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In The Trenches

Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) Action Network Alert: Congress to Vote on Poisoning People

From our friends at Drug Policy Alliance: Congress to Vote on Poisoning People This Week Earlier this year we warned you about a bill in Congress that would revive controversial research on the use of toxic, mold-like fungi called mycoherbicides to kill illicit drug crops in other countries. This provision could unleash an environmental disaster of monumental proportions. But Congressman Mark Souder and Senators Hatch and Biden are rushing it to the House and Senate floors this week. Here are three things you can do:

In The Trenches

Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) Job Opening: GSMM Campaign Manager

Start Date and Duration: The position begins in early 2007 (no later than April) and will terminate after the January 2008 primary in New Hampshire. Location: This position is based in New Hampshire.

Blog

Gateway Theory Debunked...Again

A 12 year study from the university of Pittsburgh pokes yet another whole in the wet paper napkin known as the "gateway theory."

From NORML:

Investigators said that environmental factors (e.g., a greater exposure to illegal drugs in their neighborhoods) as well as subjects' "proneness to deviancy" were the two characteristics that most commonly predicted substance abuse.

"This evidence supports what's known as the common liability model ... [which] states [that] the likelihood that someone will transition to the use of illegal drugs is determined not by the preceding use of a particular drug, but instead by the user's individual tendencies and environmental circumstances," investigators stated in a press release. They added, "The emphasis on the drugs themselves, rather than other, more important factors that shape a person's behavior, has been detrimental to drug policy and prevention programs."

No kidding. It's such a perfectly logical conclusion, it's hard to understand why anyone thought otherwise. Especially since one study after another has shown the exact same thing.

Chronicle

Weekly: This Week in History

Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.

Chronicle

Pain Patients: Richard Paey Loses Appeal, Wheelchair-Bound Man to Remain in Prison

Richard Paey, the wheelchair-bound pain patient serving a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence as a drug dealer under Florida law, will remain in prison after losing an appeal this week. But a sympathetic appeals court suggested he seek clemency from the governor.

Chronicle

DRCNet Book Review: "Fatal Distraction: The War on Drugs in the Age of Islamic Terror," by Arnold Trebach (2006, Unlimited Publishing, 398 pp., $19.95 PB)

Arnold Trebach, the dean of American drug reform, is at it again with the publication of his latest book, "Fatal Distraction: The War on Drugs in the Age of Islamic Terror."

Chronicle

Announcement: New Format for the Reformer's Calendar

Visit our new web site each day to see a running countdown to the events coming up the soonest, and more.

Chronicle

Announcement: DRCNet RSS Feeds Now Available

A new way for you to receive DRCNet articles -- Drug War Chronicle and more -- is now available.

Chronicle

Announcement: DRCNet Content Syndication Feeds Now Available for YOUR Web Site!

Support the cause by featuring automatically-updating Drug War Chronicle and other DRCNet content links on your web site!

Chronicle

Drug Reform and the Democratic Congress: What's Going to Happen?

Will Democratic control of the Congress mean significant drug reform progress next year? Drug reformers certainly hope so, but the prospects are uncertain.

Judge Rejects Counties' Medical Marijuana Suit

Former US Border Patrol agent sentenced for smuggling drugs, people

Chronicle

Harm Reduction: New Jersey Needle Exchange Bill Moves to Final Floor Votes Next Week

New Jersey is the only state in the nation with neither needle exchange nor non-prescription needle sales, but that could change Monday as a needle exchange bill heads for final floor votes in both houses of the legislature.

Chronicle

Medical Marijuana: County Lawsuit Challenging California Law Thrown Out

Officials of San Diego, Merced and San Bernardino counties who are hostile to California's medical marijuana law lost a court battle.

Chronicle

Marijuana: Yet Another Scientific Study Debunks "Gateway Theory"

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are the latest to produce studies challenging the validity of the "gateway theory" -- the idea that the use of marijuana is a "gateway" to harder drug use.

Chronicle

Hemp: North Dakota Becomes First State to Legalize Industrial Production

North Dakota becomes the first state to legalize industrial hemp production, with licenses available beginning January 1. But someone is going to have to do something about the DEA's opposition, or nobody's going to be growing hemp any time soon.

Chronicle

Law Enforcement: Rev. Al Sharpton Calls for Congressional Hearings into Police Killings of Civilians

In the wake of a trio of high-profile police killings of civilians, African-American civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton is calling for congressional hearings on police violence.

In The Trenches

NORML's Daily Podcast Celebrates 6 Months; Over 100 Episodes Online

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 5, 2006 Contact: Chris Goldstein or Allen St. Pierre, tel: 202-483-5500, e-mail: [email protected] NORML's Daily Podcast Celebrates 6 Months; Over 100 Episodes Online

Event

No New Prisons Campaign

Please join us in a preliminary meeting to begin planning to stop prison expansion in Washington State No New Prisons Campaign Monday, December 11, 2006 6:30pm-8:30pm 2111 E. Union St, Seattle, WA 98122

In The Trenches

Drug Truth Network Update: Cultural Baggage, Century of Lies, 4:20 Drug War NEWS

Drug Truth Network Update: Cultural Baggage, Century of Lies, 4:20 Drug War NEWS Half Hour Programs, Live Fridays... at 90.1 FM in Houston & on the web at www.kpft.org. Cultural Baggage for 12/01/06 Eric Sterling of Criminal Justice Police Foundation + Terry Nelson & Howard Wooldridge of LEAP, Poppygate, Drug War Facts MP3