cannabisnews.com: Drug War: Just Be Thankful It's Almost Over
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Drug War: Just Be Thankful It's Almost Over
Posted by CN Staff on April 08, 2009 at 11:10:25 PT
By Justin Snow
Source: Diamondback
Maryland -- In the summer of 1971, former President Richard Nixon launched the war on drugs, declaring drug abuse "public enemy No. 1." Nearly four decades later, the war wages on in communities across the United States and guzzles up nearly $200 billion annually. Despite Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign and attempts to combat drug producers outside the U.S., the results have been futile. But the strategies used by law enforcement may soon change with President Barack Obama's nomination of Gil Kerlikowske as drug czar.
As Seattle's chief of police, Kerlikowske will bring a new mindset to the job, signaling a dramatic shift from Bush-era drug policies. While focus will remain on drug-producing countries and drug violence along the Mexican border, Kerlikowske has stated "the greatest contribution we can make toward [international] stability would be to reduce our demand for illicit drugs." In other words, the federal government will shift its focus from drug producers to those suffering from addiction to reduce the American market for illegal drugs.Kerlikowske has firsthand experience dealing with the consequences of drug abuse, not only in his career as a police officer, but also in his personal life - his adult stepson has been arrested on drug charges in the past. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the issue of narcotic trafficking and the damage it inflicts in communities across the country has been put on the back burner. This renewed focus on outreach and rehabilitation signals a change in the mentality of the federal government from punishment to treatment.Despite the fact that Americans account for only 4 percent of the world population, we still consume two-thirds of the illegal drugs. Of the two million Americans imprisoned, an estimated half suffer from addiction, yet only one-fifth receive treatment. This is despite studies by the National Institute of Drug Abuse that show proper treatment reduces criminal activity by as much as 80 percent and is more cost effective.Zero-tolerance policies that do nothing but inflict punishment through incarceration fail to realize the medical issues behind addiction. About a quarter of college students are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Yet laws concerning marijuana and other easily accessible drugs treat all perpetrators the same, and give no second chances.Last month in Virginia, a high school junior who was about to be expelled from all Fairfax County schools for possessing marijuana committed suicide. Another girl, in the same county, was issued a two-week suspension for possessing a birth control pill on school grounds. This should leave us wondering, where's the room for students to make mistakes? Even Obama has admitted to experimenting with drugs in his younger years.Rigid laws that treat all drug offenders the same and fail to address issues of addiction do nothing but inflame an already serious problem. With Kerlikowske's nomination, a change may finally occur in our almost 40-year battle with addiction. While debate will continue over such things as marijuana legalization, we should be thankful that we finally have a president who doesn't see the world in black and white.Justin Snow is a sophomore history major. Source: Diamondback, The (MD Edu)Author: Justin SnowPublished: April 8, 2009Copyright: 2009 Maryland Media, Inc.Contact: editor dbk.umd.eduURL: http://drugsense.org/url/VH5Ov0KqWebsite: http://www.diamondbackonline.com/Related Articles:Drug Czar Nominee: Renewed Focus on Preventionhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24674.shtmlObama Picks The Right Man for Drug Czarhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24601.shtml
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Comment #8 posted by runruff on April 09, 2009 at 08:10:11 PT
Green blood!
I see the announcement by the AG to leave folks alone who are obeying state laws as the harpoon in the great white DEA. Like Moby they will give us a heck of a ride until they run out out of blood and finally die.
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Comment #7 posted by Hope on April 08, 2009 at 23:04:32 PT
Thank you so much, Taylor.
I really appreciate your understanding and ability to explain it. I appreciate the courageous people that took the time and effort to go to Austin and testify in favor of the bill.What I don't appreciate is the apparent ignorance and apathy of our legislators.Good grief.It could still turn out well, I guess. But looks like it would take a miracle to overcome the foot dragging and apathy of our legislators. 
 
Good grief.I guess I should be glad they aren't trying to "enhance" the penalties, instead. They'd probably be all over that.Texas, my Texas... I'm so sad for you.Thank you, again, Taylor. I do appreciate it.
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Comment #6 posted by Taylor121 on April 08, 2009 at 20:31:34 PT
Texas: HB 902-- Hope let me answer your question
Hope said:"Was checking on HB 902 here in Texas. It says, "Posting rule suspended" and doesn't have any results for the vote that was supposed to take place.What does "Posting rule suspended" mean?"Hope, I'm not an expert on legislative rules in the Texas House, but I do know a few things. If a bill is "left pending in committee", the committee usually decides to act on the bill based on what they know and the first public hearing. That's how it has happened with similar bills the last 3 regular sessions. Most of the time it died pending in committee, as in the committee couldn't decide one way or the other and didn't even bother taking a vote, or they didn't have the time to act on it. It passed committee in 2005, but people don't even seem to remember. The committee has changed, and the chair leadership we had that year was very powerful and pushed it through with the help of an outcry from Texas NORML and others in Texas. This time around, it appears that HB 902 wasn't left pending, the rules were suspended. The rules of committee are as follows:http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/gtli/legproc/process_comproc.htmlNotice the portion: 
"A house committee or subcommittee holding a public hearing during a legislative session must post denotes link to another GTLI pagenotice of the hearing at least five calendar days before the hearing during a regular session and at least 24 hours before the hearing during a special session unless the house posting rules have been suspended by a vote of the members on the house floor, in which case an announcement of the hearing may be made on the house floor. "This means that the bill is likely to be heard again and the committee could announce a public hearing very rapidly on the floor rather than regular procedure which would require a 5 calendar day notice. They will have a hearing either by the full committee, or more likely a subcommittee that is appointed by the Chair. Often times subcommittees are death sentences for bills as they have to get through them, and then the full committee after the subcommittee. I personally believe after listening to the testimony of the bill, and then listening to the comments by various members of the committee, that the bill is purposely being sent to a sub committee to procedurally kill it. I predict that the next action on the bill will be "public hearing on such and such date in sub committee". One of the law makers didn't even know what "cannabis" was after a patient testified without saying "marijuana" once and instead said "cannabis". The patient, who was lobbying for the bill on behalf of himself, explained the term "marijuana" is slang with negative implications and that the medical term it is "cannabis". And Dutton, the bill's author, although modest in his approach, doesn't seem forceful enough with the harms of cannabis relative to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. The only committee member that seems blatantly for the bill probably won't have enough influence for other reasons.The fact that a Texas Representative on the committee didn't know what cannabis was and earlier in the meeting was talking about the gateway theory, which has been debunked by RAND, the National Institute of Medicine, and any other scientific organization with a shred of dignity, shows that she has probably never once looked at the rich medical literature on cannabis (which does show it has harms, but if you take it in context shows that it is a drug with modest negative effects compared to alcohol, tobacco, etc.)Sorry I can't be more hopeful. If you want a positive spin, the bill isn't officially dead yet. But time is ticking and since it wasn't at least left pending so they could get it out, I think they mean to have another hearing which effectively kills it.
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Comment #5 posted by paul armentano on April 08, 2009 at 12:36:25 PT
America’s New Marijuana Zeitgeist
http://blog.thehill.com/2009/04/08/americas-new-marijuana-zeitgeist/America’s New Marijuana ZeitgeistApril 8th, 2009Writing last week in Time.com, Joe Klein became the latest in a steady stream of media pundits to call for the legalization of marijuana (”Why Legalizing Marijuana Makes Sense”). That’s right, ‘legalization’ — with an “L.”While the notion of regulating the sale and consumption of cannabis for adults might still induce reflexive giggles from the Oval Office, the issue is no longer a laughing matter among the public.Lawmakers in two states — California and Massachusetts– are debating the merits of taxing pot like alcohol, and a pair of recent polls indicate that Western voters endorse this proposal by a solid majority.  According to statistician Nate Silver, national support for legalization could reach “supermajority” status in just over a decade!Why this momentum now? Klein sums up three primary reasons.1) Americans are spending billions in judicial resources arresting and prosecuting minor marijuana offenders; these monies could be better redirected elsewhere.2) America is in the midst of an economic recession; taxing marijuana could decrease criminal justice costs, raise tax revenue, and greatly reduce, if not eliminate, the involvement of drug cartels in the illicit marijuana trade.3) The use of marijuana by adults is objectively less dangerous — both to the user and to society as a whole — than the consumption of alcohol. (Case in point: Drinking alcohol, even low to moderate amounts, was recently associated with elevated incidences of cancer, particularly among women. By contrast, a study published last week shows that cannabis kills malignant cancer cells.) It is illogical to endorse a public policy that arbitrarily prohibits the former while embracing the latter.Of course, Klein is hardly the only mainstream pundit as of late to jump on the marijuana ‘legalization’ bandwagon.In the past days, leading commentators like David Sirota, Kathleen Parker, Paul Jacob, Hendrik Hertzberg, Andrew Sullivan, Glenn Greenwald , Debra Saunders (San Francisco Chronicle), Leonard Pitts (Miami Herald), John Richardson (Esquire), and Margery Eagan (Boston Herald), have all opined in favor of regulating cannabis. In fact, Americans’ sudden support for legalization is even beginning to draw attention from those outside the United States.As well it should be.American’s support for marijuana law reform is fast approaching a tipping point — a scenario made all that more remarkable when one considers that the federal government has spent nearly seven decades propagandizing against it. Mainstream America is coming to terms with marijuana, and growing more and more dissatisfied with our nation’s failing pot policies. Writes Klein: “Obviously, marijuana can be abused. But the costs of criminalization have proved to be enormous, perhaps unsustainable. Would legalization be any worse?”He’s no longer the only one asking.
http://blog.thehill.com/2009/04/08/americas-new-marijuana-zeitgeist/
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on April 08, 2009 at 11:37:28 PT
Addiction
I haven't met anyone that has died of cancer from smoking cigarettes. If they were heavy alcohol consumers and cigarette smokers then I have seen death. My husband and I have lost so many people to suicide and overdose from hard drugs many of our friends are gone now or won't be around much longer. 
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Comment #3 posted by HempWorld on April 08, 2009 at 11:34:19 PT
"suffering from addiction"
Addiction to cigarettes, I presume? Nicotine is more addictive and destructive than heroin. This is a scientific fact. Cigarettes are the biggest killer by far, in any society. 450,000 in USA alone, every year!Any questions?
On a mission from God!
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on April 08, 2009 at 11:32:06 PT
Taylor... or anyone who understands legalese...
Was checking on HB 902 here in Texas. It says, "Posting rule suspended" and doesn't have any results for the vote that was supposed to take place.What does "Posting rule suspended" mean?
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on April 08, 2009 at 11:29:07 PT
Allman Announces Marijuana Guidelines
By Linda Williams, TWN Staff WriterApril 8, 2009With the traditional April 20 start of the outdoor marijuana growing season approaching, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman has issued a series of guidelines for his officers and for potential growers based on guidance from the California Attorney General.Allman met Friday with a group of defense attorneys as part of his efforts to bring clarity to this season's marijuana growing rules. Attorney General Edmond G. Brown Jr. issued an 11-page guideline in August intended to clarify the medical marijuana laws for both law enforcement and patients and caregivers. A copy of thie guideline is available from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Department website: www.mendocinosheriff.com. In addition to the Attorney General's guideline, a November 2008 ruling by the California Supreme Court in People vs. Mentch, established "a defendant whose caregiving consisted principally of supplying marijuana and instructing on its use, and who otherwise only sporadically took some patients to medical appointments, cannot qualify as a primary caregiver under the Act."Before the ruling, many large commercial growers believed they had a legitimate right to grow marijuana if they had copies of caregiver cards from patients in other parts of California to show law enforcement.URL: http://www.willitsnews.com/ci_12098816
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