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Drug Truth Update 09/15/09
Stars of âFrom Prison to the Stageâ at Kennedy Center return to Connecticut
How To Get Really, Really Rich
Pick up a science-fiction book, historical romance, or mystery. Watch an action movie. Or you can learn it the boring way...by studying history.
RE: Exit Strategies for the War on Drugs, Part I: Framing the Discussion
Excellent article...but all those earnest facts and logical reasoning will go to waste unless you accept that the "drug war" is not an accident.
Drug War Violence is Destroying Mexico's Economy
Tobias estimates the economic cost of Mexicoâs violence is 2 percent to 3 percent of GDP, and the total cost is $120 billion, or about 12 percent of Mexicoâs $1.085 trillion GDP in 2008. The estimate by Bulltick, a Miami-based brokerage with offices in four Latin American countries, includes prevention measures, prison costs, lost foreign direct investment and expenses to victims and businesses. [Bloomberg]
What I just can't understand, no matter how hard I try, is why on earth anyone ever expected a different outcome than this. It is literally the goal of Mexico's chief drug war strategists to reduce violence and save their nation's reputation. That is what they thought would happen if they cracked down on the drug trade. Instead, every single problem they sought to address has gotten worse.
And as bad as things have gotten, you can bet that the leaders of the Mexican drug war will look at this data and say that it shows the need for more aggressive strategies to finally defeat the cartels.
Press Release: 33 U.S. Clinical Studies Show Marijuana's Medical Use, New Journal Article Says
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â
SEPTEMBER 14, 2009
33 U.S. Clinical Studies Show Marijuana's Medical Use, Journal of Opioid Management Article Says
Contrary to Opponents' Claims, Controlled Studies Have Repeatedly Demonstrated Safety, Efficacy
CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON -- In a landmark article in the Journal of Opioid Management, University of Washington researcher Sunil Aggarwal and colleagues document 33 U.S. controlled clinical trials published from 1971 to 2009 confirming that marijuana is a safe, effective medicine for specific medical conditions.   Â
    Under federal law, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, defining it as having high potential for abuse, unsafe for use even under medical supervision, and lacking currently accepted medical uses in the U.S. "In fact," Aggarwal and colleagues write, "nearly all of the 33 published controlled clinical trials conducted in the United States have shown significant and measurable benefits in subjects receiving the treatment." Additionally, the paper documents the growing acceptance of the therapeutic use of marijuana among organized medicine groups and estimates that "in 2008, approximately 7,000 American physicians have made such authorizations for a total of approximately 400,000 patients."
    Regarding abuse and safety issues, Aggarwal et al. write that withdrawal symptoms -- a classic symptom of drug dependence -- are notably absent from the published trials, while "the vast majority of reported adverse events were not serious ... It is clear that as an analgesic, cannabis is extremely safe with minimal toxicity."
    Unfortunately, the article continues, ignorance regarding marijuana remains widespread in the medical community. "There remains a near complete absence of education about cannabinoid medicine in any level of medical training," Aggarwal writes.
    "This is arguably the most thorough review of the literature on medical marijuana since the Institute of Medicine report over a decade ago, with a trove of data that wasn't available to the IOM," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. "It is simply incomprehensible that a medicine that is so clearly safe and effective remains banned from medical use by federal law and the laws of 37 states."
    The article, "Medicinal Use of Cannabis in the United States: Historical Perspectives, Current Trends, and Future Directions," is available at http://tinyurl.com/m9oo44. A complete list of the 33 U.S. clinical trials is available from Sunil Aggarwal at [email protected] or 206-375-3785.
    With more than 27,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.
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Press Release: New FBI numbers show failure of prohibition
Press Release: Marijuana Arrests Drop for First Time Since 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â
SEPTEMBER 14, 2009
Marijuana Arrests Drop for First Time Since 2002
Five Years of Record Arrests Had No Effect on Rate of Marijuana Use
CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. marijuana arrests declined in 2008 - the first such drop since 2002 -- according to figures released by the FBI today. According to the just-released Uniform Crime Reports, U.S. law enforcement made 847,863 arrests on marijuana charges, 89 percent of which were for possession, not sale or manufacture -- more arrests for marijuana possession than for all violent crimes combined. An American was arrested on marijuana charges every 37 seconds.
    Marijuana arrests peaked in 2007 at over 872,000.
    The new report comes on the heels of the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, released Sept. 10, which showed an increase in both the number and percentage of Americans who admit having used marijuana. In 2003, when marijuana arrests set what was then an all-time record of 755,186, 40.6 percent of Americans aged 12 and over said they had used marijuana. In 2008, that figure was 41 percent, or 102,404,000 Americans willing to tell government survey-takers that they had used marijuana.
    "This slight dip in the number of marijuana arrests provides a small amount of relief to the tens of millions of American marijuana consumers who have been under attack by their own government for decades," said Marijuana Policy Project executive director Rob Kampia. "It's time to stop wasting billions of tax dollars criminalizing responsible Americans for using a substance that's safer than alcohol, and to put an end to policies that simply hand this massive consumer market to unregulated criminals."
    With more than 27,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.
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Press Release: Revelations of DEA Participation in San Diego Medical Marijuana Raids Raises Questions about White House Policy toward State Law
Drugs the Most Numerous Arrest Type in '08, Though Down Slightly from '07, FBI Reports
Drug abuse violations | United States total | Northeast | Midwest | South | West | |
Total1 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | |
Sale/ Manufacturing: |
Total | 17.7 | 22.1 | 19.3 | 16.4 | 16.1 |
Heroin or cocaine and their derivatives | 7.7 | 13.4 | 5.6 | 7.5 | 5.8 | |
Marijuana | 5.5 | 5.9 | 8.2 | 4.3 | 5.4 | |
Synthetic or manufactured drugs | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 0.6 | |
Other dangerous nonnarcotic drugs | 3.0 | 1.5 | 4.4 | 1.9 | 4.3 | |
Possession: | Total | 82.3 | 77.9 | 80.7 | 83.6 | 83.9 |
Heroin or cocaine and their derivatives | 20.1 | 20.7 | 12.5 | 21.0 | 22.3 | |
Marijuana | 44.3 | 46.5 | 51.9 | 50.2 | 33.2 | |
Synthetic or manufactured drugs | 3.3 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 2.5 | |
Other dangerous nonnarcotic drugs | 14.6 | 8.0 | 12.5 | 8.2 | 25.9 |
Room for Debate on Mexico's Drug Decriminalization Law
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