Thursday, October 9, 2008

A class action suit I'd like to see... Interesting press release about the problems of field drug test kits that are so ubiquitous, yet keep giving false positives and really messing up people's lives. However, there is now conclusive evidence the field drug tests falsely indicate the presence of drugs when used on numerous natural products such as soap, soy milk, essential oils and chocolate. [...] "We are alarmed by the growing number of people who have been taken to jail for simply possessing organic products," says Ronnie Cummins, Executive Director of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA). "This is an attack on people who have adopted an organic natural lifestyle, whether it's the food they eat, the soap they clean with or the perfumes they use. What kind of world do we live in where nursing mothers' have their babies taken from them and are subjected to coercive interrogations to generate false confessions, over healthy organic foods like raw chocolate," says Cummins who co-founded the 800,000 supporter strong OCA. Here's the line that grabbed my attention: The American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU's) Drug War Project is also contemplating a class action challenge to the drug war testing industry. I even like the wording of that sentence. 1:34:50 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

Crude Propaganda Dan Gardner slams the UNODC This failure has many causes but a key one is the simple fact that the primary source of information about the drug trade is the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. For the UNODC, the criminal prohibition of drugs is not merely a tool of public policy. It is a cause, a crusade, a faith. One does not question a faith. One promotes it. And that's what the UNODC does every year when it releases its World Drug Report. For journalists and politicians the world over, the WDR is the definitive source of information about drugs and drug policy. Any time you read a news story or political statement about drugs in Afghanistan or elsewhere, there's a good chance the WDR was used as a source. To an extent, that's fine. The WDR has lots of solid data in it. But the report is primarily an instrument of propaganda. Its purpose is to praise the status quo, bury evidence of failure, and frame the discussion so serious scrutiny of the War on Drugs never happens. [...] Don't be fooled by the UN imprimatur. The World Drug Report is crude propaganda. Journalists and politicians who take it at face value contribute to the manipulation of public opinion and the stifling of meaningful debate. And that is unacceptable at a time when Canadian soldiers are fighting and dying in the War on Drugs. Well done, Dan. 9:13:32 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

Odds and Ends His Last War -- by Jeff Prince. "David Noblett -- and dozens of other patients -- just wanted their doctor back." A powerful must-read. Scott Morgan's tearing it up. Read The Amazing Gigantic Missing Heroin Stash and The World's Smallest Bag of Marijuana. From the MPP blog: Global Cannabis Commission: "No Justification For Incarcerating an Individual For Cannabis Possession", I found a unicorn, and The Drug Czar's Legacy of Failure, by the Numbers Side note: Has it sunk in yet that in 104 days or less, John Walters will no longer be the drug czar? Speaking of the drug czar... His latest drug enemy? YouTube. DEA Lays An Egg In Washington State: 5-Day Copter Patrols Net 20 Pot Plants. Also from NORML Blog: NBA and NORML Joining Forces To Achieve Mutual Goals? Not As Far Fetched As It Sounds 12:01:17 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []