The illegal drug market causes damage in many developing nations, but there are two countries with major drug booms: Afghanistan and Myanmar. Both countries have a long history of being ravaged by endless conflicts. Amid great confusion, the opium market has bloomed. In Afghanistan, many farmers carry massive debts from the drug traffickers after receiving their help during the start-up period. Unfortunately, most end up never being able to pay the money back as government raids often destroy the crops that were promised to the drug dealers as payment. If such unplanned obstacles appear, many farmers are trapped between two extreme solutions. They either give up their family to the drug dealers for collateral, or they have to flee their land. Both options are very dangerous, and many find themselves taken as hostages or killed. The government intervention of directly destroying the opium fields has turned out to be highly ineffective-farmers encounter desperate troubles that can only be solved through extreme means. The illegal drugs also help give power to militant groups such as the Taliban. They control the opium market and continue to strengthen from its profit. While the fields are getting destroyed, there are new fields created to make up the loss and the efforts of the government only victimize the poor. Therefore, the Afghan government is being ineffective in solving the problem. [continues 701 words]
Monsters and angels, good and bad-these are the separations that make our society feel comfortable. Seeing acts of crime and horrific violence perpetrated by certain groups of people, it becomes easy to create a mentality of disconnect between "us," the morally superior community, and "them," the violent monsters that appear only in our worst nightmares. However, it is not so easy to accept the realization that the line between angel and monster relies entirely upon one's own perspective. Even harder still is the acceptance that the actions of angels fuel the reactions of devils. [continues 820 words]
Members of the UW community attended a lecture to learn about the legal, medical and physical environment of medical marijuana at an event sponsored by the UW Horticultural Society. Gary Storck, president of the Madison chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, spoke about the historical and scientific backgrounds of medical cannabis before delving into recent medical and legal developments. Storck said using marijuana for medical purposes is not a recent development. "A Chinese emperor's stash was recently discovered in his tomb: two pounds of herbal cannabis that still contained THC," Storck said. [continues 281 words]
A few days ago, California came just 7.6 percent short from a full legalization of marijuana in its much-hyped and controversial Proposition 19 vote. Needless to say, I almost dropped my croissant upon reading this news during my morning Internet current events binge. Then I started thinking in hypotheticals. One can argue it's inevitable that marijuana will be legalized in the United States at some point in the future, with fairly credible statistics backing them up. So let's say tomorrow, being some point in the future, marijuana was declared fully legal in Madison with no strings attached, turning our city into the world's largest Bob Marley fan club of all time. What would happen? Who would benefit? Would society change for the better? Or would we all succumb to sitting on our couches, giggling whilst watching morning cartoons in Spanish? [continues 518 words]
Currently, fourteen states across the nation allow the use of medicinal marijuana as a treatment for various illnesses. For cancer patients, marijuana is used to remedy the terrible nausea that follows chemotherapy. In people affected by glaucoma, the sticky icky has been shown to reduce irritating intraocular eye pressure. Even for people with AIDS, pot stimulates appetite in order to reverse the debilitating effects of wasting syndrome. For having such undeniable treatment potential, marijuana gets a tremendously bad rap from an overwhelming population of older conservatives. While a growing number of states recently began to weigh the pros and cons of pot, the super-conservative sector of our society has been unjustly demonizing marijuana for ages. Apparently, this pot-blocking trend finally hit a road block right here in Wisconsin. A few weeks ago, the Dane County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to allow an advisory referendum to be placed on the election ballot this November that reads: "Should the Wisconsin Legislature enact legislation allowing residents with debilitating medical conditions to acquire and possess marijuana for medical purposes if supported by their physician?" [continues 739 words]
Don't leave public opinion out of public decisions. Two weeks ago, the powerful hand of the law laid a smack down on one of the few remaining legal drugs being used throughout Wisconsin. Salvia divinorum, commonly confused with saliva, was effectively banned from being manufactured and distributed among the many citizens of Wisconsin. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the short-term hallucinogenic drug, salvia is a Mexican herb that was legal to those over the age of eighteen up until March 3, 2010. The drug is known to cause hallucinations that remain for a short period of time. They occur seconds after being smoked, licked or chewed. The lack of lengthy sensory stimulations produced by salvia have pushed it to become an afterthought substance among avid drug users and essentially makes it an unpopular and somewhat "non-existent" drug to the general public. [continues 558 words]
