The Drug Debate

The Drug Debate Subtopics:

Decriminalization

Legalization

Media

Medicalization

Moderates

Prohibition

Public Opinion

Regulation of Legal Drugs

Spending Priorities

Tax and Regulate

Treatment Not Jail

Drug Truth Network 02/07/11

*DRUG TRUTH NETWORK PROGRAMS, Feb 6 to Feb 13, 2011*

*Cultural Baggage*, 29:00, Irvin Rosenfeld, author of "My Medicine"

receives 300 marijuana cigarettes from the US government every 25 days + James Gilheany, busted for medical marijuana & "fried" chicken recipe from Sandy Moriarty, head chef at Oaksterdam U

LINK: **http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3258

Transcript: Monday

*Century of Lies*, 29:00, Cliff Schaffer of Marijuana Business News & Drug Library + Bill Piper of the Drug Policy Alliance & Aunt Sandys recipe for cannabis tincture

LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3259

*4:20 Drug War NEWS*, 3:00 each, available at http://www.drugtruth.net on right margin

Sun - Bill Piper with Drug Policy Alliance re Obama's willingess to discussion of drug prohibition Sat - Cannabis flour and "fried" chicken with Sandy Moriarty Fri - Cliff Schaffer, publisher of DrugLibrary.org and MarijuanaBusinessNews.com Thu - Irvin Rosenfeld receives 300 cannabis cigarettes from the US Govt every 25 days Wed - Sandy Moriarty's recipe for cannabis tincture Tue - Mary Jane Borden of Drug War Facts asks: "How are women affected by the drug war?"

Mon - Terry Nelson of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition re Obama and drug legalization

With more than 90 broadcast affiliates, DTN invites your station to join, free of charge.

Dean Becker

Producer: Drug Truth Network, www.drugtruth.net

Speaker: Law Enforcement Against Prohibition www.leap.cc

713-462-7981

Police, Drugmakers Face Off Over Restricting Pseudoephedrine

Even though a bill has yet to be introduced in the Missouri General Assembly to return pseudoephedrine to its pre-1976 prescription-only status, both sides have begun to muster arguments and support. A recent poll found strong opposition nationwide for taking pseudoephedrine from behind the counter and putting it behind a prescription wall. Many law enforcement officers now believe that more pseudoephedrine sold in Missouri is used to make meth than to treat cold symptoms, a notion that the pharmaceutical industry disputes.

Medical Marijuana Grower's Punishment Doesn't Match His Crime (Editorial)

The Denver Post's editorial board opines that Christopher Bartkowicz, a medical marijuana grower who bragged about all the money he would make in Colorado's booming dispensary market, simply said the wrong thing at the wrong time and is now bearing the brunt of overzealous federal prosecution.

Medical Marijuana Proponent Files Ethics Complaint Against Iowa Representative

A Des Moines man filed an ethics complaint against a state legislator who admitted he lied about having hemorrhoids and depression to obtain a medical marijuana recommendation in California last year. Mike Pesce said he brought the complaint against Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield, because the representative said he knowingly provided false information to obtain a California medical marijuana card as a way to demonstrate why a similar program should not be adopted in Iowa.

54th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs

The Economic and Social Council established the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in 1946 as the central policy-making body of the United Nations in drug related matters. The Commission enables Member States to analyse the global drug situation, provide follow-up to the twentieth special session of the General Assembly on the world drug problem and to take measures at the global level within its scope of action. It also monitors the implementation of the three international drug control conventions and is empowered to consider all matters pertaining to the aim of the conventions, including the scheduling of substances to be brought under international control.

For more information, see http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/CND/session/54.html

Marijuana Activists Fight DEA Efforts to Eviscerate Medical Privacy

If the State of Michigan won't protect the people, activists will. So went the cry of medical marijuana groups in Michigan, concerned that the privacy of medical marijuana patients there is at grave risk. The Michigan Association of Compassion Clubs filed an emergency motion this week to halt efforts by the federal government to gain access to the records of several Michigan medical marijuana patients.

President Obama to Answer Top Questions Posed by Public on YouTube Today, Top 100 Most Popular Questions ALL Related to Marijuana Law and Drug Policy Reform (Press Release)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JANUARY 27, 2011

President Obama to Answer Top Questions Posed by Public on YouTube Today

Top 100 Most Popular Questions ALL Related to Marijuana Law and

Drug Policy Reform

Drug Policy Reform Groups: Obama Needs to Listen to Public’s Concerns and Address Issue

CONTACT: Morgan Fox, MPP communications manager …………………. 202-905-2031 or [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Drug Policy Alliance, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, the Marijuana Policy Project, NORML and Students for Sensible Drug Policy have issued the following joint statement:

“Following his 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama asked the public to submit questions for an exclusive YouTube interview that will take place at 2:30PM on Thursday January 27. The “Ask Obama” forum promises to take questions from the American people on the issues they find most important in terms of national policy.

“The people have spoken, and the message is loud and clear: the top 100 most popular questions (193,000 were submitted) are on marijuana reform and the harms of drug prohibition, with the first-place question coming from a former police officer who has first-hand experience with the failure of these policies. The questions dominating the forum deal with marijuana legalization, prohibition-related violence, and the fiscal and human consequences of mass incarceration. The American people want to know why our country is continuing the failed, catastrophic policy of drug prohibition.

“Several of the most popular questions also address why our elected leaders have virtually ignored these important issues. This is not the first time marijuana legalization and drug reform have dominated the response to Obama’s call for questions. There were similar results in both 2009 and 2010 when people asked Obama about ending prohibition and using science instead of politics to guide our drug policies. In 2009, Obama’s response was to laugh off the question about taxing and controlling marijuana. In 2010, Obama ignored the questions, despite the questions dominating in quantity and quality.

“We are encouraged by the grassroots response bubbling up around this issue and urge President Obama to address this issue seriously and thoroughly.”

With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

####

Obama Barraged by Marijuana Questions for Upcoming YouTube Town Hall

Of the top 100 most popular questions as rated by YouTube users, 99 are about the drug war or marijuana. Of the next one hundred, 99 are again about drug policy. The marijuana questions don't stop there, but Huffington Post stopped counting deep into the 200s, as the president is unlikely to answer all of them. A White House spokesman told Huffington Post that the president will answer whatever questions YouTube puts before him.

International Day of Action in Defense of Coca Chewing Underway

Coca growers from the Chapare (Cochabamba) and the Yungas (La Paz) â Boliviaâs two coca-growing regions â have travelled to Boliviaâs nine departmental capitals today to publicly chew the traditional leaf and to support the Bolivian government campaign to end the UN prohibition on coca chewing.

The Drug War, Minorities and the Rust Belt

The Rust Belt is no stranger to Americaâs drug prohibition war. In her recent book, "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness," former Stanford Law professor, civil rights lawyer, and current Ohio State University faculty member, Michelle Alexander convincingly paints the war on drugs as far more than just a failed multi-decade policy that has resulted in America becoming the prison capital of the world. She positions the drug war as part of a racial caste system that has imprisoned over a million African American men and disenfranchised even more.

Subscribe to The Drug Debate