Why do some political leaders change their tune on drugs once they're no longer actively involved in politics? Last week the first United Nations general assembly special session (UNgass) on drugs for 18 years endorsed the prohibitionist approach that has cost so much and achieved so little. It was criticised by perhaps the most high-powered advisory body in international affairs. The Global Commission on Drug Policy's (GCDP) 22 members include eight former presidents or prime ministers and a former US Secretary of State, Chairman of the US Federal Reserve and UN SecretaryGeneral. [continues 622 words]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The California state Senate on Monday rejected a bill that would end a practice of extending jail and prison sentences for repeat drug offenders. Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, said the bill would help address the disproportionate incarceration of minorities. She brought it amid a national debate about the effectiveness of the war on drugs and its effects on minority communities. "As we now know, this drug war strategy has failed at decreasing drug availability," Mitchell said. "Controlled substances are now cheaper, stronger and typically more widely available." [continues 218 words]
SACRAMENTO (AP) - The California state Senate on Monday rejected a bill that would end a practice of extending jail and prison sentences for repeat drug offenders. Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, said he bill would help address the disproportionate incarceration of minorities. She brought it amid a national debate about the effectiveness of the war on drugs and its effects on minority communities. "As we now know, this drug war strategy has failed at decreasing drug availability," Mitchell said. "Controlled substances are now cheaper, stronger and typically more widely available." [continues 218 words]
History will remember April 2015 as a time of rebirth for Baltimore and for our nation It has been nearly one year since I spoke at Freddie Gray's funeral - and since our city found itself in the throes of unrest. During the past year, I have had the opportunity to work with many people who are dedicated to securing a better future for our city and our nation. Yet, at this one-year mark, we are still seeking the answers to the question that I asked when facing the cameras in the pews at New Shiloh Baptist Church. Freddie Gray, who died from injuries sustained in the back of a Baltimore police van, is shown here in an undated family picture. We all know his name in death, but did we truly see him when he was alive? [continues 767 words]
Legalizing cannabis could reduce sentences and clear criminal records for millions. Here's something to toast to on the week of 4/20: Millions of Californians with an old pot crime conviction besmirching their records could see the scarlet letters vanish if voters legalize marijuana on November 8. And those in prison for cannabis offenses that are no longer considered crimes could petition for a reduced sentence. "If we have victory here, it will set the new standard for what can be done," said Tamar Todd, director of legal affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance, an international group helping to fund and direct the pot legalization effort in California. [continues 798 words]
Orlando moved a major step closer to effectively decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana on Monday, when the City Council narrowly backed a measure that would allow officers to issue tickets to some people caught with the drug. Commissioners voted 4-3 to approve the ordinance, which would make possession of 20 grams (about two-thirds of an ounce) or less a violation of city code carrying a $50 fine for first-time offenders. The council plans to take a final vote on the measure on May 9. If approved then, it would take effect immediately. [continues 628 words]
A U. N. Special Session Will Examine the Effects of the Hard- Line Approach and Will Study Alternatives. At what is being billed as the most significant high-level gathering on global drug policy in two decades, the stage will be set for world leaders to discuss what would have once been unthinkable - reversing course in the war on drugs. The United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem, which begins Tuesday in New York, will bring together government, human rights and health leaders to discuss whether the hard-line tactics of combating drug trafficking and money laundering have failed. [continues 800 words]
Former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour is among a host of international jurists, politicians, celebrities and sports stars to sign a letter that denounces the "disastrous" war on drugs and urges the United Nations to lead the world toward a more enlightened drug policy. "Humankind cannot afford a 21st century drug policy as ineffective and counter-productive as the last century's," reads the letter, delivered to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in advance of next week's UN special session on drugs. [continues 347 words]
Dear Gov. Christie my old pal - we will be puffing outside your office on 4/20 at 4:20 p.m. Take this as a personal invitation from me: NJWeedman. April 20 - The Stoner Holiday is next week and once again here in New Jersey there is a planned civil disobedience demonstration on the steps of the state capitol as a direct challenge to you Gov. Christie and your prohibitionist policies. http://tinyurl.com/CapitolSmokeout - - I personally plan on firing one up in your honor celebrating your demise at the Presidential level, don't stand to my left unless you want to see what you've erroneously and naively railed about. Try it i think youll like it. [continues 1062 words]
An article in Harper's Magazine recently shined light on the sordid history of our country's war on drugs, revealing that it was really a war on people. The article quotes John Ehrlichman, President Nixon's domestic policy adviser, admitting that the Nixon White House knew they could not "make it illegal to be either against the [Vietnam] war or black" but that "by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily" they could disrupt communities. "Did we know we were lying about the drugs?" he said, "Of course we did." [continues 443 words]
If "reason and honesty" were part of the public discourse regarding cannabis (marijuana) prohibition (Letter: "Marijuana misinformation," by Bob Alley, April 3, 2016), it would never have been orchestrated from the beginning. Historically, its existence is due to racism, greed and the omission of science. It's truly mistaken to claim, "Medical science has access to drugs that provide more relief with less damage than does pot," since cannabis often competes with opiates, which are responsible for an epidemic of addiction and death rates in America. Scientifically, cannabis is safer than aspirin and less addictive than coffee. [continues 64 words]
Trudeau promised to make marijuana legal. Where's that at? Instead of "Hump Day" on April 20, thousands of Canadians will celebrate "Hemp Day" through the annual 4/20 protest against pot prohibition. With the Trudeau Liberals committed to legalizing cannabis, spirits should be high. But the fact remains that unless you're a licensed medical user, if you possess or share marijuana at the protest, you're breaking the law. Bill Blair, the former Toronto police chief who's the government's point man on the file as parliamentary secretary to Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, made that crystal clear in a recent CBC interview. [continues 1689 words]
Impressive article. Impressive organizing by Supernova and others. There should be no barriers to ownership or licensure in any business based on prior convictions for drug crimes. That goes for medical marijuana and the adult use of recreational marijuana, should it become legal. California and the nation have permanently disenfranchised people for selling a small amount of a commodity that another adult wanted. It's wrong and it's racist. Glenn Backes, Sacramento [end]
The inaccuracies and misinformation in the April 6 editorial "Striking the right balance on judicial reform," which discussed criminal-justice reform bills in the Maryland legislature, are inexcusable. The editorial should have mentioned the data, report or discussions of the Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council, which served as the basis of the legislation. The House bill, as amended, would save about $100million over the next 10 years, not the $247 million the editorial cited, because it strikes the right balance between criminal-justice reform and public safety. And the House took the time to reach consensus on the bill in an open, collaborative and transparent process. [continues 192 words]
"Nixon's Drug War Was (and Still is) a Racist Tool to Disrupt and Neutralize Black Communities" was the headline of an article published this week by Melissa Franqui, communications director of the Drug Policy Alliance. She was literally stating a half-truth. Her hook was a comment made in 1994 by John Ehrlichman, a top Nixon aide who had done time for his role in the Watergate cover-up, to a very good journalist named Dan Baum. Baum had used the quote at the time, Dr. Sunil Aggarwal cited it in a scholarly article in 2012 (and I cited it, too), but Ehrlichman's blunt confession remained below the radar until Baum recounted it in the new issue of Harpers: [continues 454 words]
"I TOLD YOU SO." Harper's Magazine dredged up a 22-year-old interview with President Nixon's former Chief Advisor John Ehrlichman, who admitted the administration created the War on Drugs as a means to intentionally target and decimate the black community. This old story has become big news again, going viral with The Huffington Post, CNN, Rolling Stone and USA Today all covering this "revelation" like it was breaking news. WTF. "The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I'm saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did." [continues 1090 words]
IN THE US prohibition of drugs led by Harry Anslinger was predicated on racial grounds, cocaine and marijuana associated with African Americans and jazz and opioids with Chinese. Further cannabis had strong opposition from timber investments supplying the newspaper industries. Nixon's war on drugs continued this precedent. In an interview in 1994 with investigative journalist Dan Baum Nixon advisor John Erlichman admitted, "the Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. [continues 146 words]
A divided D.C. Council voted on Tuesday to ban marijuana clubs, where residents and visitors to the nation's capital might have smoked pot without fear of being arrested. The 7-to-6 vote marked council members' second about-face on the issue in four months and hinted at their unsure footing as they navigate fast-shifting public sentiment about marijuana use. The issue has become the next marijuana-policy frontier in the District and other places where voters have already legalized possession. [continues 698 words]
Projet Montreal Candidate Appeals for Calm As Demonstrations Planned Why Jean-Pierre Bony was in a Montreal North apartment that was raided by police last week, or what exactly his role in the alleged drug ring bust was, isn't what matters most, said Projet Montreal borough mayor candidate Kerlande Mibel on Tuesday. What matters, Mibel said, is knowing why the 46-year-old was reportedly shot in the head with a rubber bullet while he was trying to run away. [continues 556 words]
A public hearing at the State House on Thursday allowed supporters and opponents of marijuana legalization to have their say before the House takes action on a bill passed by the Senate. The issue provokes ardent advocacy on both sides, but it is not the most important issue in the world. It is about an intoxicant, an indulgence. There is much to be said about how best to manage the presence of the drug in our society, but our fundamental rights are not at stake. [continues 672 words]