If we can learn anything from the recent troubles of Michael Phelps, it's that marijuana should not be illegal in the U.S. Until Wednesday, I was going to keep my mouth shut about the media's obsession with Michael Phelps hitting a bong. But, in the midst of my Digging, I found an article on CNN.com titled "Police Looking to Charge Michael Phelps for Smoking Pot." This has gone too far -- much too far. Are the police really going to charge an Olympian for recreational marijuana smoking, something that allegedly happened all the way back in November? Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott claims, "If someone breaks a law in Richland County, we have an obligation as law enforcement to investigate and to bring charges." Must we pry further into this "mistake" that our beloved, smiling, gold-medal winning, American swimmer made at some college party? Let's not forget that some time back in 2004 Phelps had to suffer 18 months probation for a DUI charge. So, it is clear that Phelps is no stranger to the occasional substance abuse -- as few of us are that attend college at prestigious Big ! Ten institutions (Phelps did at Michigan). The powers that be are blowing this out of proportion. It is completely absurd to be taking such drastic and hostile action as investigating such an act, a mostly harmless one at that, which took place three months ago. [continues 549 words]
The Theme of This Year's Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival in Downtown Madison Was "Vote." The 38th annual Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival attracted a large crowd this past weekend in downtown Madison to celebrate a common cause: their support for the legalization of marijuana. The festival began Friday at the Cardinal Bar with a medical cannabis benefit and continued through Sunday in Library Mall, with speakers, vendors, informational tables, displays and food carts. The festival ended Sunday with a parade to the Capitol, and a rally and concert at the Capitol Square. [continues 253 words]
Matt Jividen claims this legislation can be beneficial, even though it will not pass. Welcome back, everyone. I assume many of you spent your breaks working on your suntan in some exotic locale. Personally, I stayed in Madison and watched snowfall top the century mark for the season. I did, however, between my long-hibernation-style sleep cycles find the time to watch a rather interesting episode of "Real Time with Bill Maher." The episode featured a panel discussion, during which Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said the following: "It's time for the politicians to catch up with the public on [the issue of marijuana]." He continued, adding his plans to introduce a bill to address the problem this week. [continues 981 words]
New survey data shows 1 of every 100 Americans is in the prison system which highlights flaw in government's priorities. Is this country getting emptier, or is it just me? A study released last week might help explain this trend. The land of the free has a long history of being No. 1--especially when it comes to incarcerating its citizens. For quite a few years we have ranked first in this arena, but now we are taking this record to even greater heights. [continues 884 words]
Lawmakers Fail to Recognize That Banning Salvia Does Not Mean Preventing Its Trade or Usage There is a danger growing around Madison. And no, it isn't the sexual assaults, kidnappings, bank robberies, murders or violence. According to state lawmakers (and probably Lou Dobbs), it is imports from Mexico that may be here illegally to destroy American culture and American youth. I'm talking, of course about Salvia Divinorum - a non habit-forming herb that has historically been used in the Mazatec region of the Sierra Madre Mountains in Oaxaca, Mexico as part of ritualistic healing and prophecy rituals. Since the early 1990s, it has increased in popularity in the United States (although, to call (although, to call it popular is somewhat misleading.) State Representatives Sheldon Wasserman and David Cullen authored a bill that would prohibit the sale and manufacturing of Salvia Divinorum. The Assembly Criminal Justice Committee held a public hearing on the measure last Wednesday. [continues 607 words]
A bill currently in the state Legislature that would create new penalties over the drug salvia was read in a public hearing Wednesday, with bill supporters saying the drug poses a risk to users and the public. The state Assembly's Criminal Justice Committee held a hearing on Assembly Bill 477 Wednesday, which would create penalties for the drug salvia divinorum. The bill would allow law enforcement to confiscate salvia from anyone manufacturing, distributing or delivering salvia, according to an aide to state Rep. Sheldon Wasserman, D-Milwaukee, the author of the bill. [continues 309 words]
