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Move Over NAOMI, Here Comes SALOME--Vancouver's New Heroin Maintenance Trial About to Get Underway
In the Chronicle's review of the top international drug policy stories of the year last week, the slow spread of heroin maintenance was in the mix. This week, its back in the news, with word that a new Canadian heroin maintenance study in Vancouver is about to get underway. The Study to Assess Longer-term Opioid Medication Effectiveness (SALOME) will choose a Downtown Eastside location next month and begin taking applications from potential participants in February, according to a Tuesday press release from the Inner Change Foundation, which, along with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, is funding the trial. With selection of participants supposed to last only three weeks, that means SALOME could be underway by March. SALOME will enroll 322 hard-core heroin addictsâthey must have been using at least five years and failed other treatments, including methadone maintenanceâin a year-long, two-phase study. During the first phase, half will be given injectable heroin (diacetylmorphine) and half will be given injectable Dilaudid® (hydromorphone). In the second phase, half of the participants will be switched to oral versions of the drug they are using. The comparison of heroin and Dilaudid® was inspired by unanticipated results from SALOME's forerunner, NAOMI (the North American Opiate Medication Study), which began in Vancouver in 2005 and produced positive results in research reviews last year. In NAOMI, researchers found that participants could not differentiate between heroin and Dilaudid®. The comparison of success rate among injection and oral administration users was inspired by hopes of reducing rates of injection heroin use. SALOME was also supposed to take place in Montreal, but Quebec provincial authorities effectively killed it there by refusing to fund it. SALOME researchers have announced that it will now proceed in Vancouver alone. With an estimated 5,000 heroin addicts in the Downtown Eastside and a municipal government that has officially embraced the progressive four pillars approach--prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and law enforcementâto problematic drug use, Vancouver is most receptive to such ground-breaking research. It is also the home of Insite, North America's only safe injection site. The NAOMI and SALOME projects are the only heroin maintenance programs to take place in North America. Ongoing or pilot heroin maintenance programs are underway in Britain, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland.
Are There Any Good Guys in the Mexican Drug War?
Once again, what passes for a victory in the Mexican drug war is really just another bloody mess:Reporting from Mexico City - The dead drug lord lay on his back, blood-soaked jeans yanked down to the knees. Mexican peso notes carpeted his bullet-torn body, and U.S. $100 bills formed neat rows next to his bared belly.â¦Even in a country where pictures of gruesome crime scenes routinely show up on the front pages of newspapers, the Beltran Leyva images have stirred controversy over who staged the tableau and whether Mexican authorities did so to send a taunting message to the rest of his powerful drug trafficking gang.â¦"It is the state forces that adopted the basic language of the narco," columnist Luis Petersen Farah wrote in the Milenio newspaper. " 'There's your money,' the photograph seems to say. It's the language of war." [LA Times]There's something deeply unsettling about watching the Mexican military mimic the intimidation tactics of the drug lords. Finding peace is simply not on the agenda anymore.
How Come White People Never Get Arrested for Marijuana in NYC?
No matter how you frame it, most people still struggle with the concept that marijuana laws are enforced unfairly. I don't see what's so complicated about this:Even though surveys show they are part of the demographic group that makes the heaviest use of pot, white people in New York are the least likely to be arrested for it.Last year, black New Yorkers were seven times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession and no more serious crime. Latinos were four times more likely. [NYT]You can't explain away a gaping disparity like that. This is not just a matter of cultural differences in marijuana using behavior. White people smoke herb in the streets of New York, too. There is no bigger factor at play here than the discretionary choices police make about who to approach and investigate. It really is that simple and that unfair. But just because it's racist doesnât mean it's bad, says the city:Mr. Bloombergâs chief criminal justice aide, John Feinblatt, declined to discuss the cityâs approach to marijuana arrests, or the findings of the study. But through a spokesman, he issued a statement maintaining the pot arrests have helped drive down violent crime.Even if I believed that stopping a million people a year in the streets of New York is necessary to drive down violent crime, that still doesnât mean you have to arrest them when marijuana is discovered. None of this even begins to make any sense, and it comes as no surprise that city officials are loathe to attempt an explanation for it.If you want to reduce violent crime, try legalizing marijuana so there's one less thing to fight over.
