Hundreds of doctors, politicians, researchers and frontline workers met with drug users and ex-users in Austin, Texas, in December to openly talk about drug use. But instead of reaffirming their commitment to the decades-long war on drugs, the eighth National Harm Reduction Conference will feature discussions on opening needle exchanges, legalizing and regulating the drug trade, and overdose prevention methods. "What we do in (the United States) is make drugs as unsafe as they possibly can be, and we do that through laws, which means that, if you get busted with drugs, you go to prison for a long time. And that's designed as a deterrent to make people stop using drugs, which obviously it isn't," said Allan Clear, executive director of the Harm Reduction Coalition, which runs the national conference. "We do things like take syringes out of circulation, which has caused epidemics of hepatitis and HIV. So harm reduction is a way of trying to make drug use safer for people who use drugs, without demanding that they stop using drugs." [continues 2832 words]
It's been a difficult year for progressives, and most other Americans as well. While I feel discouraged about many things happening in our country and around the world, and have lost lots of my "Yes We Can" glow from only two years ago, the issue that is closest to my heart -- ending the war on people who use drugs -- continues to bring me hope and cautious optimism. The debate around failed marijuana prohibition and the larger drug war arrived in a big way in 2010. Below are some of the most significant stories from 2010 and the reasons why I'm encouraged that we can start finding an exit strategy from America's longest running war. [continues 1351 words]
The prospects for reforming drug policy have never been so good. The persistent failure and negative consequences of drug war policies, combined with budgetary woes and generational change, are mainstreaming reformist ideas once considered taboo. Nowhere is this convergence more evident than with respect to marijuana. In 1969, when Gallup first asked Americans if they support legalizing marijuana use, 12 percent were in favor. Support hovered in the mid-20s for many years, then started drifting upward--from 25 percent in 1995 to 36 percent in 2005. In October, at the height of the landmark campaign for legalization in California, the latest Gallup poll found 46 percent in favor nationally, with 50 percent opposed. Prop 19 garnered 46.5 percent of the vote--and roughly a quarter of Californians who voted against it said they favored legalization but were hesitant to vote yes for one reason or another. [continues 696 words]
New Campaign Pushes for an Honest Discussion of and Approach to Drug Use in Our Society Nice People Take Drugs. That's the name of a campaign launched by Release, a nonprofit service and advocacy organization in the United Kingdom. The campaign aims to inspire a more honest discussion and approach to drug use in our society and also to highlight the stigma faced by people who use or have used illicit drugs. I first heard about the campaign when I received a call from someone at Release who was coming to New York and other US cities to take photos of Americans holding up signs with the text "Nice People Take Drugs". These photos of ordinary people identifying as drug users were also snapped in other cities around the world. [continues 837 words]
Cartel Arrests Don't Stop the Drug Trade -- But They Do Increase Violence The AP Is Doing Crack Reporting in Its 'Impact Series' On the Drug War; the Latest Report Questions How Effective Drug Busts on Cartels Really Are. The Associated Press deserves a Pulitzer Prize for its "Impact Series" on the Drug War! Back in May, AP dropped a bombshell on America's longest war and the headline said it all: "The US Drug War has Met None of its Goals." The extensive piece reviewed the last 40 years, starting with President Nixon's official launch of the War on Drugs all the way to President Obama's annual strategy released this year. The piece packed a punch from the start: "After 40 years, the United States' War on Drugs has cost $1 trillion dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives, and for what? Drug use is rampant and violence more brutal and widespread." [continues 513 words]
There Are Serious Issues Regarding Obama's Nomination of Michele Leonhart to Head the DEA. This Wednesday, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will be considering Michele Leonhart for the position of director of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Several organizations that lobby on drug policy issues have voiced serious concerns regarding Ms. Leonhart's nomination. As Interim DEA director, Ms. Leonhart has overseen dozens of federal raids on medical marijuana providers, producers, and laboratory facilities that engage in the testing of cannabis potency and quality. These actions took place in states that have enacted laws allowing for the production and distribution of marijuana for medical purposes, and they are inconsistent with an October 19, 2009 Department of Justice memo recommending federal officials no longer "focus ... resources ... on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana." [continues 537 words]
California's marijuana legalization initiative, Proposition 19, didn't win a majority of votes, but it already represents an extraordinary victory for the broader movement to legalize marijuana. What's most important is the way its mere presence on the ballot, combined with a well run campaign, has transformed public dialogue about marijuana and marijuana policy. The media coverage, not just in California but around the country and even internationally, has been exceptional, both in quantity and quality. More people knew about Prop 19 than any other measure on the ballot this year -- not just in California but nationwide. [continues 998 words]
California's Pot-Legalization Initiative Went Down to Defeat Last Night, but 46 Percent of the Vote Tells Advocates Like Richard Lee That the Future Is Bright. OAKLAND--California's pot-legalization initiative went down to defeat last night, but supporters say it came close enough to try again. The Proposition 19 ballot initiative won 46 percent of the vote. It would have regulated and taxed marijuana under rules similar to those for alcohol, albeit with a lot more dry counties and odd blue laws. [continues 1516 words]
But Win or Lose This Time, a Page in History Has Turned -- Drug Policy Reform Is an Issue Who Time Has Come, and Time Is on Our Side. California's Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization "Tax and Regulate" initiative, has been a roller coaster ride for drug policy reformers. In May polls showed Prop 19 in the lead, but not by much and with support under 50%. For the next four months, the numbers did something we didn't expect; opposition to the measure steadily decreased. One pollster interviewed in early October for my organization's newsletter, commented, "If I was in Las Vegas and I was a betting man, I'd bet on [Prop 19] to win, but I'd only bet money I could afford to lose." A number of funders took that bet last month, adding steam to what had been a mostly low-profile campaign. [continues 341 words]
Senator Feinstein Is Out of Step With Californians, Particularly Younger Voters, While in Lock-Step With the Regressive Drug War Lobby. Senator Dianne Feinstein, co-chair of the No on 19 campaign, is appearing with law enforcement officials today to express her opposition to the landmark marijuana legalization initiative. Her hostility to Prop. 19 is undoubtedly discouraging to her many progressive fans in California and across the country. For those of us working to reverse our nation's disastrously failed drug policies, it's all-too familiar. California's senior Senator has a well-known soft spot for costly, punitive approaches to drug issues, despite ample evidence of their ineffectiveness and unpopularity. [continues 619 words]
But There's Hope for Prop. 19 This Time Pot's The Demon, Instead of Gay Couples. Almost everyone watching the epochal Proposition 19 battle in California -- the voter initiative that would legalize and regulate cannabis for adults, and allow its taxation by local governments -- realizes that the implications and symbolic significance of the vote goes far beyond the baby steps included in the language of the measure. What's at stake? The people of the Golden State have a chance to stand up to the tired old orthodoxy of "Just Say No" and replace it with the "Just Say Now" of the marijuana movement. [continues 555 words]
Pot Reformers Suggest That Citizens Are Unwilling to Tell Pollsters Their True Voter Preferences on Prop 19. Political momentum and international attention is building around California's Proposition 19. On Election Day, Nov. 2, voters could very well make the Golden State the first in the country to legalize recreational possession of pot. The pot battle, which gives progressives, liberals and libertarians something strongly affirmative to vote for, is in stark contrast to most of the media coverage this election year. The corporate media continues to be obsessed with the Tea Party's attacks on government and everything Obama, and its special project of sexualizing "grizzly mama" candidates. [continues 723 words]
For 70 years, we've been taught that marijuana has no accepted medical use and that its high potential for abuse demands absolute prohibition. Medical research has been nearly impossible since obtaining the substance for legitimate studies is restricted by the federal government. But for a moment, forget the anti-drug ads of stoned teenagers passing the bong and click instead on the National Library of Medicine's website, "Pubmed.gov." Look under "breast cancer and cannabinoid" and you will find studies in scientific journals like Breast Cancer Research and Treatment that should warrant immediate action: "Our data demonstrate the efficacy of CBD in pre-clinical models of breast cancer. The results have the potential to lead to the development of novel non-toxic compounds for the treatment of breast cancer metastasis..." [continues 587 words]
