cannabisnews.com: New Federal Drug Plan Unveiled
New Federal Drug Plan Unveiled
Posted by CN Staff on February 09, 2006 at 08:03:15 PT
By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News
Source: Rocky Mountain News
Denver -- The Bush administration rolled out in Denver on Wednesday its 2006 anti-drug campaign, highlighted by increased law enforcement and treatment solutions. To the latter end, John Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, appeared at the Synergy Youth Drug Treatment Center to talk about the new 40-page national drug-control strategy.
Walters met with several recovering addicts at the center before speaking in broad terms about the plan, which includes using federal grants to increase efforts to randomly screen high school students for drugs. Walters' office said about one school district a week joins the drug-screening effort. According to The Associated Press, 350 districts around the country are participating. No schools in Colorado were identified in the report as grant recipients. "We are at the cusp of a time when we're not saying, 'Why should we do it?' but 'Why didn't we do it earlier,' " Walters said. Flanked by Gov. Bill Owens, Attorney General John Suthers and Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, Walters denied he picked Denver to unveil the plan because city voters passed an ordinance last year to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. He blamed billionaire Democratic financier George Soros for pushing that piece of legislation, as well as a statewide ballot measure that would seek to lift similar restrictions throughout Colorado. Not true, said Mason Tvert, campaign director of SAFER - Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation - the group behind the Denver initiative. "We spent less than $30,000 in the entire Denver campaign," Tvert said. "There is absolutely no money from George Soros. In fact, it's money from concerned people around Colorado and the rest of the country who are fed up with this war against marijuana." Marijuana was a focus for Owens and Suthers as well. They vowed to fight the statewide ballot effort and urged others to join them. Suthers also blasted those who argue the battle against drug abuse can't be won. "It is very important we keep up this fight," he said. Walters said Denver was chosen to launch the anti-drug strategy because it is a "transit hub" and "crossroads" for drug trafficking, especially of methamphetamine. Wednesday's announcement also gave the Bush administration a chance to crow about new numbers showing reduced drug usage among high schoolers. Walters noted that 700,000 fewer students are using drugs since 2001, a 19 percent drop. To finance the continued fight, Bush's fiscal 2007 budget request for the drug agency is $12.7 billion, a 1 percent increase from its current $12.5 billion budget. That's wasted money, according to Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project. Referring to a chart in Walter's report, he noted that tobacco usage decreased through a series of restrictions on advertising and availability - without making it illegal. Marijuana usage, meanwhile, has remained relatively flat. "Nobody is arrested for possession of cigarettes, but by putting responsible controls . . . we have hugely reduced the usage of tobacco," he said. "So why again do we need arrest responsible adult marijuana users?" He also disputed the claims that marijuana is a gateway drug. Mirken said science has disproved that theory. Chasity Sabala, however, would disagree. The 24-year-old mother of three is currently in rehab at the Synergy center. She said she started smoking pot when her cousins introduced her to it at 13. Three years later, she was on to cocaine. She said there is no doubt in her mind that without smoking marijuana first, she would never have gone to cocaine. "Marijuana is the easiest to get your hands on," she said. "I don't think it should be." Policy Highlights: The National Drug Control Strategy is aimed at: • Increasing the number of schools participating in random drug screening of high school students. • Seeking legislation to limit the amount of pseudophedrine for retail sale. That substance is used to manufacture methamphetamine. • Working with Colombia to increase aerial eradication of coca crops used for pure cocaine production. • Establishing a group to analyze intelligence concerning the financial operations of drug trafficking. In 2004, the office seized $785 million of currency destined for foreign trafficking organizations.Note: Drug czar picks city for release, calling it hub for traffickers.Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO)Author: David Montero, Rocky Mountain News Published: February 9, 2006Copyright: 2006 Denver Publishing Co.Contact: letters rockymountainnews.comWebsite: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Safer Choicehttp://www.saferchoice.org/ Drug Control Strategy Launchedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21582.shtmlWhite House Unveils Anti-Drug Policyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21581.shtml
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Comment #34 posted by whig on February 12, 2006 at 14:02:09 PT
Chasity
"Marijuana is the easiest to get your hands on," she said. "I don't think it should be."So prohibition made marijuana impossible for her to get her hands on, thus preventing her from "moving on" (three years later) to cocaine (which she was also protected from), and therefore, she never encountered either one.Right?Oh. Wait.
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Comment #33 posted by John Tyler on February 12, 2006 at 13:57:14 PT
dream story or just a dream
Is the Chasity Sabala story a prohibitionist dream story, or is it just a prohibitionist dream? I think that it is the prohibitionists that have lost touch with reality.
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Comment #32 posted by observer on February 11, 2006 at 10:24:08 PT
escape from reality
escape from realityI've never escaped from reality by using drugs, and I've used quite a few of them. I found that it shifts your attention and perspective, using drugs, but no escape from anything.
You can't go against nature,'cause when you do -going against natureis part of nature, too.
And how do you define reality?
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Comment #31 posted by unkat27 on February 10, 2006 at 13:13:27 PT
Same old BS stupidity
""Chasity Sabala, however, would disagree.The 24-year-old mother of three is currently in rehab at the Synergy center. She said she started smoking pot when her cousins introduced her to it at 13. Three years later, she was on to cocaine.She said there is no doubt in her mind that without smoking marijuana first, she would never have gone to cocaine."Marijuana is the easiest to get your hands on," she said. "I don't think it should be."" Where did Chastity get this cocaine? Did she get it from the local alcohol vendors? No, she got it from illegal drug dealers. Note that word: "illegal". I doubt that the drug dealers see it her way. Illegal drug dealers see only how much easier it is to smuggle cocaine, how much easier it is to hook people like Chasity on it, and how much more profit there is in cocaine than marijuana. Rethink your position, Chastity, if you are real or just some figment in the imagination of Prohibitionist propaganda.BITE ON THIS: IF MARIJUANA WERE LEGAL AND IN THE HANDS OF LEGAL VENDORS, THEY COULD NOT ALSO SELL YOU AN ILLEGAL DRUG LIKE COCAINE!! UNDERSTAND, OR ARE YOU A COMPLETE FIRST-CLASS MORON?
Gateway Theory
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Comment #30 posted by Toker00 on February 10, 2006 at 09:28:35 PT
But the REALITY is...
"It's been said that drug usage is an 'escape from reality'."The reality is, drug use IS PART OF REALITY, while Drug Free America is just a fantasy that will NEVER happen, no matter HOW much money they spend trying to "achieve" it. The only thing spending all our tax money does is create profits for those who chose to bottom feed for power. Achieving power and position at the cost of poverty and tyranny is NOT the American Way. At least not from this "People" point of view.Good day Brother Runruff. I have shared my "Let my People Grow" dvd with a Professor of Government, a Para-professional Master Electrician, and an Artist who sculps head stones. Two tokers, one straight, you'll just have to guess which is which. ALL had good reviews. Thank you for a great teaching tool. Your work continues.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #29 posted by OverwhelmSam on February 10, 2006 at 04:53:03 PT
I Almost Forgot!
I will be celebrating the New and Improved Drug War with a doobie.
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Comment #28 posted by OverwhelmSam on February 10, 2006 at 04:48:46 PT
It's The New and Improved Drug War
Probably comes in a smaller size with some fancy new container and a brighter fad design, like new and improved Tide. Well the tide is turning.
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Comment #27 posted by kaptinemo on February 10, 2006 at 03:13:30 PT:
"New"? What's 'new' about it?
Looks like the 'same-old, same-old' to me. Same old falsehoods parroted without any corroborating evidence. Same old throwing money at politically correct but impotent solutions. Same old misdirection of resources to 'fight' against a non-problem while real ones are officially placed on the back burner. ('Marijuana addiction'? Come OFF it! How much 'threat' to society does a cannabis consumer pose, compared to a meth tweaker?)And the same old denial, as well; denial of the fact that those millions of dollars that Johnny Pee has been and is throwing around came from the taxpayers, who've yet to see any kind of 'profit' from them being so poorly spent. It might keep treatment center staff in a paycheck, but what good does it to the rest of the country, when we're neck deep in red ink? A National Debt that numbers in the trillions isn't exactly something to sneeze at, and is everything to worry about...yet Johnny Pee wants to pitch more money at a failed policy? Money the country can't afford to have wasted on warm-and-fuzzy PR stunts like this one, while 'Rome is burning' and needs more firehoses than drug treatment centers housing (ahem) 'marijuana addicts'? It's been said that drug usage is an 'escape from reality'. Well, Johnny Pee and his prohib coterie seem to be doing all right in that department *without* the use of psychotropics; the fiscal reality of the country's inability to continue to pay for the DrugWar when at local and State levels massive cutbacks are underway doesn't seem to phase the power-tripping prohibs in DC. For them, it's business as usual...whether the country can afford to pay for this 'business' or not.
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Comment #26 posted by FoM on February 09, 2006 at 22:59:05 PT
Hope
Thanks Hope. I have been listening to two Neil Young Interviews tonight. He talks a lot about God and his views of religion in the Reader's Digest one. It's very good.http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=21788
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Comment #25 posted by Hope on February 09, 2006 at 22:30:28 PT
FoM, The GCW
I agree with both of you.
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on February 09, 2006 at 18:43:17 PT
The GCW
I agree with you.
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Comment #23 posted by The GCW on February 09, 2006 at 18:40:52 PT
FoM, #3,
Right.I hate to be repetitive... Yet,It is worthy for society to help youth resist sex, booze, cigs, drugs, coffee etc. till they are older and responsible for themselves,however caging adults for using cannabis is the wrong way to do it.
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Comment #22 posted by mayan on February 09, 2006 at 17:55:05 PT
JR Bob Dobbs
The opposition in Italy has said that the first thing they will do is overturn the new cannabis law if they regain power in April.The Olympics begin Friday in Turin,Italy. They are trying to "clean up" their image but it's actually pretty chaotic over there now!
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Comment #21 posted by Hope on February 09, 2006 at 15:23:30 PT
Again Again and Again
This is a fierce tug of war taking place all over the world to one degree or another.
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Comment #20 posted by Hope on February 09, 2006 at 15:22:09 PT
The new political regime in power in Italy
is going to treat cannabis just like cocaine and heroin.
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Comment #19 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on February 09, 2006 at 15:00:04 PT
New Italian anti-drug law?
>>Protesters also ... used the occasion to denounce ... an anti-drug law.Didn't expect to see the above excerpt in the article below - and there's no other info about it. What new anti-drug law could Italy have passed that would have people protesting in the streets?
Protesters disrupt torch on eve of Games
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on February 09, 2006 at 12:10:59 PT
Jose
Thank you. I bookmarked the link and will check back to hear the interview when it's online. Here's a Reader's Digest interview I haven't had time to listen to yet. http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=21788
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Comment #17 posted by jose melendez on February 09, 2006 at 12:01:09 PT
now playing on wbur
from: http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13 Fresh Air from WHYYThursday, Feb. 9, 2006* Audio for today's show will be available at approx. 3:00 p.m. ETNeil Young, right, and Jonathan Demme.Getty Images
'Heart of Gold': Neil Young and Jonathan DemmeAfter having its premiere at the recent Sundance Film Festival, Heart of Gold is arriving in theaters around the country. The film is directed by Jonathan Demme and was shot in Nashville, Tenn., last August.
Web Extra: Songs and Images from the Movie see also:http://www.wbur.org/schedule/default.asphttp://www.wbur.org/listen/
http://www.wbur.org/schedule/default.asp
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on February 09, 2006 at 11:35:41 PT
Press Release from MPP
White House Drug Strategy: Use Tax Dollars
to Campaign Against Reform***Document Continues Failed Policies as Officials Lobby
Against Common-Sense Reforms, MPP ChargesFebruary 8, 2006 DENVER, COLORADO -- The 2006 National Drug Control Strategy unveiled today by White House Drug Czar John Walters renews concerns about the federal government's continuing use of tax dollars to campaign against changes to failed drug policies, officials of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) charged. The plan was released at a news conference in Denver, where voters in November passed an initiative that made adult possession and use of marijuana legal under city ordinance."This document signals that the administration will continue using tax dollars to campaign against common-sense reforms, while wasting billions on failed policies," said MPP Director of Government Relations Aaron Houston. "It is not a coincidence that John Walters took his junket to Denver, where voters dealt a stinging rebuke to the government's war on marijuana."On Jan. 27, Walters' special assistant, David Murray, testified against medical marijuana legislation in New Mexico's Senate, but was sharply rebuffed by state legislators. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported, "Some of Murray's toughest criticism came from Republicans," and the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 34-6."While Walters continues to rail against supposed 'well-funded drug legalizers,' our efforts are dwarfed by the government's massive prohibition bureaucracy," Houston said. "The drug czar's office spends over four times as much on advertising alone as drug policy reform groups spend on everything we do put together -- salaries, rent, the whole works." A comparison of government drug- war budgets to those of reform groups is available at http:// mpp.org/pdf/drugcost_v3.pdf ."But despite this massive taxpayer-funded effort to prop up prohibition, voters keep choosing sensible reforms," Houston continued. "Denver voters understood that Walters' claims of success are phony, and that marijuana prohibition is a complete failure. According to the federal Monitoring the Future survey, 86 percent of high school seniors say marijuana is 'easy to get,' a figure that hasn't changed since 1975. If that's success, what does failure look like?"With more than 19,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. For more information, please visit: http://MarijuanaPolicy.orghttp://www.mpp.org/releases/nr20060208.html
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on February 09, 2006 at 11:29:56 PT
One More Comment
We've been involved in the trucking industry for many years. We have seen companys go under and not pay the drivers and be in a new company within no time. Until his name is public I will believe it is a scam to try to out run bills. It seems so much like what happened to a web site years ago called Laughing Moon. This is only what I am thinking and it could be very wrong.
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Comment #14 posted by afterburner on February 09, 2006 at 11:29:28 PT
RE Comment #1
Drug czar = drug king. Is that anything like drug kingpin? Strange that the right-wing fundamentalists, who were once so rabidly anti-Communist, should adopt a Russian word to describe their anti-drug campaign.
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Comment #13 posted by Sam Adams on February 09, 2006 at 11:22:37 PT
Canada
Wow, that really sucks, I used to love reading at OG. Great pictures! Poor RC, I hope he comes out OK.It's so scary, it's like a virtual conquest of Canada by the American right wing is happening and the Canadians don't even know it! Look at how the conservatives took power - they basically "outed" some corruption by the Liberals. Classic Karl Rove-type move. Hit 'em low, and by all means - be a hypocrite! It's especially interesting that OG was based (I think) in Montreal, Quebec, not western Canada. There is an excellent chance that Quebed will be a separate country in the next few years. Indeed, the scandal that ousted the Liberals involved illegal stuff they were doing to placate the separatists in Quebec, if I'm not mistaken. The separatists only missed secession by 1% last time, and that was with Liberals in power!I've got a feeling that an independent Quebec is going to be MORE than willing to flip the bird to the US. And, if memory serves, Quebec polled out at the highest of all provinces for MJ legalization. If the rest of Canada is choosing to move under the US's umbrella, Quebec should definitely opt out and hitch their wagon to Europe. It's much more like Europe than the rest Canada and the US already.
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on February 09, 2006 at 11:11:04 PT
Max Flowers
My opinion of the whole mess is I will believe what an article from the Canadian Press says about it. News sources like the CP can be sued if they report inaccurately.
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on February 09, 2006 at 11:03:10 PT
Max Flowers
That was very kind of you to ask. I hope he is ok too.
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Comment #10 posted by Max Flowers on February 09, 2006 at 11:02:38 PT
News on the shutdown of CW and Overgrow
This is coming from a guy who claims to have talked to "RC" himself, so it's a lot more substantial than the speculation and fake news we have had so far. This is from another cannabis site located in the UK:I have just talked to RC - Servers are OK, RC is not...
I have just talked on the phone with RC. I know RC, so lets not have any 'was it really him' type responses.RC shut down the services on the servers - at this point in time the servers have NOT been seized. It appears that OG and CW info is safe and intact - woo hoo!RC was arrested, and charged concerning the import/export of cannabis seeds - no other charges at this time.RC has been home for a bit, but is prohibited from using the internet.RC approved me posting this.Finally, RC will be issuing a statement through a third party as soon as he has the chance, letting the community know what the situation is.Could everyone now stop all the hand-wringing, and pull together.Our thoughts are with you RC - we all wish you the best of luck, and want you to know the community will be here for you.MongooseIf accurate, this is great news with respect to the servers and the liability of people in the US and Canada who posted on those sites. Still bad news for RC, but the worries of thousands of others for themselves can be somewhat assuaged now. However, a LOT of "nervous nellies" tore down their grows for no reason and are very unhappy to say the least. Better safe than sorry, to be sure, but they may not have had the right temperament for home growing, methinks... I feel bad for them. Overall, this is very good news though!
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Comment #9 posted by Max Flowers on February 09, 2006 at 10:52:43 PT
global_warming
Is he okay, I wonder? No posts from him since his somewhat desperate (or at least sadly cryptic) posts a couple of days ago.GW, if you're okay, or even if you're not, post and let us know, would ya?
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Comment #8 posted by sam adams on February 09, 2006 at 10:40:28 PT
another perspective
I saw this article in today's paper. Not many pages away was this tiny blurb, tucked into the local section:One in 5 said to have high mercury levelsOne in five women of childbearing age tested in Massachusetts and nationwide had mercury levels at or above federal recommended limits, a study by the environmental groups Sierra Club and Greenpeace found. The hair of 218 adults and children in Massachusetts was tested for the metal, which is particularly dangerous for women of childbearing age because exposure in the womb can cause neurological damage and other health problems in children. Among all Massachusetts residents tested, 27 percent had mercury levels at or above the limits set for women of childbearing ages. The Environmental Quality Institute at the University of North Carolina at Asheville conducted the hair analysis of 6,600 people in 50 states.So, 1 in 5 mothers in the US are risking a baby with autism or other debilitating problems. Too bad Bush & the other Republicans just struck down mercury protections, and delayed some half-measure from taking effect until 2018.Gee, is it possible they really don't care about our kids at all? Could it be that they really just want to exploit us for as much tax money as possible, while their corporate friends make money off our oil & energy use?
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Comment #7 posted by Sam Adams on February 09, 2006 at 10:18:40 PT
gateway
3 years of pot smoking before going to cocaine? That makes cannabis a pretty lame gateway if you ask me. I thought that you'd smoke pot once and wake up the next day an addict, jonesin' for coke and heroin & selling your Mom's CD collection.
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Comment #6 posted by cloud7 on February 09, 2006 at 10:09:27 PT
...
"Walters denied he picked Denver to unveil the plan because city voters passed an ordinance last year to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana."Hahaha. Well then this has to be one of the most amazing coincidences I have read this entire year.
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Comment #5 posted by Toker00 on February 09, 2006 at 09:10:13 PT
Again, Water is not Coca-Cola.
She said there is no doubt in her mind that without drinking water first, she would never have gone to coca-cola."Water is the easiest to get your hands on," she said. "I don't think it should be." K...Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #4 posted by runderwo on February 09, 2006 at 09:07:44 PT
lombar
"Restricting common drugs, a feel good measure that will not stop people from stealing trucks full of the stuff.(or otherwise obtaining large volumes of needed materials)"However, it ought to get rid of neighborhood meth labs. If we are going to take meth prohibition as a given, then I think we are better off with organized crime and Mexicans supplying black market meth, than amateurs (possibly with children) cooking it in their homes.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on February 09, 2006 at 09:07:01 PT
What About Adults?
Why do adults keep getting punished because of those who are under age? I get very tired of it all. It seems in America adults just don't have any rights.
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Comment #2 posted by lombar on February 09, 2006 at 08:58:54 PT
translation
•Increasing the number of schools participating in random drug screening of high school students.Deprive more americans of their privacy, indoctrinate them into a system that is more invasive, lower participation in extracirricular activities.• Seeking legislation to limit the amount of pseudophedrine for retail sale. That substance is used to manufacture methamphetamine.Restricting common drugs, a feel good measure that will not stop people from stealing trucks full of the stuff.(or otherwise obtaining large volumes of needed materials) • Working with Colombia to increase aerial eradication of coca crops used for pure cocaine production.Increasing biowarfare against poor brown skinned people. Cause the breeding of resistant species of Coca that produce 4 times the amount of cocaine. • Establishing a group to analyze intelligence concerning the financial operations of drug trafficking. In 2004, the office seized $785 million of currency destined for foreign trafficking organizations.More spying on the populace.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on February 09, 2006 at 08:08:52 PT
Two Related Articles from Snipped Source
Czars and Tripe Forever***By David Harsanyi, Denver Post Staff Columnist February 9, 2006
Did you know Denver has a czar? Yep. His name is Robert "Bob" Dorshimer. He's director of the Office of Drug Strategies. And he seems like a nice guy. Incidentally, czar translated from Russian means king. And I ask you: Have we learned nothing from "Schoolhouse Rock"? Remember? "No More Kings."
Complete Article: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3489672***Progress in War Against Drugs
***February 9, 2006
There was encouraging news Tuesday when the Bush administration unveiled its national anti-drug strategy here in Denver: Overall, teen drug use is down. White House drug czar John P. Walters said the decline amounts to 19 percent since 2001. That's 700,000 fewer teens using drugs, an impressive decline. And though the nation, and Colorado, have a long way to go, it's great to see progress.
Complete Article: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_3488652
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