A Christmas Carol
It's the week before Christmas, and all through the land People are silent; not taking a stand. I'm doing my best to find someone who cares; I don't think that anyone's listening out there.
Drug Reform Groups Win $25,000 Facebook Contest, Get Rejected by Chase Bank
When Chase Bank announced a vote-based $5 million charitable give-away on Facebook, you can imagine the excitement that erupted among cash-strapped non-profits and their supporters. The idea was to let the public vote and decide democratically what charities deserve a little extra support in a tough economy. The top 100 vote-getters in the first round were to receive $25,000 each, and as you'd expect, drug policy groups performed quite well.Unfortunately, Chase Bank didn't approve of some of the winners, so they changed the rules:At least three nonprofit groups â Students for Sensible Drug Policy, the Marijuana Policy Project and an anti-abortion group, Justice for Allâ say they believe that Chase disqualified them over concerns about associating its name with their missions.The groups say that until Chase made changes to the contest, they appeared to be among the top 100 vote-getters."They never gave us any indication that there was any problem with our organization qualifying," said Micah Daigle, executive director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. "Now theyâre completely stonewalling me." [NYT]Clearly, Chase entered into this without fully appreciating the political implications of using new media as the centerpiece of a philanthropic PR campaign. The whole episode is now reminiscent of the public votes at Obama's Change.gov website, in which legalizing marijuana repeatedly became the most popular policy idea. If you go out of your way to give the public a voice, sometimes you'll be surprised by what you hear. But isnât that the point?Of course, neither Chase Bank, nor the White House, bear any legal obligation to honor the political ideals they've solicited from the public. But that's not the issue here. The whole purpose of an online vote is, rather obviously, to create the appearance of genuine fairness, to let the people decide for themselves what matters most (as Chase boasted proudly in the contest's motto: âYou Decide What Mattersâ). By arbitrarily overturning the results, Chase irrevocably tarnishes the fundamental concept behind their effort and trivializes the exact public values the program was intended to respect and uphold. By daring to reject drug policy organizations who'd obviously won the contest, Chase Bank sends an unambiguous message of disrespect to our movement. If they think this issue is politically volatile, they're absolutely right, but they picked the wrong side. Fixing our drug laws has become one of most prominent struggles at this moment in American politics, and it's a debate you can't simply opt out of while simultaneously draping yourself in the flag of online democracy. If we're powerful enough to win in a fair fight, that means we can also burn those who cheat us. Our friends at SSDP won't be patronizing Chase Bank anytime soon, and I hope you'll join them.
An Open Letter From A Fresno, CA Medical Marijuana Patient
An Open Letter From A Fresno, CA Medical Marijuana Patient by Tommy Hawkins Jr. From the Fresno, CA KMPH (FOX) website's community bulletin board:
Credit where none is due
Police,responding to a report of a possible home invasion arrived to find the front door open.Inside they found two men who had nothing much to say and they also spotted a quantity of ecstasy pills an
NJ Medical Marijuana Patient Convicted, Faces 5-10 Years in Prison
The jury has returned its verdict in the case of multiple sclerosis patient John Wilson, who was brought up on serious marijuana charges for growing his medicine:Somerville- The jury returned a not guilty verdict to John Wilson on the first-degree felony charges against him. But the MS patient could still face time in prison after being found guilty of second-degree charges of âManufacturingâ marijuana and third-degree possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms. Â If he had been convicted of "operating and maintaining a marijuana production facility" John would have faced a minimum of 15 years in state prison. That could have amounted to a death sentence for the 37 year old because of the degenerative nature of the disease. [Examiner]So it could've been worse, but it's awfully hard to get excited about a result that could still send a seriously ill patient to prison. I guess the mushroom possession didnât help, but shrooms should be legal anyway and I'm sure he found them helpful or he wouldn't have had them. Let's hope this less-than-worst-case scenario doesnât suck any momentum from the effort to get Wilson pardoned and pass medical marijuana legislation in New Jersey to prevent such injustices in the future.
There's No Economic Crisis for the Drug Cartels
No matter how many people are captured, killed, or incarcerated, the drugs just keep flowing. You could fill a room with academics who take turns explaining how complex the problem is, but it's actually really, really simple:Though estimates vary, many federal law enforcement agencies and analysts believe that $25 billion in drug proceeds are smuggled out of the U.S. each year.This compares to just $61 million seized over the past year â the $3 million blocked in banks through the Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act and another $58 million seized by border inspectors. That means authorities are halting just 25 cents of every $100 in cartel profits. [AP]It's hard to believe that anyone is still confused about why the drug war isnât getting us anywhere. And no, the solution is not to tell police to take more money from people's cars or pass new laws making it easier to do that. Innocent people have already suffered enough for our failure contain this mess.The solution is to appoint more responsible people to distribute the drugs.
Another Crazy Medical Marijuana Lie From the Drug Czar
Our friends at MPP just caught the drug czar literally editing out the most important part of the American Medical Association's new position on medical marijuana. According to a new ONDCP "factsheet":The American Medical Association: "To help facilitate scientific research and the development of cannabionoid-based medicines, the AMA adopted (a) new policy ⦠This should not be viewed as an endorsement of state-based medical cannabis programs, the legalization of marijuana, or that scientific evidence on the therapeutic use of cannabis meets the current standards for a prescription drug product."Notice how it doesn't say what the "new policyâ¦" actually is? That's because the original quote says, "the AMA adopted new policy urging the federal government to review marijuanaâs status as a Schedule I substance." Leaving that part out isn't just confusing and dishonest; it looks ridiculous. If it's now ok to use ellipses to pervert policy positions, maybe I'll just take AMA's statement and do this with it:"This shouldâ¦be viewed as an endorsement of state-based medical cannabis programs, the legalization of marijuana, [and] that scientific evidence on the therapeutic use of cannabis meets the current standards for a prescription drug product."Yeah, I like the sound of that. But I'm not going to print it on a "factsheet," because it's not true. As accustomed as I am to seeing the drug czar's office routinely deploying these sorts of sleazy semantic deceptions, I'm genuinely awed by this one. They buried the lead so blatantly that anyone who reads it ought to just end up wondering what the hell AMA's "new policy" on medical marijuana actually is. And once Google answers that question in a half-second, you might as well have just told the truth or scrubbed AMA off the site altogether like I suggested weeks ago.
NJ Medical Marijuana Trial Takes an Interesting Turn
Prosecutors in the trial of multiple sclerosis patient John Wilson probably arenât too happy about this:A judge reversed course today, allowing a man on trial for possession of 17 marijuana plants that he was growing during the summer of 2008 to testify about his medical condition.Judge Robert Reed had earlier ruled that defendant John Ray Wilson could not present a defense based on this medical condition.But then, after taking the stand in his own defense today, and after multiple conferences among the lawyers and the judge, Wilson was allowed to say "I told them(the arresting officers) I was not a drug dealer and I was using the marijuana for my MS(Multiple Sclerosis)." [NBC]Unfortunately, that's all the judge would allow. Since New Jersey currently has no medical marijuana law, discussion of the defendant's medical use is considered prejudicial to the jury. We can only hope they got the message. John Wilson is a patient, not a criminal.Regardless of the outcome here, this whole shameful episode powerfully illustrates the urgency of New Jersey's pending medical marijuana legislation. This trial should never have happened in the first place, but the least we can do is make sure it never happens again.
"No one threw bong water at me, but it came pretty close"
I enjoyed this story about Colorado State Senator Chris Romer's visit to the Cannabis Holiday Health Fair. As a proponent of stricter regulations that could close many Colorado dispensaries, Romer isn't exactly regarded as a friend of medical marijuana. Nevertheless, he used the event as an opportunity to build relationships and work to find common ground with the patient community. It sounds like a lot of people were impressed to learn how well he understood the issue.There's an important lesson here for folks on either side (or stuck in the middle) of any debate over public policy regarding medical marijuana (and hopefully other pending reforms). Romer approached the conflict by trying to open more dialogue, rather than sitting in an office somewhere plotting against people. In the process, he was able to build some sympathy for his position, while also gaining some sympathy for the concerns of his opponents. Supporters of medical marijuana should also take note of the bad publicity you earn by lashing out against opponents in an unprofessional way. The article quotes Romer saying that, "I did have some people yelling at me and throwing F-bombs." In an otherwise positive article about open communication between patients and politicians, this unnecessary ugliness stood out and reflected badly on the patient community. Bitterness and hostility are in no short supply when it comes to debating drug policy, but it's best to vent such frustrations among friends and never in the company of those we hope to influence. People who don't already agree with you will usually mistake your fury for craziness.Still, I think there's a positive message here about how communities can work together to make drug policy reforms work in everyone's best interest. As medical marijuana continues to gain ground and broader legalization builds momentum, it's going to become necessary for competing interests to cooperate and find common ground. That's what has to happen and every good example we set goes a long way.
Latest Drug War Lie: Debating Medical Marijuana Causes More Kids to Smoke Pot
New data on youth drug use was released today and, as we've come to expect, the drug warriors would rather lie about it than learn from it. Instead of focusing on the fact that more high school seniors are smoking marijuana than cigarettes (proving what a perfect failure our marijuana laws truly are), the drug czar and his minions tried to claim that debating drug policies causes more young people to do drugs:The increase of teens smoking pot is partly because the national debate over medical use of marijuana can make the drug's use seem safer to teenagers, researchers said. In addition to marijuana, fewer teens also view prescription drugs and Ecstasy as dangerous, which often means more could use those drugs in the future, said White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske.The "continued erosion in youth attitudes and behavior toward substance abuse should give pause to all parents and policy-makers," Kerlikowske said. [AP]Wait, what was that about the medical marijuana debate causing an increase in teen pot-smoking? According to The Associated Press, that's what the "researchers said," but the only reference to medical marijuana in the whole study tells a more interesting story:Marijuana use began to decline in 1997 among 8th graders and then did the same in 1998 among 10th and 12th graders. The rate of decline was rather modest, however, perhaps due in part to effects of the public debates over medical use of marijuana during that period. So they never said marijuana use "increased" because of the medical marijuana debate. Not even close. All they did was speculate that a decrease -- which took place 12 years ago â would "perhaps" have been steeper if it weren't for the debate over medical marijuana. I'll give you one guess where I'm about to go with thisâ¦Teen marijuana use declined following the emergence of a national debate over medical marijuana. That's what actually happened and the suggestion that such declines would have been greater if it weren't for marijuana activism is about as logical as arguing that Sgt. Pepper would have been an even better record if The Beatles weren't on acid. Rates of high school marijuana use had been climbing rapidly until 1996, when California voters legalized medical marijuana, after which point they declined for 10 years straight. Now I'm not saying that the debate over medical marijuana caused a reduction in teen marijuana use, but even if I did, it would still make a lot more sense than what we read yesterday from The Associated Press. Of course, I completely understand that journalists canât possibly read and digest a 700+ page report. That's understandable, as is some reliance on press releases when piecing a story together. But if you're getting all your information from the drug czar, you should be awfully careful not to get taken advantage of. A really good sign that you've been completely worked over is if you end up reporting that the legalization debate causes kids to do drugs.
