Friday, 5 August 2011
Lib Dems to debate drugs inquiry at party conference
Calls for a government-backed inquiry into the decriminalisation of drugs will be debated by Liberal Democrats at their annual conference next month.
Some delegates want more emphasis put on the treatment rather than the prosecution of drug users.The Lib Dems will debate a motion which would become party policy if it wins support at the Birmingham conference.
But they would still need the agreement of the Conservatives before an official government inquiry could be set up.
'Criminal records'
The motion will urge the government to set up an expert panel to consider the decriminalisation of personal drug use.
It insists that current drugs laws are "harmful" and "ineffective".
Some Lib Dems believe savings could be reinvested in education, treatment and rehabilitation programmes.
Drug users would no longer face a prison sentence or a fine but would be required to go for treatment or counselling. Penalties for drug dealing would remain the same as they are now.
The motion states that there is "increasing evidence that the UK's drugs policy is not only ineffective and not cost-effective but actually harmful, impacting particularly severely on the poor and marginalised".
It continues: "Individuals, especially young people, can be damaged both by the imposition of criminal records and by a drug habit, and... the priority for those addicted to all substances must be healthcare, education and rehabilitation, not punishment.
"One of the key barriers to developing better drugs policy has been the previous Labour government's persistent refusal to take on board scientific advice, and the absence of an overall evaluative framework of the UK's drugs strategy."
Greater scrutiny
It will not be the first time the Lib Dems have discussed changing the drugs laws at their annual conference, and in 2002 delegates voted for the legalisation of cannabis.
But BBC political correspondent Iain Watson says any call for an inquiry into drugs legislation is likely to attract far greater scrutiny now the Lib Dems are in government.
The inquiry would look at adopting the practice in Portugal of decriminalising the possession of drugs for personal use, and following the Swiss example of providing more clinics for heroin addicts.
The motion will be put forward by Ewan Hoyle, founder of Liberal Democrats for Drug Policy Reform, and supported by Lib Dem MEP Sir Graham Watson.
Party members can submit amendments to the motion by 5 September, ahead of the conference on 17-21 September.
@'BBC'
Mysterious company gives pro-Romney group $1M, then dissolves
A mysterious corporation that was formed in Delaware in March gave $1 million in April to a political group backing Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney -- and then dissolved in July, according to a report from NBC News' Michael Isikoff. It's unclear exactly who was behind the large donation.
The group Restore Our Future, a so-called "super political action committee," received a donation of $1 million from W Spann LLC on April 28, according to the super PAC's campaign disclosure report, filed last week. The group received $12.2 million during the first six months of the year, including gifts from four donors who gave $1 million each, the report showed.
One of the million-dollar donors was W Spann LLC, formed by Boston estate tax planner lawyer Cameron Casey, who specializes in "wealth transfer strategies" for high-end clients. Casey works for the firm Ropes & Gray's, which has done work for Bain Capital, the investment firm formerly headed by Romney.
Ropes & Gray's is also one of several major companies, Isikoff reports, that have offices at a Manhattan office building at 590 Madison Ave. -- the address listed for W Spann. Other companies there include UBS, IBM and Cemex. The building, however, has no record of a tenant called W Spann. On top of that, corporate records for W Spann give no information about the company's owner or the type of business it does.
Restore Our Future told Isikoff that the super PAC has complied with all Federal Election Commission disclosure requirements and said it did not ask W Spann for information about its business.
Restore Our Future is a super PAC that's independent of Romney's campaign but was founded by three former Romney aides with an interest in electing the former Massachusetts governor as president. The group is similar to Priorities USA, the super PAC founded by Obama allies Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney.
The 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court ruling allows for corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited money on political campaigns, though not by giving directly to candidates or party committees.
Lawrence Noble, former FEC general counsel, told NBC that the establishment of a company for the sole purpose of donating to a super PAC could raise a "serious" legal issue.
Stephanie Condon @'CBS'
The group Restore Our Future, a so-called "super political action committee," received a donation of $1 million from W Spann LLC on April 28, according to the super PAC's campaign disclosure report, filed last week. The group received $12.2 million during the first six months of the year, including gifts from four donors who gave $1 million each, the report showed.
One of the million-dollar donors was W Spann LLC, formed by Boston estate tax planner lawyer Cameron Casey, who specializes in "wealth transfer strategies" for high-end clients. Casey works for the firm Ropes & Gray's, which has done work for Bain Capital, the investment firm formerly headed by Romney.
Ropes & Gray's is also one of several major companies, Isikoff reports, that have offices at a Manhattan office building at 590 Madison Ave. -- the address listed for W Spann. Other companies there include UBS, IBM and Cemex. The building, however, has no record of a tenant called W Spann. On top of that, corporate records for W Spann give no information about the company's owner or the type of business it does.
Restore Our Future told Isikoff that the super PAC has complied with all Federal Election Commission disclosure requirements and said it did not ask W Spann for information about its business.
Restore Our Future is a super PAC that's independent of Romney's campaign but was founded by three former Romney aides with an interest in electing the former Massachusetts governor as president. The group is similar to Priorities USA, the super PAC founded by Obama allies Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney.
The 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court ruling allows for corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited money on political campaigns, though not by giving directly to candidates or party committees.
Lawrence Noble, former FEC general counsel, told NBC that the establishment of a company for the sole purpose of donating to a super PAC could raise a "serious" legal issue.
Stephanie Condon @'CBS'
Firm gives $1 million to pro-Romney group, then dissolves
Here is the lawyers e-mail address that 'fixed' things for this asshat. I hope you all will drop her a line and express your appreciation for her dishonesty.
Phone # is 1-617-951-7987 direct line - say hello and thanks...
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