User:Sambc/Casey William Hardison
Casey William Hardison (b.
Background and beliefs
Hardison is committed to the idea of
Activism and research
Hardison has been involved in research and activism, as recorded and reported by the
Unauthorized Activities
Hardison was engaged in the unauthorised manufacture of several psychedelic-type drugs after moving to Brighton in 2002.[8] He had set up a laboratory in his back bedroom, and using £38,386 worth of chemical ingredients produced "hallucinogenic tablets with a value of up to £5m".[9] It was alleged later in court that he had come to the UK in order to conduct these activities because the US has become 'too hot', and that he was seeking to make money.[1]
Arrest
In July 2003, Hardison mailed two parcels containing
In the Courts
The case represented a successful cooperation between multiple agencies from both the United States and the United Kingdom, leading to a complex court case for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).[9] The case against Hardison was made more unusual by his decision to represent himself in court and argue, on human rights grounds, that "taking psychoactive drugs was an innocent act and the only crime he had committed was against the state". These issues combined to lead to the case being one of only three highlighted in the annual report of Sussex CPS.[2]
Pre-Trial Arguments
Employing human rights based arguments, Hardison asserted his right to freedom of thought and freedom from discrimination[3]
Hardison challenged the administration of the law itself, citing the lack of evidence and rationale for UK government decisions to control and classify certain psychoactive drugs as more harmful than others, particularly alcohol and tobacco, under the system of classes A, B and C in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.[3]
And since drug control and classification restricts liberty and determines the corresponding punishments associated with the unauthorized use, trade and/or production of a particular dangerous or otherwise harmful drug, but alcohol and tobacco are excluded, Hardison claimed he was subject to in
Hardison argued that the UK government is unable to show that the regulations and sanctions associated with certain drugs are 'necessary in a democratic society', as
Hardison was unable to discharge the evidencial burden on him to show a prima facie abuse of process so the judge ruled against Hardison's human rights arguments, forbidding him to put them to the jury.[10]
Trial and Conviction
After a two-month trail in early 2005, The jury found Hardison guilty. The judge said that Hardison had knowingly and flagrantly broke UK law and that he had come to the UK to take advantage of a softer attitude to drugs, engaging in his manufacturing and supply activities intending to make financial gain. He was said to have boasted that kids in the UK were 'hungry' for a drug known as '
Sentence
In April 2005, Hardison was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment in the UK for producing a variety of
Appeals
On June 29th 2006 Hardison's first application for leave to appeal against conviction and his appeal against sentence to the Court of Appeal were rejected and the conviction and sentence were upheld.
He still claims the charges are a violation of his human rights and describes himself as being victim of the "chemical apartheid". Justice Kieth of the Court of Appeal[12] was quoted as saying "This was not an amateurish operation in a garden shed. It was a sophisticated and calculated attempt to introduce synthetic drugs in the UK market, which could have reaped great financial rewards."
Hardison was refused a final appeal against sentence at the House of Lords, the highest court in the UK, and his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights also failed to get a hearing.
However, on August 13th 2009 Hardison filed a new appeal against conviction based on new evidence that the UK Government has abused the legal discretions contained within the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, particularly section 2(5), and that this abuse gives rise to severe inequality of treatment.[13][3]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "DIY chemist jailed for 20 years". BBC. 2005-04-22. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
- ^ a b c "R v Casey Hardison" (PDF). CPS Sussex Annual Report 2004-2005: p. 6. 2005. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
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has extra text (help) - ^ a b c d e f "Erowid Casey William Hardison Vault". Erowid. 2007-08-02. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
- ^ Hardison, Casey (Summer 2007). "(A Brief History and) Motivation of an Entheogenic Chemist" (PDF). Drugs and Alcohol Today. 7 (2): p. 5. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
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has extra text (help) - ^ Hardison, Casey (Summer 2000). "An Amateur Qualitative Study of 48 2C-T-7 Subjective Bioassays". Bulletin of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). 10 (2): p. 11. Retrieved 2007-08-12.
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at position 70 (help) - ^ Shulgin, Dr Alexander (2001-06-28). "2C-T-7". Ask Dr Shulgin. Centre for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics (COLE). Retrieved 2007-08-12.
This was a survey conducted by Casey Hardison with users who attended an ethnopharmacologic workshop in Southern Mexico…
- ^ "Drug Equality Alliance - Background". 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- ^ a b c Cridland, Ali (2005-01-21). "Drugs wizard gets 20 years". Brighton Argus. p. 1.
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: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ a b c d "DIY chemist guilty of making drug". BBC. 2005-03-18. Retrieved 2007-08-12.
- HMCS Lewes Crown Court. Jan 2005. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- ^ "The trimaran Windwalker". Barefoot's World. 2003-03-21. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- Court of Appeal of England and Wales. 25 May 2006. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- ^ "UK Government drugs policy unlawful". Indymedia. 2009-08-13. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
[[Category:1971 births|Hardison, Casey]] [[Category:Living people|Hardison, Casey]] [[Category:American chemists|Hardison, Casey]]