Drug War Chronicle #493 - July 13, 2007
Feature: Medical Marijuana -- A Progress Report
Eleven years ago, no Americans had the protection of a state medical marijuana law. Now, some 50 million do, but that means some 250 million don't. While progress has been made, it has been slow, and there is plenty more to do.
Drug War Chronicle Book Review: "High Society: How Substance Abuse Ravages America and What to Do About It," by Joseph Califano (2007, Public Affairs Press, 270 pp., $26.95 HB)
Joe Califano's "High Society" is a strange brew of legitimate concerns, hype, distortions, and what look to us to be misguided policy pronouncements. We review it this issue.
We Want Pardons: Petition to Save Bush's Legacy by Persuading Him to Pardon Thousands of Nonviolent Drug Offenders
While President Bush has pardoned 12 Thanksgiving turkeys in an annual White House ceremony since taking office 6 1/2 years ago, he has commuted only four people's prison sentences, one of them Scooter Libby's. We want more!
Appeal: A Victory is In the Works, With Your Help
Our multi-year campaign to repeal an infamous law that denies financial aid to students because of drug convictions may soon ride to a successful conclusion.
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.
This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
The allure of Oxycontin (and its profits) snags two cops, a deputy can't keep his paws off the meth, and a South Carolina cop gets charged with drug dealing. Just another week in the drug war.
Medical Marijuana: Rudy Giuliani Just Says No
Republican presidential nomination contender Rudy Giuliani has rejected medical marijuana, claiming it is a a stalking horse for legalization.
The Drug Debate: American Mayors Urge "A New Bottom Line" and a Public Health Approach for Drug Policy
The US Conference of Mayors last month adopted a resolution calling the war on drugs a failure and urging "a new bottom line" on drug policy.
Marijuana: California Superior Court Upholds Santa Barbara's "Lowest Enforcement Priority" Law
A California Superior Court judge has thrown out an effort by the city of Santa Barbara to undo the city's voter-mandated policy making adult marijuana possession offenses the lowest law enforcement priority.
Drug Testing: Tennessee Supreme Court Holds Off-Duty Marijuana Use No Reason to Deny Workman's Comp Claim
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that merely because a worker admitted to smoking marijuana the night before he suffered a workplace injury was no reason to deny him workman's compensation.
Barry Beyerstein: We Have Lost One of the Best
Memorial for academic and pioneering drug reformer Barry Beyerstein, by long-time friend Arnold Trebach.
Web Scan
PBS on Lakota hemp, marijuana and religion, SSDP Voice, Heroin Times, NPR on DC needle exchange, Exodus Transitional Community, Cannabinoid Chronicles, LEAP web site relaunched
Weekly: This Week in History
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
Job Opportunity: Harm Reduction Coalition, Oakland
The Harm Reduction Coalition hiring Syringe Exchange Program Specialist for its Oakland, California office.
Job Opportunities: Marijuana Policy Project, Washington
MPP is hiring a Director of Federal Policies and a Web Developer for its DC headquarters.
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!
Announcement: DRCNet RSS Feeds Now Available
A new way for you to receive DRCNet articles -- Drug War Chronicle and more -- is now available.
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.
Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.