cannabisnews.com: New Drug Control Strategy Signals Policy Shift
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New Drug Control Strategy Signals Policy Shift
Posted by CN Staff on May 10, 2010 at 19:46:08 PT
By Sam Hananel, Associated Press Writer
Source: Associated Press
Washington, D.C. -- The White House is putting more resources into drug prevention and treatment, part of President Barack Obama's pledge to treat illegal drug use more as a public health issue than a criminal justice problem.The new drug control strategy to be released Tuesday boosts community-based anti-drug programs, encourages health care providers to screen for drug problems before addiction sets in and expands treatment beyond specialty centers to mainstream health care facilities.
"It changes the whole discussion about ending the war on drugs and recognizes that we have a responsibility to reduce our own drug use in this country," Gil Kerlikowske, the White House drug czar, said in an interview.The plan — the first drug plan unveiled by the Obama White House — calls for reducing the rate of youth drug use by 15 percent over the next five years and for similar reductions in chronic drug use, drug abuse deaths and drugged driving.Kerlikowske criticized past drug strategies for measuring success by counting the number of children and teens who have not tried marijuana. At the same time, he said, the number of deaths from illegal and prescription drug overdoses was rising."Us facing that issue and dealing with it head on is important," Kerlikowske said.The new drug plan encourages health care professionals to ask patients questions about drug use even during routine treatment so that early intervention is possible. It also helps more states set up electronic databases to identify doctors who are overprescribing addictive pain killers."Putting treatment into the primary health care discussion is critical," Kerlikowske said.The policy shift comes in the wake of several other drug policy reforms since Obama took office. Obama signed a measure repealing a two-decade old ban on the use of federal money for needle-exchange programs to reduce the spread of HIV. His administration also said it won't target medical marijuana patients or caregivers as long as they comply with state laws and aren't fronts for drug traffickers.Earlier this year, Obama called on Congress to eliminate the disparity in sentencing that punishes crack crimes more heavily than those involving powder cocaine.Some drug reform advocates like the direction Obama is heading, but question whether the administration's focus on treatment and prevention programs is more rhetoric than reality at this point. They point to the national drug control budget proposal released earlier this year, for example, which continues to spend about twice as much money on enforcement as it does on programs to reduce demand."The improved rhetoric is not matched by any fundamental shift in the budget or the broader thrust of the drug policy," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which favors drug policy reform.Nadelmann praised some of Obama's changes, but said he is disappointed with the continued focus on arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating large numbers of people.Kerlikowske rejected that as "inside the Beltway discussion," and said there are many programs that combine interdiction and prevention.The drug control office's budget request does include a 13 percent increase in spending on alcohol and drug prevention programs, along with a 3.7 percent increase for addiction treatment.Source: Associated Press (Wire)Author: Sam Hananel, Associated Press WriterPublished: May 10, 2010Copyright: 2010 The Associated PressCannabisNews Justice Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/justice.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help
Comment #82 posted by FoM on May 15, 2010 at 13:20:12 PT
Hope
Thank you. They are lovely rotties. When I saw their picture online that's when I knew for sure I wanted one more puppy before I get too old to handle a big dog. They are very friendly and that matters to me after having Kaptin who was a tough cookie but we loved him just the same.
Pictures of Mom, Dad and Puppy
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Comment #81 posted by Hope on May 15, 2010 at 13:15:39 PT
Dad and Mom
They're beautiful.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #80 posted by FoM on May 15, 2010 at 12:00:22 PT
Hope
We all calling her Nikki after our first rottie. He's a she. Here is a picture of her parents.
Dad and Mom
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #79 posted by FoM on May 15, 2010 at 11:57:25 PT
Hope and Nic
I'm sorry I'm late at responding but the poor little thing has a UTI so we rushed her to the Vet. They xrayed her tummy and all is fine. She has to take antibiotics for 2 weeks but other then that our day has been normal! LOL!Moose lays outside her crate and watches over her. She barks at him and he looks at her with this perplexed look on his face. Sassy thinks she is great too.
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Comment #78 posted by Hope on May 15, 2010 at 10:39:54 PT
He should really attach to Moose.
Moose will teach him everything he knows.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #77 posted by Hope on May 15, 2010 at 10:37:05 PT
Puppy
He looks like a sweetie.What do the other dogs think of him and he of they?
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #76 posted by Nic on May 15, 2010 at 09:05:20 PT
The New Pup
That is a beautiful pup. Thanks for sharing.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #75 posted by FoM on May 14, 2010 at 17:34:18 PT
Just a Comment
We were gone most of the day yesterday. We went to buy a puppy way up in northern ohio. While we were meeting the dogs and pups the woman's son came home from work. I think he probably was in his early 30s. He and his wife and two children are living with the mother and father. He looked at me and we immediately had some kind of connection. He started talking to me like he knew me but he didn't. He is a recovering heroin addict so instead of talking about the rotties we talked about drug laws and addiction. It was an amazing experience for me. I told them what I do and about drug policy reform. I just wanted to share what an interesting day we had plus we bought a puppy.
New Puppy
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Comment #74 posted by Hope on May 13, 2010 at 06:23:49 PT
Afterburner Comment 72
That's beautiful. Thank you.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #73 posted by FoM on May 13, 2010 at 05:00:29 PT
Afterburner
Thank you so much again.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #72 posted by afterburner on May 12, 2010 at 21:10:55 PT
FoM & Hope
Thanks & I agree about treating people as human beings with feelings and families. I get impatient when I hear people saying nasty and demeaning things about their fellow humans. Plus, arrogant statements like {"Forgiveness," said Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, “is not the business of government.”} rub me the wrong way.
Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi
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Comment #71 posted by FoM on May 12, 2010 at 20:23:48 PT
Hope
I believe drugs addicts aren't second class citizens. They are are brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and they are human beings and valuable. I had my share of drug problems but I made it.
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Comment #70 posted by Hope on May 12, 2010 at 20:13:51 PT
And no one cares... or most people don't...
because we're talking about drug addicts. There's a sort of "Serves them right" attitude about it. No one cares about drug addicts. Except to lock them up. No one is supposed to care about them.
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Comment #69 posted by Hope on May 12, 2010 at 20:09:25 PT
Around here...
even cannabis users are treated to jail for their crime of possession. And like I said earlier... we'll have these prohibitions and people being arrested and fined and persecuted... for their own good, of course, right up until the last day that it can be done by law, I have no doubt.
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Comment #68 posted by FoM on May 12, 2010 at 19:50:42 PT
Hope
I don't see that around here. Drug addicts aren't treated that way.
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Comment #67 posted by FoM on May 12, 2010 at 19:49:30 PT
Afterburner
It's great to see you and what an excellent comment. Thank you.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #66 posted by FoM on May 12, 2010 at 19:40:02 PT
My Favorite Anti-Drug Song Ever
Neil Young - Needle and The Damage DoneURL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0t0EW6z8a0
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Comment #65 posted by afterburner on May 12, 2010 at 19:33:36 PT
ezrydn & Obama -- slightly off-topic
As a free man and a natural born North American son, I see a big opportunity for grass-roots, bottom-up change under the Obama administration. It is far from perfect, but it takes time to calm the fear, time to "turn the steamship." Under GW Bush the mantra was "just shut up" as so inelegantly expressed by Bill O'Reilly. Political commentators have reported that GW bullied his staff. Remember what he said to the UN about being "a toothless debating society," and how he called the US Constitution a g-d- piece of paper." Now, people in the USA, despite their financial woes, have more freedom of speech. The grass-roots are using the chance to organize and act. This is good for the country. I am disappointed at the pace of change and the continuance of many prohibitionist politicians and their mean-spirited and deliberately ignorant ideas. In Canada Prime Minister Harper rules with an iron fist despite his minority government status, muzzles his own Ministers and Members of Parliament, attacks opposition parties with lockerroom-like jeers, and proposes unpopular laws by exaggerating the plight of victims. There is currently little free speech in Canada, but the activists soldier on in the face of poisoned popular opinion.Be thankful that Obama is allowing bottom-up actions of free speakers and American ingenuity to "turn the steamship" ever so gradually until more politicians can be elected to really represent the We The People instead of the vested corporate interests that have hijacked government agencies, the main stream media, public debate and laws.Push back is working. Sane cannabis laws will continue to grow in number and power.
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Comment #64 posted by Hope on May 12, 2010 at 19:28:21 PT
Self Help and Growth
Usually does not involve being locked in a cell or cage, possibly with a killer or rapist, against your will or being owned by people that order you to pee in cups or give up blood to their satisfaction regularly.
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Comment #63 posted by FoM on May 12, 2010 at 19:25:51 PT
Hope
I agree. I believe that's why the way we see it happen around here is a good thing. We don't have problems like you mention. There are plenty of drugs around but no real problems with the law. When marijuana was decriminalized the way the whole drug issue was approached has been low key.
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Comment #62 posted by Hope on May 12, 2010 at 19:21:49 PT
An alcoholic or drug addict
is no less a human being than you or I, or the president or the pope.
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Comment #61 posted by Hope on May 12, 2010 at 19:19:15 PT
Driving Under the Influence is one thing.
Or Driving While Intoxicated is one thing.They don't go in their houses and arrest them for having or using alcohol. They don't get arrested for using alcohol or having alcohol. They can get arrested for driving under the influence. Driving on roads shared by the public while intoxicated is a an entirely different matter than getting or being intoxicated. Public intoxication can be a crime. But alcoholics aren't arrested or imprisoned for just having, seeking, or using alcohol or even having a serious addiction problem with it. Families and friends can do intervention... but they don't call the cops to drag them off to "Treatment" by force of law because possessing alcohol is a crime. Even when a family and a person's friends do an intervention... it's still a choice of the addict to accept treatment... unless they got caught driving under the influence.The same should be true of other substances that a person consumes, too. It's no use treating them so inhumanely... regardless of how badly you dislike what they are doing to themselves and their families with their addiction problems.Treating them like they are criminals of the vilest order, and treating them as though they are less than nothing and worthy of no respectful consideration at all because of substance consumption is just wrong.
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Comment #60 posted by FoM on May 12, 2010 at 18:58:23 PT
Hope
I don't know how they are doing it now with drugs since we never hear anything about drugs and people getting arrested or things like that.Around here if a person gets caught drinking too much and charged with a DUI, I think it's called, they must go to some kind of treatment weekend at a nice camp. My sister spoke when she was a policewoman to those who found themselves there. She told me she listened to them and explained the problems with getting in trouble with the law and the future in jail if they didn't get a handle on their problem. I have never heard any complaints about the program. That's what I would like to see for those who wind up in the same position but because of drugs. Not marijuana but drugs.Actually that's what Stick and I got our education in at Kent State back in the 70s. It was called Self Help and Growth.
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Comment #59 posted by Hope on May 12, 2010 at 18:35:13 PT
Comment 57
Fom. I will never believe that any of the way they are doing it now or are making plans of doing has anything to do with actually helping people. Everything they do is about threatening, detecting, catching, and punishing... harshly. Hard drug addicts should be treated with every bit of the same respect afforded to people addicted to alcohol. Including it not being a crime to be an alcoholic.
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Comment #58 posted by FoM on May 12, 2010 at 16:50:38 PT
For Those Who Might Want To See The Interview
CBS' Leslie Stahl: Obama Is The Apollo Ohno Of PoliticsURL: http://drugsense.org/url/QxbqlosW
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Comment #57 posted by FoM on May 12, 2010 at 16:05:29 PT
Hope
One of the big problems with people taking too many drugs is it can kill them. Doctor shopping has helped create seriously addicted people. I don't know the answer but drug addiction has plagued my family and maybe if testing is done it might make them face the fact that they need to at least cut back or it could cost them their life.
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Comment #56 posted by Hope on May 12, 2010 at 16:03:07 PT
The policy
I've been reading it. It's awful. It's heavily influenced by Calvina Fay and the Semblers and the rest of that ilk... killer preventionists. When they say "Family involvement"... I think of Straight and all the torture they poured out on so many people. When they say "Prevention"... they mean scaring... terrorizing... bullying people into submission to their prohibition with guns, raids, prison, jail, humiliation, fines, seizures, threats, promises of punishment, (burning at the stake)... legal trouble, blatant fear inducing propaganda in the school system and narcs, snitching, spying, and invasive testing. That's what "Prevention" is to the "Preventionist". They'll kill and torture you and yours to protect you from "Illicit" drugs.Incredibly awful. As usual.
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Comment #55 posted by FoM on May 12, 2010 at 15:59:33 PT
ezrydn
I personally really am happy that Obama is our President. I cared more about him becoming President then any other person ever. He has now become more important to me then JFK and that says a lot. He's one heck of a politician. I am not into that type of life but he is slow to start and a great finisher like Leslie Stahl said one day on Morning Joe on MSNBC. She said he is like Apollo Ohno. Slow and steady and confident being back in the race until it's time to go for the win. I agree with Leslie Stahl.
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Comment #54 posted by FoM on May 12, 2010 at 15:52:13 PT
BGreen
Thank you for making me feel loved. You're the best.
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Comment #53 posted by BGreen on May 12, 2010 at 15:26:17 PT
ezrydn, I hope everything is cool
After 10 years posting here, I have a very special emotional attachment to FoM. I've seen her attacked and hurt before so I'm pretty quick on the trigger when I see a potential problem arise. It's not my job to protect her but we do things like that for people we care about.I believe Obama has done a great job at removing the fear that enveloped this country when he took over. I'm not talking about this trumped up emotionalism by some zealots but the true fear, even amongst the wealthier, that our money and investments were gone. It affected Mrs. Green and my businesses and it was scary.That fear has disappeared for the most part. People are smarter about spending their money but they're spending again.That's why I'm not going to completely write off Obama.On some other matters, I happen to share your views.Go figure. :)The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #52 posted by Hope on May 12, 2010 at 15:12:13 PT
Doctors testing all their patients for illicits?
Free? I wonder who is going to pay for all that forced testing of everyone that sees a doctor? Are the testing companies giving away all those tests free... so they can save the nation from certain "drugs".... out of the goodness of their hearts?
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Comment #51 posted by ezrydn on May 12, 2010 at 15:09:16 PT:
No Offense Taken
While you may hear something akin to what I say from other sources, I don't structure from the words of others. And I made no attack on anyone. I asked questions. I was always taught that I was responsible for my actions.If FoM felt slighted, she should have said so. I'm not so unruly that I can't apologize for something I didn't notice. The "jump in" was interesting. Labels flying this way and that. Words manufactured. That's ok.
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Comment #50 posted by Nic on May 12, 2010 at 12:34:18 PT
Have You Wondered
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8BWBn26bX0
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Comment #49 posted by FoM on May 12, 2010 at 10:45:46 PT
I Heard Gil Say Something
I heard him say that medical marijuana is well established. Then when asked about legalization he said states are moving along decriminalizing marijuana. Then Don Lemon from CNN explained the difference between legalization and decriminalization and there really isn't much of a difference in my opinion.
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Comment #48 posted by dongenero on May 12, 2010 at 10:40:04 PT
Cheebs
Was just reading through it. It's full of typical ONDCP garbage. Eradicate marijuana cultivation, indoor, outdoor, seize , seize......business as usual. Even stuff about Motorocycle Drug Gangs, which seemed quite funny in an outmoded, culture war way, were it not so serious. I don't think it addresses the changing public opinions of the drug war in any substantive way. As usual it misses the point that much of what it wishes to address is directly caused by prohibition. I think the ONDCP will never change, it will only be dismantled.We need to push for real legislative changes for any hope of reigning in such abusive agencies.
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Comment #47 posted by Cheebs1 on May 12, 2010 at 10:08:18 PT:
Definitely Not Better
Just would like to ask a quick question and make two points. Has anyone read the new strategy from the ONDCP? And if so how do feel about it? I just finished reading some of the most disturbing things I can imagine. The new policy is looking to increase the number of "per se" states with Drugged Driving. This means that if you have an accident you will automatically be tested for illicit subtances and if any are found in your blood you are automatcally guilty of driving while drugged. It also recommends that every doctor should test every patient for illicit substance use, notice not abuse but use, and if they don't then the doctor shall be in trouble with the DEA and may lose the ability to write a prescription. These are just two of the most appalling things in this new "policy". Everyone should take a few minutes and read what the new Nazi SS is up to. I am not trying to start a fight here, I just want to people to be more aware of how they will be controlled in the future.
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Comment #46 posted by BGreen on May 12, 2010 at 10:07:40 PT
ezrydn
Possibly you were misunderstood as a result of your own ambiguity and choice of words.FoM is not the person to blame. Your words highly resembled those I've heard nowhere else except from the tea party.In fact, some of your wording was identical to things I read from the tea party.You can disparage those who blame George W. Bush for a lot of things, but his presidency is not unlike any number of natural and unnatural disasters.The Exxon Valdeze oil spill is still contaminating the Alaskan shoreline over 20 years after it was supposedly cleaned up. We aren't going to stop blaming Exxon for the horrible damage inflicted just because somebody else is now running Exxon, are we?Some of the best Supreme Court justices have had little or no bench experience. One need only to look as far as Thomas, Roberts, Alito, et. al to see just how worthless some so-called "qualified" justices are.We're not against you. In fact, my only objection was to your post towards FoM. She does so much for this web site and she doesn't deserve to be treated like she's just some testosterone-filled man pushing for a fight.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #45 posted by FoM on May 12, 2010 at 09:41:33 PT
dongenero
Obama has made it quicker to get help from the VA. Health care reform is vital and now we are moving in a better direction. Medical marijuana is moving along at a nice pace. I have no complaints.
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Comment #44 posted by dongenero on May 12, 2010 at 08:55:48 PT
last point
If someone inherits another's mistakes, those mistakes may become another persons problem but, responsibility for making the mistakes does not transfer, ever.
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Comment #43 posted by dongenero on May 12, 2010 at 08:04:07 PT
assumptions
I made the drug war assumption because you were complaining without specifics - in the comment forum of an article about drug war policy. And was I crushed over the comment about online community?... well, no not really. I'm not that thin skinned. Nor do I think online communities can be discounted. Anyway, not quite a disaster in policy worthy of chucking it all in my opinion, ezrydn.As for SCOTUS appointments, she would not be the first judge appointed to the SC without prior appointment. Rhenquist was appointed without prior appointment, though I don't know that he is the first either. Anyway, I think this is an overblown cause for giving it all up as well, ezrydn.As for your anger, maybe I mistook the passion on your shoulder as some kind of chip on your shoulder."sniveling Republican" - not sure where you picked up that quote....but you are sounding tea partyish to me at this point.As for the allegation that Obama has done nothing for me, I will say that he has lowered my taxes, he has made steps to draw down Iraq, he helped restore some global respect and affinity for America, made cuts to wasteful military spending, credit card reforms, environmental protections, stem cell research, public disclosure of White House visitors, ban on lobbyist gifts, and the most frank admission of cannabis use yet by a President, along with a vow to stop federal pursuit of medical marijuana.This is the most I've written as off topic over the last 10 years or so here and this is all I will be responding to on the subject. Best wishes. Peace
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Comment #42 posted by ezrydn on May 12, 2010 at 04:13:04 PT:
dongenero
You're very heavy on assumptions there. I made no comment about ending the drug war in 1.5 years. That's YOUR comment, not mine. You liked it so much you even continued to run with it. My "inconsistencies" statement was directed at his first poll, where he just HAD to take a verbal swipe at the "online community." You evidently forgot that one. He had said that "everyone has a voice." Yet, when we voiced ours, we got criticized (sound familiar?).SCOTUS as a "training camp." Picked up a newspaper recently, or turned on the news? Have you heard that someone with NO judicial experience is being considered to the Court? Yes, training camp. What else would you call a no-judicial experience appointment to the Court?I may not get who I vote "for" but I'll not place a vote where everyone thinks it should be.It would seem some here have acquired "sacred cows."
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Comment #41 posted by ezrydn on May 12, 2010 at 03:52:49 PT:
Misinterpreted
Why do you consider my comments to display anger. You're wrong. I simply asked pertinent questions. It's something I hear over and over. It's the "other side's" fault. It's so easy to blame someone else. We've already played the "what if" game once and have gotten a "back-handed slap" for it. I just wonder what the basis is for continuing to play the "what if" game?And for those of you who MUST label people, I'm a registered Democrat and voted for Obama, once. Now, ya wanna run that "sniveling Republican" comment by me one more time? LOLOne final question. Why are you still placing your hopes in someone who really hasn't done anything on your behalf when it's the "people movement" that's doing what you want done? That make sense? One side has produced results and one hasn't. Yet, where is the hope placed? In the side where nothing has happened. That, my friends, is called "distraction."
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Comment #40 posted by rchandar on May 11, 2010 at 23:44:37 PT:
Dongenero
I hope so. Or, we could be as p #sed as ever, when we factor in Bill Clinton's admission that he enjoyed eating MJ cakes and brownies, after his famous "didn't inhale" comment in '92.I was pretty vexed when Slick Willie fathered that comment. Clinton was the President who upped our arrest #s from 200,000 to 700,000. Yes, I was one of 'em, too.Glad to see your post. Didn't know if you were still on this board, or maybe me not reading all of them.--rchandar
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Comment #39 posted by Had Enough on May 11, 2010 at 23:13:33 PT
Hope... re: #17
Well said....And a thank you...Sister Hope...
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Comment #38 posted by FoM on May 11, 2010 at 20:14:06 PT
The GCW
I really like Dennis Kucinich too.
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Comment #37 posted by The GCW on May 11, 2010 at 20:04:10 PT
Thoughts about Obama's drug related policy...
US: Web: Ethan Nadelmann Critiques Obama's New Drug Warhttp://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n354/a11.html?397-0-I like Dennis Kucinich and I like what I read about Him near the end of the article.
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Comment #36 posted by dongenero on May 11, 2010 at 18:31:07 PT
economy
I agree kapn, economy will be a big part of cannabis reform.Many of the social, political and economic situations we have now hold some parallels to the conditions that led to repeal of alcohol prohibition.Now is not the time to give up in anger but, the perfect time to push with everything we've got.
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Comment #35 posted by FoM on May 11, 2010 at 17:28:09 PT
kaptinemo
I agree. It's interesting watching this happen. I never understood big SUVs because I lived during gas rationing and the in car to have was a VW Bug. We made a decision when we build our house that we would heat with wood. We still do to this day and that was 30 years ago. I never bought into it. To me the stock market is like a big pyramid scheme. It's just legalized gambling and the little guy will always lose most of what he thinks he has.
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Comment #34 posted by kaptinemo on May 11, 2010 at 17:19:29 PT:
FoM, it's all cycles
Up. Down. There may be long stretches between the two, but it's always the same. The private housing bubble was something that was artificially maintained 'up' in much the same way as the stock market; that is, manipulated. Like sheep shearing, you let the sheep get a good long coat, and then at the right time, whirrrrrrrrrr, they get sheared. That's what the big-shot banksters did. As I see it, it's been a long, artificially-maintained 'up' for the prohibs, too...and now, because it's been a long, lofty 'up' for them, when it finally becomes down for them, that long fall is gonna really hurt. Unfortunately, the rest of the country may also be hurting.
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Comment #33 posted by FoM on May 11, 2010 at 16:45:38 PT
MikeC
I think you are right. I am not expecting much and every move forward makes me happy after 8 years of everything going backwards under the Bush Administration and Republicans in the majority in Congress.
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Comment #32 posted by MikeC on May 11, 2010 at 16:12:17 PT
Our time is coming...
We've come a long way in the past decade. I think the end is near folks...it just can't come fast enough for us!
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Comment #31 posted by FoM on May 11, 2010 at 16:11:30 PT
kaptinemo
I think that the world as we know it won't be much longer. We have become a strange country in many respects. I always wondered during the housing boom how I could have been so wrong. It was hard to buy a home back in the 70s. It was something you worked toward. When I saw houses in Columbus popping up all over the place I couldn't figure out how people could afford them. I guess I was right that it was all an illusion.
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Comment #30 posted by kaptinemo on May 11, 2010 at 15:52:27 PT:
The tune will change soon enough
The commercial real estate bubble hasn't burst yet. When it does, it will become very evident to all that the blase-blase days of "A billion here, a billion there; sooner or later it adds up to real money" are over. Fed agencies will be faced with the same kind of budget-cutting decisions that they were in the 1970's. Only, this time, with things being as bad as they are, there will be even greater pressure to make REAL cuts and re-allocate the money towards social maintenance programs. And all this fancy folderol 'anti-drug strategy' will assume its' rightful place in the trash bin. The pols in Warshington are still residing in cloud-cuckooland, thinking they can still fund things that have absolutely no impact of any measurable sort (save in wasting money) and not expect a taxpayer's backlash. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when the realization hits them that that's not the case anymore...
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Comment #29 posted by Hope on May 11, 2010 at 15:45:27 PT
Translation
Gil said, ".... there are many programs that combine interdiction and prevention."Yes there are. The most famous of them is the military style swat raid. Scaring kids? It'll be good for 'em. That gets their attention. They'll learn not to mess with drugs. Especially when their pets get killed. They'll remember that if they ever think about messing with drugs. And when masked and armored and padded robo cop/terminator types start pointing and waving around high powered weapons, often discharging them, sometimes "accidentally", into people, even children, in the house, and towards concrete slab floors and through car windows and through airplanes. They do believe that is "Prevention". It's a major part of their plan of "Prevention". School demonstrations on how you can't hide anything from a government law enforcement officer dog would be a part of it, too. Showing school students and citizens their weapons that can be used against them, and their neighbors, and their parents, if they do drugs, and their helicopters... and their weapons, is "Prevention", too. He wasn't lying about that. They do have those "programs that combine interdiction and prevention". They've been employing them, vigorously, for some time now.
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Comment #28 posted by Hope on May 11, 2010 at 15:26:55 PT
That's true, of course, Dongenero.
"Obama never promised to end the drug war I might add. He is probably the President most amenable to doing so in our drug war history. None of this happens independent of partisan politics either."He was little more than the infamous "lesser of all evils" as far as any possibilities concerning our issue, other than medical use, might be concerned.
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Comment #27 posted by Hope on May 11, 2010 at 15:20:10 PT
"...a year and a half"
:0)Dongenero, I probably said that then, too. I mean a year and half ... this time... from right now.But I've never been good at political predictions or any other kind.I think it will be before elections and before the elections enough to have people see that the sky didn't fall.
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Comment #26 posted by Hope on May 11, 2010 at 15:12:25 PT
My guess
Cannabis federally legal, and in many states, within a year and a half. If it's not... we just have to see what we're looking at then. We don't really know what our choices will be.
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Comment #25 posted by dongenero on May 11, 2010 at 15:03:47 PT
ezrydn
You are obviously as OUTRAGED as many of the Republicans are.The two problems you actually cite are that the Drug War continues 1.5 years after he took office, and that he is turning "SCOTUS into a "training camp" for elite attorneys"Did you really think when you voted for Obama that the drug war would be over in a year and a half? I would say that is unrealistic but, I would say the climate is more favorable for reform than it has ever been. Obama never promised to end the drug war I might add. He is probably the President most amenable to doing so in our drug war history. None of this happens independent of partisan politics either. The SCOTUS thing must be referring to Sotomayor I presume? Again, I don't know what you expected in Supreme Court appointments or how you were somehow misled by the campaign. Who did you think he would deem appropriate AND appointable for the SCOTUS? I'm quite happy we didn't get another Roberts, Scalia or Alito!You refer to "inconsistencies" but, you should cite what the problems are.Furthermore, if you imply you are going to vote Republican as result, I am left skeptical of your true ideological leanings. That's kinda like blowing your own head off because someone wronged you, in my opinion. If you are planning to vote 3rd party, good luck. I did that since 1980 and never got a candidate into office. But in that time Reagan was voted in, Bush 1 was voted in, and the Drug War achieved new heights.
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on May 11, 2010 at 13:57:03 PT
Harm Reduction
I have always agreed with Ethan Nadelmann about Harm Reduction.
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on May 11, 2010 at 13:55:28 PT
greenmed
I so agree with you.
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Comment #22 posted by greenmed on May 11, 2010 at 13:49:28 PT
FoM
I think it is good that the administration is embracing harm reduction methods, albeit slowly, or cautiously. If we keep working like we have at the local and state levels, that harm-reduction policy can be a goal, the place where local/state and federal meet -- that will be a mighty tipping point, imo.
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on May 11, 2010 at 13:47:14 PT
Storm Crow
I agree his second term he will be able to be more daring.
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Comment #20 posted by Storm Crow on May 11, 2010 at 13:36:31 PT
Two things....
First, I believe Obama is holding on to legalization as a re-election promise (and it will work, too, IF he goes for full legalization; just medical would be more "iffy"!). Second, I came across a fairly standard southern news article about cannabis, with some bits of good info and some out-and-out misinformation. But the kicker is the poll with, at the moment-Should marijuana be legal in Mississippi?Choice Votes Percentage of 930 VotesYes 550 59%No 240 26%Only for medical purposes. 140 15%15 + 59 = 74% in favor of legal cannabis.....in MISSISSIPPI!WE HAVE WON!In case you want to vote... http://www.wapt.com/news/23506475/detail.html
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on May 11, 2010 at 13:35:20 PT
greenmed
I like this part and that's how I feel.Excerpt: First, to give credit where credit is due: The Obama administration has taken important steps to undo some of the damage of past administrations' drug policies. The Justice Department has played an important role in trying to reduce the absurdly harsh, and racially discriminatory, crack/powder mandatory minimum drug laws; Congress is likely to approve a major reform this year. DOJ also changed course on medical marijuana, letting state governments know that federal authorities would defer to their efforts to legally regulate medical marijuana under state law. And they approved the repeal of the ban on federal funding of syringe exchange programs to reduce HIV/AIDS, thereby indicating that science would at last be allowed to trump politics and prejudice even in the domain of drug policy.
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Comment #18 posted by greenmed on May 11, 2010 at 13:32:25 PT
We still have a long way to go...
'An Imperfect Improvement: Obama's New Drug War Strategy'http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ethan-nadelmann/ethan-nadelmann-critiques_b_571672.html
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Comment #17 posted by Hope on May 11, 2010 at 13:06:26 PT
Friends.
Many of us have been talking this political talk against the deadly, destructive prohibition of cannabis online and everywhere else for so many years that it seems obscene that things haven't improved any more than they have. But they have improved. We've gone trudging along so long, with our heads down and eyes to the ground, that we, of course, don't let ourselves get too excited about the improvements. More medical states. The votes on the west coast this fall. We hardly dare to hope. We've learned a lot over the years about hoping and being disappointed and outraged and miserable and upset about all this. We've seen them trample over every thing that we might have thought would surely end this egregious prohibition. We dared not let ourselves hope. Disappointment sucks.Prohibition will be prohibition right up to the minute it's stopped. We should expect no less. And no matter how long you've been trying to rouse others from their "banality of evil" sleep walk as far as cannabis prohibition is concerned, and how sick and tired you are of it, the fact is, the prohibitionists and the prohibitionists in government are just now beginning to hear us and very grudgingly accept that we're human beings and here at all. We have only begun to talk. Everything else was preparation for this moment in time. It's time to use the knowledge and the skills of reason, knowledge, and understanding we've been sharpening and honing all this time. That is daylight up ahead.
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on May 11, 2010 at 12:51:39 PT
ezrydn
When he is done with his 8 years as President history will show his good and bad side. I do believe he will be re-elected and hope he is. I look at the Bush Administration the same way. Time will tell. I am far from a Libertarian and more leaning towards the Green Party but really I am an Independent. Politics aren't a big thing to me and neither are Party affiliations. I vote for who I feel is the best person and that's all.
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Comment #15 posted by BGreen on May 11, 2010 at 12:50:36 PT
Watch it, ezrydn
Your battle is not against any of us. Don't pick a fight with FoM. Say what you want against Obama but please back off of FoM.Please.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #14 posted by BGreen on May 11, 2010 at 12:48:08 PT
If I Wanted A Republican President
I would have voted for one. Obama tried and failed to get any support from the Republicans. He capitulated, flipped, flopped, hopped, skipped and ran in giving up everything he stood for in hopes of cooperation but it failed, we gave up a lot and I thought it was over.Yes, I thought they had learned their lesson. I thought they learned to just do what was right, to just be the antithesis of the Republican party but I was wrong.No, apparently WE are the compromise. Apparently we are expendable and Obama has decided to sacrifice us to the party of prisons. Obama has become a "Republican Lite" instead of our escape from darkness.Obama is throwing us under the bus knowing full well that the Republicans still aren't going to give him a damned thing he wants from them.Obama was the best choice we had but he better stop bowing down to the Republicans and start fighting back against them with the same intensity and ferocity they throw at us.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #13 posted by ezrydn on May 11, 2010 at 12:38:18 PT:
One Question for FoM
When are you going to get past saying that all Obama's woes are due to the "past Administration?" Will you still be saying that if he gets another term? Will George be Barry's "whipping boy" forever? At what point to you hold him accountable personally for what he does and not blame "past Administrations? These are not rhetorical. They deserve answers. When? George didn't force him to turn SCOTUS into a "training camp" for elite attorneys, did he? When will you hold him accountable for his own actions? This free ride crap is growing thin, don't ya think?
