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Wally still doesn't get it
The headline in Friday's paper reads:Oppal calls for calm after shooting.This is the same Wally Oppal that recently called for a return to the habitual criminal act.His solicitor General John Les actually used the word habitual,Wally substituted chronic offender but the thought was exactly the sameThese people know exactly why people are dying.They know the drug laws as they stand now are killing people and will continue to do so until something is done.Unfortunately,they still think the answer lies somewhere in the current system of jail,enforcement,policing and the court and criminal justice system.I have no idea how their minds work or how they think that the drug problem,which has gotten consistently worse,can be solved with more of the same.The stats keep getting muddled and the death toll is either pumped up or down played,depending on the point they're trying to make.Right now the plan seems to be to play down peoples fear as the bodies are really starting to pile up.I was recently in contact with the head of the Green party(she actually wrote me herself)and they want to end this war.The Liberal party of B.C.
Where am I?
I just received a note from a friend at DIGG that tells of a mayor asking that a school trustee resign because he had the nerve to vote for legal marijuana.There were 192 others that voted the same wa
They're Producing Cocaine in Brazil Now, Too
Just as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow morning, the cartels controlling the cocaine trade will continue to expand their operations and defy US-funded eradication efforts in South America. RIO DE JANEIRO, March 17 (UPI) -- A large-scale coca plant and cocaine production operations have been discovered in Brazil, the first of their kind, authorities saidAt least four separate farms were found in the Amazon rain forest by way of satellite imagery analyzed by Brazilian officials, Agencia Estado news agency reported Monday.The discovery shocked authorities, as coca plants do not normally thrive in the dense, humid Amazon rain forest. [UPI]I suppose these precious rainforests become less humid when you burn them down to plant coca. Now that they know it works, we can expect much, much more of this. I wrote recently about the inevitable destruction of rainforests throughout South America if we continue mindlessly chasing coca production in circles. This latest move into Brazil is another step towards that outcome.The thriving cocaine industry cannot be stopped, but it can be regulated and controlled to prevent violence, corruption, and environmental destruction. Some might call this "giving up," but when you're doing something so phenomenally expensive and ineffective, giving up eventually becomes your only option. Besides, I'd rather give up on the drug war than the rainforest anyway.
High School Drug Policy: Striving for Underachievement
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jenifer Van Nortwick is an intern at StoptheDrugWar.org. Her bio is in our "staff" section at http://stopthedrugwar.org/about/staff Evidently Carroll County schools feel it is in their best interest to punish student-athletes for having a social life. The examiner.com (http://www.examiner.com/a-1287426~Parents__Drug__alcohol_policy_targets_athletes.html) recently published an article that discussed parentsâ uproar about the drug policy of schools in Carroll Country, Maryland. It seems that if students are at a party or with a group of friends and there is even the presence of drugs or alcohol, they can expect to be kicked off of their sports teams, even if they never touched drugs or alcohol. And America deplores communism because it is too controlling and doesnât let people live their lives the way they see fit? I canât wait until high schools start to tell students they have to leave the room while their grandmothers take arthritis medicine. The high school I attended in northern New York also seemed to think this was the best course of action when dealing with illicit drug use and underage drinking. During junior year in high school, at least two winter sports teams had to forfeit most of their season because a hockey party got busted at which approximately three fourths of all the student-athletes were in attendance. I can guarantee everyone who got kicked off was not drinking, let alone smoking. I can see possibly justifying kicking someone off of an athletic squad whose behavior is detrimental to the team, someone who is drunk or high enough to get the cops called to their house perhaps needs a little intervention. But someone who has done absolutely nothing wrong? Thatâs ludicrous. What happens if every sober person suddenly leaves a party? There are no designated drivers to shuttle intoxicated people home or rush someone suffering from alcohol poisoning or a drug overdose to the emergency room. Furthermore, what is gained from expelling an innocent kid from their soccer or volleyball team? They did nothing wrong except spend time with their friends. What the school system has done is punished a good kid for being responsible and not taking part in underage drinking and illicit drug use. Some students live for the sports they play â not everyone excels at school, and when something as monumental as that is taken away, the school district is in essence telling them what matters to them is irrelevant and inconsequential. What happens if sports are their anti-drug?
I forgot the count
Another drug war turf battle hit tonight.Information is scarce but it's a young Indo-Canadian male with a bullet in the back of his head.Sounds really familiar.I wonder what Wally will tell us about this one.One of these days the cops will actually solve one of these hits and we won't have to listen to lame excuses for what everybody but the police knows is just drug gang violence as the result of the prohibition of drugs.If I have to listen to one more stupid police theory i'm gonna puke.It's like the lunatics are in charge of the asylum.People keep dying and all we get is more tough talk and more ways to throw the wrong people in prison.Congratulations to our US brothers for finally jailing more people per capita than we do.We held that distinction for far too long.Have no fear,though,Harper's here.I'm sure his new legislation will quickly fill the gap and we'll retake that little distinction.Then there's Ms.
DEA Opens Drug War Fantasy Camp
Last year, the DEA was teaching people how to cook meth. Now they're teaching people how to shoot other people with guns.Just watch this news report about the DEA's exciting public outreach program, which shows almost nothing except a bunch of people shooting guns and seemingly having an exhilarating experience. There sure is a lot of shooting involved in saving us from drugs. Of particular interest is the instructor's reaction when the participating FOX reporter accidentally shoots an unarmed suspect. He laments the inevitable newspaper headlines, as though bad press is the real tragedy when someone is accidentally shot in the drug war. To be fair, we don't get to hear everything he may have said, but the clip is creepy either way when one glances over at the pile of innocent bodies our drug war has accumulated. As an undergrad criminal justice major, I had the opportunity to take on a million dollar "shoot/don't shoot" simulator at a sophisticated police training facility. It was a unique opportunity to appreciate the difficult positions police officers can find themselves in. The weapon was a real glock, outfitted to shoot invisible lasers instead of live ammo. When you pulled the trigger, an amplified boom shook the floor and a simulated kickback threatened to rip the weapon from your grasp. More than a few of my classmates panicked quickly, emptying their clips at the slightest provocation, and earning admonishment from the instructor. I performed well, taking down a disgruntled employee on a shooting rampage in an office building, then managing not to shoot an angry motorist who reached for his wallet in an aggressive manner. I've spoken ever since of my newfound appreciation for the awesome responsibility law enforcement officers bear when making life and death decision within a fraction of a second.I've also never been more convinced that police must not be asked to make such decisions in the name of preventing drug transactions between consenting adults. The risk is too great and the reward far too small. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â [Thanks, Paul]
Why can't they get it?
Spike in Violence tied to shifting alliances.So read the heading on an article in the Vancouver Province newspaper on Tues.Mar.18'08.The article goes on to make assertions that gangs are becoming multi-ethnic and therefore now know where each other live and therefore have access to each other and thus the killings.The thinking is so convoluted and ridiculous that only someone with no clue would make such assertions.There's been word of a UN gang in the paper for years.Now it's a new thing and the reason for all the shooting.It's a drug turf war .It's no mystery.If these guys would just read a book about the twenties in Chicago they'd have more of a clue than what's purported in this editorial piece of crap.Our illustrious Prime Minister was here a few days back and left the promised money for more police he's been promising.Soon after,Wally Opal ,our attorney general was saying that the money would be better spent on task forces looking into organized crime.I guess this is a try at making a case for that.It doesn't make a lick of sense but that never stopped Wally ,ever.One day these people are going to have an epiphany and realise that it's prohibition that causes all this blood shed.
Mark Souder Accidentally Assists Marijuana Decrim Efforts in New Hampshire
The NH House of Representatives just passed a marijuana decriminalization bill and it looks like drug warrior Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) inadvertently played a potent role in pushing the reforms through.Coverage from the Associated Press indicates that the obscenely harsh aid elimination penalty of the Higher Education Act, which Souder authored, played a part in persuading NH legislators to put pot policy in perspective:Supporters argued current law costs youths who experiment with the drug all chances at receiving financial aid to attend college. They said it wasn't fair to penalize them for life for a youthful mistake.Windham Republican Jason Bedrick said he doesn't advocate using marijuana, but that wasn't the issue."The question is whether a teenager making a stupid decision should face a year in prison and loss of all funding for college," said Bedrick.Bedrick called the state's penalties "overly harsh.""What societal interest is served by giving them a record for life?" he said. Instead of harsh penalties, society should emphasize education, he said.Souder's brainless attempt to fight drug use by keeping students out of school has already galvanized the reform movement, inspiring the formation of Students for Sensible Drug Policy and uniting the largest coalition of public interest groups ever to oppose a federal drug law.Souder's heartless and counterproductive law has become emblematic of the drug war's tendency to throw the baby out with bathwater, destroying young lives in the name of protecting youth. It has opened doors to the reform movement by confirming our worst stereotypes of blind drug war demagoguery and motivating public health, education, and treatment organizations to join our ranks in calling for a return to sanity.Today his law was used effectively in a state legislature as an argument for reforming marijuana laws. Whether or not the bill passes the senate and becomes law remains to be seen, but a lesson has been learned nonetheless: the drug warriors' own cruelty has become our most viable weapon in the fight for reform. We will always gain more ground arguing that the law is harmful than by claiming the drug is safe. Finally, before celebrating Mark Souder's gift to the reform movement, let's not forget that 200,000 students paid a terrible price so that we can now more vividly depict the fury and callousness of our drug war leaders.
Internet Users Take a Swing at Anti-drug PSAs
EDITOR'S NOTE: Amanda Brooke Shaffer is an intern at StoptheDrugWar.org. Her bio is in our "staff" section at http://stopthedrugwar.org/about/staff Is the American public getting tired of government lies and exaggerations about drugs? If the ballooning number of anti-drug parodies on the Internet is any measure, it sure seems so. The emergence of YouTube.com and other popular video websites has enabled and emboldened Internet users to express their opinions about the often criticized, government-sponsored anti-drug PSAs through video clips and commentary. The public is busy at work making innovative and bold statements. I attempted to view as many anti-drug parody ads as possible; however, I didnât expect the search engine on YouTube.com to turn up such a high volume of videos. It soon became quite obvious that the trend of the parody ads is to expose the ridiculousness of the claims made in the anti-drug PSAs. The clip that follows is an anti-drug PSA sponsored by the government. The second is the parody of it produced by an Internet user. http://youtube.com/watch?v=jgJdVEoVbgg, http://youtube.com/watch?v=m6FL0pmJeaE&feature=related Clearly the second clip flat out mocks the first one by completely contradicting the message the government is portraying. Below each video clip is space for viewers to comment. One of the numerous remarks about these two ads resembled something like this, âIf I smoke then my dog will talk to me??? Puff, Puff, Pass!â This was just the tip of the iceberg of what users had to say. A study was done on a variety of ads including the above mentioned âdogâ ad to determine the effects on the youth of America. Guess what? The results showed an increase of marijuana use in girls aged 12-13 through making drug use by peers appear to be more familiar and acceptable. See: http://newrecovery.blogspot.com/2007/02/12-billion-later-national-youth-anti.html and http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06818.pdf and http://www.nida.nih.gov/DESPR/Westat/Westat502/ExecSummary502.html Why are we spending our dwindling tax resources on commercials that send the wrong message to their target audience? The anti-drug media campaign creates artistic and abstract ads that are unrealistic, when all Americans really need, and want to see, are commercials that tell them the truth. Another approach the campaign employs is using upbeat and positive messages to attempt to deter youths from using drugs. It is known as âWhatâs Your Anti-Drug?â This parody clip (http://youtube.com/watch?v=eDXxA0hMo1I) twists the governmentâs message to expose the fallacy of the marijuana as a âgatewayâ to harder drugs myth through the line, âWeed is my anti-drug.â It seems that no matter how hard the government works to embed the gateway myth into the public consciousness, those pesky studies that disprove a causal link to using harder drugs keep informing the public of the truth. Many clips I viewed expressed the notion that weed prevented them from using other drugs by satisfying their desires and curiosities. I felt one parody rose above the rest. Not only was it the most viewed parody anti-drug ad I came across, but it had me and all my friends rolling on the floor with laughter. It is an ad featuring our Commander in Chief, President Bush. Bush, known for his binge drinking and cocaine use by a large majority of Americans, is an ideal person to exemplify the long-term consequences of drug abuse. This ad has the right stuff -- a notable figure and a realistic message that is powerful and clear to the viewer. Check it out: http://youtube.com/watch?v=eGgTLMC9GXg. I think it is quite obvious why Americans are taking precious time out of their daily lives to speak out. Simply put, the extremely expensive anti-drug media campaign employed by the government over the last two decades is laughable, and government-funded research continues to conclude that these ads are ineffective at preventing and reducing drug use among youths. Yet, despite the increasing mounds of evidence proving the campaignâs ineffectiveness, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) disputes the critical conclusions of these studies and has the audacity to ask the government for even more money. The good thing is that the ease of accessing these reports, thanks to the Internet, is making it progressively harder for ONDCP to ignore the facts and hide them from the American people. You see, the D.A.R.E. generation has had enough of the lies and distortions, and itâs fighting back with truth and sense.
