In 2009, the United Nations Member States decided to make further and decisive progress, within a decade, in controlling illicit drug supply and demand. Many illicit drug markets have reached global dimensions and require control strategies on a comparable scale. In that context, there is a need to better understand these transnational markets and the manner in which they operate. This year’s World Drug Report is a contribution towards that objective. It opens with an analytical discussion of three key transnational drug markets: the markets for heroin, cocaine and amphetamine-type stimulants. The market discussion is followed by a presentation of statistical trends for all major drug categories. The latest information on drug production, seizures and consumption is presented. Finally, there is a discussion on the relationship between drug trafficking and instability.
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Jamaican gangster and drug kingpin Christopher “Dudus” Coke, subject of a violent month-long manhunt in the slums of West Kingston, surrendered to authorities on Wednesday without a shot being fired. He happened to be dressed as a woman at the time, police gleefully announced, providing photo evidence — a darkly comic anticlimax to a senseless battle that killed 73 people and wounded 35 more. It’s no exaggeration to say that drug consumers in the world’s leading nations have blood on their hands. Their presidents and prime ministers have more.
Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/06/24/chris-selley-our-indefensibly-blood-soaked-drug-laws/#ixzz0rob7tI38
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Newshawk: Citizen Advocacy www.mapinc.org/resource/#activism
Pubdate: Thu, 24 Jun 2010
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Webpage: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/hawes-254821-norml-marijuana.html
Copyright: 2010 The Orange County Register
Contact: [email protected]
Author: David Whiting
Cited: Orange County NORML http://orangecountynorml.org/
Cited: The State Referendum http://www.taxcannabis.org/
Referenced: Attorney General Jerry Brown’s guidelines
http://mapinc.org/url/kKMJR2lu
Referenced: Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It
http://www.judgejimgray.com/whyourdruglawshavefailed.php
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/NORML (NORML)ARREST SPARKS HER FIGHT AGAINST POT LAWS
Sitting across the table, at a Starbucks in San Clemente, Kandice
Hawes is all business in black Capri pants, a fashionable top and a
demure gray sweater.“Of course I smoke pot,” she says in a loud voice that expresses both
surprise and amusement at the question.Holy smoke! I look around, worried someone might hear. After all, I
lived through Nancy Reagan’s America when smoking marijuana was
pretty much the same as shooting heroin, when all drugs were lumped
together under the “Just Say No” campaign.But Hawes, 28, is a generation younger. She came of age after 1996,
when California voters approved Proposition 215, the Compassionate
Use Act allowing medical marijuana.[snip]
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Pubdate: Mon, 28 Jun 2010
Source: Time Magazine (US)
Webpage: http://mapinc.org/url/STjpe80L
Copyright: 2010 Time Inc
Contact: [email protected]
Author: Steven Gray
Cited: Michigan’s department of community health
http://drugsense.org/url/nDFeNDPs
Cited: Coalition for a Safer Detroit http://www.saferdetroit.net/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Michigan+medical+marijuana
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis – Medicinal – U.S.)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?261 (Cannabis – United States)GROWTH INDUSTRY: LEARNING HOW TO GROW MEDICAL MARIJUANA
This is what a medical-marijuana class looks like. Twenty-five or so
students – men, women, young, middle-aged – listen attentively as an
instructor holds up a leafy green plant and runs down the list of
nutrients it needs. Nitrogen: stimulates leaf and stem growth.
Magnesium: helps leaf structure. Phosphorous: aids in the germination
of seeds. Michigan’s Med Grow Cannabis College is one of several
unaccredited schools to have sprung up in the 14 states and the
District of Columbia that have legalized medical use of marijuana.
Many of its students suffer from chronic pain. Others are looking to
supply those in need of relief.[snip]
Fear of violent crime is one reason recreational use of marijuana is
still illegal almost everywhere. And yet, ironically, the reason
Detroit may follow Philadelphia’s lead and liberalize restrictions on
possession of small amounts of marijuana is to alleviate the strain
on the local criminal-justice system.In November, Californians will vote on a measure that would legalize
marijuana for recreational use – and allow the drug to be taxed. Tom
Ammiano, a Democratic assemblyman from San Francisco, estimates such
a tax could generate up to $2 billion in annual revenue for
California. “When I speak about this issue, there’s always a line of
people with a business angle – an idea for a dispensary or a new grow
light,” he says. “We’re a capitalistic society, and realistically,
the tax will push people over the edge [to] realize, ‘There’s gold in
them thar hills.'” And Nick Tennant will have his pickax at the ready.Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10.n483.a07.html
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Drug Policy Question of the Week – 6-21-10
As answered by Mary Jane Borden, Editor of Drug War Facts for the Drug Truth Network on 6-21-10. http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/2946
Question of the Week: Is there any science news on medical marijuana?
Those of you who follow medicinal cannabis likely know that this question represents a play on words, for the subject is the cover story of the current issue of the prestigious Science News magazine, published biweekly since 1922 by the non-profit Society for Science and the Public.
This article, entitled “Not just a high: Scientists test medicinal marijuana against MS, inflammation and cancer” and available in full text on their website, provides a comprehensive overview of cannabis’ underlying biology, where it stands politically, and the studies that are defining new indications for it in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn’s Disease, PTSD, cancer, and diabetes.
What is particularly important about this Science News article are the 38 published studies that comprise its “Suggested Reading” and “Citations & References” sections. Several studies can be found in Drug War Facts.
As a sample, two studies concerning diabetic neuropathy discuss positive uses for cannabidiol, a component of cannabis termed a cannabinoid and abbreviated as CBD. One study in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science states,
“CBD has been shown to block NMDA-, LPS-, or diabetes induced retinal damage.”
The other study in the World Journal of Diabetes concluded,
“Recent evidence suggests that local inflammation plays a major role in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy. The function of CBD as an antioxidant to block oxidative stress and as an inhibitor of adenosine reuptake to enhance a self-defense mechanism against retinal inflammation represents a novel therapeutic approach to the treatment of ophthalmic complications associated with diabetes.”
These facts and others like them can be found in the Medical Marijuana chapter of Drug War Facts. Be sure to look for the research section toward the bottom of the page. The website for Science News is www.sciencenews.org.
Questions concerning these or other facts concerning drug policy can be e-mailed to [email protected].
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Newshawk: http://www.novembercoalition.org
Pubdate: Mon, 21 Jun 2010
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Page: 21
Copyright: 2010 Guardian News and Media Limited
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author: Mary O’Hara
Cited: International Harm Reduction Association http://www.ihra.net/
Referenced: The report
http://www.ihra.net/Assets/2538/1/IHRA_DeathPenaltyReport2010.pdfINTERNATIONAL DRUG CRIME MEASURES ‘LEAD TO EXECUTIONS’
Enforcement by Britain, the UN and the EU Backs Up Regimes That
Ignore Human Rights, Says ReportThe United Nations, the European commission and individual states
including Britain are flouting international human rights law by
funding anti-drug crime measures that are inadvertently leading to
the executions of offenders, according to a report seen by the Guardian.The International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA), a
non-governmental organisation that advocates less punitive approaches
to drugs policy globally, says it has gathered evidence revealing
“strong links” between executions for drugs offences and the funding
of specific drug enforcement operations by international agencies.It says programmes aimed at shoring up local efforts to combat drug
trafficking and other offences are being run “without appropriate
safeguards” that could prevent serious human rights violations in
countries that retain the death penalty.The report concludes that the UN Office on Drugs and Crime are all
actively involved in funding and/or delivering technical assistance,
legislative support and financial aid intended to strengthen domestic
drug enforcement activities in states that retain the death penalty
for drug offences.[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10.n472.a05.html
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Newshawk: Please Write a LTE www.mapinc.org/resource/#guides
Pubdate: Mon, 21 Jun 2010
Source: Detroit Free Press (MI)
Page: 4A
Webpage: http://mapinc.org/url/ZU02YgTA
Copyright: 2010 Detroit Free Press
Contact: http://www.freep.com/article/99999999/opinion04/50926009
Author: Katherine Yung, Free Press Business Writer
Cited: Michigan Department of Community Health
http://drugsense.org/url/nDFeNDPs
Referenced: Michigan’s law http://drugsense.org/url/8mvr7sW8
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Michigan+medical+marijuana
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis – Medicinal – U.S.)WHO’S MAKING MONEY OFF MEDICAL MARIJUANA?
It’s Not Who You’d Think; Growers Don’t Get Rich — Unless They Break the Law
In a small second-story office on Main Street in Ann Arbor, Liberty
Clinic is doing brisk business, selling medical marijuana for $360 to
$400 an ounce. In just 3 1/2 months, 750 patients have come through its doors.In Lansing, Danny Trevino has expanded beyond his HydroWorld
hydroponics store, adding two medical clinics, grow classes and a dispensary.And in Ypsilanti, Darrell Stavros and his partners have set up a
medical marijuana service center, renting space to a support group,
doctors and a bong shop. “This is creating an enormous amount of
businesses that never existed,” he said.Medical marijuana, one of the state’s newest industries, is taking
off. Dozens of hydroponics stores, medical clinics and grow schools
are popping up. And at support groups, cafes and dispensaries,
patients and growers are buying and selling the drug.As with any industry, there are challenges, such as crop failures and
theft. And limits on the size of growers’ crops make it all but
impossible for growers to get rich, though they can earn some decent money.“A few people will make a few bucks. Most people won’t make much,”
said Adam Brook, organizer of the annual Ann Arbor Hash Bash.Entrepreneurs Cashing in on Services Tied to Growing
[snip]
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10.n471.a09.html
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Source: Oakland Tribune, The (CA)
Webpage: http://mapinc.org/url/PRmIjMrf
Copyright: 2010 Bay Area News Group
Contact: http://www.insidebayarea.com/feedback/tribune
Author: Josh Richman, Oakland Tribune
Cited: Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act http://www.taxcannabis.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Tax+Cannabis+Act
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis – California)THE COLOR OF POT CAMPAIGN IS GREEN, AND BASED IN OAKLAND
Win or lose, the marijuana legalization measure on November’s ballot
proves one thing: The pot industry has arrived in California politics.Oakland’s most prominent purveyor of medical cannabis has almost
single-handedly financed the Tax Cannabis 2010 campaign – a
once-unthinkable occurrence. Election experts say it’s a sign that
the pot industry has reached a rarefied political pinnacle: Pot can
afford to buy its way into voter-approved legitimacy.Just as PG&E spent $46.4 million to push Proposition 16 and Mercury
Insurance spent $15.9 million to push Proposition 17 to further their
own interests this spring, so too is Oaksterdam University in Oakland
shelling out millions to invest in its own economic future.And Oaksterdam’s owner, Richard Lee, could arguably make a mint if
the measure passes.