Wednesday, January 21, 2004

Drug Warriors in the UK running scared With just a few days until marijuana is downgraded from class B to class C in England, the attempts to scare people can get downright silly. Yesterday as I reported, various papers covered the suddenly revealed inquest results (from over a month ago) that claimed to have found the first death from marijuana overdose (extremely unlikely). Today, BBC News reports on a group calling for health warnings to be issued regarding schizophrenia, and other forms of psychosis, from cannabis use! The Telegraph came out yesterday with How dangerous is Dope?, which included this ridiculous story: The inquest last week into the death of Robert Dickinson, who shot dead his neighbour in a dispute over a garden hedge and then committed suicide in prison, heard that he had been "drunk and drugged" and had smoked "up to five cannabis cigarettes a day". The coroner told jurors: "I would want to stress...  that cannabis is not a harmless drug and this case demonstrates how devastating its effects can be." Outside the court, Det Insp Peter Bray, of Lincolnshire Police, said: "It does nobody any good to use cannabis and can lead to these sorts of things." Oh my God, cannabis causes garden hedge disputes! This was the same media source that back in November ran CANNABIS USE CAUSES 'HUNDREDS OF DEATHS A YEAR', CORONER WARNS with the amazing: Cannabis also contributed to the death of Dragan Radoslavjevic, 42, from Paignton, Devon.  He died earlier this year after using a power tool to drill a hole in his head. An inquest in Torquay heard that he suffered from depression and relied on drugs such as cannabis and heroin. [I've got to go to the UK and attend some inquests -- they sound like a lot of fun.] In yesterday's article, however, the Telegraph provided some balance by quoting Dr Zerrin Atakan of the National Psychosis Unit, who rebutted the assertions in the BBC report with: Cannabis psychosis is a very vague term.  If we ever use the phrase, it is only to describe very short-term effects immediately following smoking, and it certainly doesn't refer to users having a psychotic disorder.  People may feel frightened or paranoid, but these feelings pass in a matter of hours or, more rarely, days, and practically never require treatment." and added this positive thought: Children need to be taught the hazards at an early age, and it needs to be regulated so people know what they are getting.  This can only happen through legalisation." 10:39:30 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

The Federal Government and medical marijuana just don't mix We already know that the feds just go crazy over the issue of medical marijuana -- they're that afraid of it. Whether it's federal armed raids on medical marijuana groups operating legally under state law, or the DEA's refusal to return seized medicine, it's clear that we have to remove the federal government from medical marijuana. Here's how surreal this gets. A school board in California is opposing local medical marijuana proposals under the excuse that they're afraid of losing federal funding! Board President Mary Scott said the proposed ordinance could affect schools' federal funding. Schools are required to abide by the federal Safe and Drug Free Schools Act, which mandates strict policies regarding employee use and possession of drugs and requires that schools teach students that illegal drugs are wrong and harmful. Federal law does not recognize marijuana as legal in any circumstances.  Schools which violate the federal law could risk losing federal funding, Scott said. School districts are also federally required to certify "drug-free school zones," meaning that there are no illegal drugs within 1,000 feet of school sites. Get the feds out of medical marijuana in one easy step: Reschedule. 9:47:09 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

SOTU on Steroids Ted at Women's Hoops has some additional perspective on the State of the Union steroid section and why Bush would never go after supplements. Orrin Hatch is one of the most powerful Republican Senators and also ahuge backer of the supplement industry. Many supplement companies are based in Utah, Hatch's home. The industry has donated over $100,000 to Hatch over the past decade. And Hatch's son runs a lobbying firm with supplement industry clients, who have paid the firm millions. Hatch wrote in his memoirs: "I have taken dietary supplements almost my entire adult life and can attest to the benefits they provide." He has argued that adults should be able to decide for themselves whether to ingest these chemicals, and that government regulation shouldn't get in the way. Ironically, Hatch is also the leading elected official fighting the War on Drugs. Unclear why he thinks adults should be able to decide for themselves whether to ingest kava, e.g., without any government regulation, but shouldn't be able to decide to ingest marijuana, e.g., at all. I've always watched Hatch carefully. He's smart and articulate, with no conscience, particularly in his behind the scenes work regarding the drug war and civil liberties. 8:30:14 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []