Pot Politics
THE SNP BACKED A MOTION TO DECRIMINALISE MEDICINAL CANNABIS
Delegates voted at the Scottish party’s conference on Saturday
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Videos by VICE
Scottish National Party delegates back a motion in favour of decriminalising cannabis for medicinal use on Saturday at the party’s conference.
Those in favour stood alongside Laura Brennan-Whitefield, a woman living with multiple sclerosis, who spoke about how medical marijuana may already be used, behind closed doors, to ease the pain cause by MS. “It has become very clear to me over these last nine years that many people living with MS have been using cannabis to help with the symptoms of that condition,” she told the conference. “In fact it’s one of the worst kept secrets at the hospital.”
It wasn’t a unanimous vote, with opponents warning of medical cannabis’ potential as a “gateway drug” and the start of a slippery slope for those prone to addiction. The resolution won the backing of most delegates in the room, though.
Record-Breaking Bust
TWO MEN WERE ARRESTED IN AUSTRALIA WITH 1.2 TONNES OF MDMA
The Polish pair are now responsible for the country’s biggest drugs haul in 2016
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Two Polish men were reportedly caught trying to smuggle 1.2 tonnes of crystal MDMA into Sydney, after rolling the drugs in lead casings and stashing them in a cargo of aluminium sheets that originated in the Czech Republic.
The drugs had an estimated street value of about €99 million, making this the largest narcotics haul Australia’s seen all year, and the fourth-largest drug bust the country’s had to date.
Police said they believed the two men, aged 28 and 29, were part of an international drug ring. A Border Force regional director said he thought the use of lead was “meant to deter or disrupt our ability through the use of X-rays”. Not so much.
Enemy Bonds
FOOTBALL FANS THREW PLASTIC PIGS ONTO PITCH IN PROTEST
Charlton and Coventry bonded over their mutual club owner frustration
(Footage from VICE Sports UK’s livestream of the chanting fans inside the stadium)
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Charlton Athletic and Coventry City fans set their differences aside to stage joint peaceful protests over their club owners – Coventry’s Sisu and Charlton’s Roland Duchâtelet – when the two sides played each other on Saturday.
The frustrated fans held a march before the match, then threw plastic pig snouts onto the pitch in protest, briefly postponing play. After the match, a young Charlton fan was allegedly “thrown against a wall” by security for waving a North Korean flag – assumed to be a gesture in protest against his club’s owner.
Both clubs have suffered internal upheavals since their current owners took over, with Charlton relegated to League One last season in April and Coventry at the bottom of the third-tier league.
Drug Tragedy
A TEENAGER DIED IN SCOTLAND IN A CASE POLICE LINK TO A PILL
Police warned about “red bugatti veyron” and “purple ninja turtle” tablets
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A 16-year-old girl died in Scotland on Saturday after taking an “ecstasy-type tablet” at a house in Newtongrange and falling ill.
Shellie Grange was one of four girls reportedly taken to hospital in Edinburgh from that party, and police have released a statement about drugs they suspect may have been linked to Grange’s death.
“Enquiries into the circumstances surrounding her death are at a very early stage, however one line of enquiry officers are following is that she may have had access to ecstasy type tablets. These tablets are known as Red Bugatti Veyron and Purple Ninja Turtle.” The police insisted there is “no safe way to take an illegal drug” though those who offer testing facilities to know the contents of pills and powders would likely disagree.