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Drug WarRant
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Friday, March 9, 2007 |
Drug Policy Overhaul in the UK
There has been much talk in the UK in recent months about recommending changes in how the government handles drug policy, and there's very little doubt in my mind that the U.S. is eventually going to be led in this area from overseas.
That doesn't mean that Britain's government is lacking the elements of inflexible, politically fearful and greedily opportunistic elements that we have within our prohibitionists in the U.S., but they may be less entrenched.
Well a new expert commission report is out
Britain's antiquated laws have failed to control the rapid spread of drug use over the past 30 years and should be replaced with a system that treats users as victims rather than offenders, the Government has been told.
A two-year survey of drug use reached the damning conclusion that the current legislation is "not fit for purpose", failing to recognise that alcohol and tobacco can cause more harm than "demonised" substances such as cannabis and ecstasy. The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce Commission on Illegal Drugs said current laws were "driven by a moral panic" and one of its members warned that increasing numbers of primary school children were experimenting with drugs.
The commission, which included academics, community workers and politicians, demanded the abolition of the Misuse of Drugs Act, to be replaced with a broader Misuse of Substances Act.
I haven't had a chance to read the whole thing (pdf) yet (I hope to this weekend), but for the best analysis, I turn you over to the wonderful folks at Transform Drug Policy Foundation blog, who have been doing excellent work in following all the details. They have a full review RSA drugs report: good, but no cigar [Update: page moved and updated ]
They note the brilliance of passages like this one:
Drugs policy should, like our policy on alcohol and tobacco, seek to regulate use and prevent harm rather than to prohibit use altogether. Illegal drugs should be regulated alongside alcohol, tobacco, prescribed medicines and other legal drugs in a single regulatory framework.
But they also note that ultimately the report falls short:
We are left with what is, in many ways, a brilliant, thoughtful and throrough report, but also one that walks you to the door but isnt quite willing to suggest you walk through...
[Thanks to several readers for tips on this.]
11:45:58 AM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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Mouse Party
Via EFSDP and NORML discussions, comes this delightful interactive animation showing how different drugs interact with the brain. I'll count on some of my readers who know more about neuro activity than I do to vouch for the accuracy of the science, but it seems to be a fun, informative and mostly nonjudgmental (other than the occasional use of the word "abuse") approach to learning about dopamine receptors and such.
11:18:33 AM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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Thursday, March 8, 2007 |
More SWAT sagas
from Radley Balko at Hit and Run:
In Montreal , it looks as if a "Cory Maye north" situation is shaping up. Basile Parasiris was home with his family when a paramilitary police team broke into the house with a battering ram as part of a larger drug raid. With son on the phone with 911, Parasiris exchanged fire with the raiding cops, believing them to be thieves. He shot two, killing one. Police returned fire, wounding Parasiris' wife. Police found no drugs in the home. Parasiris' gun was legal and registered. He's being charged with first-degree murder for the shooting of the dead officer, and attempted murder for the shooting of the wounded one.
Also read about the woman who got the scare of a lifetime going to the store to buy orange soda and lottery tickets.
8:48:15 AM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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Job Security
From CGinformation.org -- "the unofficial U.S. Coast Guard blog of information, news and commentary":
Today HQ put out a press release congratulating the service for outdoing any previous 1st quarter in the interdiction of Cocaine with 97,635 pounds of the drug between Oct. 1, 2006, and Jan.1, 2007. This is good, but it also begs the question of why was there more Cocaine coming this way? Are we getting ready for yet anther "Drug War"... Well at least we'll have job security!
Drug traffickers treat Coast Guard interdiction much the same way that Wal-Mart expects a certain amount of shoplifting. It's just budgeted in as a normal (and pretty cheap to them) cost of doing business.
From 1986 to 2006, the DEA seized 2,836,600 pounds of cocaine without having any impact on the availability or price.
8:37:00 AM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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Wednesday, March 7, 2007 |
I thought that was called capitalism
Bizarre statement in a marijuana case, from U.S. Attorney Gretchen Shappert:
"He profited from his greed, at the expense of others. He deserves the life sentence."
And Gretchen, he didn't profit off me -- if he had, I'd have at least gotten some pot out of the deal. Much better than that financial screwing we're getting from you.
11:48:46 PM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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ASA lawsuit
I finally got a chance to read the ASA lawsuit filing (large pdf file) in U.S. Circuit Court resulting from its years of following through with a Data Quality Act challenge against the Department of Health and Human Services.
They do a nice job recapping the years of delay and illegal non-responsiveness on the part of HHS, and conclude with:
VIII. RELIEF SOUGHT
WHEREFORE, ASA, on behalf of itself, its constituents, and others similarly situated, seeks the following relief:
- A declaration that the HHS' denial of ASA's petition and administrative appeal is arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, and not in accordance with law under the APA;
- A permanent injunction:
- enjoining defendants from continuing to disseminate statements that
marijuana "has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States;" and
- requiring HHS to make appropriate corrections to all statements that it has
disseminated that marijuana "has no currently accepted medical use in
treatment in the United States;"
- Costs and attorneys fees incurred in this action; and
- Such other and further relief as may be just and proper.
We'll see what happens.
10:28:14 PM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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NM Governor Richardson pushes for medical marijuana
Via TalkLeft comes this delightful quote from Bill Richardson:
"I'm urging very quick, strong action on predatory
lending. I want that cockfighting bill, I want medical marijuana, I want my tax cuts."
When it comes to predatory lending and cockfighting, I'm not sure if he's fer it or agin it, nor do I care. I just love the fact that a Governor is speaking out in favor of medical marijuana and that's not the item that makes people go "Wha???"
