This Is Your War on Drugs
Since 1998, the drug czar has been mandated to lie to the American people. So what would a fact-based drug policy look like?
AMONG OUR LEADERS in Washington, who's been the biggest liar? There are all too many contenders, yet one is so floridly surreal that he deserves special attention. Nope, it's not Dick Cheney or Alberto Gonzales or John Yoo. It's a trusted authority figure who's lied for 11 years now, no matter which party held sway. (Nope, it's not Alan Greenspan.) This liar didn't end-run Congress, or bully it, or have its surreptitious blessing at the time only to face its indignation later. No, this liar was ordered by Congress to lie—as a prerequisite for holding the job.
Give up? It's the head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), a.k.a. the drug czar, who in 1998 was mandated by Congress to oppose legislation that would legalize, decriminalize, or medicalize marijuana, or redirect anti-trafficking funding into treatment. And the drug czar has also—here's where the lying comes in—been prohibited from funding research that might give credence to any of the above. These provisions were crafted by Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Bob Barr (R-Ga.) and pushed for by then-czar Barry McCaffrey, best remembered for being somewhat comically obsessed with the evils of medical marijuana. A few Dems complained that the bill, which set "hard targets" of an 80 percent drop in the availability of drugs, a 60 percent decrease in street purity, and a 50 percent reduction in drug-related crime and ER visits, all by 2004—whoops!—was "simplistic" and "designed to achieve political advantage." Though the vote count was not recorded for history, it got enough bipartisan support to be signed into law by Bill "Didn't Inhale" Clinton.
If this tale strikes you as the kind of paranoid fantasy you'd expect from someone who's taken one too many hits off the joint, consider that it isn't the most bizarre, hypocritical, counterproductive moment in our nation's history with drugs. Not by a long shot. Consider that Prohibition came about when progressives got into bed with the Ku Klux Klan, but was rolled back once they'd had enough of the Mob. Or that the precursor to today's drug czar supplied morphine to Sen. Joe McCarthy because he worried about the national security consequences—not of the red-baiter's habit, but of its potential exposure. Or that drug war progenitor Richard Nixon ordered a comprehensive study on the perils of marijuana, and then ignored the study once he learned it recommended decriminalization.
But then, the drug war has never been about facts—about, dare we say, soberly weighing which policies might alleviate suffering, save taxpayers money, rob the cartels of revenue. Instead, we've been stuck in a cycle of prohibition, failure, and counterfactual claims of success. (To wit: Since 1998, the ONDCP has spent $1.4 billion on youth anti-pot ads. It also spent $43 million to study their effectiveness. When the study found that kids who've seen the ads are more likely to smoke pot, the ONDCP buried the evidence, choosing to spend hundreds of millions more on the counterproductive ads.)
What would a fact-based drug policy look like? It would put considerably more money into treatment, the method proven to best reduce use. It would likely leave in place the prohibition on "hard" drugs, but make enforcement fair (no more traffickers rolling on hapless girlfriends to cut a deal. No more Tulias). And it would likely decriminalize but tightly regulate marijuana, which study after study shows is less dangerous or addictive than cigarettes or alcohol, has undeniable medicinal properties, and isn't a gateway drug to anything harder than Doritos. (Watch Clara discuss the Doritos theory at the 00:12:54 mark of this video, and see "The Patriot's Guide to Legalization.")
So why don't we have a rational drug policy? Simple. Forget the Social Security "third rail." The quickest way to get yourself sidelined in serious policy discussion is to stray from drug war orthodoxy. Even MoJo has skirted the topic for fear of looking like a bunch of hot-tubbing stoners. Such is the power of the culture wars, 50 years on.
There is some hope. We have, at long last, a post-boomer president, one who confidently admits he partook back in the day. And while Barack Obama has said he's not interested in overhauling drug policy, his administration has made moves toward honesty—acknowledging that US demand fuels overseas production, that federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries are a waste of time and money, and that treatment should be our top priority; the Pentagon has even said that Mexico rivals Pakistan atop the list of states most likely to fail. There are other signs of a thaw: Those noted hippies at The Economist and Foreign Policy have called for ending "prohibition at any cost." Drug warrior Bob Barr is lobbying for the Marijuana Policy Project. And Joe Biden—who helped create the 100:1 crack-vs.-coke sentencing disparity—has finally issued a mea culpa.
Meanwhile, the new drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske—the first since moralizer-in-chief William Bennett not to hold Cabinet-level status—has even dared suggest that the phrase "War on Drugs" be retired. But Kerlikowske still remains bound by the 1998 mandate prohibiting him from speaking the truth. If we want a sensible drug policy, ditching the liar's law would be a good start.
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Medical Marijuana
People United for Medical Marijuana (www.pufmm.org) advocates on behalf of patients who want to use medical marijuana as part of their treatment regime. Health care decisions must be made by the Dr. and the patient, the govt. can butt out. Many older people live on a fixed income, and paying for pills sometimes means making hard choices, when you could grow your own treatment option for free, what business is that of the Govt.?
Instead, we have non-violent marijuana users dying in prison. Check out the story of Theresa Anthony, SHE IS DEAD NOW! That is the face of the Drug War on the People, and we dont do anything about it. President Obama and the new Drug Czar say that legalization of medical marijuana is not in their vocabulary. Now that is change I can believe in, NOT.
Legalize it!!
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Legalize it!!
Don't legalize it!
The time to legalize it has come and gone! If it was legalized now, all those who have fought to protect this country and died, would have done so in vain. It is not the drug itself that is so dangerous, it is those who grow, package, distribute, and vow for control of the drug market. From a substance abuse counselor’s view, the drug becomes dangerous when dealers decide to up the ante and cut it with poisons beyond comprehension. Sure politicians lie; there is nothing new about this. What is a shame is when the media doesn’t show true representation of what is going on south of the boarder. You didn’t have any trouble bringing the wars home for American viewers, how about villages of slaughtered people because they got in the way of the drug lords? Or better yet, what happens when people try to say no to the drug lords? Mother Jones has always been pretty good about printing both sides, what closed the blinds this time?
Huh? don't legalize it so the dealers do...wha..?
Your point baffles me. If we legalize ALL drugs, then the only people we have to fear is Pfizer and Glaxo-Smith-Kline and Mary-Jane-Inc.(the last being the imaginary company that will corner 60% of the marijuana market). Yes, today we have drug lords and mega trillions of underground drug cash RUNNING the government - buying up all the legit businesses, and destroying the co-called "American Dream". The huge flood of underground drug money is the source of all evils in this country. Legalize ALL drugs, regulate ALL drugs, tax ALL drugs, make treatment available for ALL drug users, and release all the convicted "soft-core" drug offenders in prison, and give 'em jobs in the factories, fields, warehouses and stores that will create, import, ship and sell drugs. And that makes perfect sense to me. Oh, and while we're at it - GET THE US OUT OF THE WTO!
Read it again
I am saying that it is past the time where marijuana can be legalized. People have died to stop it and if it is legalized now, then those people died in vain! The fact of the matter it is not the same plant that was around in the early years, it is a hybrid 10 times stronger and 10 times or more the harm it can do to our society! Read my post again!
Equality of all
I had heard that every bit of marijuana is 10 times stronger. Every bit of it. It's all absolutely identical in every way. There is no such thing as lower grade weed anymore. It all miraculously got ten times stronger. It is almost magical how experienced Apple or cherry farmers have been selling the same old stuff for decades, unable in their generations' strong efforts and knowledge to do anything like the hippies in closets do. Can we make the ''therapy'' a training program in the Growing of Food? These dope growers seem to know more about organic farming than any tired old American farmer. sarcasm aside: The genetics are the same as they were 50 years ago, as well as the relative 10 to 1 ratio of strength in different . Stronger strains have only become more widespread, available and cross-bred. There was, for instance Thai or Viet. Ask a Vietnam Vet what was up back then. You have a silly silly assumption that should come to an end.
.....what?
So you're saying, in order to honor those who died battling (a) drug lords and (b) cops, we have to sacrifice portions of succeeding generations to die at the hands of (a) cops or (b) drug lords?
As long as drugs are illegal, every single death will continue to be preventable and tragic.
Nobody died in vein
Those cops and victims of crime would not have died if the War on Drugs never started in the first place. The trafficers,growers, and distributors are just trying to make money off of an illigal cartel. For example look at all the people that died and the crime that spread when alcohol was made illigal. The only people that get hurt from marijuana being illigal are the people that try and stop the cartels from trafficing. If it was made legal with regulation trafficers would go out of business example again alcohol. You need to pull your head out of your ass and realize what is really hurting society here. Our tax dollars are paying for politicians to lie and try to convince us what "OUR" best interests are. My mother has lived with chronic pain for many years. She has tried every pain medication out there and none of them even come close to giving her that same pain relief that a joint does. I also have a friend that served 3 years in prison for possessing 3 grams of marijuana. It cost over 20,000 in our taxes to house him in prison. Do you see where the problem is here I know I do.
Not legalizing not smart.
From an educated person(councilor) I would expect no less. He is a drug councilor why would he want drugs legalized? To do so would soon drop the number of persons seeking treatment, most seek treatment to stay out of jail. No fear of lockdown no need for expensive treatment. And as an old toker since 1954, no one stops smoking till they are faced with a jail term for burning a plant. Then they claim they need help when they are caught. So I wonder how many millions are wasted on that brand of crap? Yes there are people who need treatment, mostly boozers a few real addicts. But for the most part the big "DRAMA" seems to be, get caught with contraband, do penance, be forgiven by the powers that be. What complete "BS", this is a shadow of the real America, we are all being enslaved by nutjobz. And as for wasting lives on a stupid war, only a dumbbutt would think that was a valid reason to kill more citizens.
"People have died to stop it
"People have died to stop it and if it is legalized now, then those people died in vain!"
This is one of the dumbest arguments I've ever read. It's often used as a sarcastic support to continue ill-conceived wars, yet here we have someone who appears to be using it in all seriousness.
insane in the membrane
your arguments are retarded. Haven't you heard of better late than never.
The sooner we stop this insanity we call the war on drugs the better.
And your comment, "People have died to stop it and if it is legalized now, then those people died in vain!"
NEWS FLASH: They DID die in vain ALREADY for fighting to stop legalization. That's an idiotic, immoral war to be fighting.
People die all the time for
People die all the time for far worse reasons. Not only that, but far more people will die if we continue the war on drugs. Todays marijuana is no more dangerous than the genetically enhanced "hybrid" meat and vegetables on your plate. What do you know about society? Or anything for that matter? Take a day off from sunday school and read a real book. Or do yourself a favor and smoke a bowl, then tell us how much harm it does to society.
READ IT AGAIN???
It sounded like preaching the first time....WHAT DO YOU USE FOR DRUG COUNSELING???...HOLY WATER...PEOPLE DIE IN VAIN ALL THE TIME ALL OVER THE WORLD...EVER HEARD OF VIETNAM???
Drug War Hypocrisy
Your comments are inane, your reasoning shoddy, and your tone hovering between panic and preachy. Yes, many good people have died in the war on drugs. From both sides of the fence. Tragic as that may be, people die every day for the wrong reasons. The war on drugs has been no more than a covert op perpetrated upon the world by the American CIA to create cash, inspire international chaos, topple governments, fund weapons, and enslave the weak of mind. The truth is not in the best interest of American foreign or domestic policy.
O dear
Okay, so we don't legalize it now because someone in the past died to keep it illegal??? Soooo, let's just follow this down the slippery slope: all those KKK folks who died trying to prop up their version of white supremacy, they should be upheld because pockets of racism still exist? Or, maybe all those wars should be propped up so that our troops will not have died in vain? This doesn't even make logical sense. If they died defending a bad policy, perhaps history will show the 'bad' guys as the policy makers. Gosh, under your scenario, we'd never make any progress of any sort if any one person died propping up the 'bad' policy.
History Proves You Wrong
Just as organized crime got out of the alcohol business once Prohibition was repealed, so would the cartels get out of the pot business were it to be legalized. There would be no more black market for pot than there is for wine, beer, etc., now. If I could grow weed myself, why would I buy it from a crime syndicate? If I could go to the store and buy it, just as I can cigarettes noiw, why would I buy it from bad guys?
The drug lords you (rightfully) fear so much would have no one to sell marijuana to. History shows that, very clearly.
Legalize pot, and crime goes down. Fact.
Keeping it illegal protects its profitability for suppliers.
If it were legalized the drug lords would be put out of business or made legitimate and the crime that stems from the drug trade would disappear. Also, a bad policy is still a bad policy even if great sacrifices have been borne on its behalf.
?%&#!!*
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With all due respect, you speak pure nonsense. Besides, let's be honest, anyone who goes to the military nowadays for the "honor" is probably lying.
what a fool !!
you are by far the stupidest sounding person on this thread!!
TOTAL LAUGHING STOCK!!!!
HA HA HA HA HA
Oh, my God!! I can't believe how bad you sound!!
You should read your stuff back to yourself. You sound pretty dumb don't you?
yes.
AREN'T WE TALKIN' POT???
Put down your CRACK PIPE...LEGALIZE IT...AREN'T WE TALKIN' POT???...JUST CHECKED... CAN'T FIND ANY DRUG LORDS IN MY VILLAGE.
Dont legalize? Do what?
"From a substance abuse counselor’s view, the drug becomes dangerous when dealers decide to up the ante and cut it with poisons beyond comprehension."
Do you honestly mean that really? Lets see, One: If the government produced and packaged marijuana it would cut out the middle man aka drug dealers. When was the last time you saw a drug dealer selling a tobacco product? Why would one waste their time? They wouldn't it isn't logical. Why sell something that one may purchase in a convenience store. Two: Aren't there thousands of chemicals in the air you breathe? Or how about in tobacco products? Whether they put chemicals in weed has no importance when there isnt a place on this planet you can be that there isn't chemicals. Hell chemicals in weed is the least of my worries. Three: Why legalize some drugs and not all? Hell you can go to a Doctor tell him anything and get prescribed a drug that has acetaminophen and have a field day with its side effects. Why legalize tobacco if it can give you lung cancer or gum cancer? Why legalize alcohol if you can have liver failure? Why? Why? Why? The list can go on for hours and it still comes to one answer. MODERATION and PROFIT. Every single choice you make day to day all comes down to moderation. The food you eat to the toothpaste you put on your toothbrush. If the government can tax it they make money so now with the tobacco tax they have to be making a killing. Four: If they legalized it, then the same rules that apply to alcohol i.e. drinking and driving should apply to driving high. And five: People dying in vain for it? Come on people in every war or movement in one form or another has died in vain so take that some where else, friend.
Legalize Marijuana for Adults in California
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Our current marijuana laws are impossible to enforce. Despite decades of marijuana eradication and despite arresting 800,000 people a year, pot is still easier to buy for most high school kids than beer.
Keeping marijuana illegal does not benefit our children. It benefits special interest groups: drug cartels, the prison industry, police departments, and government bureaucracies.
It is immoral to prevent responsible adults from choosing to use a less harmful substance in place of alcohol. If pot were legalized, alcohol use would decrease along with its associated social costs.
If you want marijuana to be legalized, taxed, and regulated for adults, YOU can make it happen. Tell your legislators to support California Assembly Bill 390. It's easy. Visit yes390.org
Some Dignity for Patients Please!
When will this insanity end? The US government owns several patents on cannabis and its properties. Why the lies and the propaganda when all anyone has to do is visit the US Patent office website, search out Patent # 6630507, and read the government's own words that cannabis is an antioxidant and neuroprotectant.
Let the sick and suffering finally stop living in fear of their government and its lies and allow them some dignity.
Come on America, surely there is enough of us that believe in compassion and dignity for the suffering that we can Demand congress changes this immediatley!
It's 2009 and time for some Truth in Government, don't you agree?
Cannabis is medicine. There
Cannabis is medicine. There is no other even halfway safe medical herb that is so restricted. If you have any doubts about cannabis being an effective medicine, or need information on medical uses, please run a search on "Granny Storm Crow's list" or view it here- http://medicalmarijuanapatient.com/forum/showthread.php?t=378 The list is a large compilation of medical studies and articles on the many medical uses of cannabis. Thank you.
Great article....thanks for
Great article....thanks for your efforts to expose the lies about cannabis....you're right....they're lying and will not admit the truth until it jumps up and bites them in the ass......How can I possibly trust my government any longer.
More of these articles are
More of these articles are needed. They seem to be a rarity.
Those who are intelligent enough and courageous enough to see the injustice of cannabis prohibition need to speak out and speak out often. If you are in a position to have a louder voice please use it courageously and speak out for cannabis law reform.
People are regularly criminalized and/or imprisoned for using an herb that people have been using for thousands of years. Good people have been placed in bad and dangerous situations because a group of mealy mouthed politicians have chosen to go along with and perpetuate stereotypes and myths about cannabis users.
A well reasoned article.
A well reasoned article. Thank you!
Good article, but Obama is
Good article, but Obama is not a "post-boomer president." He is a baby boomer, as is everyone else who was born from 1946 through 1964.
Some people seem to be under the mistaken impression that baby boomers are keeping us from legalizing marijuana, that it won't happen as long as baby boomers are in power. We may have had three baby boomer presidents now including Obama, but presidents don't write the laws and baby boomers are really just now taking power in our federal law making bodies. Half the old geezers in the Senate were born before the baby boom. Most of the important committee leaders who set the agenda and decide which bills make it to the floor for a vote are people born before the baby boom. The average age of committee leaders in both houses is way up there in the high sixties. The overwhelming majority of people 65 and older are strongly opposed to legalizing marijuana, and these old geezers in our federal legislative bodies are the people who dictate the party line. Youger lawmakers without so much seniority are expected to fall in and vote the party line, and usually they do just that.
The oldest baby boomer is 63 now. The youngest is turning 45 this year. In a few more years they will completely dominate our law making bodies and they are the ones who will be in power when we change these laws, and we will change these laws. It's only a matter of time now. We don't have to wait for the baby boomers to go. That's several decades away. I bet we don't see two more decades pass before marijuana is legal in most states. It might even happen in the next decade.
Ummm, No
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I was born in 1964, and a Baby Boomer I most certainly am NOT!! Baby Boomers were the hippy teenagers during the 60's, NOT being born. Sorry, try again...
Dear Nation of Hypocrites
I'm sick of it!!!!!!!!! I like pot. You like beer. Who's correct on this? It's insane.
The millions should not need a buffer like medical marijuana to get smoke.
The intolerant squares (that enjoy a drink) say they just want medical marijuana to get high. And saying it's medical is an excuse. Well so what. I will never touch crack, coke, or meth. And it's never been gateway drug for me or any of my successful adult friends.
I get high once every 2 weeks. Why do I have to have excuses? This whole thing is insane!!!!!
Why not make donuts and soft drinks illegal? They make you fat and give you diabetes. And everyone knows one donut leads to another.
I like pot. So what. Am I a sinner? Have I hurt anyone? Have I stole anything?
You like a drink. I like a puff. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? Just legalize it, tax it, regulate it. AND END THE CRIME AND VIOLENCE CREATED BY KEEPING IT ILLEGAL!
What a bunch of *%*^$& hypocrites!
BTW, the DEA will have as much luck stopping WEED use as they would stopping the weeds in my back yard. Simply impossible and a waste of time.
Rewrite
If Congress is so fired up to write up some quick legislation, why not rewrite the ONCDP Reauthorization Act and extract all the lies and blockades so science can take place and people in government can start telling the truth again?
Soulldn't take too long to rewritel
Message to DEA and ONDCP
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Hören Sie zu versuchen auf, sich die Schützende Staffelung zu machen.
Keep pot illegal, legalize heroin
I think we should do like Switzerland and keep cannabis illegal but provide heroin to addicts who need it. This policy works very well in Switzerland & was recently affirmed in a referendum there. (Btw-allow medical mj...)
Legalize it!
It's way past time to legalize it. I like it. But I can't smoke it cuz I ruined my lungs with 43 years of cigarettes! But I could stand some brownies right now! Or pot butter on my toast! :-)
We NEED to legalize it to get this country out of the red and into the black! Tax it! Then tax it again when I buy a dress made from the stalks! And make green cars from the fibergrass (!) that is stronger than metal and don't dent with a sledge hammer. We learned that from the Germans VW! I wish even "they" would bring fibergrass back since we don't have the big ones to do it!
Yes! Legalize it TO tax it!
Dope
Decriminalize all of it! The two most dangerous drugs are legal and their providers continue to demonize "drugs" their agenda is transparent, cruel and inhumane. Unlock the prisons, let our people free!
I smoke, we should all have the choice.
YES, I agree Dope lest we forget the pore innocents out there in the convict colony's.
Now on a side note crime obviously still needs to be addressed, but inhumane punishment for addiction or possession is horrible.
Legalise "For The Children"
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Legalisation will go much farther toward keeping kids off drugs than Prohibition. I was offered my first joint at age 11 and first beer at age 17 (and this was when the drinking age was 18). Enough said.
Basically, the more dangerous a substance is, the more dangerous it is to have its sales take place on the street and the more imperative to get it behind a counter, and the only way to do that is legalisation. We need to stop making the false assumption that Prohibition keeps drugs away from kids better than legalisation does, and realise that the question "should we legalise this?" and "do we want kids doing this?" are two different questions with opposite answers.
Also, poll after poll on the issue, including the latest Zogby, back up the common-sense reality that legalising hard drugs will not lead to mass carnage and addiction, with most people no more inclined to use then than now and only around .1% saying they'd use things like smack were it legal. Most who wanna use drugs are already using them and their levels have remained fairly constant with pre-Prohibition levels, and most who aren't using them wouldn't even if they could.
Ask yourself: is the threat of jail the only thing standing between you and a smack/crack habit? Exactly. Sounds silly when phrased that way doesn't it? Because it is. Stop worrying about "That Stupid Guy Next To Me(tm)" (who's thinking the same about you, isn't that silly?). The Prohibitionists ride that paranoia right to the bank and have done so since the beginning. Don't fall for it.
Time for progressive media to address the War on Drugs head on.
"Even MoJo has skirted the topic for fear of looking like a bunch of hot-tubbing stoners. Such is the power of the culture wars, 50 years on."
And therein lies the problem. This festering war against American citizens waged by our own government is not mentioned for fear of being called a hippie. I thank you for facing your fear and writing this article. Please don't stop there. Continue with the exposé. There is a lot of material to cover (some mentioned in the above comments): The Dept. of HHS's patent on cannabinoids; the wealth of research showing the huge potential of cannabinoid medicine in the fields of oncology, neurology, opthamology, psychology, internal medicine, bacteriology . . . need I go on? What about the harassment of providers, patients and physicians in states where cannabis is legal as medicine? How about the fact that when the Lancet publishes an article about research that conjectures that cannabis may cause early onset of schizophrenia, the MSM is all over it, but when two years later the same Journal (June/July 2009) publishes a follow-up study that shows unequivocally that in spite of the increase in cannabis use there has been no corresponding rise in schizophrenia, the silence is deafening.
It is time for all progressives to realize that this War on Drugs is a war on consciousness, and a chillingly effective one at that. But like all lies, it cannot stand up against the truth. One thing one can say "about the online community" (are you listening, Mr. President) that they are well informed, and no longer swallow, hook line and sinker, government propaganda.
So, Mother Jones, lets get your MOJO working. Tackle this truly big issue. And if you want information quickly, put in a call to your readers. They will supply you with all the links to research, historical imperatives, political posturing and more examples of the devastating consequences of this "War," than you could possibly use.
We devoted a whole issue to the War on Drugs
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Dear Brinna:
If you look at the top right corner of the page, you'll notice a mini table of contents that take you to a giant package we put out on the drug war. The links in this piece do the same.
But readers are certainly welcome to draw our attention to things that we didn't cover.
Clara Jeffery
Editor
I vote to legalize all drugs
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I vote to legalize all drugs and offer better treatment options. I don't see how spending 50 billion a year to keep the cartels in control of the drug flow helps us. We keep spending tax dollars to snuff out a black market that is only thriving and making cartels rich. It will never end as long as there is a profit to be made. Take the profits from the cartels and they will lose their power.
The black market is what
The black market is what keeps the banks running,the US banking system is and has always been the biggest launder of drug money in the world.What would there cash reserves look like without it?It would be time for another tax payer bailout.As long as the financial system sees a profit the personal misery will continue.
true and false - as usual
I like your post, though I have to challenge the notion that the director of ONDCP can affect what research gets funded. While the director does have oversight over the NIDA budget, individual research grants are peer-reviewed and are not subject to ONDCCP approval.
I think that drug legalization needs to be looked into and explored, but it would be nice for the debate to be objective.
All true
NIDA is peer reviewed but we never said anything about NIDA. The ONDCP does its own research as well and the provision in the re-authorization act says:
(12) shall ensure that no Federal funds appropriated to the Office of National Drug Control Policy shall be expended for any study or contract relating to the legalization (for a medical use or any other use) of a substance listed in schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812) and take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance (in any form) that--
(A) is listed in schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812); and
(B) has not been approved for use for medical purposes by the Food and Drug Administration;
You can wade through the whole act here:
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/about/98reauthorization.html
Clara Jeffery
Editor
research
All serious research into benefits of marijuana have been quashed in the United States for over 20 years, possibly more than 30 years. If you don't have cannabis, you can't conduct the research. How many R & D companies have been granted permission to research cannabis? Please find me one in the United States that was allowed to honestly and scientifically research cannabis and report their findings to the public? It doesn't exist. So you can parse words but the bottom line is that the Drug Czar is directed to lie AND our government will not only fund mj research, it won't even allow it when there is no government $$ involved. Go figure.
The real costs of jailing people for drug offenses.
I think it is always a good idea to mention the enormous human and material costs of imprisoning around 2.4 million US citizens for crimes relating to drug and alcohol related abuses. There are currently about 2.4 million adults in prison and approx 900,000 juveniles. As someone working in the field, I have been told time and again that around 80%-90% of all those people who are incarcerated are there for something to do with what is called "substance abuse".
At a cost of around $50K - $165K per person annual costs of incarceration - you can do the math.
The human cost is a little harder to determine but includes the break up of families and the fostering and adoption of children and the inability of those with a criminal record to get a job, and so on and so on.
I would recommend anyone to read the PEW report which was published last year, to find a road-map to solve these problems.
One of the main points made in the PEW report is that for every dollar spent on incarceration, that is a dollar less that can be spent on education. In other words there is a direct link between education and incarceration in monetary terms.
It makes great sense to fund education instead of incarceration, and it makes great sense to help people, through whatever programs are available, to recover from addiction and dependence on drugs and alcohol, rather than to further compound their problems by warehousing them with little or no help at all.
Legalizing, how to get it done.
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I believe the only way to accomplish rapid legalization is to convince big chemical companies like DuPont and Dow (and their ilk) that it would be more cost-effective for them to retool to produce all of their currently polluting processing of finite raw material resources, the timber and petroleum-based products, from hemp; as the best renewable resource for their raw materials, than to spend the huge amounts of money required for cleaning up their acts of criminal pollution, such as Dioxin. (How's that for a run-on sentence?) Very soon, they're going to HAVE to change something major about their polluting, resource eroding, and increasingly expensive processes, drastically, regardless. Hemp could replace nearly all the wood and oil they now use to make everything from paper to plastics.
It doesn't take a whole lot of research to learn that THEIR TIMBER and OIL INTERESTS are the primary reasons hemp was made illegal to begin with, spread world-wide, and remains so, today. We need the engineering and scientific community beyond just medical doctors to speak up on this, dramatically enough to show everyone on this planet just how ignorant and selfish these huge companies have been, and still are. You want real change? Change corporate behavior.
Personally, I'd love to see corporations outlawed, period. Make the individuals in charge 100% responsible for their actions, using Bernie Madoff as the poster boy for individual responsibility. And, while we're at it, outlaw lobbying, lying in the media, and make the same health care our representatives have, available to every citizen for the same price they pay, which is nothing. For God's sake, start doing the right things, right now!
Pls RT