A new report says Dane County imprisons 97 black drug offenders for every white offender. Critics say the report does not consider criminal history enough in its findings Dane County imprisons 97 black drug offenders for every white offender, the third highest racial disparity in the nation, according to a report issued Tuesday. The Justice Policy Institute, an advocacy group for alternatives to prison, issued the report. The report states a disproportionate number of blacks are sent to prison for drug offenses. However, according to UW-Madison Law Professor John Pray, the amount of drug use by black people is comparable to that of white people. [continues 296 words]
Two recent reports said there is excessive sentencing and racial inequalities in the criminal justice system across the country, including in Wisconsin. Two recent reports said there is excessive sentencing and racial inequalities in the criminal justice system across the country, including in Wisconsin. A report released last week from the criminal justice research group JFS said the prison population is currently 1.5 million in the United States. Wisconsin had a prison population of over 21,000 in 2005, according to the state Department of Corrections. [continues 643 words]
Two state representatives and other protestors marched from Library Mall to the state Capitol on Tuesday. The legislators then introduced "the most complete medical marijuana legislation to date." Protestors marching for the legalization of medical marijuana made their way to the state Capitol yesterday, where two local legislators introduced the "Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act." The marchers were honoring the 210-mile journey of Jacki Rickert that took place in 1997, according to a release by the pro-marijuana group "Is My Medicine Legal YET?". [continues 130 words]
Methadone, Available in Madison, Is a Horrible Drug That Is Detrimental to Society in General. Two locations in Madison distribute drugs to recovering heroin addicts: one on East Washington and the other on Ann Street. These clinics give out methadone and suboxone, two substances that work like opiates on the brain, binding to the same receptors as heroin and oxycontin. The belief is that these substitute drugs will slowly allow addicts to withdraw from their dependency and help them to re-enter society. [continues 393 words]
Marijuana Reform Hot Topic Among Many Enthusiasts The 36th Annual Great Midwest Harvest Festival brought together a motley mix of protesters, reformers and Zen practitioners to Library Mall over the weekend. But on a beautiful fall Sunday, the crowd had one demand: Join the political struggle against marijuana prohibition and smoke some weed in public. Ushering in such radical change in U.S. drug policy is no small task, and most of the marijuana enthusiasts who marched on the Capitol Sunday were aware of the uphill battle. [continues 322 words]
Over the past year, UW-Madison students acquired a reputation of engaging in heavy alcohol and drug use after being crowned the No. 1 party school by the Princeton Review and number two of the Top 10 Cannabis colleges by High Times magazine. Following the confiscation of an estimated $500,000 worth of marijuana in Blanchardville, Wis., last Thursday, Lafayette County Sheriff Scott Pedley said the area has been experiencing a general trend of increased illicit drug use. Two gun-wielding intruders, who were in their twenties, were shot and killed by the owner of the marijuana growing operation. [continues 310 words]
When it comes to Constitutional rights, few students know theirs, said attorney Marcus Berghahn Wednesday night in a "Know Your Rights" event sponsored by UW-Madison Students for Sensible Drug Policy. It is important to know legal rights and what is allowed in certain situations or you may get pushed around, said UW-Madison graduate student [name redacted]. Berghahn addressed concerns of drunk driving and legal procedures. "It's still drunk driving if you're sitting in the car with the car running [and you're drunk]," Berghahn said. "If you should ever find yourself in a scenario and you realize you're drunk and you're in the car, pull off the side of the road, take your keys and throw them out of the car." [continues 244 words]
Harvest Fest 2005 celebrated its 35th year in Madison this weekend, attracting activists and pot smokers from as far away as California. Kicking off the festivities with a Friday-night fund-raiser hosted by the Cardinal Bar, festival attendees were treated to a host of bluegrass, jam and rock music Saturday and Sunday on Library Mall. Prominent speakers such as Keith Stroup, founder and former head of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, also bolstered support. Vendors selling everything from folk art and t-shirts to glass pipes and jewelry descended on the Square, joining booths set up for interest groups such as the American Cannabis Society and Is My Medicine Legal Yet. Events on Sunday culminated in a parade up State Street to the Capitol. More than 100 people, many lighting up pipes and joints, marched up State Street to cries of "Hey hey, ho ho, the drug war has got to go!" [continues 257 words]
