junkies win compensation

[mercmanuk]

what is going on in britain today,junkies who get locked up and cant get the dailey fix go cold turkey,then they get legal aid and win the case and end up getting £3000 each as the courts decide this amounts to the equivalent of assault.surley when drugs are still illegal why dont they get prosecuted for using them and told to suffer the withdrawal effects....what is going on with this country.

 

[Howard]

Pond life ......

The government should have just told them to foxtrot oscar ....

Human rights .....

 

[Andyni]

WELCOME TO THE 21ST CENTURY!!

I sometimes think that world has gone mad. How can anyone have a RIGHT to ILLEGAL DRUGS!!

 

[BenzComander]

I think you will find that these prisoners were on prescribed medication (methadone) prior to being locked up. Their case was brought because they had this medication withdrawn, as it was not available in prison.

The analogy was given that you would not take the medication from an asthmatic if he or she were locked up.

Jeremy Vine on radio 2 had a good discussion about this, and the point was made that cold turkey was an approved form of treatment for getting off drugs.

I feel the government caved in on this one as it was probably easier to settle out of court. £3000 of my tax money into the pockets of the drugs barons I think!

Now, if I could prove I was addicted to chocolate, committed a minor crime, had chocolate taken away from me, sue the government, £3000 back in my pocket!!!

 

[andy_k]

Jeremy Vine on radio 2 had a good discussion about this, and the point was made that cold turkey was an approved form of treatment for getting off drugs.

Only under strictly controlled circumstances - it's certainly not the best way of getting someone off drugs and can cause other problems.

Would they have had a justified claim if they were asthmatics or were clinically depressed etc? After all they are dependent on drugs.

There's a fine line between what we are so quick to call a junkie and someone who depends on drugs to function. Both are "addicted" it's just where they get the drugs from

I'm not saying they deserved to win any compensation but how quick we all are to jump on the bandwagon and criticise someone without knowing 10% of the facts.

Andy

 

[BenzComander]

Agree Andy, the point is they were on an approved medication that was withdrawn from them, that was their argument.

Unfortunatly, because the argument concerns drug use, there is always going to be a particularly strong reaction from people.

 

[Howard]

LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly 200 prisoners who were forced to go "cold turkey" and give up drugs without treatment while in jail accepted 750,000 pounds compensation from the government in the High Court on Tuesday.

The prisoners had argued that the short, sharp detoxification treatment in prison was a breach of their human rights.

Legal sources said all but two of the 197 claimants are believed to have agreed to the settlement for the "pain and suffering" they were subjected to while serving their prison sentences without the aid of drug-withdrawal medication.

The group of drug-addicted inmates from prisons across Britain said they had not given consent and that their "negligent" treatment amounted to assault.

They all suffered from addiction to opiates such as heroin before and during their detention.

They said their alleged inappropriate treatment had left them suffering from withdrawal problems.

At a brief hearing on Tuesday, Judge Justice Brian Langstaff formally approved the settlement agreed between the prisoners and the Home Secretary.

The lawyer representing six of the claimants said the Prison Service had failed to provide suitable care towards people in their charge.

"This was litigation premised upon the long recognised principle that the only thing that prisoners lose upon passing through prison gates is their liberty," Richard Hermer said.

"They remain entitled to humane and decent treatment at the hands of the authorities and that includes access to appropriate healthcare facilities."

Legal experts said the claimants were successful in their action against the government because legislation requires that prisoners are entitled to the same level of medical treatment as other Britons.

On Monday, the Home Office agreed to settle six cases out of court over the issue, prompting criticism from the opposition Conservatives.

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis, said the government was letting down the taxpayer by paying off the prisoners.

Don't think anyone needs heroin to function ...... it does say they were all addicted to opiates .....

Sorry everyone, i've no sympathy for smackheads ..... whether on actual heroin or methadone substitute .... no one forced them to take that first hit .....

 

[andy_k]

it also says that they were taking drugs during their detention. They could rightly argue that the Home Office was neglecting it's duties by allowing them access to non prescription drugs.

Heroin isn't the only opiate in the world and there are many people who require these drugs to function on a daily basis and it would be unfair (and totally wrong) to call them all "smackheads".

Drug use and abuse is an emotive subject and it's not helped by sweeping, ill informed generalisations such as Howard's comments.

Andy

 

[Rose Chap]

Ah ha! But Andy, surely taking illegal drugs is by definition illegal and there can be no grey areas whatsoever. Much like speeding...

 

[GazCaff]

It truely is a crazy sick world we live in.

 

[Howard]

I just fail to see how people can require illegal drugs to function on a daily basis ...

No one forces them to take the very first hit that leads them into the downward spiral to addiction ....

I function perfectly normally , and have been offered drugs in the past , but have always turned them down , because i know what's right and wrong and what it leads to ...

There is enough information out there available to everyone that no-one needs to become a drug addict .... people become addicted to illegal drugs because they are stupid ...... (coke , heroin , dope , you name it )

The only addicts i have any sympathy for are the ones that have become addicted to prescription drugs through no fault of their own .

