Drugs

An arrest has been made after a man died from a suspected heroin overdose in Penzance last night.

Police were called to Alexandria Place by paramedics just before midnight, where two men were being treated for a suspected drug overdose.

One, a 49 year old local man, was pronounced dead at the scene. A second was taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital where he is still being treated.

Almost half of all British nationals in jail abroad are being held on drugs offences, according to figures released today by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The data reveals that of the 2,582 British nationals detained abroad at the end of September 2009, 1,057 were related to drug charges.

The Government's top drug advisors have recommended that ecstasy should be downgraded from a Class A to a Class B substance. 

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs delivered a report to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith today.

But the Home Office is ignoring the advice, saying there is no such thing as a "safe dose" of the drug.

Ecstasy was placed in the top Class A bracket alongside heroin and cocaine back in the late 1970s, before it was widely available. 

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Celebs who use drugs should not get soft treatment the United Nations has said.

The soft approach to celebrity drug use gives young people the wrong message.

President of the International Narcotics Board (INCB), Philip Emafo warned illegal drug taking by famous people glamorises drug abuse.

The INCB annual report highlights that many governments target street dealers. The report calls for organised criminal gangs to be tackled.   

Heroin

In Afghanistan 93% of the world's opium is produced the report states.