cannabisnews.com: Experts Examine Approaches to Drug Problem










  Experts Examine Approaches to Drug Problem

Posted by CN Staff on September 18, 2002 at 17:53:23 PT
By The Canadian Press  
Source: Canadian Press  

The U.S. war on drugs is a miserable failure, New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson said Wednesday. "Where I sit as governor of the state of New Mexico ... half of what we spend on law enforcement, half of what we spend on the courts, half of what we spend in the prisons is drug-related," Johnson told a news conference. The governor was among leaders from the business and medical communities and public policy experts at a symposium to explore the economic case for an integrated approach to Vancouver's drug problems. 
The United States arrests 1.6 million people a year for drug-related crimes, 90 per cent of those for possession only. Johnson spoke before the Canadian Senate committee that has since recommended legalizing marijuana use, and believes the decision could positively impact U.S. drug policy. The Republican governor said the United States should move away from its current policy by recognizing illegal drugs are a health problem, not a criminal justice problem. Johnson said the United States can't continue to arrest and incarcerate its way out of the situation. "When you start talking about harm reduction strategies, when you start talking about legalization, I think there are going to be a lot of problems and mistakes made in that process," he said. "But I'm somebody that believes that 90 per cent of the drug problem is prohibition-related, not use-related, and that's not to discount the problems with use." He said the strategy should be to reduce death, disease and crime, noting that a needle exchange program in New Mexico had stopped the rise in HIV and hepatitis C infection rates. "That ought to be our focus." But David Brittian, who wrote a report critical of the federal government's national drug strategy, said Canadians have a superiority complex on drugs. He said he found that "leadership and co-ordination by the federal government is poor. "It is lacking. It seems to vary between what I would call panic and indifference." Brittian said other countries do better, including the United States. "You might argue the Americans are doing the wrong thing, as the governor says, but they certainly do it well. "They know exactly where they're going, they know exactly what they're spending, they know exactly what results they've got, they've got statistics." Johnson said the drug users in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver would all be in prison in the U.S. "We've arrested all those people in east Vancouver," he said. "And for the most part they've been arrested so many times now they're into mandatory sentencing. We've thrown away the key." Complete Title: Experts Examine Integrated Approaches to Vancouver's Drug ProblemSource: Canadian PressPublished: September 18, 2002 Copyright: 2002 The Canadian PressRelated Articles:Legalize Marijuana, Senate Committee Sayshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13989.shtmlPot Policy Scandalizes Drug Czarhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13146.shtml  Gov. Johnson Criticizes 'War on Drugs' http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13792.shtml

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Comment #9 posted by VitaminT on September 19, 2002 at 07:11:47 PT
Student Drug Testing Poll alert
Go to the link below and let your voice be heard!
For now at least we're gettin' spanked! GO VOTE!Do you support a drug testing policy for students who participate in extracurricular activities? Yes. ----------------------------------(65%) = 206 
No. -----------------------------------(34%) = 108 
I don't know enough about the subject. (0%) = 1  
 
TOTAL                      315 
Drug Testing Poll >>>> Bottom of page!
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Comment #8 posted by Toad on September 18, 2002 at 23:09:02 PT
Rodgers on Art Bell
Really great publicity, the show is broadcast from Nevada and has a huge number of listeners there. Fantastic PR
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Comment #7 posted by eco-man on September 18, 2002 at 22:31:28 PT
Nevada cannabis discussion is on Art Bell show now
http://www.artbell.com/schedule.html09/18/02 - Wed/ThuHour One Guest: Billy Rogers 
Billy Rogers, campaign manager and spokesman for Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, is the man behind the drive to make Nevada the first state with legal marijuana. Website: www.nrle.org Art Bell show is on hundreds or thousands of radio stations (usually AM) across the world. Art is in tonight. 
http://www.artbell.comPlease forward or distribute any part, or all, of this message. This message is also archived at the link just below. Hundreds, and possibly thousands, of non-subscribers read the open public archives: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cannabisaction --An MMM Million Marijuana March (and other topics) list homepage. 200 cities worldwide. 
cannabisaction-subscribe yahoogroups.com --Address to subscribe. 
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on September 18, 2002 at 20:28:13 PT
p4me
That's good!
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Comment #5 posted by p4me on September 18, 2002 at 20:18:27 PT
My little secret
I might as well say it before some other cannabisnewser beats me to it. If I were asked as a hopeful politician my Clintonian responses would be "I never inhaled once." I did not say it would be funny, only that it would be my Clintonian response.I did a search for cannabisnewser and it appears I beat everyone to that term. Can I put that on my resume?1,2
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on September 18, 2002 at 20:11:19 PT
On ABC's Nightline Tonight - Manhunt
ManhuntWednesday, Sept. 18http://abcnews.go.com/sections/nightline/index.htmlIt's a war that's been going on for years, affecting more people than terrorism. It's the war on drugs. There were two leaders of the largest Mexican drug cartel. They were right next to Osama bin Laden on the Most Wanted list. A few months ago, one was captured, the other killed. But did that change anything? Did the flow of drugs lessen for even a day? I'm sure you can guess the answer, and in that is a lesson for the war on terrorism, too.
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Comment #3 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on September 18, 2002 at 19:26:38 PT
Rod Blagojevich out-Clintons Clinton
While I'm THOROUGHLY OUTRAGED at the candidate I was going to VOTE FOR (Cal Skinner, who may yet be the best choice, but COME ON Cal, WISE UP)... thought I'd pass along a piece of John Kass's article on page 2 of today's Chicago Tribune. All I have is the paper itself, so this is just going to be part of the article, which has its good points and bad points.>>This is a difficult, some would say absolutely unfair, political question:How can you deny that you're going to raise taxes after you get elected, while you're also busy denying that you may have been a pothead in college?Most policitians say they "experimented" or they "dabbled" one or two times. If they're under 50, that just might be a big fat lie.Or not.Allen St. Pierre is the executive director of the Washington D.C.-based NORML Foundation, a group that wants to legalize pot, which is a stupid thing to do, but he was the man to call on Tuesday.So we asked him what he thought about the Clintonian aspects of Rod's answer."His answer has that same Clintonian quality of appeasing both sides," said St. Pierre. "'Yeah, I did. I'm cool,' wink-wink. And too, 'But I don't even remember if I inhaled,' so he's telling voters that he's really not a part of a counterculture."So, in essence, it is the most nuanced answer that one could give politically in this country. Is it genuine? Is it credible? That will be for the voters to decide."And later in the article...>>Unfortunatly, Rod denied that he ever got the munchies. "No," he said.Then he stuffed Clinton's foot in his mouth again."I have vivid recollections of the two times I did it, and I can't share the second one."Can't share the second one, Rod?That's the one voters want to know about."I don't think there's any further information that he needs to share," said his spokesman, Billy Weinberg. "I mean, he's answered questions very candidly and openly."Except for that happened that second time he can't recall whether he inhaled.That boldface was my doing, it's not bold in the paper like that. But isn't that a great quote?
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Comment #2 posted by Had Enough on September 18, 2002 at 19:18:11 PT
and
Hmm"I guess I swallowed," Skinner conceded
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Comment #1 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on September 18, 2002 at 19:12:29 PT
Illinois LIBERTARIAN supports the War on Drugs??!?
FWD from DPF-IL message group:"Skinner told reporters he does not share his new party's position that marijuana use should be decriminalized."Geesh! You know you're living in a backward state when even the Libertarian gubernatorial candidate is a DRUG WARRIOR!!!!!!!Pubdate: Wed, 18 Sep 2002
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Author: Scott FornekLIBERTARIAN HOPEFUL USED POT TOO, BUT NEVER INHALED THE BROWNIESLibertarian gubernatorial candidate Cal Skinner voluntarily walked into the "Past Marijuana Use Confessional" on Tuesday, but said not only did he not inhale -- he didn't even know he was using pot until it was over.In one of the most bizarre marijuana revelations yet, the former Republican state representative admitted to reporters that he unwittingly tried marijuana about 20 years ago when someone cooked up a batch of pot brownies for him as a birthday present and didn't tell him about the secret ingredient.So did he inhale?"I guess I swallowed," Skinner conceded. "I mean, I like brownies a lot. I probably ate two or three or four."Skinner volunteered the information at an unrelated news conference a day after Democratic rival Rod Blagojevich, 45, admitted to reporters that he had smoked marijuana twice while in his late teens or early 20s but does not remember whether he inhaled. A spokesman for GOP nominee Jim Ryan said the attorney general has never smoked marijuana."If you ask me the marijuana question, I can give you the answer," Skinner said. "I have never smoked marijuana in my life."Skinner, 60, a conservative from northwest suburban Crystal Lake, then recounted the tale of the tainted brownies, saying they were baked for him around 1980 by a free-lance artist who wanted to see whether he would turn into a party animal."She wanted to see what effect it would have on me, and it was real exciting," Skinner said. "I fell asleep. I told her never to do it again," he said.Skinner told reporters he does not share his new party's position that marijuana use should be decriminalized.
Asked if the brownie prankster should have been locked up, Skinner hesitated and said, "I don't know how to answer that question."Skinner also confessed he was confused by all the discussion on talk radio Tuesday morning about whether Blagojevich had the "munchies" during his youthful experimentation with marijuana."I just didn't have a clue what they were talking about," Skinner said.But he got the concept quickly when a reporter explained it was slang for marijuana users' desire to stuff their faces with food after they get high."I have the munchies all the time," Skinner said. "It doesn't have to be triggered by marijuana."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-Amen to that - beer gives the munchies to a lot of people too. But what's up with the freakin' Libertarian not supporting drug law reform when he has the chance? This is the perfect time to take a stand. Both of the candidates are in similar boats. If they were applying for a private-sector job, they may have had to pee for it, but not the job of Governor of the Pee-ple. All Skinner had to say was that he didn't feel like a criminal at the time and doesn't see why we lock up so many people over this plant. However, by supporting the WOD, he's just another hypocrite - why didn't he have his artist friend arrested? Hmm? The drug laws only apply to the other guy?Criminy. Anyone know if there's a Green Party candidate running in this race?
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