21 September 2012 - Grammy Award winning singer Fiona Apple was taken into custody in Sierra Blanca, for possession of 4 grams of hashish.
The New York-born singer's tour bus was searched by police at a state border checkpoint in the small west Texas town, late Wednesday evening. Apple is by no means the first famous smoker to get busted at the infamous checkpoint. When asked by reporters why so many celebrities keep getting busted at the checkpoint, county judge Becky Dean-Walker answered: "Because they come through with stuff they shouldn't have."
There were seven other people in the vehicle at the time, but they were permitted to carry on, given that Apple had admitted that the drugs were hers. She was held in jail overnight, and released the following morning after posting bail. Due to perform the following night in Austin, organizers posted to the venue's website that the concert has been postponed.
31 August 2012 - Sixties pop star Petula Clark has hinted at an unknown side to the life of Hollywood legend Fred Astaire. She claims the star used cannabis when they worked together, a big surprise to fans of one of the 20th Centuries biggest entertainment icons. On the BBC Radio 4 show The Reunion, Petula revealed what working with the artist was like. When discussing her move to the United Statesin the 1960's, she stated:
"There was a lot of flower power going on. A lot of good things were going on there. It was California in the late 60s and it was kind of great". When asked if her co-stars were smoking certain substances she revealed: "Yes all that stuff. Oh please. And Fred Astaire, too."
The singer appeared in the film Finian's Rainbow with Astaire in 1968, the height of the hippie scene and when social boundaries were broken down. Other guests on the show reacted with shock at the revelation; "Not our pet?!", cried 60's pop singer Sandi Shaw. A suprising reaction from the woman that has been called "the barefoot pop princess of the 1960's''.
26 June 2012 - Actor Apurva Agnihotri, who rose to fame with popular TV serial Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin, was among the 44 people who tested positive for drugs consumed at a high-profile rave party at a suburban hotel last month, police said.
As many as 44 out of the 92 people who had been caught during a high-profile rave party at Oakwood Premier Hotel in Juhu on May 20 have tested positive for drugs, making their arrest inevitable, the officer said. However, since the ravers are not accused of possessing a 'commercial quantity of drugs', they would get bail after the arrest, he added.
According to the officer, they can later apply for drug rehabilitation in a government hospital as per section 64 (A) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. They can then apply to the court for exemption from further action.
6 August 2012 - Shilpa Saklani Agnihotri, a television actress famous for her role as (the now ironically named) Ganga in the popular soap opera Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, has tested positive for cannabis. She had been present at the Mumbai Rave party at which her husband, Apoorva Agnihotri was arrested for the same offense in late May. In an interview with Dailybhaskar.com, she had expressed the fear of her blood samples getting changed leading her into some trouble; either these fears have come true or she is guilty of getting high, with her husband. The actress had said:
“My blood sample was not labeled for almost half an hour and when I requested the officials to do so, they behaved rudely. I am scared that if the labeling is not done appropriately, the results could put me in trouble, since I am a celebrity and I would have to face the brunt.” We'll just have to wait and see which way the verdict turns; did the sample get confused with that of another celebrity party-goer that might end up in a similar predicament? More of India finest TV stars may wish they didn't go to Mumbai that night!
8 Dec 2011 - A high-profile group of global leaders, including former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former Ferderal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and billionaire Richard Branson, declared the "war on drugs" a failure and urged governments to consider decriminalizing drugs in a bid to cut consumption and weaken the power of organized crime gangs.
This year has been a watershed year for the movement working to end our county's disastrous war on drugs. This war has filled US jails, cost taxpayers millions, and fueled organized crime. The movement against the war on drugs is becoming a bigger and bigger and is becoming more diverse in all senses of the word.
The Global Commission on Drug Policy made worldwide news in June in more than 3,000 outlets after releasing a stinging report against the War on Drugs by calling for a paradigm shift in Global Drug Policy, which included alternatives to incarceration and greater emphasis on public health approaches to drug use.
It also called for decriminalization and experiments in legal regulation. The Commission is comprised of former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, Richard Branson, four former presidents, George P. Shultz, former U.S. Secretary of State; Paul Volcker, former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve and other world leaders. The commission recommended that governments experiment with the legal regulation of drugs, especially cannabis, referring to the success in countries such as Portugal, Switzerland and the Netherlands where drug consumption had been reduced.
In November more than 1,200 people attended the Drug Policy Alliance's International Reform Conference. The gathering encompassed people across the political spectrum. Gavin Newsom, the former Democratic Mayor of San Francisco and current Lieutenent Governor of California shared the stage with the libertarian former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson. Dozens of people who have spent years behind bars for a nonviolent drug offense participated in conversations and panels with dozens of police officers who saw the futility of the drug war and are speaking out against drug prohibition.
For all of the progress in 2011, the war on drugs is as vicious as ever. The worst drug war policies remain entrenched, as more than three-quarters of a million people are arrested for marijuana possession every year, and more than half a million people are still behind bars today for nothing more than a drug law violation.
Source: Huffington Post
