cannabisnews.com: A New Look at The Drug War





A New Look at The Drug War
Posted by CN Staff on February 19, 2009 at 20:08:35 PT
Globe Editorial
Source: Boston Globe 
Boston, MA --  While the appointment is still not official, White House officials have said President Obama has chosen as his drug czar the police chief of Seattle, a city with enlightened policies on drug-law enforcement. Gil Kerlikowske did not originate those policies, but he has maintained them and seen their benefits during his nine years as chief. He should be an effective advocate for Obama's own less punitive positions.
After his Senate confirmation, Kerlikowske should get to work putting flesh on Obama's campaign promise to "focus more on a public-health approach" to drug abuse. Step one will be to get Congress to lift the ban on federal spending for needle-exchange programs, a proven method of limiting the spread of infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. Candidate Obama said he favored lifting the ban.The United States has a chance to make clear at the United Nations summit on drugs in Vienna in March that it now favors needle exchanges. Other "harm reduction" strategies that emphasize drug treatment and intervention also deserve attention.Candidate Obama also said he would end federal police raids on providers of marijuana in the 13 states that have legalized medical use of the drug. As a senator, he backed a bill that would end the racial disparities in sentencing for cocaine convictions."The war on drugs has been an utter failure," Obama said during the campaign. A gauge of its failure is that drug abuse persists at high levels even though the United States, with less than 5 percent of the world's population, incarcerates almost 25 percent of the world's inmate population, many in prison for drug offenses. A shift in drug policy from jail to treatment and rehabilitation could be one of Obama's most meaningful achievements.Source: Boston Globe (MA)Published: February 20, 2009 Copyright: 2009 Globe Newspaper CompanyContact: letter globe.comWebsite: http://www.boston.com/globe/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/tJ5Aq2mPRelated Articles:Some Find Hope for a Shift in Drug Policy http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24487.shtmlObama To Name Seattle Chief Drug Czarhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24479.shtml
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on February 23, 2009 at 18:33:04 PT
Hope for Change in Drug War
February 23, 2009 Colorado -- President Barack Obama is reported to have settled on Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske to head the Office of National Drug Control Policy, commonly referred to as "drug czar." It would have been preferable to abolish the position and transfer the 100 or so employees the "czar" supervises to other departments or to the private sector and apply the $421 million the office costs to paying off a tiny sliver of the national debt. But there is at least some reason to hope Kerlikowske will not be as awful as most of his recent predecessors.Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.gazette.com/opinion/marijuana_48715___article.html/kerlikowske_drug.html
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on February 22, 2009 at 09:51:23 PT
What the ex-DEA employees can do...
We need people... apparently, to be agents of the mass food production overseer agencies. This country obviously needs a way of being more certain that large manufacturers of the people's foods stay within certain parameters of health safety factors. More health inspectors? It would seem we have a need for such.Of course, all our agencies need to lay off the "War" themes and just do a good, decent, respectable job of whatever it is they are supposed to be doing... and it isn't "War" on anything.Peace
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on February 22, 2009 at 08:13:46 PT
OT: Next Drug Czar Should End Outdated Rhetoric
Guest Column By Victor CapocciaSunday, February 22, 2009The Obama administration has confirmed an anticipated nominee to head the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the nation's "drug czar." If R. Gil Kerlikowske makes one notable contribution in his tenure, it would be by shifting government's emphasis from war metaphors - "The War on Drugs" - to catch up with the science and the public's understanding of addiction as a health problem.Victor Capoccia is director of Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap, 400 West 59th Street, New York, NY 10019; Web site: http://www.soros.orgComplete Article: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/02/22/opinion/guest/20-guest.txt
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Comment #6 posted by Zandor on February 21, 2009 at 08:54:20 PT
But IF.....
If they eliminate the DEA (as they should) what would happen to their new Government propaganda show "The DEA" that would only leave them with one propaganda show "Homeland security"Even though the United States Government is not allowed to engaged in propaganda (LOL) they call them reality shows and not government propaganda!!What would all those high paid lobbyists do for a living? What about all those prisons and the guards?I guess we can use those prisons as shelter for the homeless and the guards can find new work.Anybody else hiring 40 year old bullies? 
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on February 20, 2009 at 06:13:26 PT
Related Article From The Appeal-Democrat 
Our View: Not Better Than Nothing, But . . .February 20, 2009 President Obama is reported to have settled on Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske to head the Office of National Drug Control Policy, taking the position commonly referred to as "drug czar." It would have been preferable to abolish the position and transfer the 100 or so employees the "czar" supervises to other departments or to the private sector and apply the $421 million the office costs to paying off a tiny sliver of the national debt. But there is at least some reason to hope that Chief Kerlikowske will not be as awful as most of the recent holders of that position.Complete Article: http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/office_74479___article.html/marijuana_chief.html
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on February 19, 2009 at 22:34:19 PT
The DEA Chief's $123,000 Flight 
http://counterpunch.org/gardner02192009.htmlOne excerpt: "Prison. For growing an herb that alleviates pain... On her way to jail Jean Marie Todd said to her captors, "I thought President Obama was going to call off these raids." A Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputy replied, "We haven't gotten the message.""And this excerpt outlines a really good idea: "What's needed is more than a decent DEA Administrator. The whole federal bureaucracy needs to be restructured. The DRUG Enforcement Agency, the Food and DRUG Administration and the Department of Agriculture have obviously overlapping roles. The number of FDA agents responsible for food safety has been reduced by 78 per cent since the 1970s - resulting in thousands sickened by salmonella-laced peanut butter, etc. etc. Why not replenish their ranks with some of the 5,500 "special agents" employed by DEA at 227 offices stateside and 86 offices overseas? A few of these men and women might even prefer meaningful work to eradicating useful plants and taking down useful people." 
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on February 19, 2009 at 20:37:10 PT
 mykeyb420 
I think he is a good pick.
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Comment #2 posted by mykeyb420 on February 19, 2009 at 20:27:28 PT
Gil Kerlikowske
Over all,,is he a good pick?? Mi amigos in Seattle give him thumbs up.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on February 19, 2009 at 20:12:29 PT
A Common Sense Approach
We need a change in direction.
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