Indonesian Actors & Actresses to be Drug Tested...

Actors and actresses are just like anyone else in the community, they have their demons to confront. Sometimes these demons are legal like alcohol sometimes they are illegal like recreational drugs and narcotics. Yet, until yesterday it seemed unlikely that Indonesian actors and actresses were going to be subjected to mandatory drug testing prior to being permitted to work in film or television.

It would be interesting to see a statistical analysis as to whether actors are any more susceptible to drug use than the rest of the Indonesian community. The reality is that a celebrity with a drug addiction or a celebrity caught in possession of drugs and looking at jail time is far more news worthy in terms of shifting papers and selling advertising than is a young kampung girl newly arrived in the big city. Maybe the reporting of celebrity-linked drug offenses serves to distort the seriousness of the problem.

According to the Chief Detective of the Jakarta Police, Anjan Pramuka Putra, the Indonesian Film Actors Guild (Parfi) has requested police assistance in conducting urine tests on actors. In some cases the results may indicate that the actor or actress tested has taken an illicit substance, but the reality is that acting is not a sport and it is unlikely that taking drugs is going to improve performance. In fact, a drug addiction is likely to impact negatively on the ability to work or maintain consistent performance.

For example, an actor or actress may take steroids in an attempt to "buff up" for a role, or to transform their appearance, and in so doing breach the prevailing laws and regulations. Yet, is the intent of the Parfi request to catch all those using any scheduled prescription, recreational or illegal drugs or is it just to catch those with addictions to drugs like shabu-shabu (crystal meth), marijuana, heroin, or ecstasy.

I wonder whether actors and actresses are going to be supportive of the Parfi request. Is it possible that there will be a mass exodus of Parfi members or some kind of actors strike in protest of this invasion of their privacy, particularly considering a urine sample can be tested for a whole lot more things than just to find those using drugs.

Should we be concerned that this is just the first step in mandatory random drug testing for everybody irrespective of who they are or what they do. For example, can prospective employers demand a candidate for a position at their company undertake a drug test as part of the interview process. Or, can the government demand a drug test to be taken before providing a government benefit or paying a tax return. The mind boggles at the possibilities.

Revaldo -- Recreational Use or Addiction?

Some people never learn, and one of those who has not learnt his lesson after some prison time for drug possession is Fifaldi Suria Permana. Permana is a bit of a sinetron star and goes by the name of Revaldo (not to be confused with Ronaldo, either Christian Ronaldo or Ronaldo Ronaldo :D). This is the second time that Revaldo has been stung in possession of methamphetamines.

If Indonesia had a 3-strike rule he would certainly be on the bubble of a very long custodial sentence. Considering, the first time around he went for a 2-year stint in the slammer, a second offence so soon after teh first would seemingly warrant a longer sentence. At least, anecdotally, it would appear that Revaldo has a drug problem  that might be better handled with an rehabilitation intervention as opposed to another stint in the hole.

I am not a meth user, so I have absolutely no idea how much is a lot and how much is a little. However, the West Jakarta police allegedly caught young Revaldo with 50 grams of meth in his possession. Interestingly, the police revealed that they were tipped off about Revaldo heading out to meet his deal for a hit. The police followed him, allowed the transaction to happen, ans then pounced on their man. According to the police, Revaldo tried to make a run for it, but the car chase was over before it begun and Revaldo was arrested.

The police are referring to Revaldo as a three-dimension player. Apparently, a three-dimension player is one who enjoys some wacky weed, a few E, and then some methamphetamines to top it all off. Supposedly, this is a common thing in Indonesia as users look for increasingly better and more sustained 'hits'.

Yet, the kicker is in the police making public that they are watching 22 other celebrities. Now, if you are a celebrity and a user, you have to be wondering whether the police are looking at you...sounds like a good recipe for some paranoia!

So, is Revaldo an addict or just an unlucky recreational user who just seems to be prone to getting caught?

