Newshawk: http://www.drugsense.org/awards/
Pubdate: Sat, 3 Jul 2010
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Page: A3
Webpage: http://mapinc.org/url/6Xv8yAjo
Copyright: 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Contact: [email protected]
Author: Jean Guerrero

OUT IN THE OPEN: RAVES AND ECSTASY

LOS ANGELES-Twenty years after their heyday as an underground
phenomenon, the drug-fueled dance parties known as raves are making a
comeback as massive, commercial events.

But a recent wave of ecstasy-related deaths and hospitalizations tied
to such events have left some officials skeptical about their makeover.

Last week, a 15-year-old girl died of apparent drug-related causes
following an enormous rave held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum,
prompting a temporary moratorium on such gatherings at the
municipally owned venue.

An estimated 180,000 people, many of them teenagers, attended the
two-day party, known as the Electric Daisy Carnival.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10.n513.a07.html

Newshawk: Please Write a LTE www.mapinc.org/resource/#guides
Pubdate: Sat, 3 Jul 2010
Source: New York Times (NY)
Page: A18
Webpage: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/03/opinion/03sat3.html
Copyright: 2010 The New York Times Company
Contact: [email protected]
Cited: Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.aids.gov/about-us/?showTab=contact-us

SENSIBLE RULES, SOON

President Obama did the right thing in December when he repealed the
21-year-old ban on federal financing for programs that give drug
users access to clean needles. Almost nothing has happened since
because the Department of Health and Human Services still has not
issued the new rules that states and localities need before they can
use any federal money to expand existing exchange programs or start new ones.

Administration officials say the rules will be issued soon. They must
be written in a way that broadens access to needle exchanges, rather
than restricts it.

Congress voted to withhold federal money from these life-saving
programs in 1988 when it was already clear that clean needles slowed
the spread of H.I.V. and other blood-borne diseases without
contributing to addiction. Fortunately, not all states and localities
followed that destructive approach.

Researchers found that state-financed needle-exchange programs in New
York City cut the infection rate of H.I.V. among addicts by about 80
percent by giving them clean syringes and enrolling them in drug
treatment programs. By keeping addicts free of infection, the program
also has saved the lives of spouses, lovers and unborn children.

State and local health officials are eager for the new rules so they
can move forward and are pressing the Obama administration to avoid
placing unnecessary restrictions on already proven programs. They are
especially worried about how the new rules will interpret a provision
of the statute that gives local police departments some say in where
needle-exchange programs can be located. It is important to protect
the interests of local residents and businesses, but forcing exchange
sites to the far edges of a city or town would utterly defeat their purpose.

Managers of these programs often reach agreements with police
departments so that people coming in are not arrested for having drug
paraphernalia. Federal health officials should require local clinics
that get federal aid to confer with local law enforcement. Good will,
good sense and a readiness to cooperate is essential on all sides.
Successful, well-financed needle-exchange programs will improve
public health and public safety.

Newshawk: http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm
Pubdate: Thu, 1 Jul 2010
Source: New Times (San Luis Obispo, CA)
Webpage: http://mapinc.org/url/n1IgAd0J
Copyright: 2010 New Times
Contact: [email protected]
Author: Tom Ammiano
Note: California Assemblymember Tom Ammiano represents the 13th
Assembly District, which includes San Francisco.
Cited: Proposition 19 http://www.taxcannabis.org/
Referenced: National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse
http://mapinc.org/url/wL7rRxiZ
Referenced: California Research Advisory Panel http://mapinc.org/url/bJc9ZikX
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Tax+Cannabis+Act

TAKING THE NEXT STEP FOR CALIFORNIA

We can set an example for the nation as we did on medical marijuana
by passing the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 in November

What if California could raise hundreds of millions of dollars in new
revenue to preserve vital state services without any tax increases?
And what if at the same time, we could, without any new expense, help
protect our endangered wilderness areas while making it harder for
our kids to get drugs?

That is precisely what the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of
2010 initiative slated for the November ballot would do. This
measure, building off the legislation I introduced last year, is the
logical next step in California’s and hopefully the nation’s public
policy towards marijuana.

The legalization of cannabis would not only address California’s
growing economic crisis but, more importantly, would begin a rational
public policy discussion about how best to regulate the state’s
largest cash crop estimated to be worth roughly $14 billion annually.
Placing marijuana under the same regulatory system that now applies
to alcohol represents the natural evolution of California’s laws and
is in line with recent polls indicating strong support for
decriminalizing marijuana.

To understand the movement behind legalization, it is helpful to
understand how we got here. The state first prohibited marijuana in
1913. When Congress later passed the Controlled Substances Act in
1970, marijuana was temporarily labeled a “Schedule I substance”–an
illegal drug with no approved medical purposes.

But Congress acknowledged they did not know enough about marijuana to
permanently classify it to Schedule I, so a presidential commission
was created to review the research. In 1972, the National Commission
on Marijuana and Drug Abuse advised Congress to remove criminal
penalties on the possession and nonprofit distribution of marijuana.

Pubdate: Wed, 30 Jun 2010
Source: Battle Creek Enquirer (MI)
Webpage: http://mapinc.org/url/8bAyYf6G
Copyright: 2010 Battle Creek Enquirer
Contact: http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Author: Elizabeth Willis, The Enquirer
Referenced: Casias v. Wal-Mart
http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/casias_complaint_6_24_10.pdf
Cited: Wal-Mart https://www.walmartethics.com/
Cited: ACLU of Michigan http://www.aclumich.org/
Referenced: Michigan law http://drugsense.org/url/8mvr7sW8
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Joseph+Casias
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Michigan+medical+marijuana

MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENT FIRED, NOW SUING

Battle Creek Man Taking Wal-Mart to Court

On the steps of the Calhoun County Justice Center, Joseph Casias said
Tuesday it was unfair of his former Battle Creek employer to fire him
for legally using marijuana to treat his chronic pain.

On Casias’ behalf, state and national branches of the American Civil
Liberties Union along with St. Joseph attorney Daniel Grow filed a
lawsuit Tuesday morning in Calhoun County Circuit Court against
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. alleging his wrongful termination in November.

Casias, 30, had undergone a routine drug screening after spraining
his knee on the job. He was not under the influence of marijuana at
the time, according to the lawsuit, but the urine screen later
revealed the Calhoun County man had used marijuana sometime in the
previous days or weeks.

He then told his employers he was registered in Michigan to use
marijuana for chronic pain caused by an inoperable brain tumor and
previous sinus cancer treatments, ACLU spokeswoman Rana Elmir said.
At first his bosses told him that was fine, but shortly thereafter
terminated his employment.

“I feel like I’m being treated like a felon,” Casias said.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10.n503.a08.html

Pubdate: Sun, 27 Jun 2010
Source: Columbia Daily Tribune (MO)
Webpage: http://mapinc.org/url/Mf7JhJ3G
Copyright: 2010 Columbia Daily Tribune
Contact: [email protected]
Author: Eddie Adelstein
Note: Eddie Adelstein, associate professor of pathology at the
University of Missouri, is Boone County’s deputy medical examiner.

PRESCRIPTIONS SCARIER THAN ‘DEVIL WEED’

I remember hearing 62 years ago that Robert Mitchum had been caught
with a joint of marijuana in his suitcase, was arrested and his
acting career ended. I remember thinking, “He’s done for, now — that
devil weed has entered his brain, and it is all over for him.” Such
was the power of public disinformation. In people of my generation,
those concepts still hold true for many.

Every morning, we review the cases that come before the medical
examiner’s office. During the past few years, more and more deaths
are related to prescription drugs, often taken with legal
prescriptions for opiates. In 2009, drug overdoses reportedly
exceeded automobile deaths in 15 states. Some studies indicated
deaths from ingesting multiple prescription drugs is up by 60
percent. This is partially fueled by the ever-increasing volume of
advertisements for prescription drugs on television. Serotonin
selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) are epidemic. You know them as
drugs such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil. The costs to health care are enormous.

[snip]

In the 25 years I have been a medical examiner, however, I have
neither seen nor heard of a death caused by marijuana. Given the
choice of being placed in a room of either marijuana smokers or
alcoholics, I would choose the marijuana smokers. Except for
lethargy, there are few side effects of this drug.

[snip]

Often, the older generation that demands punishment for marijuana has
never actually used this natural herbal drug. They believe the old
stories about “devil weed.” If they actually smoked marijuana, they
would be surprised because the first time, almost nothing happens. If
they try it again, they might notice a feeling of relaxation, of
overlooking the small annoyances of life and of a small increase in
appetite. They would notice that, unlike with alcohol, they have
greater tolerance for their fellow man and tend to be more careful
about their activities, such as driving. The next day, they are
often relaxed and somewhat apathetic to carrying out tasks. Humans
become more sensitive to marijuana, rather than developing a
resistance, as with some mind-altering drugs. I would never advocate
any drug, but this one has fewer side effects than most.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10.n496.a03.html

Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jun 2010
Source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX)
Copyright: 2010 Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Contact: http://www.star-telegram.com/submit-a-letter/
Website: http://www.star-telegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/162
Author: Leonard Pitts

THE NEW JIM CROW BY MICHELLE ALEXANDER, A MUST READ

“You have to face the fact that the whole problem is really the
blacks.

The key is to devise a system that recognizes this all while not
appearing to.” — Richard Nixon as quoted by H.R. Haldeman, supporting
a get-tough-on drugs strategy.

“They give black people time like it’s lunch down there. You go down
there looking for justice, that’s what you find: just us.” — Richard
Pryor.

Michelle Alexander was an ACLU attorney in Oakland, preparing a racial
profiling lawsuit against the California Highway Patrol. The ACLU had
put out a request for anyone who had been profiled to get in touch.
One day, in walked this black man.

He was maybe 19 and toted a thick sheaf of papers, what Alexander
calls an “incredibly detailed” accounting of at least a dozen police
stops over a nine-month period, with dates, places and officers’
names. This was, she thought, a “dream plaintiff.”

But it turned out he had a record, a drug felony — and she told him
she couldn’t use him; the state’s attorney would eat him alive. He
insisted he was innocent, said police had planted drugs and beaten
him. But she was no longer listening. Finally, enraged, he snatched
the papers back and started shredding them.

“You’re no better than the police,” he cried. “You’re doing what they
did to me!” The conviction meant he couldn’t work or go to school, had
to live with his grandmother. Did Alexander know how that felt? And
she wanted a dream plaintiff? “Just go to my neighborhood,” he said.
“See if you can find one black man my age they haven’t gotten to already.”

She saw him again a couple of months later. He gave her a potted plant
from his grandmother’s porch — he couldn’t afford flowers — and
apologized. A few months after that, a scandal broke: Oakland police
officers accused of planting drugs and beating up innocent victims.
One of the officers involved was the one named by that young man.

“It was,” says Alexander now, more than 10 years later, “the beginning
of me asking some hard questions of myself as a civil rights lawyer.
What is actually going on in his neighborhood? How is it that
they’ve already gotten to all the young African-American men in his
neighborhood? I began questioning my own assumptions about how the
criminal justice system works.”

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n489/a05.html

This film shows the hypocrisy of politicians who remain silent on the issue of drugs despite their own experiences and, more importantly, despite the fact people are executed to commemorate World Drugs Day.