Scotland leads the world....

lionking · 22nd February 2010, 10:06 PM

In drug crime.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...section=justin

Twice that of Australia.

Quote:

The study found Scottish drug users and dealers commit more offences per head of population than any other nation.

Seriously, is this a credible study? Surely statistics like this are not properly collected (or collected at all) in many nations.

Dats · 22nd February 2010, 10:17 PM

Originally Posted by lionking

Seriously, is this a credible study? Surely statistics like this are not properly collected (or collected at all) in many nations.

Are you saying watching Trainspotting isn't science?

dtugg · 22nd February 2010, 10:23 PM

I assume this is counting only the people that got caught. I mean, I got away with drug crimes far too many times to count.

Wolfman · 23rd February 2010, 01:44 AM

What a load of crap. According to this, Iran would be the second-largest drug-using nation.

This has nothing whatsoever to do with how many people are using drugs illegally, or how many are actually involved in drug crime; it reveals only the proportion of the population that is caught.

Iran has a very strict zero-tolerance policy, and very strict laws, combined with very aggressive enforcement. Compare that with a country like Columbia, where in some areas drug lords have more power than the police.

And what about countries like the Netherlands, or Canada, where drug laws are much more liberal, and things that would constitute 'drug crimes' in other countries are only misdemeanors, or completely legal...again, such uses wouldn't show up in these statistics at all.

Why Scotland came out on top is a little beyond me (I would've expected the U.S. and Iran to be higher, considering their aggressive attitudes towards drugs)...but certainly it doesn't indicate that Scotland leads the world in drug crimes!

Wudang · 23rd February 2010, 03:20 AM

Originally Posted by dtugg

I assume this is counting only the people that got caught. I mean, I got away with drug crimes far too many times to count.

Me too ..,. back when I was a student in Glasgow. Er, hold on.

funk de fino · 23rd February 2010, 06:45 AM

I would like to read the study.

We do have a large recreational drug culture. Mephdrone is the new big thing which is a legal high. Replacing cocaine and E as the drug of choice.

There are large pockets of heroin abusers in the main cities and also places like Peterhead.

commandlinegamer · 23rd February 2010, 03:12 PM

They compared 70 countries out of 195 countries in the world, but in the absence of more data, we're #1.

How else are they going to come by statistics, if not from crime records? When was the last time Gallup took a poll in the high street asking 'Do you take drugs? (And can you get me some?)'

WildCat · 23rd February 2010, 03:16 PM

When did "drug crime" become a winter olympics sport?

Damien Evans · 24th February 2010, 02:14 AM

Originally Posted by WildCat

When did "drug crime" become a winter olympics sport?

You've not heard of Snowboarding?

sphenisc · 24th February 2010, 03:37 AM

Originally Posted by funk de fino

I would like to read the study.

We do have a large recreational drug culture. Mephdrone is the new big thing which is a legal high. Replacing cocaine and E as the drug of choice.

There are large pockets of heroin abusers in the main cities and also places like Peterhead.

I'm shocked... there are places like Peterhead??

Rolfe · 24th February 2010, 03:50 AM

Fraserburgh?

Rolfe.

Eddie Dane · 24th February 2010, 07:07 AM

Originally Posted by Wolfman

What a load of crap. According to this, Iran would be the second-largest drug-using nation.

This has nothing whatsoever to do with how many people are using drugs illegally, or how many are actually involved in drug crime; it reveals only the proportion of the population that is caught.

There might be a strong culture of drug use in Iran that the Islamist gubmint is trying to stamp out.

I know some very well-behaved upper-middle class Persians who smoke opium.

Alferd_Packer · 24th February 2010, 07:49 AM

Originally Posted by sphenisc

I'm shocked... there are places like Peterhead??

Is it anything like Bald Knob, Arkansas?

plumjam · 24th February 2010, 08:30 AM

Originally Posted by sphenisc

I'm shocked... there are places like Peterhead??

Yes, but not ******* many.

Architect · 24th February 2010, 01:50 PM

Originally Posted by Rolfe

Fraserburgh?

Rolfe.

Please, please....sometimes I still wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, some 17 years since my last (and only) visit.

Great design for the lighthouse museum roof, mind.

cwalner · 24th February 2010, 02:01 PM

I have heard for a long time that the sheep in Scotland were nervous. I never knew before now it was due them being cokeheads, though.

Wolfman · 24th February 2010, 04:54 PM

Originally Posted by Eddie Dane

There might be a strong culture of drug use in Iran that the Islamist gubmint is trying to stamp out.

I know some very well-behaved upper-middle class Persians who smoke opium.

Drug laws in Iran are extremely strict...if there is a strong culture of drug use (and among the Iranians I've known, there certainly isn't), they're risking their lives to do it. And regarding those Persians...are they smoking their opium in a country that has strict laws where they face a high risk of life-time imprisonment or death? Or are they doing it in a country where there's significantly less risk?

plumjam · 24th February 2010, 05:10 PM

I saw a documentary a few years ago.. sort of an inside look at Iran.. and I was surprised to learn that there is a very big drug problem (or at least culture) there; mainly opiates IIRC.
Probably just doesn't get into the mainstream Iranian media (embarrassment) or the international media (them having drug problems would be a rather optimistic casus belli for us to go in there and rescue them from their ~~oil~~ heroin.. so who cares?).

funk de fino · 25th February 2010, 05:10 AM

Originally Posted by Rolfe

Fraserburgh?

Rolfe.

Yep, pretty bad too.

Eddie Dane · 25th February 2010, 05:35 AM

Originally Posted by Wolfman

Drug laws in Iran are extremely strict...if there is a strong culture of drug use (and among the Iranians I've known, there certainly isn't), they're risking their lives to do it. And regarding those Persians...are they smoking their opium in a country that has strict laws where they face a high risk of life-time imprisonment or death? Or are they doing it in a country where there's significantly less risk?

They live in Europe.
But I know of at least one family member back in Iran that had addiction problems with the stuff.

Incidently. There is a video floating around the Interwebs of an Iranian kid of about ten years old, seriously farked up on opium. And by the looks of it, he's being filmed by a giggling family member. Anecdotal, I know.
But I suspect there is a lot of opium use going on in Iran.

Eddie Dane · 25th February 2010, 05:39 AM

Originally Posted by plumjam

I saw a documentary a few years ago.. sort of an inside look at Iran.. and I was surprised to learn that there is a very big drug problem (or at least culture) there; mainly opiates IIRC.
Probably just doesn't get into the mainstream Iranian media

Well, this is the country that doesn't have homosexuals.
Yet manages to hang some of them at regular intervals.

22nd February 2010, 10:06 PM	#1
lionking In the Peanut Gallery Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Melbourne Posts: 29,689	Scotland leads the world.... In drug crime. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...section=justin Twice that of Australia. Quote: The study found Scottish drug users and dealers commit more offences per head of population than any other nation. Seriously, is this a credible study? Surely statistics like this are not properly collected (or collected at all) in many nations.
	__________________ A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject. Sir Winston Churchill

22nd February 2010, 10:17 PM	#2
Dats Scholar Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 100	Originally Posted by lionking Seriously, is this a credible study? Surely statistics like this are not properly collected (or collected at all) in many nations. Are you saying watching Trainspotting isn't science?
Dats Scholar Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 100

23rd February 2010, 01:44 AM	#4
Wolfman Chief Solipsistic Autosycophant Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Dongguan, China Posts: 11,812	What a load of crap. According to this, Iran would be the second-largest drug-using nation. This has nothing whatsoever to do with how many people are using drugs illegally, or how many are actually involved in drug crime; it reveals only the proportion of the population that is caught. Iran has a very strict zero-tolerance policy, and very strict laws, combined with very aggressive enforcement. Compare that with a country like Columbia, where in some areas drug lords have more power than the police. And what about countries like the Netherlands, or Canada, where drug laws are much more liberal, and things that would constitute 'drug crimes' in other countries are only misdemeanors, or completely legal...again, such uses wouldn't show up in these statistics at all. Why Scotland came out on top is a little beyond me (I would've expected the U.S. and Iran to be higher, considering their aggressive attitudes towards drugs)...but certainly it doesn't indicate that Scotland leads the world in drug crimes!
	__________________ The Meta-Solipsistic Autosycophant mantra: "I post, therefore I am nominated"

23rd February 2010, 03:20 AM	#5
Wudang BOFH Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sheffield Posts: 8,248	Originally Posted by dtugg I assume this is counting only the people that got caught. I mean, I got away with drug crimes far too many times to count. Me too ..,. back when I was a student in Glasgow. Er, hold on.
	__________________ Aphorism: Subjects most likely to be declared inappropriate for humor are the ones most in need of it. -epepke

23rd February 2010, 06:45 AM	#6
funk de fino Dreaming of unicorns Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Alba Posts: 10,795	I would like to read the study. We do have a large recreational drug culture. Mephdrone is the new big thing which is a legal high. Replacing cocaine and E as the drug of choice. There are large pockets of heroin abusers in the main cities and also places like Peterhead.
	__________________ Stundie - Avoided like the plaque, its a scottish turn of phrase. Christopher 7 - There is no need to contact them for conformation. That is just a denial tactic

22nd February 2010, 10:23 PM	#3
dtugg Banned Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: NWO headquarters Posts: 7,898	I assume this is counting only the people that got caught. I mean, I got away with drug crimes far too many times to count.

23rd February 2010, 03:12 PM	#7
commandlinegamer Philosopher Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Mazes of Menace Posts: 5,910	They compared 70 countries out of 195 countries in the world, but in the absence of more data, we're #1. How else are they going to come by statistics, if not from crime records? When was the last time Gallup took a poll in the high street asking 'Do you take drugs? (And can you get me some?)'

23rd February 2010, 03:16 PM	#8
WildCat NWO Master Conspirator Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Albany Park, Chicago Posts: 49,146	When did "drug crime" become a winter olympics sport?

24th February 2010, 02:14 AM	#9
Damien Evans Up The Irons Tagger Join Date: May 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 25,311	Originally Posted by WildCat When did "drug crime" become a winter olympics sport? You've not heard of Snowboarding?
	__________________ WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN? - Death "Racism is a disease in society. We're all equal. I don't care what their colour is, or religion. Just as long as they're human beings they're my buddies." - Mandawuy Yunupingu, lead singer of Yothu Yindi

24th February 2010, 03:37 AM	#10
sphenisc Illuminator Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 3,750	Originally Posted by funk de fino I would like to read the study. We do have a large recreational drug culture. Mephdrone is the new big thing which is a legal high. Replacing cocaine and E as the drug of choice. There are large pockets of heroin abusers in the main cities and also places like Peterhead. I'm shocked... there are places like Peterhead??
sphenisc Illuminator Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 3,750

24th February 2010, 03:50 AM	#11
Rolfe Anti-homeopathy illuminati member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NT 150 511 Posts: 34,340	Fraserburgh? Rolfe.
	__________________ "The way we vote will depend, ultimately, on whether we are persuaded to hope or to fear." - Aonghas MacNeacail, June 2012.

24th February 2010, 07:07 AM	#12
Eddie Dane Illuminator Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,432	Originally Posted by Wolfman What a load of crap. According to this, Iran would be the second-largest drug-using nation. This has nothing whatsoever to do with how many people are using drugs illegally, or how many are actually involved in drug crime; it reveals only the proportion of the population that is caught. There might be a strong culture of drug use in Iran that the Islamist gubmint is trying to stamp out. I know some very well-behaved upper-middle class Persians who smoke opium.

24th February 2010, 07:49 AM	#13
Alferd_Packer Philosopher Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 7,222	Originally Posted by sphenisc I'm shocked... there are places like Peterhead?? Is it anything like Bald Knob, Arkansas?
	__________________ No laws of physics were broken in the writing of this post

24th February 2010, 08:30 AM	#14
plumjam Banned Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Valencia, Spain Posts: 7,837	Originally Posted by sphenisc I'm shocked... there are places like Peterhead?? Yes, but not ******* many.

24th February 2010, 01:50 PM	#15
Architect Chief Punkah Wallah Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: UK Posts: 8,478	Originally Posted by Rolfe Fraserburgh? Rolfe. Please, please....sometimes I still wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, some 17 years since my last (and only) visit. Great design for the lighthouse museum roof, mind.
	__________________ When the men elected to make laws are but a small part of a foreign parliament, that is when all healthy national feeling dies. James Keir Hardie (1856 - 1915): Politician, Founder of Scottish Labour Party

24th February 2010, 02:01 PM	#16
cwalner Philosopher Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Deepest Darkest Indiana Posts: 5,708	I have heard for a long time that the sheep in Scotland were nervous. I never knew before now it was due them being cokeheads, though.
	__________________ Vecini - Inconceivable! Inigo - You keep on using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

24th February 2010, 04:54 PM	#17
Wolfman Chief Solipsistic Autosycophant Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Dongguan, China Posts: 11,812	Originally Posted by Eddie Dane There might be a strong culture of drug use in Iran that the Islamist gubmint is trying to stamp out. I know some very well-behaved upper-middle class Persians who smoke opium. Drug laws in Iran are extremely strict...if there is a strong culture of drug use (and among the Iranians I've known, there certainly isn't), they're risking their lives to do it. And regarding those Persians...are they smoking their opium in a country that has strict laws where they face a high risk of life-time imprisonment or death? Or are they doing it in a country where there's significantly less risk?
	__________________ The Meta-Solipsistic Autosycophant mantra: "I post, therefore I am nominated"

24th February 2010, 05:10 PM	#18
plumjam Banned Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Valencia, Spain Posts: 7,837	I saw a documentary a few years ago.. sort of an inside look at Iran.. and I was surprised to learn that there is a very big drug problem (or at least culture) there; mainly opiates IIRC. Probably just doesn't get into the mainstream Iranian media (embarrassment) or the international media (them having drug problems would be a rather optimistic casus belli for us to go in there and rescue them from their ~~oil~~ heroin.. so who cares?).

25th February 2010, 05:10 AM	#19
funk de fino Dreaming of unicorns Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Alba Posts: 10,795	Originally Posted by Rolfe Fraserburgh? Rolfe. Yep, pretty bad too.
	__________________ Stundie - Avoided like the plaque, its a scottish turn of phrase. Christopher 7 - There is no need to contact them for conformation. That is just a denial tactic

25th February 2010, 05:35 AM	#20
Eddie Dane Illuminator Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,432	Originally Posted by Wolfman Drug laws in Iran are extremely strict...if there is a strong culture of drug use (and among the Iranians I've known, there certainly isn't), they're risking their lives to do it. And regarding those Persians...are they smoking their opium in a country that has strict laws where they face a high risk of life-time imprisonment or death? Or are they doing it in a country where there's significantly less risk? They live in Europe. But I know of at least one family member back in Iran that had addiction problems with the stuff. Incidently. There is a video floating around the Interwebs of an Iranian kid of about ten years old, seriously farked up on opium. And by the looks of it, he's being filmed by a giggling family member. Anecdotal, I know. But I suspect there is a lot of opium use going on in Iran.

25th February 2010, 05:39 AM	#21
Eddie Dane Illuminator Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,432	Originally Posted by plumjam I saw a documentary a few years ago.. sort of an inside look at Iran.. and I was surprised to learn that there is a very big drug problem (or at least culture) there; mainly opiates IIRC. Probably just doesn't get into the mainstream Iranian media Well, this is the country that doesn't have homosexuals. Yet manages to hang some of them at regular intervals.