The federal government of Canada is currently considering Bill S-10, which proposes legislative amendments that, among other things, would introduce mandatory minimum prison sentences for certain drug-related offenses. Research clearly demonstrates that mandatory minimum sentences are extremely expensive to the taxpayer and do not meaningfully improve public health and safety nor reduce drug use or crime in communities.
The Urban Health Research Initiative is inviting concerned health practitioners, scientists, researchers and academics in Canada to join it in supporting evidence-based drug prevention and treatment initiatives and opposing the introduction of costly and ineffective mandatory minimum sentencing legislation. Please see the sign-on letter at http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6452/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4894.
I enjoyed watching this, although what we get from Ann Coulter here is pretty much what you'd expect from your average kneejerk drug-hating authoritarian. Though obnoxious at times, keep in mind that you're watching a perfectly civil conversation about legalizing drugs on a FOX program. That's awesome.
[inline:irv2.png align=right]
Miami Herald has a great profile of Irv Rosenfeld, one of four medical marijuana patients who still receive a monthly supply from the federal government. Yeah, you read that right. He gets a tin full of joints sent to him in the mail each month by the U.S. government. Irv's story has received some good coverage in the past, and you can bet that he'll continue making noise until everyone knows the truth.
|
Can a psychedelic plant release your demons? I'M DANGEROUS WITH LOVE Opens at New York’s IFC Film Center on Wednesday January 12, 2011 "Bursts on the screen like a circus fire. A movie you'll never forget."
African shamans have used Ibogaine in their rituals for centuries, but in the US it is classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance and illegal, so Dimitri must work in underground networks to guide addicts through the same detox that he says saved his life. I'M DANGEROUS WITH LOVE traces Dimitri's risky journey as he treats desperate drug users. It follows this man of edgy energy as he goes from one addict to the next without stopping to catch his breath. It also follows him on his own search for recovery when one session goes bad in a remote snowed-in Canadian home, and a quiet young man almost dies. Dimitri must decide whether or not to continue his mission. Is he serving the addicts or simply releasing his own demons? To find answers, Dimitri travels to Gabon, West Africa, to consult with Bwiti shamans, and puts himself through a punishing Iboga initiation. Filmmaker Michel Negroponte follows him on this journey to find his own answers. "A haunting, visceral exploration of addiction and one contemporary man's fearless and determined quest for healing and redemption through the ancient wisdom of the Bwiti and their 'magical' plant, Iboga. For those seeking a path out of darkness, this film is not to be missed." Charles Shaw, AlterNet “A powerhouse: brutally honest, hilarious, incisive, heroic. It capture’s a character who lives against the odds. Negroponte doesn’t just go the extra mile to capture story and character – he goes an extra light year and takes the audience with him. Its one of those docs that’s going to walk all over the festival circuit like it fucking owns the place.” -Sheffield Doc/Fest I'M DANGEROUS WITH LOVE
|
|
I'M DANGEROUS WITH LOVE is about addiction and rehabilitation, activism and shamanism. It features Dimitri Mugianis, once the heavily addicted front man for the band