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THE INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL BOARD ON CANNABIS ********************************************************************** DrugSense FOCUS Alert #434 - Thursday, 25 February 2010 Today major newspapers across Canada printed articles with headlines like 'Strengthen Medical Marijuana Laws, UN Drug Watchdog Warns' which appeared in the National Post: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10.n140.a11.html The key paragraph from the article states "The Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board said Canada is operating outside international treaty rules aimed at minimizing the risk criminals will get hold of cannabis grown under the program." The Board has only the power to encourage governments to act in accordance with the United Nations Conventions on Narcotic Drugs. Governments are free to express their sovereignty as their laws allow. The media is more often than not clueless about this. Understanding this may help you to counter the issues raised in your letters to the editor and your other efforts in support of marijuana law reform. MAP's news clippings are updated a few times each day at http://www.drugnews.org/ Some may touch on this issue, but many will not. Most clippings are worthy of consideration for your letter to the editor writing efforts. ********************************************************************** The Board's report is at http://www.incb.org/incb/en/annual-report-2009.html and Chapter III, Americas is at http://mapinc.org/url/8FhqCC7M. The paragraph about the United States and cannabis is below. 400. While the consumption and cultivation of cannabis, except for scientific purposes, are illegal activities according to federal law in the United States, several states have enacted laws that provide for the "medical use" of cannabis.41 The control measures applied in those states for the cultivation of cannabis plants and the production, distribution and use of cannabis fall short of the control requirements laid down in the 1961 Convention. The Board is deeply concerned that those insufficient control provisions have contributed substantially to the increase in illicit cultivation and abuse of cannabis in the United States. In addition, that development sends a wrong message to other countries. The Board welcomes the reaffirmation by the Government of the United States that cannabis continues to be considered a dangerous drug. The Government has also underscored that it is the responsibility of the Food and Drug Administration to approve all medicines in the United States. The Board notes with appreciation that the Government, following new guidelines on prosecution, which stipulate that activities should not focus on individuals who comply with "medical" cannabis regulations in states, has confirmed that it has no intention to legalize cannabis. The Board is concerned over the ongoing discussion in several states on legalizing and taxing the "recreational" use of cannabis, which would be a serious contravention of the 1961 Convention. The Board emphasizes that it is the responsibility of the Government of the United States to fully implement the provisions of the 1961 Convention with respect to all narcotic drugs, including cannabis (see paragraphs 61-64 above). ********************************************************************** Suggestions for Writing LTEs Are at Our Media Activism Center http://www.mapinc.org/resource/#guides ********************************************************************** Prepared by: Richard Lake, Senior Editor www.mapinc.org === DrugSense provides many services at no charge, but they are not free to produce. Your contributions make DrugSense and its Media Awareness Project (MAP) happen. Please donate today. Our secure Web server at http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm accepts credit cards and Paypal. Or, mail your check or money order to: DrugSense 14252 Culver Drive #328 Irvine, CA 92604-0326. (800) 266 5759 DrugSense is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the expensive, ineffective, and destructive "War on Drugs." Donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.

Cultural Baggage * Century of Lies * 4:20 Drug War NEWS Cultural Baggage for 02/21/10 29:00 Casper Leitch, host of Time4Hemp invites DTN host Dean Becker as guest, Abolitionist's Moment & Request for Respondents to Pain Killer Survey LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/2787 TRANSCRIPT: ASAP Century of Lies for 02/21/10 29:00 Dr. Rick Doblin, Pres. of Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies + Keith Stroup of NORML from Time4Hemp program LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/2788 TRANSCRIPT: ASAP 4:20 Drug War NEWS, 02/22 to 02/28/10 Link at www.drugtruth.net on the right margin - Sun - Dr. Rick Doblin re K2 the synthetic marijuana Sat - Dr. Rick Doblin, Pres. of Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies Fri - Dean Becker guests on Time4Hemp 2/2 Thu - Casper Leitch, host of Time4Hemp invites DTN host Dean Becker as guest Wed - Drug War Pissing Contest Winner/Loser Tue - Advice from Dr. Hochman + Request for Respondents to Pain Killer Survey Mon - Abolitionist's Moment & American Dream Programs produced at Pacifica Radio Station KPFT in Houston, 90.1 FM. You can Listen Live Online at www.kpft.org - Cultural Baggage Sun, 7:30 PM ET, 6:30 PM CT, 5:30 PM MT, 4:30 PM PT (Followed Immediately By Century of Lies) - Century of Lies, SUN, 8 PM ET, 7 PM CT, 6 PM MT & 5 PM PT Who's Next to "Face The Inquisition?": Richard Lee, founder of Oaksterdam University Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org We have potcasts, searchability, CMS, XML, sorts by guest name and by organization. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates i You can tune into both our 1/2 hour programs, live, at 6:30 central time on Pacifica's KPFT at http://www.kpft.org and call in your questions and concerns toll free at 1-877-9-420 420. The two, 29:00 shows appear along with the seven, daily, 3:00 "4:20 Drug War NEWS" reports each Monday morning at http://www.drugtruth.net . We currently have 72 affiliated, yet independent broadcast stations. With a simple email request to [email protected] , your station can join the Drug Truth Network, free of charge. Check out our latest videos via www.youtube.com/fdbecker Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform. "Prohibition is evil." - Reverend Dean Becker, DTN Producer, 713-462-7981, www.drugtruth.net

