Monday, November 3, 2008

Voting is merely the first step Vote. You know you want to be part of this one, so just do it. I'm not going to tell you who to vote for. By now, if you've got a brain, you've figured out what you'd like to do with your vote, and don't need me to help you. I'm also going to assume that if you have a drug policy related referendum question on your ballot, you're not going to screw it up. If you're a reader of this blog and need me to tell you whether to vote for a marijuana decrim referendum, or a release-non-violent-drug-offenders referendum, then it's time to put down the joint and get off my couch. If you need to know how your representative voted on drug policy issues, this guide from DPA may help. 24 hours from now, we're going to know about some winners and losers, but our job won't be over. It'll just be getting interesting. Once the election is done, we can start working on the newly elected officials to let them know about drug policy reform. Learn about your new Representative, and start planning a visit, or a call to their staffers to let them know that there is someone in their district who knows something valuable about drug policy and would like to share it with them. I'm looking forward to it -- with the much anticipated retirement of Representative Jerry Weller (yes, that one), I'll finally have the opportunity to actually develop a relationship with a new Representative in my district. And this will be the time, when silly season is over for a few months and politicians aren't as frightened of drug policy discussions. One of the positive things I've noticed in this election season is the lack of discussion about drugs (outside of specifically drug-related referenda). Yes, I see that as positive, in that nobody was pulling the tough-on-drugs routine. There were plenty of opportunities, and except for insignificant moments (like McCain's over-the-top rant about performance-enhancing drugs during tonight's football game), there has been no call for longer prison sentences, or major drug crackdowns, etc. It appears that the politicians have discovered that there are no votes to gain by pulling out the tough-on-drugs rhetoric. That's huge! Sure, they're not anywhere near the next big step -- recognizing that there are votes to gain by supporting reform -- but this is a good start. I still believe that the most important part of our efforts is to educate public opinion so the politicians can follow, but we do have a wonderful opportunity post-election to build a relationship with our political employees. 11:17:25 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

You must be drug free to buy drugs It just continually amazes me that they are unable to see that it's just another kind of drug... Pub-goers to be tested for drugs Pub-goers in Aberdeen are facing a drugs test before entering bars as part of a crackdown by Grampian Police. Officers in the force will be the first in Scotland to use an Itemiser - a device which can detect traces of drugs from hand swabs in a matter of seconds. The test is voluntary, but customers will be refused entry if they do not take part. They could be searched and even arrested if traces are found. So if they are free from drugs, then they will be allowed in to purchase and drink alcohol. Ch Insp Innes Walker, of Grampian Police, said that as a result of the trial period in October "people had a greater confidence that they could enjoy a night out without fear of encountering drugs". They really have no sense of irony there, do they? And so how effective a tool is this kind of exercise? A total of 753 people were tested on Friday and Saturday nights outside nine venues, which volunteered to take part. No individuals asked to take the test refused. Mr Greig added that without the device the two arrests could not have been made, and it could be used in the long-term fight against Aberdeen's growing problem with crack cocaine. Two. And the other 751 people, having been stopped and scanned for drugs, were free to enter and consume copious amounts of drugs. 9:02:38 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

I need my buzz The drug czar's "blog" apparently is concerned about getting their espresso fix when visiting San Francisco. They're complaining about there being fewer Starbucks stores than medical marijuana locations. I guess that recent Starbucks cut-back hurt, huh? Update: Turns out the drug czar's office is just making stuff up anyway. See Scott Morgan for details. 8:25:40 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

Andrea This is mostly for the long-time readers of the blog. It's been awhile, but our old friend Andrea Barthwell surfaced this week in an article at Nurse.com on medical marijuana in Maryland. Same kind of weasel-worded positions as usual, to make it sound authoritative, while saying absolutely nothing. 7:29:30 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []