• Drug Policy - Question of the Week

    Is drug classification accurate?

    Drug Policy Question of the Week – 11-17-10

    As answered by Mary Jane Borden, Editor of Drug War Facts for the Drug Truth Network on 11-17-10. http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3151

    Question of the Week: Is drug classification accurate?

    The National Institute on Drug Abuse has named this week, November 8th through November 14th, National Drug Facts Week.

    NIDA “encourage(s) teens to get factual answers from scientific experts about drugs and drug abuse.”

    NIDA’s publication for this event entitled, “Drugs: Shatter the Myths,” contains “Facts” for marijuana, tobacco, methamphetamine, prescription drugs, and “huffing.” A search of it for “alcohol” finds no fact for this substance that is used monthly by 10 million American teens aged 12-20. This publication also omitted facts concerning heroin, cocaine, and crack.

    Last week, the prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, published an article entitled, “Drug harms in the UK: a multicriteria decision analysis.” A panel of experts used this analysis technique to rate 20 different drugs on 16 total criteria of harm to the individual and harm to others.

    This study found alcohol to be the most harmful drug. Its harm to others was rated as almost twice that for heroin and crack cocaine that placed second and third in this category. Heroin, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine were scored as most harmful to the individual. Still, alcohol’s overall harm score was 50% higher than that for runners up heroin and cocaine, dwarfing the scores of the seventeen other drugs evaluated.

    It appears that the three drugs deemed to be most harmful in one of the most prestigious scientific journals — alcohol, crack cocaine, and heroin — were overlooked in NIDA’s official publication for National Drug Facts Week.

    The Lancet article sums up this omission concluding,

    “the present drug classification systems have little relation to the evidence of harm.”

    These facts and others like them can be found in the Drug Usage and Addictive Properties of Drugs chapters of Drug War Facts at www.drugwarfacts.org.

    Questions concerning these or other facts concerning drug policy can be e-mailed to [email protected]

  • Drug Policy - Hot Off The 'Net - International

    IV drug policy fails HIV patients: Red Cross

    The spread of HIV and AIDS among millions of people could be slowed if addicts who inject drugs were treated as medical patients rather than as criminals, the International Federation of the Red Cross said Friday.

    More than 80 per cent of the world’s governments “are inclined to artificial realities, impervious to the evidence that treating people who inject drugs as criminals is a failed policy that contributes to the spread of HIV,” the Red Cross said.

    An estimated 16 million people worldwide inject drugs, mainly because it delivers the fastest, most intense high, in what has become a growing trend on every continent, according to the Red Cross.

    The launch of the International Federation of the Red Cross’ 24-page report — essentially to promote a new strategy for nations to stop the spread of the virus among injecting drug users — comes in the week before World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.

  • Drug Policy - Hot Off The 'Net

    Obama’s Pick for Top Drug War Enforcer Needs to Answer Some Tough Questions

    By Paul Armentano, The Hill

    This Wednesday, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will be considering Michele Leonhart for the position of director of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Several organizations that lobby on drug policy issues have voiced serious concerns regarding Ms. Leonhart’s nomination.

    As Interim DEA director, Ms. Leonhart has overseen dozens of federal raids on medical marijuana providers, producers, and laboratory facilities that engage in the testing of cannabis potency and quality. These actions took place in states that have enacted laws allowing for the production and distribution of marijuana for medical purposes, and they are inconsistent with an October 19, 2009 Department of Justice memo recommending federal officials no longer “focus … resources … on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana.”

  • Cannabis & Hemp - Drug Policy - Question of the Week

    Could legalizing marijuana help cure breast cancer?

    Drug Policy Question of the Week – 11-4-10

    As answered by Mary Jane Borden, Editor of Drug War Facts for the Drug Truth Network on 11-4-10. http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3132

    Question of the Week: Could legalizing marijuana help cure breast cancer?

    This was the title of an article that recently received top placement on AlterNet.org. October has been National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

    Scientific journals like Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, Molecular Cancer Therapeutic, and Molecular Cancer have all published fairly recent pre-clinical studies concerning the potential of cannabinoids as treatments for breast cancer. These studies also extol the safety of cannabinoid therapies.

    The human body contains an internal system interrelated with molecules in the cannabis – marijuana – plant. A neurological signaling structure called the endocannabinoid system is now known to govern numerous bodily processes like appetite, pain, and even the birth of new brain cells. Cannabinoid receptors, called CB1 and CB2, are located in various cell membranes and activated by the body’s own cannabinoid molecules, as well as those unique to the cannabis plant (THC, CBD) or synthetically-derived.

    The latest research is proving that cannabinoids, as part of this bodily system, plays a mitigating role in breast cancer.

    A breast cancer diagnosis will confront about 1 in 8 American women this year. Some 40,000 will die from it. Therapies involve invasive surgery, heavy radiation, and toxic chemotherapy.

    Over the decades, a labyrinth of governmental agencies with multi-billion dollar budgets has enforced marijuana laws while thwarting clinical research and reinforcing anti-marijuana stereotypes.

    Numerous efforts have challenged the U.S. Government’s monopoly control over cannabis, but they haven’t dislodged the federal government’s grip on this policy.

    To accelerate the clinical trials that will develop promising cannabinoid-based breast cancer treatments, an untried question might be asked, could legalizing marijuana help cure breast cancer?

    Article in Breast Cancer Research & Treatment: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20859676

    Article in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19887554

    Article in Molecular Cancer: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2917429/pdf/1476-4598-9-196.pdf

    Article by Mary Jane Borden on AlterNet:  Could legalizing marijuana in California help cure breast cancer?

    These facts and others like them can be found in the Medical Marijuana chapter of Drug War Facts at www.drugwarfacts.org.

    Questions concerning these or other facts concerning drug policy can be e-mailed to [email protected]

  • Cannabis & Hemp - Drug Policy - Question of the Week

    Do marijuana users need treatment?

    Drug Policy Question of the Week – 10-27-10

    As answered by Mary Jane Borden, Editor of Drug War Facts for the Drug Truth Network on 10-27-10. http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3120

    Question of the Week: Do marijuana users need treatment?

    First, with respect to life saving treatment, marijuana is fairly safe. According to the World Health Organization in 1998,

    “There are no confirmed cases of human deaths from cannabis poisoning in the world medical literature.”

    Further, Drug Abuse Warning Network data showed no emergency room marijuana deaths from 2004 to 2008.

    The National Institute of Drug Abuse in its December 2007 edition of Addiction Science and Clinical Practice stated,

    “Marijuana produces dependence less readily than most other illicit drugs. Some 9 percent of those who try marijuana develop dependence compared to, for example, 15 percent of people who try cocaine and 24 percent of those who try heroin.” (p. 5)

    This 9 percent translates into around 9.4 million individuals based on the 104 million Americans who in 2009 were believed to have ever tried marijuana.

    NIDA estimates that around 4.3 percent of Americans have been dependent on marijuana, as defined in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

    Describing withdrawal, the NIDA report noted that, marijuana withdrawal

    “does not appear to include major medical or psychiatric consequences and may be considered mild compared with heroin and severe alcohol withdrawal syndromes.” (p. 10)

    Ironically, one treatment showing great promise for marijuana withdrawal is its own active ingredient, THC. The NIDA report concluded that,

    “THC reduced craving and ratings of anxiety, feelings of misery, difficulty sleeping, and chills. … These findings were replicated in an outpatient study, which found that moderate oral dosage of THC (10 mg, three times daily) suppressed many marijuana withdrawal symptoms and that a higher dosage (30 mg, three times daily) almost completely abolished [them].” (p. 11)

    These facts and others like them can be found in the Treatment and Marijuana chapters of Drug War Facts at www.drugwarfacts.org.

    Questions concerning these or other facts concerning drug policy can be e-mailed to [email protected]

    Drug Policy Question of the Week – 10-20-10

    As answered by Mary Jane Borden, Editor of Drug War Facts for the Drug Truth Network on 10-20-10. http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3111

    Question of the Week: How accurate is government data?

    This is an interesting question since we covered drug use and arrest estimates during the last few Drug Truth Network shows. While government statisticians may attempt to calculate best estimates and even though their work may represent the only numbers on a subject, several reports suggest that readers should be mindful of data limitations and skeptical about results.

    Recall that the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health contained the caveat,

    “2002 and later data should not be compared with 2001 and earlier data from the survey series to assess changes over time.” (p. 8 )

    The recent “Reducing Drug Trafficking Revenues and Violence in Mexico” report from the RAND Corporation used the following quote from 2006 National Drug Control Strategy published by the Office of National Drug Control Policy as an example of questionable data:

    “Mexican traffickers receive more than $13.8 billion in revenue from illicit-drug sales to the United States; 61 percent of that revenue, or $8.5 billion, is directly tied to marijuana export sales.” (p. 36)

    But after analyzing these numbers, RAND researchers concluded,

    “We are not aware of any publicly available documents that provide empirical support for these figures. Not only does this make it difficult to assess whether the figures are correct; it also makes it difficult to understand what these figures actually cover.” (p. 28)

    A 2003 report called the Numbers Game from the Transnational Institute summarized one of the main problems with data related to illegal drugs,

    “the obstacles to statistical data collection are daunting [because] The illegal nature of the industry precludes direct measurement.” (p. 2)

    The report also noted,

    “Morals and ideology tend to play an extremely strong role in those debates. For these reasons, all illicit drug data can be manipulated for political gain.” (p. 3)

    These facts and others like them can be found in the Drug Usage and U.S. Policy chapters of Drug War Facts at http://www.drugwarfacts.org.

    Questions concerning these or other facts concerning drug policy can be e-mailed to [email protected]

    Do marijuana users need treatment?

  • Drug Policy - Hot Off The 'Net - International

    UN Expert Calls For A Fundamental Shift In Global Drug Control Policy

    At a press conference in New York on Tuesday 26 October, at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly, one of the UN’s key human rights experts will call for a fundamental rethink of international drug policy.

    Anand Grover, from India, is the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health, whose mandate is derived from the UN Human Rights Council. Mr Grover’s annual thematic report, to be presented on October 25/26, sets out the range of human rights abuses that have resulted from international drug control efforts, and calls on Governments to:

    * Ensure that all harm-reduction measures (as itemized by UNAIDS) and drug-dependence treatment services, particularly opioid substitution therapy, are available to people who use drugs, in particular those among incarcerated populations.

    * Decriminalize or de-penalize possession and use of drugs.

    * Repeal or substantially reform laws and policies inhibiting the delivery of essential health services to drug users, and review law enforcement initiatives around drug control to ensure compliance with human rights obligations.

    * Amend laws, regulations and policies to increase access to controlled essential medicines

    * To the UN drug control agencies, Mr Grover recommends the creation of an alternative drug regulatory framework based on a model such as the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

    The report is the clearest statement to date from within the UN system about the harms that drug policies have caused and the need for a fundamental shift in drug policy.

    The report has been welcomed by the European Union in the EU statement on crime and drugs to the UN General Assembly.

  • Cannabis & Hemp - Drug Policy

    Re: Hard Drugs Are The Source Of B.C.’S Notoriety

    To the editor,

    Congratulations to Ethan Baron for recognizing that cannabis should be legally regulated, however, he needs to do his homework on illicit drugs and drug policy. ("Hard drugs are the source of B.C.’s notoriety," Oct 15.)

    The “hard drugs” Baron mentions; heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and methamphetamine, are also orders of magnitude less harmful than tobacco and alcohol when used as directed in a legally regulated environment.

    Meth is available by prescription, ecstasy (MDMA) is being clinically reconsidered for psychotherapy, pharmaceutical heroin, used as directed, in no worse than any other opiate, and coca tea is healthier
    than coffee and other caffeinated energy drinks.

    Most of the crime and violence we associate with hard drugs is made worse by, if not caused by, criminal prohibition. The three evidence-based pillars of our drug control regime; prevention, treatment and harm reduction, are fettered and grossly outspent by the fourth, drug law enforcement.

    The vast majority of drug users are not low-income, nor disadvantaged, nor under-educated, and consume drugs moderately and non-problematically. Most who become addicted are self-medicating
    preexisting psychological problems that cops, courts and criminalization exacerbate.

    The more harmful the substance, the less it makes sense to abdicate control of it to unaccountable criminals who sell drugs of unknown potency, purity and provenance, on commission, to anyone, of any age, any time, anywhere, no questions asked. We have more control over cat food than we do the so-called “controlled drugs and substances.”

    Matthew M. Elrod

  • Drug Policy - Question of the Week

    How many Americans use illegal drugs?

    Drug Policy Question of the Week – 10-9-10

    As answered by Mary Jane Borden, Editor of Drug War Facts for the Drug Truth Network on 10-9-10. http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3098

    Question of the Week: How many Americans use illegal drugs?

    In 1992, Congress established the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SAMSHA’s Office of Applied Studies collects, analyzes, and disseminates public health data including the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health. This survey, fielded since 1971, reports the prevalence of illicit drug, alcohol, and tobacco use in the civilian, non-institutionalized US population aged 12 or older.

    The 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health report was released in mid-September. Those quoting it should make note of its “Limitations on Trend Measurement” section that reads,

    “2002 and later data should not be compared with 2001 and earlier data from the survey series to assess changes over time.”

    Anyone who makes such comparisons is misrepresenting SAMSHA data.

    The Drug Usage Chapter of Drug War Facts now contains three tables based on post-2001 SAMSHA data.

    The first table displays the percentage change in use by substance from 2002 to 2006 (at the five year mark) and from 2002-2009 to reflect the most current trends. Overall illicit use has increased by almost 12% since 2002.

    The second table shows values for Estimated Lifetime use by substance from 2002 to 2009. Lifetime use means trying a drug at least once. About 119 million Americans have used an illicit substance at least once.

    The third table reflects the estimated number of individuals who have used an illicit substance at least once per month. Called “Current users,” an estimated 22 million Americans used illegal drugs at least once per month in 2009.

    These facts and others like them can be found in the Drug Usage Chapter of Drug War Facts at www.drugwarfacts.org.

    Questions concerning these or other facts concerning drug policy can be e-mailed to [email protected]