Victim's mother wants drugs legalized.

[Buce]

An interesting, and no doubt contraversial, point of view:

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-27811553

[Steven]

I hope she gets listened to. Please let us stop the cycle of ignorance and tackle all illegal and legal substance related issues.

[Steven]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/mother-of-ecstasydeath-teen-calls-for-legalisation-and-education-9532978.html

 

 

Mother of ecstasy-death teen calls for legalisation and education

 

 

 

A mother whose teenage daughter died after taking an unusually pure version of ecstasy has called for recreational drugs to be legalised.

 

Anne-Marie Cockburn said she wanted the death of her 15-year-old daughter Martha Fernback to lead to changes in the law which would create a regulated and safe trade in currently banned substances.

The inquest into the GCSE student’s death last year in an Oxford park heard that she had taken a half-gram pill of ecstasy, the so-called “party†drug, which was 91 per cent pure and induced a fatal heart attack. The average street purity of the Class A drug, also known as MDMA, is 58 per cent.

Ms Cockburn, who held up a poster of her daughter outside the hearing in Oxford’s county hall, said she wanted to meet Home Secretary Theresa May and her Labour shadow Yvette Cooper to discuss her proposals.

In a statement, she said: “It has been 328 days since my precious girl was safely by my side. Martha wanted to get high, she didn’t want to die. No parent wants either but one is more preferable to the other.

“I wish Martha was sitting her GCSEs along with her friends at school right now. I wish the drug education she received had enabled her to make a more safely-informed decision instead of leaving her so vulnerable and in danger.â€

She added: “I would like to… start a sensible dialogue for change, from prohibition to strict and responsible regulation of recreational drugs. This will help to safeguard our children and lead to a safer society for us all by putting doctors and pharmacists, not dealers, in control of drugs.â€

The ecstasy pill taken by Martha, who was with friends in Oxford’s Hinksey Park when she died on 20 July last year, was supplied by 17-year-old Alex Williams. He was given a community sentence in March after he admitted to a count of possession.

The teenager escaped a prison term after a court heard that he was “consumed by overwhelming guilt†over Martha’s death.

Following his conviction, Ms Cockburn, who has also written a book about her daughter’s life, said she wanted to work with Williams to give drug education talks to young people.

In a recent interview, Ms Cockburn said she wanted to see the teenager make something of his life. She said: “Seeing him in court, one feeling I didn’t have, and have never had, is anger or hatred. I lost everything the day Martha died and I simply couldn’t cope with hating someone. It would eat me up: it would finish me.â€

Oxfordshire coroner Darren Salter recorded a verdict of accidental death.

He said: “It is a terrible loss and I think we can only say that it may at least serve as a warning to young people who may take, or think of taking, ecstasy or MDMA. What is clear is that there is no way of knowing what it is made up of or what the purity level is.â€

[Webbo]

What about the mothers of victims who don't want it legalised?

[Steven]

What about the mothers of victims who don't want it legalised?

I hope they can live with their consciences.

[Webbo]

I hope they can live with their consciences.

You want to legalise something that's killed their children, I'd worry about your own conscience. 

[Steven]

You want to legalise something that's killed their children, I'd worry about your own conscience. 

Prohibition has not worked, is not working and will not work. For the sake of the children another way has to be tried.

[SystonFox]

The poor young girl didn't know she was taking a 91 per cent pure pill. She'd have taken that pill no matter what education or legalisation and she'd still be dead now. It's just the way if is. Sounds harsh but it is so

[BoneDog]

What do they mean exactly by 'legalized'? 

 

Crack cocaine is one hell of a drug as the saying goes, but I'm not sure it's a good idea having it for sale on the shelves. Alot of people who tried that drug for a laugh would end up with real problems. It's a slippery slope, and not in a fun way like snakes and ladders.

 

Whatever happens, the problems aren't likely to go away as the drugs business is 2nd only to the arms trade or something like that and powerful people are making billions.

[David Guiza]

Tragic loss of a young life, but surely the question must be asked as to whether the15year old girl should have been somewhat aware as to the risks of taking E anyway. At 15 i'd like to think that, whilst there were many things that i was too naive or uneducated to understand, the risks of taking a drug of that caliber wasn't one of them. Drugs have been around my mates since around 16/17, and I can make a safe assumption that the vast majority of the users and non users(if not all) were completely aware of the possible risks. I'm fairly sure I was educated in common street drugs around about year 9/10 also. And whilst I understand that the pill in question was not your average E, surely she and others must be aware of the risks regardless?

[Nick]

If you decriminalise the activity of using a substance it is then possible to regulate quality of supply to reduce risks - no brainer.

 

The problem is that any government that even moves the classification of a drug gets pressured by the media outcry of public abhorrence and will not win the next election - sad really, especially when they don't even listen to the very people they pay (Drugs Advisory Council) to equip them with the knowledge and information to make related policy decisions.

[lavrentis]

Can see both sides of the argument but trusting dealers or trusting the government? 

[Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot]

Stories like this always get my back up. Suddenly she cares about this issue because it's affected her first hand, would she be campaigning for this on the back of someone elses kid having died this way? No. So why should I take any notice of this issue over the thousands of other people campaigning for something on the back of personal tragedy?

[lavrentis]

Stories like this always get my back up. Suddenly she cares about this issue because it's affected her first hand, would she be campaigning for this on the back of someone elses kid having died this way? No. So why should I take any notice of this issue over the thousands of other people campaigning for something on the back of personal tragedy?

 

Kinel mate maybe the death of her daughter brought her attention to the issue

[Captain...]

Stories like this always get my back up. Suddenly she cares about this issue because it's affected her first hand, would she be campaigning for this on the back of someone elses kid having died this way? No. So why should I take any notice of this issue over the thousands of other people campaigning for something on the back of personal tragedy?

 

Because she has a greater perspective and understanding on it than you  

[Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot]

Kinel mate maybe the death of her daughter brought her attention to the issue

 

That's my point, without that having happened to her she wouldn't be bothered about this in the slightest.

[lavrentis]

That's my point, without that having happened to her she wouldn't be bothered about this in the slightest.

 

She probably wouldn't know enough about it

[davieG]

Will legalising them stop any black marketing of impure or danderous versions. No doubt any legalised drug like cigarettes would be taxed to the hilt to discourage users leaving a gap in the market like alcohol for dangerous cheaper alternatives that many will find attractive.

 

Potentially increasing their use and the impact  a lot more drug influnenced people might have on everyday life I'm not convinced it solves the problem

[MooseBreath]

That's my point, without that having happened to her she wouldn't be bothered about this in the slightest.

You're probably right, but I don't see how it makes any difference.

[Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot]

I just find the lack of empathy in the world discouraging. People need things to of happened to them directly to sit up and take note of issues we should already be discussing. I support a few charities, not because they affect or have affected me, but because of how they affect the people they do.

[MooseBreath]

Will legalising them stop any black marketing of impure or danderous versions. No doubt any legalised drug like cigarettes would be taxed to the hilt to discourage users leaving a gap in the market like alcohol for dangerous cheaper alternatives that many will find attractive.

Potentially increasing their use and the impact a lot more drug influnenced people might have on everyday life I'm not convinced it solves the problem

The market for dodgy alcohol and tobacco is tiny compared to the legal market. I'd expect the same to be true of recreational drugs.

I don't think there's any evidence that legalisation increases usage, but even if it does, having more people taking ectasy safely is very unlikely to cause problems. It is not addictive, doesn't make people violent, doesn't do much damage to health, it's all round a pretty safe drug. Obviously the same can't be said for harder drugs, but I'd have absolutely no problem with ectasy being totally legal.

[MooseBreath]

I just find the lack of empathy in the world discouraging. People need things to of happened to them directly to sit up and take note of issues we should already be discussing. I support a few charities, not because they affect or have affected me, but because of how they affect the people they do.

You can't expect everyone to be totally on top of every worthwhile cause, people don't have the time or the energy. If something personally affects you then of course it alters your priorities. Totally natural imo.

[Houdini Logic]

Why should an ignorant (of drugs) mother be leading changes on the UK drug policy?

She needs to step back from a personal and sensitive subject and have a think about what she's proposing...

[Steven]

Why should an ignorant (of drugs) mother be leading changes on the UK drug policy?

She needs to step back from a personal and sensitive subject and have a think about what she's proposing...

Prohibition has not worked, is not working and will not work. For the sake of the children another way has to be tried.

[Houdini Logic]

Prohibition has not worked, is not working and will not work. For the sake of the children another way has to be tried.

 

You say it's not working - what do you have to compare it against?

How do you know how many lives will be lost if we legalised class A drugs such as this in comparison?

 

I'm intrigued...