They Only Come Out at Night
CBC Newsworld ran a documentary on the opium road between Afghanistan and Iran.It was incredible to see the infrastructure that the Iranians have built in their efforts to curtail smuggling of opium a
UN Drug Czar Refuses to Answer a Tough Question
For decades, drug policy reformers have struggled to identify the perfect question, a point so simple and straightforward that no drug warrior can respond. It seems Frederick Polak of ENCOD and the Netherlands Drug Policy Foundation may have stumbled across it, nearly provoking a meltdown from UN Drug Czar Antonio-Maria Costa:For the video-challenged, here's my rather loose approximation of how it went down:Polak: How do you explain the fact that marijuana use in the Netherlands is lower than in surrounding countries despite the fact that it is sold freely to adults? Doesn't this fundamentally undermine the theory behind prohibition?Costa: Thank you for your question. This is an issue I've considered at great length and which you misunderstand most profoundly. Allow me to begin by sayingâ¦oh for goodness' sake, I do believe I've left the oven on at my house. I must depart forthwith, but I'm grateful for your participation in this forum and my apologies for this most unfortunate oversight, which I must now attend to. Good day, my friends.Indeed, remarkably low rates of marijuana use among the Dutch are a tremendously revealing phenomena. In fairness to Costa, it's certainly hard to imagine what he could say about such a thing, thus his rant about the controversy over Dutch coffeeshops was a good try despite its total irrelevance.Next time, I recommend easing him into it by asking whether he even concedes that marijuana use in the Netherlands is lower than in surrounding nations. He'll respond by calling attention to a pretty bird perched outside the window. Attendees will turn their heads in unison to discover that the bird is not of notable prettiness.
Seven Days,Seven Dead
The drug war that's raging on the streets of the lower mainland(Metro Vancouver)has now reached a milestone.For the last week,there's been one drug related murder for each passing day.The deaths have been as follows: March 7th,a 47 year old man dies in a fight with his son-in-law.
12 Year Old Faces Trafficking Rap
That's the heading of a small story in the province newspaper on Friday,March,14,2008.The story goes on to credit a 12 year old with exchanging marijuana with a younger classmate.The article makes it
Ethan Nadelmann on the Colbert Report
Colbert brought the Drug Policy Alliance's Ethan Nadelmann back for round 2 last night. For those of us who've grown accustomed to seeing Nadelmann masterfully control the stage, it's kinda fun watching Colbert box him around. You don't really get to say much on Colbert, but if you keep a straight face while he massacres you, it's possible to come across looking pretty good.One question though: what's up with the lava lamp!? Sources familiar with whether or not there's a lava lamp in Ethan's office tell me there isn't. Did Colbert put it there? Following his attempt to feed Doritos⢠to MPP's Aaron Houston, I certainly wouldn't put it past him. Of course, when Steve Colbert subjects reformers to relentless and preposterous stoner stereotyping, at least it's a joke. When the head of the UN drug office does the same thing at a serious event, it's a lot less funny.
If the Wrong People Find You With Pot, They'll Ruin Your Life
It's just that simple. If there is one universal truth in the marijuana debate, it is that the punishment for pot is always vastly more damaging than the effects of the drug itself:NORTH SALEM, N.Y. - When a Westchester father found a marijuana cigarette in his son's pocket he went to North Salem High School for help. The 16-year-old boy told his dad he bought the joint in the school library for $20.The school suspended the teen, Pablo Rodriguez, for nine weeks.Many of his neighbors hearing the case believe the suspension is too long and they've begun a petition asking school officials to reconsider.The teen's father, also named Pablo Rodriguez, says they would never have known about the marijuana in his son's pocket if he didn't tell them. The elder Rodriguez says he now believes parents should keep quiet if they learn their children are doing drugs. [Newsday.com]Yeah, don't bother asking the school for "help" when it comes to marijuana or other drugs. That's not a service most schools provide. Marijuana policies both large and small are typically structured around the theory that badly injuring those who are caught will deter others. In the process, parents become disillusioned, students who need help are afraid to ask, and students who were doing just fine are suspended for 9 weeks.Let's just review once again the lesson learned by Mr. Rodriguez:The elder Rodriguez says he now believes parents should keep quiet if they learn their children are doing drugs.Nothing could more perfectly illustrate the failure of a drug policy than its ability to encourage secrecy among parents who want help. Anyone who is concerned about marijuana affecting academic performance can begin by not denying marijuana users the opportunity to perform academically.