California's Prop 19 will be the most talked-about ballot initiative in the November election. This measure would make lawful the possession and sharing of one ounce of marijuana outside the home and allow for personal cultivation of a small marijuana garden and possession of its harvest in the home. California cities and counties would be able to opt-in to commercial sales, regulation, and taxation of marijuana. Existing prohibitions against driving under the influence and working under the influence would be maintained and prohibitions against furnishing marijuana to minors would be strengthened. [continues 1949 words]
WHEN Will Our Dumb Marijuana Prohibition Be Overturned? Criminal Laws Are Not an Effective Way to Control Marijuana; Removing Criminal Penalties Does Not Lead to Increased Use; Decriminalization Creates Savings in Law Enforcement. The great divide between politicians and the people is showing itself in California where polls show the voters support Proposition 19 and where the mainstream politicians mostly oppose it. To many Americans, there are few policies more bankrupt than the prohibition on marijuana use, a recognition that a blue-ribbon panel reached four decades ago, urging an emphasis on drug education rather than incarceration. [continues 966 words]
The campaign to pass California's Proposition 19, the tax and regulate marijuana legalization initiative, is seeing some good-sized late donations The campaign to pass California's Proposition 19, the tax and regulate marijuana legalization initiative, is seeing some good-sized late donations, including contributions from Facebook co-founders Dustin Moskovitz and Sean Parker. Meanwhile, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps heir David Bronner has kicked in tens of thousands more for a get out the vote effort in the campaign's final weeks. And they're not the only ones making sizeable late donations.Prop 19 would legalize the possession of up to an ounce of pot by adults 21 or older. It would also allow adults to grow up to 25 square feet of marijuana and possess the harvested results. It would give cities and counties the local option to allow, tax, and regulate commercial marijuana sales and cultivation. [continues 1016 words]
California's Prop. 19 Would Bring Real Reform, Converting a Black Market into a Legitimate Industry With Jobs, Tax Revenue and Economic Development. Schwarzenegger's reducing marijuana to an infraction is great, but it doesn't go far enough. Prop. 19 would bring real reform, converting a black market into a legitimate industry with jobs, tax revenue and economic development. SB1449, which reclassifies present penalties for small amounts of marijuana as an infraction rather than a misdemeanor, is a signal of the true necessity of Proposition 19. It is an acknowledgment by the legislature and the governor that marijuana prohibition has failed and is not worth spending scarce law enforcement resources on. [continues 551 words]
Feinstein Is the Poster Figure Against Prop 19, Trotting Out Lame-Duck Allies and Hackneyed, Incorrect Arguments. Last month, Senator Dianne Feinstein signed the dotted line on California's Proposition 19, which would responsibly decriminalize cannabis for personal use after ballot results this November. But she signed the wrong side, becoming co-chair of the No on 19 Campaign -- the latest in a long line of out-of-touch positions by Feinstein in California politics. There are so many reasons for Feinstein to support legal pot in California: Legalizing cannabis for recreational use would generate over a billion dollars for the state's parched coffers, during a time its deficit has fully dwarfed that of other American states and its hyper-inflated housing market has run out of air. In any sane world, that alone would be reason to vote yes on 19. But once you add all in the ancillary benefits -- whether it's the millions of dollars saved from not having to imprison and process weed patsies, or the millions of sick and elderly who would have access to cannabis, which would in turn become more culturally accepted as the millennia-old medicine that it is -- it's pretty much a no-brainer. [continues 1476 words]
It's Time to End the Legal Harassment, Discrimination, and Criminal Prosecution of Adult Marijuana Users in California Simply Because They Are Healthy -- Prop 19 Will Do That. A majority of California voters now say that they back Proposition 19, which seeks to enact the most far-reaching marijuana law reforms anywhere in the United States. The immediate effect of Prop. 19, if passed, would be to provide legal protection to the individual marijuana consumer - that is the estimated 3.3 million Californians who are presently using marijuana for non-medical purposes. [continues 913 words]
Tens of Thousands of Sick People Throughout California Find Relief From Scores of Ailments by Using Cannabis Because This Plant Has So Many Healing Qualities. Ten years ago I wrote - and AlterNet published - the very first bylined news story about the active ingredients in marijuana destroying cancerous tumors. The article was entitled, "Pot Shrinks Tumors; Government Knew in '74." Much to its credit, AlterNet has archived the story for a decade and the link still gets picked up and reposted to websites around the world. You can read it here. http://www.alternet.org/story/9257 [continues 752 words]