Sheila Marcia Joseph and Hearing No. 2

The second hearing in this case at the North Jakarta District Court took place earlier today. I might have to head along to the next one to make sure that I am getting accurate information rather than relying on talking to people and reading the news.

It seems the indictment states 0.586 grams of Crystal Meth (sabu-sabu or shabu in Indonesian) and not 0.0586 grams as previously posted. I will have to check this to be sure in my own mind on what the actual amount is because on of the police officers states a number of 0.27 grams as the amount found on Sheila.

There were four witnesses present today, two police officers and a couple of people identified as informant and friend, respectively.

The witnesses were: Wing Kenedy and Dedy Raharjo (police officers) and Toni (an informant) and Virdia (allegedly a "party / clubbing" friend of Sheila's).

The testimony from the police was the standard run of the mill relaying of how the whole thing went down from start to finish and their respective involvement in that process. They were clear that Sheila was not the target of their little operation. The testimony of Wing Kenedy was not subject to any objection from Sheila to the extent that she did not deny any of the points of evidence as they related to her.

The whole operation was based on complaints that the two rooms that were the focus of the operation were known to residents of the Golden Sky Hotel (I always thought that they were apartments) to be often the scene of drug transactions.

As it turns out Sheila might be the victim of bad timing in terms of being in either room on the day if the operation. This is a case of what ifs, "what if I never used drugs?", "what if I went to the Golden Sky on a different day?"

The testimony from the police informant is a little strange as it seems to implicate the assistant, Aprilyana, as a dealer or at least a one-time seller who was prepared to trade Toni's mobile phone for a packet of drugs. Sheila's claim that she was a little confused and unsure of who Toni was seems to be borne out by the testimony. Nevertheless, Sheila does not deny that Toni was there only that she really did not know why he was there. However, it raises some questions about Aprilyana and her role.

The testimony of Virdia is interesting as it indicates that Virdia was friends with Sheila and Aprilyana and that they were all regular users of sabu-sabu. Virdia also claims that she has known Sheila for a year or so and that she has only been using crystal meth since May. Her testimony goes on to state that Virdia, Sheila, and Aprilyana were regulars at the Stadium Discotheque and that they were all regular users of ecstasy (locally known as ineks).

Sheila rejected the testimony of Virdia by saying that she had never taken ecstasy.

This case sounds like it is going to be interesting, at least from the point of conflicting testimony, so maybe I should head on up to the North Jakarta District Court for the next hearing.

Mellow Dope Smokers -- The Myth Exposed?

It has long been rumored that marijuana or dope smokers were a mellow breed of individual. Simply, a few joints or cones would be the best recipe for taking the edge off, mellowing out, and just relaxing and enjoying life.

However, a study out of the University of New South Wales by the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre suggests that dope smokers are in fact as aggressive as crystal methamphetamine users. The study suggests that at least one in four men and one in three women are violent towards hospital staff or harm themselves. More interestingly are the statistics for suicide risk. These suggest that 12% are at risk of committing suicide. This means that more than one in ten dope smokers are a suicide risk.

Natural or not, it seems that the good ol' wacky weed does in fact make people more wacky than if they were not smoking it!

According to Professor Jan Copeland, "The reality is that it can make people highly agitated and trigger acute episodes of anxiety." When speaking of the study the Professor said that the statistics show that more than 9 per cent of cannabis users had depression or bipolar disorder, 5 per cent had schizophrenia and 4 per cent had paranoia and a history of self-harm.

Gordian Fulde, Head of Emergency at St Vincent's hospital, is concerned that the image of dope smokers of past years continues to permeate beliefs of the present day dope smokers and this image is just plain wrong. Fulde makes the point that the grass he might have smoked in the 1960's was probably just that, lawn clippings, particularly when compared to the hydroponically grown super weed of today.

Simply, the levels of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is much more concentrated and can be at levels of up to ten times the strength of regular weed. This means that a dope smokers value for money is increasing as a hydro joint gives you ten times the whack for the buck.

I guess the moral of this story is moderation or is it abstinence?

Argh back in the day!

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