cannabisnews.com: Anti-Pot Efforts Boost Ice Use Anti-Pot Efforts Boost Ice Use Posted by CN Staff on July 25, 2002 at 20:11:51 PT By Chris Loos, Tribune-Herald Source: Hawaii-Tribune Herald Marijuana eradication in Hawaii contributed to the increase in the use of the drug "ice," according to a government study. An aide to Mayor Harry Kim is scheduled to meet today with the principal investigator of the three - year study for the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The study gathered information from 450 methamphetamine users in Honolulu, San Francisco and San Diego. "It's the first study ever done that interviewed users in the community," said study leader Patricia Morgan. Morgan, associate professor at the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley, was vacationing in Kona when she learned that Kim's executive assistant, Billy Kenoi, wanted to meet with her to discuss the report. Kenoi is helping to organize a "meth summit" on the Big Island next month.Morgan's 1994 report, some 200 pages long, found that the California methamphetamine users were more likely to snort or inject the drug, while 86 percent of the Hawaii users smoked the crystal form."The use of ice in Honolulu had led to particularly serious physical and psychological problems and significant social disruption in poor working communities where it replaced marijuana, which had become scarce and expensive due to eradication policies," states the report's four - page executive summary. The summary noted that the "overwhelming majority" of meth users in Honolulu began using the drug after 1984.Marijuana eradication missions on the Big Island began in the late 1970's, said Capt. James Day from the Hawaii County Police Department.The methamphetamine report noted several influences on the "tremendous growth" of ice in Hawaii after 1987. "Residents were both pushed away from pakalolo, their staple drug of choice, and pulled toward ice by a well organized marketing campaign by Asian distributors," the report said. "Also, the overwhelming smokeable drug of choice, marijuana or pakalolo, which has been grown and used throughout the islands for many years, became the target of a government eradication campaign. "This drove up prices, drastically reduced availability and left locals without their customary, and many would say, relatively benign, smoke."The study said the majority of ice users binge on the drug for more than a day, with most using it for two to five days without sleep.The report found that Honolulu users consumed more of the drug than California users, averaging 9.6 grams per month.The report noted that violence was more prevalent in the Honolulu meth users. "Honolulu females were over twice as likely to engage in violent acts than women in other sites," it said.The report also found that 94 percent of the men in the study reported committing crimes, as did 91 percent of the women. The report said meth use in all three cities led to other consequences, including memory loss, depression, isolation, paranoia, anxiety and hallucinations. Newshawk: Rev. Dennis Shields - http://hialoha.com/konagold/church/Source: Hawaii-Tribune Herald (HI)Author: Chris Loos, Tribune-HeraldPublished: July 25, 2002Copyright: 2002 Hawaii Tribune HeraldWebsite: http://www.hilohawaiitribune.com/Contact: editor hawaiitribune-herald.comRelated Articles:Mayor Approves County Pot Regulations http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13516.shtmlKim Signs Medical Pot Rules http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13486.shtml Discussion of Pot Rules Enforcement http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11643.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #16 posted by freedom fighter on July 26, 2002 at 17:12:05 PT Not just a hammer Well, excuse me, I am a carpenter and I know my hammers..It's a 25 pound sledge hammer. Big difference between a 9 oz hammer and a 25 pound hammer :)!SPLAT! With the least effort!!Too bad there is no study on cocaine during the early 80's. Exact same reason. And today, it is same thing with Piss testings.. So many excellent postings here to ponder about and spread the word.Find a prohibitionist and use this sledge hammer!SPLAT!!ff [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by Rev Jonathan Adler on July 26, 2002 at 13:27:07 PT: Not Really New, but Bravo! Aloha and Thanks for all your comments. This concept of Eradication of Marijuana=No competition for hard drugs has been discussed at our Pot Funding Hearings at the County Council in Hilo for years! Roger Christie and I both repeatedly quoted Warren Price (Attorney General of Hawaii) in late '70's, who said "marijuana eradication will lead to increased use of hard drugs" specifically ice, coke and heroin. This came true and now it's getting press. For years our council funded eradication and eliminated millions of plants from our lands. I will remind people of this in my campaign appearances for Governor. Keep the Faith! Jonathan Adler Adler For Governor of Hawaii [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by VitaminT on July 26, 2002 at 09:49:30 PT Anti-Pot Efforts Boost Ice Use This headline alone illustrates the point. The onus is on them to prove that their policies are not making matters worse.Let's use it baby! in letters to papers, congress, legislators, governors, presidents, magazines and in casual conversation with freinds, family and co-workers!Swing that hammer! [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by VitaminT on July 26, 2002 at 09:38:54 PT It's a hammer for us to use! By itself this report may not be all that amazing and maybe it is obvious - to us. However now one point we've been making all along carries statistical weight that drug warriors cannot impugn because it belongs to them. (similar to the IOM report)This report is drug warrior evidence which demonstrates our point that the War on Drugs is counterproductive. More specifically and more directly, the War on Marijuana is leading to a growth in the market for far more dangerous substances.This information is useless to us if we overanalyze it rather than simply taking the message, in it's clearest, most concise form and using it to HAMMER our point home. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by el_toonces on July 26, 2002 at 08:30:52 PT: Study provides an inference at best..... Though I think Dan is right about these results being so obvious they should have been issue from the Insitute for the Study of the Obvious, headquartered at The Onion (www.theonion.com). Does anyone know where this study, which I think is nonetheless important in demonstrating the efficacy of harm reduction, can be found on the net, if at all? [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Sam Adams on July 26, 2002 at 08:08:42 PT But wait Dan B.... Your position seems eminently sensible. But there are few things missing. If we re-legalize cannabis and other drugs, what mechanism will that leave us for punishing the weak? On what basis will we persecute brown people and exploit the poor for the sake of the violent, enforcer segment of our society? How will we maintain the permanent underclass of uneducated minorities, to feed the menial-labor needs of the capitalist machine? How do you expect the government to possibly justify keeping a huge, militarized law enforcement army in every town of the US if we eliminate 1.6 million "crimes" per year? Sarcasm is fun, but the reality is scary. While flipping around the channels last night, I stumbled on a show on the History channel on Angola State Prison in Lousiana. Before the Civil War, the prison was "Angola Farm", a huge and productive slave plantation, named for the country of origin for most of the slaves.Immediately following the Civil War, the state turned Angola into a prison, and contracted with a man who ran the prison for free, in exchange for the free labor of the inmates. The History channel announcer said that after being freed, many uneducated blacks turned to crime. He mentioned robbery and rape. But you know damn well that they filled that thing up with violators of the "Jim Crow" laws. Up until the 1960's, it was a crime in New Orleans for a black man to look a white woman in the eye. It was a crime for a black person to NOT step off the sidewalk to let white people walk by.The announcer claimed that prisoners fared much worse at the prison than they had as slaves; as slaves, the plantation owner had a personal investment in each person and tried to keep them healthy. As prisoners, they were quickly worked to death to make room for the next wave. Guards would walk up and down the line of working prisoners, beating them with a wooden bat if they slowed too much. Chronic slow workers were held down and lashed with a huge whip. I think the average life expectancy in the prison was like 5 years.A couple of wings of the prison featured medieval dungeon-like cells, tiny rooms with only a shelf of concrete for sleeping. Men would get 2 bowls of water a day, they could either use it to flush the toilet, or drink it. The units had open windows, so rain and mosquitos poured in constantly. As bad as anything in medieval days.In 1972, the prison was reformed. Now the inmates work fewer hours, but the prison is still a very productive and profitable farm. It remains the biggest prison in the US. Run by white people, full of blacks. The show was fascinating - you rarely see it reflected in the media, but as a society we love prison and see it as answer for all our problems. We are the world's leading prison state.I'm fascinated by Southern history and it's impact on modern day America. I think Northerners and West Coasters need to realize that much of the reason for our culture and laws today is directly related to what happened after the Civil War. Instead of the Union persevering and rebuilding the South, educating