NEW STUDY REVEALS FAILURE OF US NARCOTICS POLICY THE BECKLEY FOUNDATION ISSUES NEW BOOK “CANNABIS POLICY: MOVING BEYOND STALEMATE” CALLING FOR CHANGE IN THE PROHIBITIONIST MODEL Oxford University Press, February 2010 – An international team of the world's leading drug policy analysts convened by Amanda Feilding, Director of the Beckley Foundation, have written a book analyzing cannabis prohibition policies. Their conclusion is that criminalization has failed to reduce consumption. The book also shows no link between prevalence and cannabis policy – be it liberal or draconian. Cannabis has become widely used and prohibition policies as implemented have only proven to be expensive, intrusive on individual privacy, and socially divisive. The book outlines a full spectrum of alternative policies from depenalization to a fully regulated legal market. Half a century of prohibition has failed to prevent a rise in global cannabis use, which has transformed consumption from a relatively rare behavior confined to a scattering of cultures and countries to almost a rite of passage amongst the Western world’s youth. Prohibition has led to the development of large scale criminal markets that increase the harms of cannabis use and undermine social order. Moreover, a criminal justice approach to cannabis control causes considerable social harms and facilitates discriminatory enforcement against the young and ethnic minorities. “This book clearly shows that prohibitionist policies have not only failed to meet their objectives but have inflicted significant social harms,” says Amanda Feilding Director of the Beckley Foundation. “Efforts to change the current system have been met with stiff resistance from such leading countries as the United States, which is in the company of countries like Russia, China and Sudan.” Criminalisation has not acted as a deterrent, whereas, with a regulated market, the product could be labeled for strength and chemical composition, thereby making it safer. Government could also control and tax its sale, which would provide extra funding for education and treatment. The book is calling for a significant change by adopting a less punitive approach. Countries like the Netherlands and Portugal that have pursued liberal drug policies have not seen consequent increase in cannabis consumption, as staunch prohibitionists argued it would. Instead these countries have experienced reductions in the financial costs associated with criminalization policies, and have reduced the adverse social consequences arising from criminalization strategies. While a number of U.S. states[1] have downgraded the criminal status of marijuana possession offences, and in some cases passed medicinal marijuana exceptions[2], US Federal law severely limits the options most states have to change their drug policies. As states such as California and Colorado seek to develop regulations and tax models for marijuana, policymakers should closely analyze, evaluate and draw inspiration from similar systems and models developed in other countries as described in the book. “The real value of the research we have conducted lies in the breadth of the review of experiences around the globe. It shows the range of different options - local, regional, and national - government can take to reduce the adverse effects of prohibition,” explained Peter Reuter, Director, Program on the Economics of Crime and Justice Policy at the University of Maryland and one of book’s five co-authors. “It is finally time for governments around the world to readdress cannabis policy and to avoid approaches that have been proven to fail.” This month Robin Room, one of the authors, Peter Reuter and Amanda Feilding will be making their case to political leaders in Washington DC, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. The Beckley Foundation is a charitable trust founded in 1998 by Amanda Feilding, Lady Neidpath. It aims at investigating consciousness and its changing states from a multidisciplinary perspective. Through its Science Programme the Foundation initiates, develops and conducts world-class research that will improve our scientific understanding of consciousness and provide practical information to help optimize health and well being. The Foundation also conducts a Drug Policy Program and is dedicated to providing a rigorous, independent review of global drug policy, aiming at reducing the harms associated with both the misuse of drugs and the policies that aim to control them. The intention of the Foundation is to help develop policies that are evidence-based and rational, rather than those that are ineffectual, due to being rooted in unsubstantiated ideology. CONTRIBUTORS Robin Room is a sociologist and Professor at the School of Population Health, University of Melbourne and is the director of the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research. He is also a professor at and was the founding director of the Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs at Stockholm University. Benedikt Fischer is Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences and the School of Criminology, as well as Interim Director of the Centre for Applied Research in Addictions and Mental Health (CARMHA), at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada, where he also currently holds a CIHR/PHAC Research Chair in Applied Public Health and is a MSFHR Senior Scholar Career Investigator. Wayne Hall is a Professor of Public Health Policy at the School of Population Health, University of Queensland. He has advised the World Health Organization on the health effects of cannabis use and other illicit drug related health issues. Peter Reuter is an economist, Senior Economist at RAND and is a Professor at the School of Public Policy and in the Department of Criminology at the University of Maryland. He has served as a consultant to numerous US, European, and UN agencies and founded and directed RAND's multidisciplinary Drug Policy Research Center from 1989-1993. Simon Lenton is a Professor and Deputy Director at the National Drug Research Institute, Perth, Western Australia, and he works as a Clinical Psychologist in private practice. Amanda Feilding is the founder and director of the Beckley Foundation. The Foundation has produced over 35 much-cited academic reports, proceedings documents and briefing papers on key drug policy questions.