8:11:45 PM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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Tuesday, March 6, 2007 |
Medical Marijuana passes out of committee in Illinois
Success in the committee. 6-4 vote in favor of medical marijuana. Congrats to everyone involved. I hear Julie did a great job.
One of the no votes was the Senator from my district, Bill Brady, who has consistently rebuffed all efforts to talk to him about medical marijuana. (Why am I stuck with such horrible representation?)
8:12:56 PM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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Illinois - gradually working toward a medical marijuana law
Illinois Medical Marijuana Bill receives its first hearing today. Unfortunately, I can't be there -- I'd love to hear Julie Falco again. What a wonderful person.
From what I've heard so far, I think there's a really good chance that medical marijuana will make it out of committee. Then we'll have to see what happens.
David Ostrow has an outstanding OpEd in yesterday's Chicago Sun Times: Research, not rhetoric: Marijuana can save lives
Clearly, the White House and its drug czar, John Walters, should abandon their rigid, unscientific rejection of medical marijuana and start reshaping federal policy to match medical reality. And if they won't act, Congress should. There are a number of actions Congress can take to put federal medical marijuana policy on a path toward sanity.
The first, and simplest, is to prohibit the Drug Enforcement Administration from spending money to raid and arrest medical marijuana patients and caregivers in the 11 states where the medical use of marijuana is legal under state law. This would remove the cloud of fear that now hangs over hundreds of thousands of desperately ill Americans and those who care for them.
But that should be just the beginning. Everything about federal medical marijuana policy should be reconsidered, based on science, common sense, and simple human decency.
There is no longer any doubt that marijuana can be a useful medicine for some very ill patients, a medicine that can literally help people stay alive. So even as we await federal action, Illinois -- where the Senate Public Health Committee will hold a hearing on the medical marijuana bill Tuesday -- should create a workable medical marijuana program, like those now in place in 11 states.
It is time to end our government's war on the sick and dying.
12:01:23 AM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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Monday, March 5, 2007 |
Doctors say drug-testing kids a bad idea
That's right.
In the March issue of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatrics said:
... screening for illicit drugs is a complicated process prone to errors and cheating, and has not been shown to curtail youngsters' drug use.
Drug testing also creates a counterproductive climate of "resentment, distrust and suspicion" between children and their parents or school administrators...
They went on to list a number of other potential problems and recommended:
...parents suspicious that a child is abusing drugs or alcohol consult the child's primary care doctor rather than rely on school-based drug screening or home kits to check their concerns.
These are things we've known for some time, but John Walters doesn't care about you or your children. He doesn't care about trust -- why should he? His entire life is a lie. He just wants kids to pee for him. He want a "golden" parachute, so he can soak up the profits from some drug testing company in his retirement.
Take your stinking kidney juice money back, John. Give it back to the people, or to the states so they can provide after-school activities for youth. Let's have some positive efforts that help children rather then turning them all into criminals.
 You can also vote in MSNBC's unscientific web poll:
Current results:
Do you support drug testing for children? (* 9977 responses)-
Yes. It's the best way to curb illegal drug use. 31%
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No. It's inaccurate and creates an atmosphere of distrust. 63%
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Not sure 6.5%
[Thanks, Mary]
10:42:04 PM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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Marsha Rosenbaum on NPR
Marsha Rosenbaum, of Safety 1st, will be a guest on Richard Miller's National Public Radio show, "Mind, Body, Health," on Tuesday, March 6, 9:00 a.m. PST to talk about teens and drugs. You can listen to the show live on the web or tune in at 88.1, 90.7, and 91.5 FM in the Mendocino County area.
10:14:54 PM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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The President's Spring Break from Hell
I really can't imagine that President Bush is looking forward to his upcoming trip down south.
Like many Americans at this time of year, President Bush is striking out for southern climes.
Packing strategies for fostering trade, fighting drug traffickers and fending off the regionwide shift to the political left, Bush flies out Thursday on a swing through the friendlier parts of Latin America.
Even sticking to the "friendlier parts" can't be much fun for him. His drug war is losing popularity by the day, and the war in Iraq has pretty much stripped him of the ability to offer either bribes or threats in Latin America.
He's a lame duck, unsure of his strength in countering the influence of the President of Venezuela!
Here's an interesting thing to discuss.... Could it be that this administration's love affair with the drug war could end up being a liability to... the drug war? It seems that the rest of the world is starting (in bits and pieces) to identify the excesses of the drug war with the foreign policy failures of the Bush administration. And they're starting to see that the advantages of defying U.S. drug policy might outweigh any potential repercussions.
1:01:15 AM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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Sunday, March 4, 2007 |
Vindictive prosecution
Via Talk Left comes an interesting development in the Ed Rosenthal Case
Recap of Ed Rosenthal for those who are new to the story: Medical marijuana grower authorized by Oakland, California, arrested by feds, not allowed to mention legal status in his federal trial, convicted. Jurors find out they were duped by the government and are outraged. Judge isn't happy either and sentences Ed to one day. Ed appeals anyway out of principle and is granted new trial. Feds decide to re-trial and try to pile on more charges to get him.
Now a federal judge is asking the tough questions in this case.
SAN FRANCISCO, March 3 -- A federal judge has asked the United States attorney here to submit all trial preparation memorandums in the case against a leading advocate of medical marijuana so that the court can determine if the government has been pursuing a "vindictive prosecution."
The judge, Charles R. Breyer, ordered the review at the request of lawyers for Ed Rosenthal, a spokesman in the effort to legalize marijuana who has been in a closely watched court battle with the government.
Oh, and Tommy Chong is raising money for Ed Rosenthal's defense fund.
12:28:02 PM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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