Thursday, May 24, 2007

Going to New York next week I'll be taking 79 people to Manhattan for a week of theatre and walking tours, May 29 through June 5. I'm going to be extremely busy that week, but if anyone wants to get together for coffee some time to discuss drug policy, let me know. 7:55:09 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

And the stupid shall kill us all I fear for the planet. When the leadership of so much of the world is unable to understand the simplest of concepts... It is criminally irresponsible to assume that the only options to approaching certain problems are military success or surrender, particularly when the war isn't even a war at all, but rather a policy opposing inanimate objects and economic forces. Witness Mexican President and idiot Felipe Calderon Mexican President Felipe Calderon vowed on Thursday not to abandon his military-led war against violent drug gangs, defying a call from a congressional committee for the withdrawal of troop patrols. Banging his finger on a lectern during a speech in the northern state of Durango, Calderon said his government would not relent in its fight against drug traffickers. "We cannot leave the children and the young people of Mexico in the claws of organized crime. Our position is clear: not one step backward in the task of defending Mexico," he said. "Simply withdrawing, being cowardly and hiding are not the solution," Calderon said. Because he is such a cowardly moron, without the cojones to handle a real solution, and because his chilito makes him insecure, he condemns his people to death. Despicable. ... and he is far from alone. 6:44:50 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

If it quacks like a duck Philadelphia's likely next mayor, Michael Nutter, and Baltimore City Council's Robert W. Curran, seem to be trying to outdo each other in the pro-authoritarian anti-reason tough-on-crime competition. Under Curran's plan, the mayor could declare "public-safety-act zones," which would allow police to close liquor stores and bars, limit the number of people on city sidewalks, and halt traffic during two-week intervals. Police would be encouraged to aggressively stop and frisk individuals in those zones to search for weapons and drugs. [...] Nutter's proposal also calls for curfews in crime-plagued neighborhoods. Wow. So in what third-world country are the cities of Philadephia and Baltimore? Certainly not the United States. We don't allow our police to just stop and frisk people for no reason, do we... ? Councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr., a mayoral hopeful, said Curran's idea was an interesting concept but it raised questions about civil liberties. "We have to make sure we're not declaring martial law," he said. What else would you call it? A block party? 9:58:20 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Where Poppies Bloom Surprise, surprise. Farmers in southern Iraq have started to grow opium poppies in their fields for the first time, sparking fears that Iraq might become a serious drugs producer along the lines of Afghanistan. Rice farmers along the Euphrates, to the west of the city of Diwaniya, south of Baghdad, have stopped cultivating rice, for which the area is famous, and are instead planting poppies, Iraqi sources familiar with the area have told The Independent. Well, here's another surprise. USA Today has published an editorial supporting the Senlis proposal: A Better Way To Deal With Afghanistan's Poppy Crop The United States is pushing Afghanistan to spray poppy fields with a crop-killing herbicide, much as is done with coca in Colombia, and develop new sources of income for the poppy farmers. This approach might sound reasonable, but it threatens to make a deteriorating situation even worse. Here's why. The American and NATO forces in Afghanistan rely on intelligence and support from Afghans. Yet the Afghans' resentment is rising as civilians increasingly get killed and hurt in operations against Taliban forces. Just the threat of spraying poppy fields is increasing that anger, because spraying could destroy the livelihoods of as many as 3 million farmers and drive them into the arms of the Taliban. There might be a better way to bridge the clashing agendas of the wars on terror and drugs. The Senlis Council, a group based in Europe and Afghanistan, proposes legalizing and managing the poppy crops, turning them into medicines such as morphine. It wants to adapt a program that largely eliminated heroin production in Turkey in the 1970s with the support of President Nixon and Congress. Like the Bush administration in Afghanistan, Nixon at first insisted on spraying the poppy fields. But Turkish leaders refused because of a revolt from their farmers. The compromise included guaranteed markets for the morphine. Within a few years, Turkey was no longer the premier source for heroin. The Senlis Council is proposing pilot projects under which the morphine factories would be set up in Afghan villages and monitored by village elders and outside groups. The factories could provide employment and income for the villages -- and plow some profits into alternative industries. It's true, as critics point out, that legal opium fetches about one-third the price of opium sold on the illegal market, and the Senlis proposal envisions Afghan opium being sold relatively cheaply for medications in developing countries. But the United States and the international community are already spending billions of dollars on development in Afghanistan. Some of that money could be used to help bridge the gap and wean the poppy farmers away from risky, illegal production. Defeating the Taliban in Afghanistan will require pragmatism, creativity and the support of the Afghan people. Giving "poppies for peace" a chance might just pay dividends in the U.S. war on terror. Not bad from USA Today. And note that while legal uses will bring in significantly less income than illegal uses, there are two factors to the farmers. In the illegal market, farmers get a very small portion of the value of the opium when it is shipped, which itself is an insignificant portion of the street value of the finished drug, so the value difference to farmers in selling to the legitimate market may not be that great (and will at least appeal to those who would like to be legal). Buying crops from farmers at even a low price so they can feed their families is better in winning hearts and minds than destroying their crops and leaving them to starve. Of course, the Senlis proposal will not eliminate the black market -- only full legalization and regulation can do that. [Thanks, Jeff] 9:43:06 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Canada - get ready for some misery Canada: Harper To Unveil US-Style 'War On Drugs' The Harper government's new anti-drug strategy is expected to take a tough approach to illicit drugs: cracking down on grow-ops and pushers, and retreating from "harm reduction" measures such as safe injection sites for addicts. So just how much stock does Harper have in Canada's prison industry? Or is he employed by organized crime? Or does he have jello for brains? The only way you can look at the U.S. drug war and say "I want some of that" is if you're corrupt or stupid. 9:15:48 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []