cannabisnews.com: Drug War Doesn't Protect Kids





Drug War Doesn't Protect Kids
Posted by FoM on July 09, 2001 at 10:39:18 PT
By Ann Landers 
Source: San Jose Mercury News 
Dear Ann: This is in response to the letter from DEA administrator Donnie Marshall about ecstasy. The ecstasy knock-off known as PMA that has been taking the lives of young Americans is today's version of bathtub gin. The black market has no controls for quality or user age. Unlike legitimate businesses that sell alcohol, illegal drug dealers do not ask for ID. They push trendy, synthetic ``club drugs'' when given the chance. The drug war fails miserably at its primary mandate -- protecting children from drugs.
The Netherlands has successfully reduced overall drug use by regulating and taxing marijuana as a legal drug and establishing age controls. Politicians should stop worrying about the message drug policy reform sends and start thinking about the children.Robert Sharpe, MPA, program officer, the Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation, Washington, D.C. Dear Robert Sharpe: Thanks for your interesting viewpoint. I hope your letter will wake up some of those ``sleeping beauties.'' Here's more on the subject:From Dallas: Ecstasy is fun. It gives you an overwhelming sense of happiness and love. True, it's not real, but so what? If you take ecstasy, be sure you get it from a trusted source and drink lots of water. Also, don't take any alcohol with it. It could result in brain damage or death.Johnstown, Pa.: I am a senior in high school and have been going to raves almost weekly. I took my mother to a rave, and we danced until 5 a.m. She had the time of her life. We were drug-free and surrounded by friends.Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio: I am 19 and have been attending raves for two years. People go for the music, not the drugs. Security personnel frisk everyone.Nashville: It has been two years since my experience with ecstasy, and I am still in therapy. I was almost raped and have lost my short-term memory.Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: A lot of ravers use drugs, but it is not fair to label all of us as drug users. I am 17 and go to raves every Saturday, and I don't use drugs. Ecstasy is available in lots of places, including rock concerts and college parties. If I want ecstasy, I don't have to go to a rave to get it.Oakland: If ecstasy were legal, rave promoters and staff would be able to help injured kids without fear of legal reprisal. People are worried they will be arrested if they take someone to the hospital or call 911. That's the real problem.Cincinnati: Some raves let you in for a reduced fee if you bring canned goods for food drives. Others raise money for local charities. Ravers have a saying, P.L.U.R., which means Peace, Love, Unity, Respect.New York: I used ecstasy for five years, but only on weekends. I often felt depressed on Monday mornings, but continued to take ecstasy because it was so pleasant. This is classic addicted behavior. I can no longer ignore the effect it has had on my health. My hair is thin and breaks off easily. My skin is sallow, and I have perpetual acne. Due to the grinding, my teeth have become crooked and sharp. Ecstasy is not worth the misery you suffer later on.Write to Ann Landers in care of Features, the Mercury News, 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95190.Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Author: Ann LandersPublished: Monday, July 9, 2001Copyright: 2001 San Jose Mercury News Contact: letters sjmercury.com Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/Related Articles & Web Site:TLC - DPFhttp://www.lindesmith.org/Pragmatic Dutch Tolerate Ecstasy Use http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9374.shtmlSentencing Guidelines Toughened for Ecstasy http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9087.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by dddd on July 09, 2001 at 18:10:28 PT
RasJamesrsifwh
Here's the article.......JAH Shine on You....http://commondreams.org/views01/0709-02.htm
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Comment #9 posted by ras james rsifwh on July 09, 2001 at 18:02:09 PT
"The body count continues" by Muwakill
In today's Chicago Tribune, Salim Muwakill wrote a stinging article condemning America's "shameful drug war". In the past, Salim has written that over 90,000 black and brown youth have died in this horrible blood bath being fought on the backs of our minority youth. Shame America!...Shame!...This drug war is not and has never been about protecting young people.
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Comment #8 posted by Sudaca on July 09, 2001 at 15:27:14 PT
Dear Ann
I ate a pound of ice cream every week for the last 5 years. I'm now obscenely obese , nobody likes me and I have a real shot at getting a heart attack before 20so?what does this prove?
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Comment #7 posted by Jose Melendez on July 09, 2001 at 14:32:58 PT:
Just say NO to prohibition
I think it was Barry McCaffrey who insisted that anecdotal evidence should not drive public policy - only to claim later that the shining young brainwashed D.A.R.E. participants around him were "all the evidence he needed" that funding the dishonest, ineffective program should continue...I've been thinking, doesn't C-SPAN cover mock trials occasionally? It would be interesting to see a few prohibitionists on the hot seat in a "Drug War Trials" setting, even if it was just someone playing the role.
Poison is legal - Why not pot?
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Comment #6 posted by Kickaha on July 09, 2001 at 14:28:29 PT
Whigged Out Kids
Dateline 1776:... Reports from the colonies indicate that many of the rebellious young people that like to congregate in the "New World" have taken to wearing powdered wigs, which are apparently affecting their mental capacity and inducing wild thoughts of revolution. This strange and dangerous subculture has managed to scribble together a so-called "Declaration of Independence", outlining their frenzied, powdered-wig-addled philosophy. Reports indicate that they gather in great, sweaty masses to argue philosophy, arts, language and politics. They purport to have encapsulated their "powderhead" manifesto in the aformentioned document. And then they have SEX!Seriously, weren't these people kids once? Who has the memory problem? I've heard this stuff since before High School, and it goes clear back to the first flowering (or should that be spraying?)of Reefer Madness.On another note, I haven't read ol' Landers for a long time, but I recall she's actually skeptical of at least the war on pot. I don't understand her response to Robert. The first part seems dismissive, but then she hopes it wakes up the "Sleeping Beauties" of the political class? Maybe she is genuinely thanking him for a viewpoint she had not previously encountered, and I've got the cyncism filter cranked up to high.
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Comment #5 posted by dddd on July 09, 2001 at 14:26:50 PT
yea Dan,,your right
...I was a bit overboard and unfairly harsh on Ann.She did makea valid attempt to be balanced.....Sorry Ms. Landers....dddd
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Comment #4 posted by Dan B on July 09, 2001 at 14:21:07 PT:
Addictive Behavior and Ecstacy
One person's claim that he or she engaged in the addictive use of ecstacy does not mean that the drug is chemically addictive. It simply means that the individual has used the drug irresponsibly. Drugs of any kind do not "take over" a person's life unless that person gives the drug ample opportunity to do so. The idea that a drug "takes over" is absurd. It can only take over if you let it take over. You become addicted because you haven't the will power to quit.I do have to say, however, that both Abigail Van Buren and her twin sister, Ann Landers, have come out against the war on drugs, particularly where it concerns the outlawing of cannabis. These women were teenagers at the end of alcohol prohibition, were 20 when the Marijuana Tax Act was enacted, and they remember just how costly it was to defend the world against tyranny during World War II. There are advantages to being octogenarians, and these two have thankfully learned plenty to pass on.I think Ann Landers was simply trying to give equal time. It's good that she is willing to give a voice to Robert Sharpe at all. I'm personally thankful to her for at least letting both sides speak on this subject.Dan B
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Comment #3 posted by Swagman on July 09, 2001 at 13:22:56 PT
thoughts
Taking E every week for a couple of years can definitely be harmful to your health, but like many other drugs, regulated MDMA, (E these days is almost always mixed with other drugs) can be safe if used infrequently and with supplements. 
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Comment #2 posted by dddd on July 09, 2001 at 13:19:00 PT
several wigged out kids
...Once again,,anecdotal evidence from a few wigged outpeople,,is suggested as proof that this is a devastating,dangerous drug,,,,,It's the equivelent of interviewingseveral people who are alergic to peanut butter....it'sa handful of people,out of probably at least a million,whoare being used to instill a fake message in the readers mind.Where are the interviews with Colombian children?Whydoesnt Ann Landers take her prissy old pompous ass downthere and see how those kids feel.They didnt even have togo to a rave,,,all they need to do is drink the water.I really makes me sick,,and pissed to think of the comparisonbetween the drug warrior #& $heads,and *&#holes whosquack about all the harmful dangers to children in the &*# ingUS,,,while at the same time,the drug war monstrosity that theyarrogantly defend,is showering thousands of people,and leavingscorched earth in Colombia....What about that Frances??How doyou feel about the fact that you and Mary Friend,are directly supporting a grotesque chemical poisoning of thousands of babiesin your absurd drug war,,,YES,,,it's people like you who mustaccept a good portion of the blame for poisoning families ofinnocent people,all because you allowed yourselves to get caughtup in the deceptive witch hunt frenzy of this devious War on Drugs.happy dddday
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Comment #1 posted by aocp on July 09, 2001 at 12:55:07 PT
thoughts
Nashville: It has been two years since my experience with ecstasy, and I am still in therapy. I was almost raped and have lost my short-term memory.This is so devoid of detail, it's worthless. Propaganda filth.New York: I used ecstasy for five years, but only on weekends. I often felt depressed on Monday mornings, but continued to take ecstasy because it was so pleasant.Maybe we should just ban mondays. Same logic.This is classic addicted behavior. I can no longer ignore the effect it has had on my health. My hair is thin and breaks off easily. My skin is sallow, and I have perpetual acne. Due to the grinding, my teeth have become crooked and sharp. Ecstasy is not worth the misery you suffer later on.The only thing i can directly vouch for is the teeth grinding. It's a bitch. However, one can use lollipops, mouth guards, chewing gum, and even pacifiers(!!!) to stop the damage. The jaw is still sore, but the teeth aren't "crooked and sharp" or whatever. As for the skin and hair, sounds pretty anectodal to me.
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