|
Asia:
Calm
Words
from
an
Indian
Drug
Expert
10/21/05
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/408/calmwords.shtml
Stop the presses! From
India comes a drug expert who is not convinced that "party drugs" like
heroin, cocaine, and marijuana are his country's gravest substance abuse
problem. Dr. Vivek Benegal, associate professor of psychiatry at
the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, told the Press
Trust of India Tuesday that legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco, non-prescription
sedatives, and inhalants are "a greater menace" to the public health than
illegal drugs.
Illegal drugs account for
less than 5% of India's substance abuse problems, Benegal said, although
he cautioned that recent data point toward an increase in heroin and cannabis
use. Known locally as ganja, bhang, or charas, cannabis has a long
history of religious and social use in the subcontinent.
Marijuana is popular among
college students who use it as a "stress buster," Benegal said. The
weed has "mildly hallucinogenic properties, which plays with their perceptions
and makes them feel more creative," he explained. While Benegal expressed
concern over youthful use of marijuana, he called for prevention over prohibition.
"Our effort therefore is to delay the first use of the drug among the young
by educating them because prohibition has never worked," he said.
Benegal advocated a harm
reduction approach to both drugs and sex. Such measures should not
be limited to institutional settings such as schools and colleges, but
should be made available to the general public and especially to marginalized
populations, he said.
-- END --
|
Issue #408
-- 10/21/05
Feature:
Marijuana
Arrests
at
All-Time
High
Again
|
Feature:
Toronto
Moves
Toward
Four
Pillars-Style
Drug
Policy
|
Feature:
MOMA
Exhibit
Mutes
DanceSafe's
Drug
Harm
Reduction
Message
|
Event:
Celebrity
Perry
Fund
Reception
in
Los
Angeles,
Monday,
November
7
--
You're
Invited
|
Quote
of
the
Week:
Former
Seattle
Police
Chief
Norm
Stamper
on
Legalization
of
All
Drugs
|
Weekly:
This
Week's
Corrupt
Cops
Stories
|
Newsbrief:
Trial
for
California
Narc
Who
Killed
Rudy
Cardenas
Gets
Underway
|
Post-Hurricane:
New
Orleans
Narcs
Itching
to
Make
More
Busts
|
Post-Hurricane:
Congressional
Conservatives
Eye
Cuts
in
Anti-Drug
Spending
to
Pay
for
Katrina
Relief
--
Reformers
Clamor
for
More
|
Asia:
Calm
Words
from
an
Indian
Drug
Expert
|
Canada:
British
Columbia
Health
Officials
Call
for
Discussion
on
Regulation
of
Illicit
Drugs
|
Medical
Marijuana:
Both
New
Jersey
Governor
Candidates
Support
It
|
Web
Scan:
Stamper,
Hartford,
Emery,
Prosecutorial
Zealotry,
LEAP
|
Weekly:
This
Week
in
History
|
Weekly:
The
Reformer's
Calendar
|
This issue -- main page
This issue -- single-file printer version
Drug War Chronicle -- main page
Chronicle archives
|
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