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Drug WarRant
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Saturday, October 4, 2003 |
 I get a lot of visitors to Drug WarRant. It can be a bit of a roller coaster, from the over 2,000 on Saturday when Metafilter gave this blog a mention, to 0 yesterday and earlier today when salonblogs' server was down.
While many of my visitors are already convinced that the drug war is a failure and that radical change is needed, others certainly feel that I'm out of my mind. Some are open to learning more, but have not come to a conclusion as to how drug policy reform would fit within their beliefs, and may not be ready to agree with some conclusions I have made.
In my new Frequently Asked Questions section, I am attempting to address the specific failures of drug war to a wide range of particular philosophical and political interests. I expect that this page will expand over time, and welcome suggestions for additional questions (or answers).
Go there now.
7:11:28 PM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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Vice Squad
A big hello to Vice Squad -- a relatively new blog of "Explorations of public policy concerning alcohol, nicotine, other drugs, prostitution, gambling, pornography, ...." where you'll find some excellent academic analyses and well thought out reponses to the prohibitionist mentality.
Vice Squad is by Jim Leitzel, who, I discovered, is just a couple of hours down the road from me. I look forward to more of Jim's work, and his goal of adding more vice policy experts to join in. Check it out.
2:54:53 PM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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Thursday, October 2, 2003 |
 Via NORML today:
 One-Third Of Docs Back Prescription Cannabis, Survey Says (pdf)
Wellington, New Zealand: One out of three New Zealand doctors say they would prescribe medicinal marijuana if it were legal to do so, according to a random survey of 500 doctors conducted by the national Green Party. Among physicians who reported their knowledge of medicinal cannabis as "high," 42 percent backed prescribing marijuana. "The more knowledge a doctor holds, the more favorable their opinion of medicinal cannabis is," the survey noted.
Cannabinoids Modulate Epileptic Seizures, Study Says
Administration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC),the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, "completely abolished"
spontaneous seizures in an animal model of epilepsy, according to findings
published this week in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental
Therapeutics.
FDA Grants "Fast Track" Status To Pot-Like Drug For Head Trauma
Iselin, NJ: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will review the efficacy of the synthetic marijuana derivative Dexanabinol for the treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) on an accelerated basis, the
Pharmos pharmaceutical company announced this week. The FDA grants so-called "fast track" status to drugs intended to treat life-threatening conditions for which no approved therapies exist.
... and that's just this week.
11:41:12 PM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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Rush to Judgement
 One of the big stories around the net today is the revelation that Rush Limbaugh (who resigned from ESPN last night, supposedly for other reasons) is involved in a major drug case, which may include the fact that he purchased massive amounts of prescription pain drugs through the black market. His housekeeper may have been one of his suppliers, and supposedly she wore a wire during the final transactions with Rush. Reports also indicate that he is not the target of the investigation, but if the allegations are true, he could be liable to prison sentences of 25 years or more. Atrios has a lot on the subject today, TalkLeft has a good perspective, and Right Wing News has an interesting series of updates today that raise more questions than answers.
I'm not a Rush fan, but I'm also not going to jump on Rush here, partly because we don't know all the facts, and partly because I believe that drug abuse is a medical problem, not a criminal one.
That said, there is another issue. Rush has often vocally condemned those with drug abuse problems. He has denied on his show that drug abuse is a disease. If, in fact, the stories are true, then he has been a hypocrite, and for that I do not excuse him. He is responsible. According to Drudge, President Bush has expressed his support of Rush -- a president who is likely to have engaged in "youthful indiscretions" regarding drugs, and yet has presided over the most oppressive drug policy in U.S. history. Former President Clinton admitted that he smoked marijuana, yet his office started the persecution of medical marijuana in California, and he brought us General Barry McCaffrey as drug czar, who also focused on enforcement.
Time and time again, those with power and influence (on all ends of the political spectrum) end up with treatment or simply making apologies, while the rest of the country ends up with prison. I don't believe that Bush's past cocaine use or Clinton or Gore's former pot use make them unfit to serve. I don't believe that Rush's Oxycontin use makes him unable to function as a radio host. But the people in positions of power should not be contributing to the war against the people.
8:44:03 PM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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Wednesday, October 1, 2003 |
We are not a province of America!
Yesterday, I said that I didn't think the Dutch would take kindly to Drug Czar John Walters telling them to increase their police powers at the expense of individual liberties.
Well, Expatica reports:
The Lower House of Parliament is opposed to the US suggestions and Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner rejected calls for criminal agent provocateurs. Democrat D66 leader Boris Dittrich reacted furiously, saying "we are not a province of America".
I understand, Boris. We don't like having him either.
7:08:59 PM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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Oral Arguments in Hemp Foods Case
Via Hit and Run...
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - U.S. COURT of APPEALS for the NINTH CIRCUIT - The Hemp Industries Association (HIA), representing over 200 hemp companies in North America, is predicting victory in a major legal battle to prevent the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from banning nutritious hemp foods such as waffles, bread, cereal and snack bars. A decision in HIA v. DEA is expected within six months. "Retailers and manufacturers of hemp foods should be confident that we will win this case," says David Bronner, a board member of both the HIA and Vote Hemp, and Chair of the HIA Food and Oil Committee. "The three judge panel seemed in agreement over our main argument that the DEA's 'Final Rule' ignores Congress' specific exemption in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) under the definition of marihuana that excludes hemp seed and stalk from control. Based on the questions posed to the DEA, it appears the court reasonablyviews trace insignificant amounts of THC in hemp seed in the same way as it sees trace amounts of opiates in poppy seeds," says Bronner.
A transcript of Monday's oral arguments is available here (pdf). The Justices asked tough questions of both sides, but seemed unconvinced by the government's reasoning for the sudden ban on food products (several times asking why they haven't outlawed poppy seed bagels). The government admitted that the trace amounts of THC in hemp food products have no effect.
Due to a court-ordered stay of the DEA's "Final Rule," hemp foods remain perfectly legal to import, sell and consume while the Court considers arguments and renders a decision.
This means you can get your delicious and nutritious hemp food products, like those pictured from Ruth's Hemp Foods, where they have hemp bars, hemp oil, tortilla wraps/chips/pasta, hemp milk and more. Hemp cannot be legally grown in the U.S., but hemp foods can be imported from Candada, and at Ruth's it's easy to order online and have it shipped here.
Disclaimer: I do not work for Ruth's Hemp Foods, nor have I received any consideration for promoting their products. However, if Ruth's Hemp Foods appreciates this product placement, and wants to thank me... I particularly like the Cranberry Almond SoftHemp bars and the SoftHemp seeds (a case of each would be great!)
9:59:48 AM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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What?
Yesterday, an Ohio man was sentenced to 11 years in prison for selling a bag of baking soda to undercover officers.
Police said Chandler negotiated a deal with the officer in July that he would deliver 4.5 ounces of crack for $8,000. Chandler produced a small bag and was arrested. Later, tests showed it was baking soda.
A jury convicted him last week of cocaine trafficking, which Ohio law defines as selling or offering to sell the drug. It makes no difference that Chandler was peddling a fake, Stark County assistant prosecutor Joe Vance said.
The amount was found to be more than 100 grams, qualifying Chandler as a major drug offender. That brings a mandatory 10-year sentence, and a judge may add up to 10 more years.
9:28:21 AM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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House approves ONDCP extension
The House approved a five-year extension of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy late yesterday by voice vote. (see Monday's alert). There's still the Senate.
The re-authorization was brought forward at the last minute by Drug War Cheerleader Mark Souder under suspension of the rules, which provided for limited debate and no amendments. It gives the Drug Czar more taxpayer money for his ineffective ad campaign, and allows him to reward local areas that follow his approach with extra funding.
It could be worse. Some of the most offensive items were eliminated in committee because drug policy reform groups raised the alarm -- including provisions that would have allowed the Drug Czar to use taxpayer money to campaign against candidates and referendums he didn't like.
Update: Even at the last moment, pressure from drug policy reformers was able to make a difference. According to Drug Policy Alliance:
House Democrats helped us win a victory by pressuring Republicans to overturn a ban on using High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) funding for drug prevention - rather than law enforcement. The Drug Policy Alliance has pushed for this change because it is the first step to shifting millions of dollars from away from arresting non-violent drug offenders and into prevention.
9:00:03 AM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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Tuesday, September 30, 2003 |
Drug Czar Attacks the Dutch
Sunday's Baltimore Sun details one of our Drug Czar's latest tricks. He's already attacked medical marijuana patients, pushed for practically unlimited budgetary authority to demonize his opponents, attacked Canada, and now he's going after the Dutch.
[Walters] was critical of the Dutch for failing to give police greater authority to move against drug gangs. The Dutch have been reluctant to enact laws that could be seen as infringing on civil liberties.
...there simply have not been adequate steps taken by the government of the Netherlands to control this," Walters said.
"There is a limited ability to use wiretap and informant information that makes it harder when you have a criminal conspiracy to enforce laws," he said.
Yep. Walters wants the Netherlands to give their police more powers and forget about the civil liberties of their citizens. Sound familiar?
What really ticks Walters off is that the Dutch have had better success with a combination of harm reduction, separating drugs, and easing restrictions on marijuana, than we have had with prohibition and interdiction.
Drug War Facts has some strong figures that show that United States, with its "superior" police powers is higher than the Netherlands in marijuana use, heroin use, incarceration rate, per capita spending on law enforcement, and homicide rate. Somehow, I don't see how the Dutch are going to be thrilled to have Walters tell them what to do.
And an article earliier this year showed:
The latest United Nations study on global drug trends shows the Netherlands wouldn't even crack the top 50 in marijuana consumption...
"Marijuana is just no big deal here," said Henk Lokhorst, who lives just outside Amsterdam. "It's lost that taboo feel. Most of my friends don't smoke. It's just not a part of their lives and not something you think about."
Again, this shows how interconnected the war on drugs is with the war on civil liberties. Over the past decades, our rights have been weakened in the name of the drug war. This has opened the door to provisions in the Patriot Act and the proposed Victory Act (which intends to expand drug crimes by defining them as terrorism. At the same time, we learn that the Patriot Act (designed to combat terrorism) has been used for a potporri of domestic law enforcement purposes.
Justice Department officials said such criticism has not deterred them. Said Mark Corallo, a department spokesman: ''I think any reasonable person would agree that we have an obligation to do everything we can to protect the lives and liberties of Americans from attack, whether it's from terrorists or garden-variety criminals."
And where do we turn for protection from the government?
[See this startling analysis from TalkLeft for more on the interconnectedness of terror legislation.]
12:26:33 AM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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Monday, September 29, 2003 |
Training soldiers in the war against Americans
 Officers Practice For War On Drugs - this bizarre article in the Nevada Appeal...
Officers took their places hidden in shrubs, behind trees and in unmarked cars surrounding the dark home.
Within a few minutes, officers broke down the door and had three suspects suspected of drug trafficking in custody. One officer was shot and a suspect may have been killed.
But if the raiders were going to make a mistake, Thursday was the day to do it.
"Something always goes wrong, but let it go wrong here," said Paul Pabon, academy commander of the training division at the Nevada Department of Public Safety.
All around the country, drug task forces are using military tactics against our own citizens, often to prevent someone from flushing some pot. And just like in this training exercise, people get killed (only for real).
Now if they'd only run training sessions for the innocent people killed when a raid like this happens at the wrong address.
9:13:32 PM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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 From Drug Policy Alliance: Please read this post and be prepared to call your Congressman tomorrow (Tuesday).
In a last minute effort to keep money and power flowing through the Drug Czar's office, House leadership are playing political games to push a bill that would re-authorize funding for failed 'drug war' programs. Just scheduled for tomorrow (September 30th), the vote is clearly designed to keep opponents from voicing alarm. They're also trying to bring the bill up under a process known as "suspension of the rules" which limits debate to less than an hour and prohibits Representatives from offering amendments to improve the bill.
The drug war bill (HR 2086), known as the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act, provides five more years of funding for the Drug Czar's office and its campaign to arrest drugs users. Already, the Drug Policy Alliance has worked with a number of groups to remove as many of the extreme provisions from the bill as we could. But the bill still authorizes the White House to spend over a billion dollars on anti-drug television ads - the same ads ridiculed by the public and shown to be ineffective by the government's own studies. It also contains no protections to ensure that the drug czar cannot use taxpayer money to campaign against state medical marijuana ballot measures he personally doesn't like.
If only 146 (out of 435) Representatives vote against the bill the House will be forced to bring the bill up under a more democratic process that will allow amendments to improve it.
Call before 6pm (EST) on Tuesday. Tell the receptionist, "I'm calling to urge my Representative to vote against HR 2086 when it comes up under suspension of the rules. Among other things, HR 2086 allows the drug czar to spend taxpayer money to influence local and state elections. By voting no, the Representative can ensure that the bill will be brought up under a process that allows amendments to improve it."
Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard for free at 1-800-839-5276. (They can also tell you who your Representative is if you're not sure. You can also find out who your Representative is at the Drug Policy Action Center.
8:26:14 PM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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