Weekly: This Week in History
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
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Chronicle
Chronicle
Pain Management: FDA to Tighten Regulation of Extended-Release and Patch Opioid Meds
The FDA is moving to tighten prescribing rules for extended-release and patch opioid pain medications. That means it could be harder for patients to obtain drugs like OxyContin and Duragesic, but it's not a done deal yet.
Chronicle
Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
There may be something rotten in the dope squad in Philly, something definitely was rotten in Beantown, and yes, another jail guard goes down.
Chronicle
Europe: British Drug Advisory Panel Recommends Downgrading Ecstasy, Government Says No
Once again, the British government has ignored the recommendations of its own advisory committee to down-schedule a drug. Last year, it was marijuana. This time, it's Ecstasy. And it looks like next time, the same thing will happen with LSD. It's making some wonder whether the government wants evidence-based drug policies or not.
Chronicle
Europe: Danish Heroin Maintenance Program to Commence Next Month
Denmark is about to become the latest European country to cut to the chase and embrace heroin maintenance for particularly recalcitrant smack users.
Chronicle
Incarceration: Federal Judges Order California to Free Tens of Thousands of Prisoners
California has been addicted to mass incarceration for the past quarter-century. Now, it looks like some federal judges are going to make the state go cold turkey. Tens of thousands of prisoners could be set free because California can't or won't pay to treat them as the Constitution requires.
Chronicle
Europe: Dutch Banks Must Deal With Cannabis Cafes, Minister Says
Dutch banks have been snubbing coffee house accounts, closing existing ones and refusing to open new ones. Now, the Dutch government says the coffee houses are legal businesses and the banks must deal with them.
Chronicle
Feature: It's Time for a New Drug Policy Paradigm, Say Latin American Leaders
The Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy issued a report Wednesday calling for harm reduction, treating drug use as a public health issue, and decriminalizing marijuana. The report was an intervention aimed as much at Washington as at Vienna, where the UN meets next month to plot global drug strategy.
Chronicle
Feature: Drug Reformers Boycott Kellogg Cereals Over Dumping of Michael Phelps Over Bong Photo
The Michael Phelps bong photo story has taken on a life of its own. It has garnered huge media coverage, much of it openly critical of the marijuana laws and official attitudes toward pot smokers. Now, drug reformers, sensing an opportunity to advance the cause, have organized a boycott of Kellogg cereals for refusing to renew his endorsement contract.
Chronicle
ONDCP: Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske Named New Drug Czar
The drug reform community was hoping for a public health person -- not a cop or soldier -- to be named as drug czar. A cop is what we got, but a cop from a liberal town. Will an (arguably) progressive police chief as drug czar be as good?
Chronicle
Medical Marijuana: Minnesota Bill Passes Senate Committee
Medical marijuana is moving again in Minnesota. A bill this week passed a Senate committee, despite crazed testimony from LaRouchites and Christian conservatives.
Chronicle
Editorial: Obama's Other War
As commander-in-chief, President Barack Obama must now oversee our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As President, he is also responsible for another war, one that has gone on much longer and been more costly in terms of dollars spent and lives lost -- the war on drugs.
Chronicle
Alert: Keep the Promise, President Obama -- Stop the Medical Marijuana Raids!
Bush administration holdovers are ordering raids on state-authorized medical marijuana clinics, despite President Obama's pledge to stop them. Please ask the new president and attorney general to take corrective actions sooner rather than later.
Chronicle
Students: Intern at DRCNet and Help Stop the Drug War!
Apply for an internship at DRCNet for this spring (or summer), and you could spend the semester fighting the good fight!
Chronicle
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.
Chronicle
Weekly: Blogging @ the Speakeasy
"Police Are Trying Very Hard to Bust Michael Phelps for Smoking a Bong," "USA Swimming Deserves Condemnation for Suspending Michael Phelps," "There Are So Many People in Jail, They Literally Don't Fit," "Has Obama Made a Good Choice for Drug Czar?," "Marijuana Probably Won't Give You Cancer in Your Testicles," "Crazed Sheriff Arrests Eight in Phelps Bong Investigation," "Call Kellogg's Today: Here's the Number," "SNL Slams Kellogg's for Dissing Marijuana Users," "Boycott Kellogg's! Fight Corporate Demonization of Marijuana," "Good Kathleen Parker Editorial on Michael Phelps."
Blog
Police are Trying Very Hard to Bust Michael Phelps for Smoking a Bong
Yesterday, we learned that eight people have been arrested in the aftermath of the Michael Phelps bong photo and the infamous bong itself has been captured and taken into custody. As new details emerge, itâs becoming increasingly clear that there really is a serious campaign underway to prosecute Michael Phelps:
Thereâs not much left to say about this that I havenât said already, so Iâll say it again: Sheriff Leon Lott and his henchmen are unhinged drug war lunatics wielding their unchecked powers as arbitrarily and embarrassingly as humanly possible.
To my knowledge, next to no one on the planet supports this ridiculous crusade. So I can only hope that this very visible example of vindictive marijuana enforcement serves to focus public attention on the often pathetic behavior of our supposedly heroic drug war soldiers. Just look at them. Look at what they are doing. And remember that this episode is hardly the first or only time the drug warriors have allowed childish and obsessive pursuits to triumph over the public interest.
If they think destroying Michael Phelps is a good idea, imagine all the other wretched crap theyâve done that you donât even know about.
The effort to prosecute Phelps on what would be at most a minor drug charge seem extreme compared to similar cases, lawyers said, and have led some to question whether the sheriff is being overzealous because he's dealing with a celebrity.
â¦
The investigators appear to be trying to build a case against Phelps from others â a tactic normally used to bring down drug dealers with a large amounts of cocaine or methamphetamine, not someone who smoked marijuana five months ago, said Chip Price, a Greenville attorney who has dealt with drug cases for 33 years. [AP]
Thereâs not much left to say about this that I havenât said already, so Iâll say it again: Sheriff Leon Lott and his henchmen are unhinged drug war lunatics wielding their unchecked powers as arbitrarily and embarrassingly as humanly possible.
To my knowledge, next to no one on the planet supports this ridiculous crusade. So I can only hope that this very visible example of vindictive marijuana enforcement serves to focus public attention on the often pathetic behavior of our supposedly heroic drug war soldiers. Just look at them. Look at what they are doing. And remember that this episode is hardly the first or only time the drug warriors have allowed childish and obsessive pursuits to triumph over the public interest.
If they think destroying Michael Phelps is a good idea, imagine all the other wretched crap theyâve done that you donât even know about.
Blog
USA Swimming Deserves Condemnation for Suspending Michael Phelps
Amidst the massive backlash against Kelloggâs for dropping Michael Phelps, weâve neglected to target USA Swimming, which suspended him even though they didnât have to. Their petty moralizing is entirely uncalled for and warrants a response.
On that note, our friends at SAFER have created a form to contact USA Swimming and share your concerns. It only takes a second. Thanks!
On that note, our friends at SAFER have created a form to contact USA Swimming and share your concerns. It only takes a second. Thanks!
Chronicle
Oportunidad de trabajo: Director ejecutivo, Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition, Providence
La Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition (RIPAC, por sus siglas en inglés), una comunidad pro marihuana medicinal de base formada por pacientes, cuidadores y militantes, busca a un director ejecutivo para encabezar su oficina en Providence.
Chronicle
Estudiantes: ¡Hagan sus prácticas en la DRCNet y ayuden a detener la guerra a las drogas!
¡Postule a prácticas en la DRCNet para esta primavera (o verano) y usted puede pasar el semestre luchando por una buena causa!