Caner cops aid Australia’s ecstasy explosion
Reported on Monday, Oct 17, 2005. 11:47 by Jonty Scrufff
Australia’s Daily Telegraph reported that 'ecstasy use is rife' amongst New South Wales cops this week, after an official police report revealed that significant numbers of Sydney cops are both using and supplying narcotics.
The Police Integrity Commission Abelia investigation report described how officers routinely took drugs including ecstasy at nightclubs and at the homes of friends, reflecting the massive popularity of E in Australia, where one in five people admit to taking the drug.
"Some officers mentioned stress, either at work or in their personal lives, or just simply 'lifestyle choices' as reasons why they used illegal drugs," the report stated, "A number of officers who spoke about family or personal stress also admitted that they enjoyed using drugs socially."
Meanwhile in the UK, the British annual crime survey revealed that Britain topped Europe’s drug use league again in the latest annual tables, with 35.6% of people aged 16-59 in England and Wales admitting to having used drugs at some point and 11% in the last year (mainly marijuana). Drug experts linked the high figures to Britain’s binge mentality, though curiously high and low earners were much more likely to indulge than middle income people. However, the BBC identified another more important factor than income or bingeing.
"And the top factor associated with drug use?" they asked, "Simply being a young, single, man who goes to the pub three times a week."
The percentage figures contrasted intriguingly with new data from the States, which revealed that 9.8 percent of the population ‘needed treatment for substance abuse or dependence’ in the last year.
The figure of 23.5 million Americans in need of drug related (including alcohol) medical assistance in 2004 was two million more than for 2003, reflecting the continuing abject failure of the US drugs war.
http://www.pic.nsw.gov.au/Reports_List.asp?type=Operational (Australia’s Police Integrity Commission Abelia investigation- report in full)