the ex-slaves and integrating them into society, the North backed off and let the South revert to quasi-slavery, with lynchings and segregation that persisted all the way until the 60's and 70's. It seems like many of the black people moved into Northern cities during than time, and the South was able to export its racism and associated problems along with the people.Now, we're stuck in the same country and government with those states. Our representative system of government lets them have a huge stake in what happens in this country. Everything in our political system is a trade off or a compromise. In the 60's the feds forced them to give up segregation and lynchings, but as compensation for reform, the Southern Congressmen extracted the Drug War as a compromise - the Northerners threw 'em a bone.Because of the Senate having 2 people from each state, the low-population Midwest has a huge influence on the country. Because of the electoral college, the low-population states also have much more power over the presidential election. A vote in Wyoming is something like 4 times more powerful than a vote in California. The Electoral College, not Nader, is what enabled Bush to win. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by The GCW on July 26, 2002 at 07:18:08 PT windminstral quote: "If you couldn't score for awhile, would you run out and get on crystal meth? How many people would?"Mostly younger kids...When I was way younger, and going for some cannabis, and it was not available, I was told the guy had some T, or THC... and I figured, it's just THC, right? and then snorted some and went gone for a bit, got way paranoid and had to call someone to come pick Me up, to get away from where I was.That example is not alone, I would imagine.That is how the gateway effect really happens, with hard drugs, and people simply wanting cannabis.Re-legalized, it would always be available... less chance for people to get hooked on hard drugs. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by BGreen on July 26, 2002 at 06:56:15 PT Not necessarily, Windminstrel I think you'd be correct if the data was solely based on statistics, but what makes this closer to cause and effect rather than just a correlation is the interviews with users themselves. They're the ones telling the story that the decrease in availability of cannabis caused them to seek something else, and that something else was meth. Since the interviews back up the statistical data, this is strong evidence of a direct cause and effect.This also backs up my hypothesis that the use of hard drugs will decrease in direct proportion upon cannabis re-legalization as it increased upon cannabis criminalization. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Windminstrel on July 26, 2002 at 06:25:02 PT I dunno, seems like weak logic to me I expect the pro-WoDders to fall for the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy -- we need to be a bit sharper than them. That study has noted an increase in ice use correlated with a decrease in pot availability -- but correlation isn't causation. Think about it. If you couldn't score for awhile, would you run out and get on crystal meth? How many people would?It's a weak arguement, and only good for propaganda purposes. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by goneposthole on July 26, 2002 at 06:17:43 PT Scapegoating Will bring on more disastrous results.Shame on the US Gov. for they have no shame.Read what is written here: http://www.holocaust-trc.org/unmasked.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by goneposthole on July 26, 2002 at 04:53:20 PT Know Nothing Pledge Why they were called 'Know Nothings': http://www.uky.edu/LCC/HIS/scraps/Pledge.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by goneposthole on July 26, 2002 at 04:34:09 PT Re-legalize cannabis Congress can repeal the 'Marijuana Tax Act'. It's as simple as that.However, they're the dumbest bunch of critters on the face of the earth.They're the modern day 'Know Nothings'. Corrupt and insane, there is no help anyone can give that will save them, save The Honorable Ron Paul.The lot of them must be taking meth.And, I am being too kind. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by VitaminT on July 26, 2002 at 01:27:45 PT Now Asa and his Drug Warrior buddies have something new to talk about on his Meth. promotion tour. You're doin' a fine job Asa! Keep up the good work!For those unaware, Asa has been on a clandestine tour of various locations (recently Fort Worth) ostensibly to rally the troops in his Methamphetamiine war.Of course we all know that it's really just the same old Marijuana war dressed up in the much scarier Methamphetamine and Club Drug menace.I say clandestine because there's no advanced public notice of the meetings. They inform the press at the last minute but leave no time for organized opposition to crash the party.It's obvious to me, Asa's afraid of us. This study is evidence, he's doing a heck of a job promoting Meth. as an alternative to Marijuana. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Dan B on July 26, 2002 at 01:11:28 PT: Obviously This article marks what is both a disturbing trend and an unfortunate necessity in behavioral sciences research: the idea that when you take away soft drugs, hard drugs take their place for many people. This fact should be so obvious that it does not require a study. But, because so many people are hard-headed and/or stupid (that would be you, prohibitionists), behavioral scientists have to conduct studies in order to prove common sense reality.I do realize that sometimes common sense is proven to not be the greatest wisdom, but that is usually true for those who mislabel their lack of intelligent thought on a particular subject as common sense. Human behavior is not easy to define for individuals, but thousands of years of recorded history have given us a pretty good idea of what we humans tend to do en masse.Here's a hint, prohibs: we humans desire to use substances to achieve euphoric feelings. The object should not be to stamp out those desires (we obviously developed them for a reason), nor should it be to rid the world of those substances. The object of "substance control," if such a term can be applied to this strategy, should be to analyze and inform everyone of the relative risks and dangers associated with these different substances and attempt to divert the majority of us who use one or more of them to the less harmful ones--not by force, but by thoughtful persuasion based on solid scientific facts. If such were the applied strategy, cannabis would be at the top of every health-conscious person's list of less harmful substances. Alcohol and tobacco would be at the bottom.Of course, coupled with the above strategy, we should set up a system that adequately addresses addiction, which should not, under any circumstances, include forcing people to recite the mantra that they are powerless over X substance--so powerless, in fact, that only a supernatural being can now help them. Any thoughtful person can take one look at that system (the 12 steps, whose efficacy has been highly overrated) and realize that such a mantra is ultimately a harmful self-fulfilling prophecy. We need to be telling people that they are capable of overcoming their addictions, not that they are not. And we should be willing to supply ever-decreasing amounts of highly physically addictive substances to addicts to help them wean themselves completely. We do it for nicotine (the patch, gum, etc.); why can't we do it for heroin? We can (Switzerland's program is proof), and we should.Finally, we should educate people about measures they can take to diminish the harmful effects of any substance that they choose to use. Doctors should be in the habit of telling their patients that while any substance in excess can be harmful, there are ways to prevent serious harm in many cases. Brochures should be drawn up that effectively address the measures people can take to limit the harmful effects of using certain substances. I could go on, but I think that sums up my position to an adequate degree. Dan B [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by The GCW on July 25, 2002 at 20:20:18 PT http://www.amnestyusa.org/rightsforall/police/ 'A black teenager pedalling rapidly is fleeing crime. A white teenager pedalling at the same speed is feeling the freedom of youth' - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People commenting on the case of a black teenager shot by police after falling off his bicycle in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 1993 William J. Whitfield 3rd, an unarmed African American man, was shot dead in a New York supermarket on 25 December 1997 by police who said they mistook the keys he was carrying for a gun. Although the officer who shot him was cleared of wrongdoing, it was revealed that he had been involved in eight prior shootings. The New York Police Department (NYPD) Police Commissioner subsequently set up a monitoring system for officers involved in three or more shootings.Throughout the USA people are being injured and even killed by police using excessive force or deliberately brutal treatment. Police officers are punching, kicking, beating and shooting people who pose no threat, or are causing serious injuries, and sometimes death, by misusing restraints, chemical sprays or electro-shock weapons. Most reported incidents take place during arrest, searches, traffic stops or in street incidents. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by The GCW on July 25, 2002 at 20:16:30 PT ANOTHER... Wasn't it in DC that they realized if they got harsh with kids using cannabis, the kids would use the hard?If a lot of cannabis is circulating, crack use goes down.This is another reason to Re-legalize cannabis. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment