
HEA
Drug
Provision
|
Sentencing:
New
York
Governor
Signs
Another
Partial
Rocky
Reform
Bill
--
Will
Free
at
Most
500
Prisoners
|
Marijuana:
Surge
in
Arrests
Has
Little
Effect
on
Use
Rates,
Study
Finds
|
Canada:
Vancouver
Drug
Users'
Group
Assists
Users
with
Injecting
in
Order
to
Reduce
HIV
Transmission
|
Medical
Marijuana:
Virginia
Nurses
Association
Reiterates
Its
Support
|
Crooked
Snitches:
Oregon
Drops
More
than
40
Cases
Tied
to
Bad
Informant
|
Europe:
Crackdown
in
Georgia
|
Quote:
William
Rehnquist
on
Mandatory
Minimum
Sentencing
|
Media
Scan:
HEA
in
Boston
Globe,
Medical
Marijuana
in
New
England
Journal
of
Medicine,
Medscape,
More
|
Weekly:
This
Week
in
History
|
Job
Opportunities:
Marijuana
Policy
Project
|
Job
Opportunity:
Harm
Reduction
Position
in
New
Mexico
|
Weekly:
The
Reformer's
Calendar
|
|
This issue -- main page
This issue -- single-file printer version
Drug War Chronicle -- main page
Chronicle archives
|
PERMISSION to reprint or
redistribute any or all of the contents of Drug War Chronicle (formerly The Week Online with DRCNet is hereby
granted. We ask that any use of these materials include proper credit and,
where appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If your
publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet requests checks
payable to the organization. If your publication does not pay for
materials, you are free to use the materials gratis. In all cases, we
request notification for our records, including physical copies where
material has appeared in print. Contact: StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network,
P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8340 (voice), (202)
293-8344 (fax), e-mail [email protected]. Thank
you.
Articles of a purely
educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of the DRCNet
Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
|
