Judge slams culture of booze and drugs

[grace]

Judge slams culture of booze and drugs

PHOEBE STEWART

Northern Territory News

November 1st, 2008

http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2008/11/0...371_ntnews.html

 

THE NORTHERN Territory's top judge has criticised people lobbying to legalise cannabis or turning a blind eye to alcohol abuse.

 

Chief Justice Brian Martin said on Tuesday both were destroying young people's lives.

 

He said anyone who suggested that drug taking or excessive drinking were not a threat to young Australians would change their mind after a day in court in the Territory.

 

"Anyone who suggests that the consumption of cannabis and alcohol is not harmful should sit in this criminal court and other criminal courts in this Territory ... to hear repeatedly of the devastating effects of alcohol and cannabis upon young people," he said.

 

He made the comments in sentencing a 30-year-old father-of-two to seven years' jail for a drunken assault that left a man with severe facial injuries and psychological damage.

 

Chief Justice Martin said the story of how convicted man Donald Benjamin Hankin fell into a life of drunken violence was "distressingly familiar".

 

He said Hankin had turned to alcohol and cannabis at a young age.

 

His first conviction was for an assault in 1997 at age 19 and he later served six years in Alice Springs jail for another crime, and further charges of assault on prison officers and inmates while inside.

 

Chief Justice Martin said the Supreme Court had been "sounding the alarm bells" for many years that drunken violence by men would be met with harsh penalties.

 

But he said the "message does not seem to be getting through".

 

"Much more needs to be done at an earlier stage by other sections of the community ... there is need for change in attitude and a change in behavioural patterns."

[Dragonfan]

Chief Justice Martin said the Supreme Court had been "sounding the alarm bells" for many years that drunken violence by men would be met with harsh penalties.

 

But he said the "message does not seem to be getting through".

 

"Much more needs to be done at an earlier stage by other sections of the community ... there is need for change in attitude and a change in behavioural patterns."

Not before bloody time re the drunken violence , but why drag Cannabis into it . . . oh, 'cause it's the drug of choice ALL who have little or no idea of its efficaciousness love to trash in a big way . . .

[Frazz]

All judges should be forced to smoke a fat joint, and inhale before they are appointed to the bench ... so at least the bastards might know what they are talking about!

 

half the defendants claim they were affected by cannabis at the time of the offence .. well so what .. they probably were affected by caffine and nicotine too but like Cannabis that is not relevant ..

i know in the sixties all the hippies dropping acid and spinning out , many defendants came before the courts and claimed "ohhh sorry i was on LSD i didnt know what i was doing" .. so the judges got sick of it and said it didnt matter what drug you claimed to be on, the penalties would still be the same cause you were expected to have more common sense than to take a known mind altering drug and say "i didnt know what i was doing" .. so why now make allowances for defendants who claim intoxication ?

the weak ****s havent got the balls to admit 'yea sorry, i fucked up' , instead they blame a defenceless, harmless plant!

 

[Thylacine]

ah dear, more rubbish huh...

 

 

He says come and watch the CRIMINAL court for the day, I mean how stupid are they! They know young people are impressionable....yet they continue to throw weed smokers in with other violent crims in court.

 

Its just crazy the way they use stats against us completly out of context. Ya have a bloke who has a few cones before going out on the grog, runs riot while drunk and in the wash up those cones he had 8hrs before he was arrested are partly blamed for the violence. EVERY single police officer knows thats bullshit, they know because they are told as much in training, they have to be for thier own safety. They are all well educated in the various effects of different drugs and which ones have the potential to put them at risk of a violent reaction to when they are caught/cornered or under questioning.

 

tossers....