Sorry Andy ...

 

[andy_k]

Ah ha! But Andy, surely taking illegal drugs is by definition illegal and there can be no grey areas whatsoever. Much like speeding...

aha but not all opiates are illegal drugs - it's just the usual assumption that they are. There was nothing in that article which suggested the drugs were illegal was there?

I suspect that like Howard, you have seen the word "drugs" and jumped to a conclusion that anyone taking drugs is a criminal junkie

Grey area? depends whether or not you class prescription drugs (which it equally as easy to get addicted to) as a grey area

Andy

 

[Howard]

Realistically though Andy, while we could argue the point about what opiate is what ....

The vast majority of opiate addicted criminals are going to be addicted to heroin .... as that is the major opiate available to Britain today ...

EDIT :- I haven't jumped to a conclusion, having read the word 'drugs' , i jumped to the conclusion having read the word 'heroin' (highlighted in red on the original post , from Yahoo news)

 

[andy_k]

I just fail to see how people can require illegal drugs to function on a daily basis ...

Who said the drugs were illegal? Oh yes, You did

and yes we could argue about what drugs but we don't know do we?

How about Morphine? widely available on prescription as a pain killer and easy to become addicted to


Andy

 

[Howard]

I was under the impression that heroin was illegal in the UK ?

 

[andy_k]

I was under the impression that heroin was illegal in the UK ?

WRONG

it's currently being precribed to just over 400 users in the UK. surely doctors couldn't prescribe an illegal drug could they?


Andy

 

[Ian B Walker]

It beggars belief. Given my way they would be shot. Cost of a bullet or cost of treatment? Bullet works out cheaper and then you dont have to pay for the users upkeep while he / she languishes in goal. The police would have an easier job as a large %age of the people they arrest these days are on some form of illegal substance. the more get shot the less likleyhood that folks would experiment, knowing what could be in store. The old saying comes to mind. Can't do the time then don't do the crime. Ok radical but my father was a pharmasist and had to deal with these pathetic creatures. You only have to see your ex best friend getting his weekly fix to bring it home. By the way he od'd. I Hate drug users and pushers with a vengence. Yes I smoke so maybe that puts me in the same catagory.

 

[Howard]

Ok Andy , you know best ....

So why do people have to go to backstreet dealers to buy it ? how come you can't buy it from the chemist ....

Here's an extract from UK Customs and Excise's website ....

Misuse of Drugs Act, 1971 classifies dangerous or otherwise harmful drugs as 'controlled' substances, which means it is illegal to import or export them, possess them, possess them with an intention to supply them to others, or actually supply them without a licence.

These drugs are split into three categories - class A, B and C - according to the threat they pose to a person's health and to society as a whole:

Class A drugs include those that are widely abused, such as Heroin, Cocaine Ecstasy, LSD and Magic Mushrooms.

Class B drugs include Amphetamine and Speed

Class C drugs include Cannabis, GHB, Anabolic Steroids and Tranquillisers

Drugs that do the most harm, such as heroin and cocaine are the priority of the Governments national drugs strategy.

UK Customs seem to think it's an illegal substance .... ( illegal to import or export them, possess them, possess them with an intention to supply them to others, or actually supply them without a licence , FYO MacfarlanSmith is the only licensed , legal producer of heroin in the UK)

I don't want to argue with anyone here , i'm just fed up with arguing , sorry everyone ......

 

[Ashley]

I lost a cousin to heroin I wish they (cold turkey) had done this to him, they should thank their lucky star someone cared and they are off that poison.

 

[glojo]

I suppose I need more information on this subject but surely no compensation should be paid out to convicted criminals?

I have been prescribed morphine medication for a number of years and that is a major difference between me and the folks that are receiving this compensation, my medication is prescribed, not obtained unlawfully.

If.. if they were being prescribed methadone and were NOT taking any other illegal substance, then perhaps they were unfortunate to have this medication stopped. 'Cold turkey' is simply a very quick way of purging the body of 'toxins'! Once this horrible situation is over then it is down to the individual to stay ‘clean’?

I find it obscene if not offensive to give these criminals compensation, I have reduced my own intake of morphine and undergone the withdrawal symptoms known as cold turkey and yes it is unpleasant, but it doesn’t harm anyone.

Prisons should be a place of punishment, no easy access to illegal substances, and tobacco only as a privilege, cigarettes to be smoked immediately and the remains disposed of. If folks don’t like it, then tough, don’t commit the crime if you don’t like serving the time. I have not been inundated with barristers looking after my interests, but then again I am not a convicted prisoner.

Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime somehow simply does not make much logical sense! Do sex offenders get free sex? Do habitual thieves get daily trips out to the local shops? The lunatics are indeed ruling the asylum especially when research has revealed that fewer than 4% of heroin addicts who are given methadone are drug-free less than three years after beginning treatment.
Oh well enough of my ramblings, time for my evening medication

Regards
John the smackhead