Survey: Examining cannabis use, experience and cessation by people who are of black and mixed race.
Hello, my name is Ella and I am a third year psychology student in the School of Psychology at the University of Leeds and am currently undertaking my third year research project. The purpose of this research is to study black and mixed race individuals in order to advance our knowledge and understanding of their cannabis use and experience. This group is being studied as they are not currently well represented in research. To do this research, we want to make sure that we are looking at the right issues and asking the right questions – and we hope you might be willing to help us with that. The ideas suggested by people will be used in a further online survey which you are also welcome to take part at a later stage if you wish.
Participation is voluntary, and if you decide you are interested in taking part in this research, you will go on to answer a few questions. This will take about 10 minutes and you are not asked to tell us your name, address, email or any other identifying information. We just need to know your views.
Who can take part?
Due to my level of qualification, the study can only recruit people who do not currently use cannabis or any other illegal drugs and who are not currently receiving treatment for drug use. You must not have used cannabis in the last 6 months. All participants must also be aged 18 and over and not be suffering any mental health difficulties. You need to be able to understand and respond to a survey in English.
Primary researcher: Ella Beaumont
Contact: ps14e3b@leeds.ac.uk
Supervisor: Dr Siobhan Hugh-Jones
Contact: s.hugh-jones@leeds.ac.uk
To take part in the survey go to leeds.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/phase-one
Charlotte cop walks free after shooting to death Keith Lamont Scott
From the Charlotte Observer – No charges will be brought against Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer Brentley Vinson in the September shooting death of a man in University City, District Attorney Andrew Murray announced Wednesday.
Keith Lamont Scott, 43, was shot Sept. 20 in a confrontation with officers outside his apartment.
Murray said that evidence in the case shows that Scott stepped out of his SUV with a gun in his hand and ignored at least 10 commands from the five officers on the scene to drop it.
Murray said that Scott obtained the gun – which had been stolen in Gaston County – 18 days before the confrontation. One bullet was found in the chamber of the gun, the safety was off and Murray said Scott’s DNA was found on the grip and ammunition slide.
Murray said that speculation in the community that Scott was unarmed – initial reports from a family member on Facebook said he was holding a book – were untrue.
“A reading book was not found in the front or back seats of Mr. Scott’s SUV,” Murray said.
Officer Vinson’s gun was examined after the shooting and four bullets were missing, Murray said. Guns taken from the other officers at the scene had not been fired, he said.
Marchers demand justice over deaths in police custody
Four hundred people marched on Saturday 29th October to remember those who have died at the hands of the police and to fight for justice.
The march, which went down Whitehall from Trafalgar Square to Downing Street, was organised by the United Families and Friends Campaign.
Many of the families fighting for their loved ones were in attendance, growing in number from last year. According to Inquest, the number of deaths in police custody currently stands at 1,578 since 1990.
Marcia Rigg, sister of Sean Rigg who died in police custody spoke at the rally as did Margaret Smith whose son Jermaine Baker was shot dead by police while he sat in a car in Wood Green. Becky Shah from the Hillsborough Justice Campaign told the crowd: “Never give up fighting… if we can do it, then so can you.”
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was slated by speakers for its total inability to hold murderous police to account.
Kingsley Burrell: 3 cops charged following custody death
(Pic: Burrell family)
From the BBC
Three police officers have been charged with perjury following the death of a student in custody five years ago.
Kingsley Burrell, 29, died from cardiac arrest after being arrested following a disturbance in Birmingham in 2011. more
London protest demands release of Charlotte video, justice for Sean Rigg
50 BLM protesters gathered last night outside the US embassy in solidarity with Charlotte and the fight for justice by all the victims of police racist violence in the US. The release of the video from the Scott family is in sharp contrast to the continuing refusal of the police to let the public see video from officers involved in the killing at the scene.
A hugely disproportionate 194 out of the 793 people killed by police in the US this year this year are black. source
Justice for Sean Rigg
The news from the US follows last week’s decision by the the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service not to bring charges against any of the police involved in the death of Sean Rigg at Brixton police station in 2008.
Marcia Rigg, Sean Rigg’s sister, told the Voice newspaper she “had hoped for an opportunity to get justice”.
The family’s legal team is “urgently consider reviewing” the decision under the Victims’ Right of Review scheme.
We need to step up our support for all the families fighting for justice. Join the annual United Friends and Families Campaign march taking place on October 29th, 12 noon Trafalgar Square.
No justice, no peace.
Charlotte: Protesters Demand Police Release Video of Keith Scott’s Killing
From Democracy Now
Meanwhile, in Charlotte, North Carolina, protests continue for a third day to demand police release video of the shooting of African-American father Keith Lamont Scott. North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory has declared a state of emergency and mobilized the National Guard. The Charlotte mayor has also imposed a midnight curfew, amid the ongoing protests. While the police initially claimed they tased and then shot Scott because he was armed, Scott’s family says he was not armed—except with a book in hand. They say he had been sitting in his car, waiting to pick up his son after school. On Thursday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney walked back the claims that Scott had a gun. more