Search and Seizure: Ohio Supreme Court Rules Police Need Warrant to Search Cell Phones
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that police officers must obtain a search warrant before reviewing the contents of a suspectâs cell phone unless their safety is in danger. The ruling came on a narrow 5-4 vote of the justices. The ruling came in State v. Smith, in which Antwaun Smith was arrested on drug charges after answering a cell phone call from a crack cocaine user acting as a police informant. When Smith was arrested, officers took his cell phone and searched it without his consent or a search warrant. Smith was charged with cocaine possession, cocaine trafficking, tampering with evidence and two counts of possession of criminal tools. At trial, Smith argued that evidence derived through the cell phone search should be thrown out because the search violated the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. But the trial judge, citing a 2007 federal court ruling that found a cell phone is similar to a closed container found on a defendant and thus subject to warrantless search, admitted the evidence. Smith was subsequently convicted on all charges and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Smith appealed, but lost on a 2-1 vote in the appeals court. In that decision, the dissenting judge cited a different federal court case that found that a cell phone is not a container. In the majority opinion Tuesday, state Supreme Court Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger wrote that the court did not agree with the appeals court and trial judge that a cell phone was a closed container. "We do not agree with this comparison, which ignores the unique nature of cell phones," Lanzinger wrote. "Objects falling under the banner of 'closed container' have traditionally been physical objects capable of holding other physical objects. ... Even the more basic models of modern cell phones are capable of storing a wealth of digitized information wholly unlike any physical object found within a closed container." "People keep their e-mail, text messages, personal and work schedules, pictures, and so much more on their cell phones," Craig Jaquith, Smith's attorney, said in a statement. "I can't imagine that any cell phone user in Ohio would want the police to have access to that sort of personal information without a warrant. Today, the Ohio Supreme Court properly brought the Fourth Amendment into the 21st century." But Greene County prosecutor Stephen Haller complained to the Associated Press that the high court had gone too far. "I'm disappointed with this razor-thin decision," Haller said. "The majority here has announced this broad, sweeping new Fourth Amendment rule that basically is at odds with decisions of other courts."
Europe: Czech Government Announces Decriminalization Quantities; Law Goes Into Effect on New Yearâs Day
The Czech cabinet Monday approved a Justice Ministry proposal that sets personal use quantity limits for illicit drugs under a penal code revision that decriminalizes drug possession in the Czech Republic. The law and its quantity limits will take effect on January 1. The Czech government had approved the decriminalization law late last year, but failed to set precise quantities covered by it, instead leaving it to police and prosecutors to determine what constituted a âlarger than smallâ amount of drugs. The resulting confusion--and the prosecution of some small-scale marijuana growers as drug traffickers--led the government to adopt more precise criteria. Under the new law, possession of less than the following amounts of illicit drugs will not be a criminal offense: Marijuana 15 grams (or five plants) Hashish 5 grams Magic mushrooms 40 pieces Peyote 5 plants LSD 5 tablets Ecstasy 4 tablets Amphetamine 2 grams Methamphetamine 2 grams Heroin 1.5 grams Coca 5 plants Cocaine 1 gram Possession of âlarger than a small amountâ of marijuana can result in a jail sentence of up to one year. For other illicit drugs, the sentence is two years. Trafficking offenses carry stiffer sentences. Justice Minister Daniela Kovarova said that the ministry had originally proposed decriminalizing the possession of up to two grams of hard drugs, but decided that limits being imposed by courts this year were appropriate. "The government finally decided that it would stick to the current court practice and drafted a table based on these limits," Kovarova said. The Czech Republic now joins Portugal as a European country that has decriminalized drug possession.
Man Gets Tased and Dies After Trying to Swallow Marijuana During Police Encounter
I just can't possibly tell you emphatically enough, if you're approached by police, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO EAT YOUR STASH:It's just chilling to watch this young man struggle for his life. The tasing certainly didnât help either, but I'm not ready to join the ranks of commenters I've seen around the web who are calling this a murder. From what I can see, the officers did as they were trained and it's just a shame that police are now encouraged to zap anyone who struggles with them. It's unclear to me whether the tasing contributed to the choking and/or whether some of Grande's resistance was caused by his inability to breathe. What is clear as day, however, is that Andrew Grande would still be alive today if it weren't a crime to possess marijuana. As long as police continue to arrest and criminally charge marijuana users, there will be no end to tragedies like this one. It may be easy for some to blame Grande's panic-induced actions for his death, but that's only half the story. If fear of our drug laws leads people to take such risks, then there is something wrong with our drug laws. The leaders of the war on drugs are constantly claiming that they are only trying to help people like Andrew Grande. The drug czar upon taking office exclaimed, "we're not at war with people in this country," and he might even genuinely believe that to be true. But such assurances are worthless as long as people are so intimidated that they'd sooner risk choking to death than receive the sort of "help" our drug policy is known for.
Pledge Your Support: Replace the San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis
Deadline is March 12, 2010
CANDIDATE WANTED: District Attorney for the County of San Diego
POSITION: San Diego County District AttorneyPOSITION TYPE: Public Elected OfficialFILING DATE: March 12, 2010ELECTION DATE: June 8, 2010 CAMPAIGN DONATIONS PLEDGED SO FAR $7,900(as of 12/12/09)PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT TODAY!THE IDEAL CANDIDATE: The San Diego District Attorney, in partnership with the Community, should be dedicated to the pursuit of truth, justice and protection of the innocent and the prevention of crime through the vigorous and professional prosecution of those who violate the laws of the State of California. Additionally the ideal candidate will keep all "personal objections" to California written law at home or in the ballot box. ETHICS: Candidate must be held to the highest standard of integrity and personal and professional conduct. And will not allow "personal relationships" to interfere with the prosecution of a crime. RESPECT: Candidate will treat fellow county employees and all members of the public with dignity and respect, specifically defendants who are found innocent as well as legal medical marijuana patients/caregivers. ACCOUNTABILITY: Candidate must accept a shared responsibility for ensuring sound fiscal management, operational efficiency and continuous improvement. SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS: Candidate will show compassion and understanding to the victims of crime and their families. DIVERSITY: Candidate will be committed to diversity and recognize the significant and valuable contributions to the mission of the office, fellow employees and the community you'll serve. COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP: Candidate will be an advocate and support the building of strong and viable partnerships with law enforcement, all members of the criminal justice systems and the community you serve for the purpose of achieving the highest level of public safety for the citizens of San Diego County. COMMUNICATIONS: Candidate will be open and forthright in communications with fellow prosecutors as well as all those with whom you come in contact. INCUMBENT HISTORY: Bonnie Dumanis is the unchallenged incumbent to this position. Since taking office in 2004 the current DA has alienated the position from the community and is no longer trusted by the courts, sheriffs or local police departments due to repeated poor judgment in allowing "personal opinion" and "personal relationships" to cloud the San Diego County justice system. Interested candidates should use the confidential contact form below to be considered for campaign support. [contact-form] HOW TO RUN FOR POLITICAL OFFICE: http://www.wikihow.com/Run-for-Political-Office http://www.ehow.com/how_18207_prepare-run-political.html http://www.amazon.com/You-Want-Run-Political-Office/dp/0963367102 Candidate support groups may include, but are not limited to; San Diego Americans for Safe Access National Americans for Safe Access So Cal Norml National Norml Marijuana Policy Project
Big Government's Psychopathic Tendencies!
Big corporations and governments are often lacking in conscience and empathy.
Good Stuff to Read
An Alternet story about the DEA's continuing failure to update their website in accordance with the AMA's new position on medical marijuana seems to have gotten results. DEA made another update here, noting the new position and replacing bad info.  Also at Alternet, 10 Signs the Failed Drug War Is Finally Ending by Tony Newman. This has been an incredible year for drug policy reform and Tony's piece was published before this week's incredible news on Capitol Hill. An outrageous medical marijuana prosecution in New Jersey. It's really time to get this legislation passed.A new poll finds 53% support for legalizing marijuana. Other interesting stuff in there too.The worst anti-marijuana editorial I've seen in awhile. The dude even mixes up North and South Korea.Drug war robots! I've been warning about this for years now. It's just a matter of time before the cartels build robots too (if they haven't already). And finally, Prisoner dupes guards, grows pot in cell. Seriously. He told them it was tomatoes. And he only got busted because another inmate ratted him out. Although I suppose it would have caught up with him eventually, because at some point the guards might notice that he doesnât ever seem to have any tomatoes.