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Comment #12 posted by ezrydn on May 11, 2010 at 12:31:02 PT:
My thoughts on Palin/McCain
That was a joke from the get-go. I had no idea that Obama would turn out the way he has. However, he's shown too many inconsistencies for me to even consider him for another term.Being a Nam vet, I've never trusted McCain. Then, when the air-head joined him, he became a non-entity.I receive all my income from the US government, rightly granted to me. It's all spent down South. None of it is placed within the US economy. And, I retain my right to vote, which I do through California, my last US address.While some might want to try and entice me into a verbal battle over individuals, that won't happen. If you love'em, vote for'em. And if I dislike or distrust them, I'll vote against them. That's yours and my right.However, I've seen enough to call it quits on the current Administration. It sure didn't take them long to get me to that point either.Many think I moved here to get away. Believe what you will. I live here because I have no direct family left and my wife is from here and her family is here. I love living down here. You say, "But, Mexico?" If there's a murder in Los Angeles, do you report it as a US Murder or a LA murder? I think you catch my drift. It's NOT everywhere!I stay involved in local politics, State politics and Federal politics.Besides, McCain-Palin is a thing of the past. It won't rear it's ugly head again. Not with that set of heads, anyway.As for Obama, I helped put him in and I can help to get him out, which I WILL do! And I'll probably do what I've heard a lot of people say they'll be doing, i.e., voting a straight Libertarian ticket. Make a statement to the Jackass' and the Hefalumps.
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Comment #11 posted by Nic on May 11, 2010 at 11:57:16 PT
When I wonder about my soul in this world
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8vENZwp1rk
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Comment #10 posted by Nic on May 11, 2010 at 11:23:43 PT
Oh Rev. Green show some Faith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdNV9JX-Xi8
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on May 11, 2010 at 09:21:21 PT
BGreen
I believe parents need to guide their children not society in general. What bothers me is busy bodies that have fueled this drug war using kids as their weapon. Why do parents hand over their kids to government propaganda that seems to have been pushed in the public school system? We didn't sing patriotic songs in Catholic school. Patriotism was not taught just being a good person and being socially aware.
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Comment #8 posted by BGreen on May 11, 2010 at 08:58:43 PT
Apparently, I Will Always Be A Criminal
I don't even give a damn anymore. It will always be Us against Them. We'll never be treated as human. More guns and more devious technological advances will haunt us for the rest of our lives. We'll continue to be driven underground. You can't have it both ways.If they want less support from me, then they've got it. If they want my support at the ballot box then I'll have to think long and hard about being their dupe.Worry about the kids but leave me alone. I don't even care about anybodies kids anymore. Every single baby can be aborted and every minor thrown off of a cliff. I don't give a flying cluck anymore. Smother you kids, starve your kids, ignore your kids, drug you kids or poison them. I don't care anymore BECAUSE I DON"T EVEN HAVE ANY KIDS!JUST LEAVE ME THE F# & ALONE!The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #7 posted by nic on May 11, 2010 at 08:42:47 PT
Where do they come from?
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n351/a11.html?102Another prohibitionist in the wood pile.It seems that one could easily substitute alcohol for marijuana. Responsible use!
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Comment #6 posted by Nic on May 11, 2010 at 08:39:44 PT
comment #5 is very correct
http://jacksonville.com/opinion/letters_from_readers/2009-08-15/story/marijuana_look_beyond_the_misinformationthis is a good letter, a bit old but so true.
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Comment #5 posted by Jim Leighton on May 11, 2010 at 07:18:02 PT:
They can't be this stupid
It is not stupidity that keeps prohibition going , it is the willful promotion of monied intrests . Legal cannabis will shatter many of the foundations of this present industrial civilization . Especially the, "grow your own ", movement , which will put cannabis back in the family garden if so desired . I want normalization of the herb , not more laws to muddy the water . The more science looks into cannabis the better and more appropiate for human consumption it is revealed to be . Our passion is pitted against the money of the ruling class of elite .They have the money , but we have powerful coherent thought concerning the truth about cannabis . They have the same access as us to this information , but gloss over it because the impact to their material world would be too great . As we act , out of our convictions , we will win the heart and minds of the people .
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on May 11, 2010 at 05:36:17 PT
The GCW
I agree with you. I am not at all unhappy with Obama. He is doing the best he can with what was passed on to him from the Bush Administration. We have made progress since he became President. If McCain and Palin were running the show we would still be trying to live in the 50s.
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Comment #3 posted by The GCW on May 11, 2010 at 05:30:58 PT
ezrydn,
Do You think You would be happier with McCain and Palin?
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Comment #2 posted by ezrydn on May 11, 2010 at 02:46:52 PT:
Move Along. Nothing To See Here.
So, the February report comes out in May. "Droopy Dog" Gil still hasn't a clue. His handlers won't even see him. When are they going to get it though their thick skulls that their numbers have no bearing on the public? Drug Free in 10 years, drug free in 5 years, 50% reduction in usage, 15% in next 5 years. When is this foolishness of numbers going to stop? It's just the same old garbage placed into new wrapping. They didn't even do anything to mask the putrid smell!As for Obama, even though I voted for him, I've totally given up on him. He has got to be the most clueless person I've ever voted for! As the joke goes, "That's Once!"
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Comment #1 posted by Brandon Perera on May 10, 2010 at 23:56:45 PT:
Seems like Obama is enjoying life more than others
Would u guys think this is a possibility?
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