Lock 'em up fever
Lock up the addicts; lock up the drunks; Lock 'em all up til they're two to a bunk! Put 'em in tents; make 'em sleep on the floor; Lock 'em all up, and then lock up some more! Lock up the dealers; take what they've got;
The World's Top Anti-Drug Official Called Me a Lunatic
Antonio Maria Costa, director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, lost his temper today at an NGO summit in Vienna. The event is intended to evaluate UN drug strategy from diverse perspectives, yet Costa began by insulting a huge number of professionals working to solve the drug problem:"I attended the meeting of the drug alliance [DPA] in New Orleans last December, 1200 participants, 1000 lunatics, 200 good people to talk to. The other ones obviously on drugs." [Transform Drug Policy Foundation]So I am a lunatic who was obviously on drugs when Costa maybe sort of saw part of my head from the stage as he spoke. Simply amazing. This is such a perfect depiction of the insulting and infantile tactics routinely employed by drug war supporters when their opposition gains momentum. Believe me, the claim that attendees at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference 2007 were "obviously on drugs" is just a colossal lie. With this wildly disparaging characterization, Costa is attempting to attribute our values and beliefs to some drug-induced mania, thereby circumventing the need to take our arguments seriously. Yet anyone present at the conference knows precisely how dignified and impressive an event this truly was. Witnessing this level of childishness from the world's top anti-drug official goes a long way towards explaining how the massive disaster of international drug prohibition is able to continue.
Is the Pope Catholic?
When I read the Pope's new deadly sins,i was reminded of a recent meeting I attended in which a very distraught woman stood up and ranted about opening of doors to evil and consequences beyond underst
Don't Snort the Pink Cocaine
The hysteria surrounding candy-flavored drugs continues to provide a full-scale model for the rank stupidity of our press and policy-makers:Federal drug agents have seized cocaine in a variety of designer flavors and arrested three men in Modesto after a 10-month undercover investigation, authorities reported Monday.The cocaine, in strawberry, lemon, coconut and cinnamon flavors, may be aimed at women and a younger, club-going clientele, said Gordon Taylor, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration office in Sacramento. [Modesto Bee]So cocaine that tastes like strawberries or cinnamon must be for the ladies? This is the sophisticated analysis you get when you call the DEA for insight on the latest drug scare. Strawberries = chicks. Genius.Fortunately, the Modesto Bee at least concedes an important point I've been hammering since this whole candy-flavored drug scare emerged:It costs about twice as much and is less potent, he said, but dealers bank on its novelty and taste to sell the product.Senators Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) went so far as to introduce legislation to increase penalties for candy-flavored meth, claiming that these products target children. Yet, flavored drugs are more expensive and therefore less appealing to young people, who don't have any money. The flavoring also reduces potency considerably, making candy flavored meth and cocaine much safer than their unadulterated forms.So for those of you with a sweet tooth in your nose, be forewarned: Candy-flavored drugs are weak and overpriced. If you're trying to get high on cocaine, you might wanna stick with the good old-fashioned bitter-tasting white-colored stuff. And if you're looking for a sugar fix, I recommend Hershey's Cookies & Cream⢠bars, which cost $1.39 and taste better than cocaine feels. And, finally, if you're trying to protect children, I recommend taxing and regulating drugs so we can better control who sells them, who buys them, and what their ingredients are.
Now it's 26
In case you've been out of the country for a long vacation away from the media you know that we have a drug turf war going on in Vancouver.Over the weekend,2 more Asian males with known gang connections were murdered in their cars.This,I am told,makes the 25&26th victims of gang violence since the recent formation of I-HIT,the special murder squad that to this day has not made one arrest in the targeted hits.They have arrested a few street level people that took the law into their own none too competent hands but nothing in the hired professional hits of high level gang members.The B.C.