Drug War Chronicle, Issue #542 -(url + editorial)- 7/11/08

A Publication of StoptheDrugWar.org
David Borden, Executive Director,
http://stopthedrugwar.org/user/borden
"News and Activism Supporting Sensible Reform"

Students: Intern at StoptheDrugWar.org to stop the drug war now!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/drcnet_internships_to_stop_the_drug_war

Drug War Chronicle Seeking Cases of Informant Abuse
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/help_us_find_botched_drug_war_informant_cases

Table of Contents:

1. EDITORIAL: DO DRUG LAWS AFFECT DRUG USE RATES? EVIDENTLY NOT
Another major study has shown that drug policy doesn't affect
drug use rates, and we already know the drug war doesn't affect
sales. But we know the harm that prohibition does. So what's the
point?
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/editorial_drug_laws_dont_affect_drug_use

2. FEATURE: VESTED INTERESTS OF PROHIBITION I: THE POLICE
Who profits from drug prohibition? With this article we begin
our occasional series on Vested Interests of Prohibition, and we
begin with a law enforcement establishment grown fat off drug
war bounty.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/vested_interests_drug_prohibition_law_enforcement

3. FEATURE: DESPITE HARSH DRUG POLICIES, US LEADS IN CANNABIS,
COCAINE USE, GLOBAL SURVEY FINDS
An international survey covering 54,000 people in 17 countries
representing all regions of the globe has found that the US
leads the world in cannabis and cocaine use rate despite decades
of harsh policies aimed at users. That strongly suggests harsh
drug policies don't necessarily result in lower use rates, the
researchers said.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/US_leads_cannabis_cocaine_use_rates_who_study

4. STUDENTS: INTERN AT DRCNET AND HELP STOP THE DRUG WAR!
Apply for an internship at DRCNet for this fall (or spring), and
you could spend the semester fighting the good fight!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/drcnet_internships_to_stop_the_drug_war

5. HELP NEEDED: DRUG WAR CHRONICLE SEEKING CASES OF INFORMANT
ABUSE
Drug War Chronicle is seeking information on serious police
misconduct or misjudgments in the treatment of informants.
Confidentiality will be protected.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/help_us_find_botched_drug_war_informant_cases

6. LAW ENFORCEMENT: THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
Cops in LA and New York get caught lying about drug busts, a
couple of Indiana cops get in trouble, an Alabama cop is headed
for prison, and, of course, more jail guards get caught.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/police_drug_corruption

7. MARIJUANA: MASSACHUSETTS DECRIM INITIATIVE APPROVED FOR
NOVEMBER BALLOT
The Massachusetts State Secretary has certified for the November
ballot an initiative that would decriminalize marijuana
possession in the Bay State.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/massachusetts_marijuana_decriminalization_initiative_november_ballot

8. MARIJUANA: OREGON INITIATIVE FOR REGULATED SALES STARTS
GATHERING SIGNATURES
Oregon already has decriminalization and medical marijuana. Now,
some state activists have launched an initiative campaign to
allow for taxed and regulated sales to adults. If they can get
the required signatures, the measure will be on the 2010 ballot.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/oregon_marijuana_tax_regulate_initiative

9. PAIN MEDICINE: PAIN RELIEF NETWORK SUES STATE OF WASHINGTON
OVER NARCOTIC PRESCRIBING GUIDELINES
A pain patients' and doctors' advocacy group has filed a lawsuit
challenging opioid prescribing guidelines promulgated by the
state of Washington.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/pain_relief_network_lawsuit_washington_opiod_prescribing_guidelines

10. MARIJUANA: GEORGIA GRAND JURY FOREMAN SAYS LEGALIZE IT
Grand juries are usually noted for their compliance with
prosecutorial desires, but at the end of their terms, they get
to issue reports on what they experienced and recommendations
for improvements. A Georgia grand jury foreman has used that
opportunity to call for marijuana legalization.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/georgia_grand_jury_foreman_legalize_marijuana

11. DRUG PROHIBITION: NO CLUE IN THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE
Over the years, the Texas legislature has developed a reputation
for producing some less than bright ideas, among other unsavory
qualities. This week, one Texas legislator seemed determined to
win this year's crown.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/texas_legislature_john_whitmire_drugs

12. LATIN AMERICA: ECUADOR ASSEMBLY PARDONS HUNDREDS OF DRUG
MULES
Last year, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, whose father had
done time in US jails as a drug courier, vowed to release
hundreds of low-level drug mules serving long sentences. Now,
the country's legislative organ has turned that vow into
reality.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/ecuador_pardons_drug_mules

13. MIDDLE EAST: IRAQ BECOMES KEY CONDUIT IN GLOBAL DRUG TRADE
Instability fostered by the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 has led
to the embattled country becoming a key conduit for Afghan opium
to Europe and the Middle East. Drug use rates are rising, too.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/iraq_key_conduit_global_drug_trade

14. WEEKLY: THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of
years past.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/drug_war_history

15. WEEKLY: BLOGGING @ THE SPEAKEASY
"If Police Don't Find Anything During a Drug Raid, Should They
Have To Fix the Damage?," "'Clearly there's no LSD, and how long
does it take to test a chocolate-chip cookie for marijuana?',"
"Do Pharmaceutical Companies Support Marijuana Prohibition?,"
"Police Refuse to Take Responsibility For Botched Drug Raid,"
"Police Discover World's Most Expensive Marijuana,"
"Congressional Black Caucus Members Try to Ban Menthol
Cigarettes," "Almost Any Drug Offense Can Keep You from Becoming
a Citizen or Getting a Green Card."
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/blogging_at_the_speakeasy

16. JOB OPPORTUNITY: HARM REDUCTION COUNSELOR/DRIVER, FROST'D @
HARLEM UNITED, NEW YORK CITY
The Foundation for Research on Sexually Transmitted Diseases, a
harm reduction agency in New York City, is hiring.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/frostd_harm_reduction_counselor_driver_nyc

17. FEEDBACK: DO YOU READ DRUG WAR CHRONICLE?
Do you read Drug War Chronicle? If so, we need your feedback to
evaluate our work and make the case for Drug War Chronicle to
funders. We need donations too.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/do_you_read_drug_war_chronicle

18. WEBMASTERS: HELP THE MOVEMENT BY RUNNING DRCNET SYNDICATION
FEEDS ON YOUR WEB SITE!
Support the cause by featuring automatically-updating Drug War
Chronicle and other DRCNet content links on your web site!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/drug_policy_content_syndication_feeds_now_available

19. RESOURCE: DRCNET WEB SITE OFFERS WIDE ARRAY OF RSS FEEDS FOR
YOUR READER
A new way for you to receive DRCNet articles -- Drug War
Chronicle and more -- is now available.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/drug_policy_RSS_feeds_now_available

20. RESOURCE: REFORMER'S CALENDAR ACCESSIBLE THROUGH DRCNET WEB
SITE
Visit our new web site each day to see a running countdown to
the events coming up the soonest, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/drug_reform_calendar

(Not subscribed? Visit http://stopthedrugwar.org to sign up
today!)

================

1. Editorial: Do Drug Laws Affect Drug Use Rates? Evidently Not
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/editorial_drug_laws_dont_affect_drug_use

David Borden, Executive Director,
http://stopthedrugwar.org/user/borden

Do drug laws affect drug use rates?

It's a core prohibitionist assumption that they do. Pass "tough"
drug laws -- harsher penalties, drug testing, more arrests --
and use will decline. Liberalize drug laws -- decrim, medical
marijuana, harm reduction -- and drug use will undoubtedly
skyrocket, society will implode, etc. It'll be the '70s all over
again -- maybe even the '60s.

As it turns out, however, that's simply not true. Study after
study has failed to find any increase in marijuana use following
the passage of decriminalization laws in many US states, for
example (http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3383). People
are more complex than the simplistic boxes that drug warriors
try to put them in.

Add one more study to the pile -- an important one
(http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/542/US_leads_cannabis_cocaine_use_rates_who_study).
This study, carried out in conjunction with the most recent
World Health Organization "Mental Health Surveys," boasts
nineteen authors -- yes, nineteen -- from eighteen different
countries on every continent. They examined data on drug use
from seventeen countries.

This diverse, respectable group of academics from around the
world determined that "[d]rug use does not appear to be related
to drug policy, as countries with more stringent policies (e.g.,
the US) did not have lower levels of illegal drug use than
countries with more liberal policies (e.g., The Netherlands)."

In other words, the drug war is all for nothing. So what's the
point of it? We've proven that we can invent more and more ways
of ruining or interfering with people's lives. But ruining lives
isn't a policy goal worth our dollars, or that our consciences
should tolerate. If harsh policies don't stop sellers, as we
discussed last week
(http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/541/drug_prohibition_is_a_failed_experiment)
-- and if they don't deter users, as this week's major report
has shown -- then what's left? Nothing worthwhile.

Sticklers will say that liberalizing drug laws under
prohibition, as the WHO group studied, is not the same as actual
legalization, in which drug sales will be conducted openly,
prices will drop, ads may even run. And on that level they are
right -- drug decriminalization is not the same thing as drug
legalization, to be sure.

But they're also wrong. It's true that no country today provides
a demonstration of outright legalization, not even the
Netherlands. But the experience of users of marijuana in the
Netherlands is one that _approximates_ legalization, because the
consequences of keeping the trade illegal are only felt at
multiple stages back in the supply chain. The experience of
entering an Amsterdam or Maastricht "coffee shop" is not a
criminal underground experience, even though they have to go to
the underground to get the stuff to sell, and that is what is
relevant to marijuana use and the impact that the policy has on
users.

Yet as the WHO data shows, marijuana use in the Netherlands does
not stand out from other countries in the neighborhood, and is a
fraction of the amount of it we have here in the United states
despite more than 700,000 arrests for the substance each year
and a wide range of collateral sanctions
(http://stopthedrugwar.org/taxonomy/term/202) that can dog
people for life. But we know the harm that prohibition does:

http://stopthedrugwar.org/topics/consequences_of_prohibition/corruption
http://stopthedrugwar.org/topics/consequences_of_prohibition/crime_violence
http://stopthedrugwar.org/topics/consequences_of_prohibition/disorder
http://stopthedrugwar.org/topics/consequences_of_prohibition/environmental_harm
http://stopthedrugwar.org/topics/consequences_of_prohibition/harm_intensification

So how about we just stop the whole thing, end the drug war and
legalize drugs? Who else thinks we should do that?

================

later
bliss -- C O C O A Powered... (at california dot com)
--
bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco

"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of cocoa that the thoughts acquire speed,
the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
--from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.

date: Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:23:48 -0700 author: bobbie sellers