Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Walters: Violence is a good sign In a Christian Science Monitor article about the drug cartel violence in Mexico (remember, we trained many of them), John Walters says: "In a way the violence is terrible but also a sign that the cartels are being squeezed by government." I'm sure that will make the locals feel better. Also: ...others, including Mr. Walters, the director the US Office of National Drug Control Policy, say its only a matter of time before the border violence reaches into the US. I guess we should be grateful? 10:11:23 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Science vs. Schedule 1 A big thanks to Kevin, who sent me the August editorial in Nature Neuroscience titled "Brewing a pot of hysteria." Although the benefits of smoking marijuana remain controversial, the government has already decided that THC itself has medical benefits. Marinol -- a synthetic derivative of THC -- is federally approved to reduce nausea and stimulate appetite in patients suffering from cancer or HIV infection. (Curiously, Marinol is classified as a schedule III drug, indicating that it is considered less dangerous than THC, with which it shares both chemical structure and biological activity.) Marinol is effective in treating vocal and physical tics due to Tourette's syndrome. In clinical trials, oral sprays of a marijuana plant extract called Sativex reduce muscle spasms in patients with multiple sclerosis. THC also seems to be beneficial in treating neuropathic pain or glaucoma. Moreover, THC is a relatively safe drug: according to Daniele Piomelli, the director for the Center for Drug Discovery at the University of California, Irvine, it would take about 70 grams of pure THC to cause serious damage to a 150-pound adult. It is therefore difficult to justify the DEA classification of THC as a class I drug with no medical value. This decision has potentially dangerous implications for science. It reflects a belief that there can be no value in investigating the medical properties of marijuana because the issue is settled. [...] In light of the data, more research into the medical effects of marijuana is clearly warranted. Indeed, a report from the US National Academy of Sciences (http://books.nap.edu/html/marimed) on medical marijuana concluded that "...the existing data are consistent with the idea that this would not be a problem if the medical use of marijuana were as closely regulated as other medications with abuse potential." Thus it seems hard to justify regulations that allow doctors to prescribe cocaine and morphine, but not marijuana. This is some good stuff for the effort to re-schedule marijuana, and a nice slap at the feds for continuing to attempt to justify marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug. 9:58:39 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

More on Anthony Diotaiuto, drug war victim Michael Mayo has an excellent column in today's Sun-Sentinel: An ounce of pot, 10 bullets and one failed drug war "What in the hell were they doing with a SWAT team?" asked Eleanor Shockett, a retired Miami-Dade circuit judge who advocates a sweeping overhaul of drug laws. "To break into someone's home at six in the morning, possibly awaken someone from a deep sleep, someone who has a concealed weapons permit? What did they expect to happen?" This is a tragedy that never should have happened. Even if Diotaiuto, 23, was a small-time pot dealer, which his friends and family deny, the methods used show the madness of our country's war on drugs. No discretion. No proportionality. No sense. "Using SWAT in this case is like using a sledgehammer on a fly," said Jack Cole, a former narcotics detective for the New Jersey State Police who heads Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), a drug-law reform group. "I'd much rather use a little bit of stealth." That says it all. I'm going to stay on top of this story, because as many people need to hear about it as possible. I'm pleased to hear already that the community is up in arms and people are investigating. Let's be clear about this. This cannot simply be blamed on a "mistake" by the Sunrise Police Department. Certainly from a legal and liability standpoint, they're at fault. However, where did the Sunrise Police get the idea to do this? How has this kind of violent attack on citizens become part of the "acceptable" arsenal for police department's to even consider? 9:42:02 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []