Saturday, April 2, 2005

And yet, the drug war continues without pause... (From CNN: Report: Colombia drug war failing.) A new White House report showed that a massive aerial spraying offensive last year failed to dent the area of coca under cultivation in Colombia. But President Alvaro Uribe vowed on Friday to press ahead with U.S.-financed fumigation of cocaine-producing crops. The war on drugs in Colombia, the world's main cocaine-producing country and a major supplier of heroin, has cost more than $3 billion in U.S. aid here since 2000. Critics of Washington's effort say the report indicates the Colombia and U.S. governments are losing the war. "The U.S. government's own data provides stark evidence that the drug war is failing to achieve its most basic objectives," said John Walsh, of the Washington Office on Latin America, a think tank critical of U.S. drug policies in Colombia. The report by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy said that despite a record-setting aerial eradication offensive, 281,694 acres of coca remained in Colombia at the end of 2004 -- an increase from the 281,323 acres left over after spraying the year earlier. Walsh also pointed out that prices of cocaine and heroin have been steadily dropping over the years on U.S. streets, indicating availability of the drugs has not diminished. What do you do when what you're doing doesn't work? Why, keep on doing it, of course. But President Alvaro Uribe vowed on Friday to press ahead with U.S.-financed fumigation of cocaine-producing crops. And if you're the Drug Czar's office, you just make up stuff. David Murray, a top official in the White House drug office, insisted there were positive signs... The White House drug office said that while the area under coca cultivation remained "statistically unchanged" over the previous year, the fumigation diminished the potential production of cocaine... 1:25:31 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Some Interesting Reading Jacob Sullum on the conviction of pain doctor William Hurwitz in Dose Response Misconceptions about pain treatment could put a doctor in prison for life In a potentially related story, UNM Doctors Discover Way to Measure Pain. Interesting, if true. The Bitter Pill at Wired. Buprenorphine could end heroin addiction, curb disease, and cut crime. But bureaucrats, doctors, and much of the treatment industry are just saying no. A case study in why the best technology doesn't always win. In The Mirror: Heroin for Health A New Scientific Study Investigates the Potential Benefits of Giving Hard-Core Addicts Their Daily Doses Why Drug Task Forces Must Go 101 -- Grits for Breakfast. Reefer Madness What is it about medical marijuana that makes everyone act so funny? A powerful expose on some local media malfeasance in the medical marijuana story. Flag Firefighters Contest City's Drug-Testing Policy Flagstaff firefighters absolutely refuse to submit to random drug and alcohol testing.  It's a violation, they say, of their constitutional rights. Good for them! Now a judge will decide. [Thanks to Scott and MAP.] 12:27:46 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []