DrugSense FOCUS Alert #399 - Monday, 6 April 2009

Today over a million folks living in Michigan became eligible to apply for permission to use medicinal marijuana. It is the first day that the state Bureau of Health Professions at the Michigan Department of Community Health will accept applications.

Michigan becomes the second largest state and the first in the heartland to have a medicinal marijuana program.

Called the Michigan Medical Marihuana Program (MMMP) by the state, application forms and details are on line at http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/0,1607,7-132-27417_51869---,00.html

In a vote last November, 63 percent of the state's voters said yes to medical marijuana. The initiative won in every single county in the state.

Many police in the state are not happy. George Basar, president of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police http://www.michiganpolicechiefs.org/ , predicts the law will ignite widespread marijuana abuse as stated in this article http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n353/a02.html

Others are accepting the new reality. For example, the Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton met Friday with advocates as shown in this article http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n388/a04.html

We are starting to see calls for improvements in the law like this editorial calling for better ways for patients to obtain their medicine http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n385/a02.html

The Constitution of Michigan states that "no law adopted by the people at the polls under the initiative provisions of this section shall be amended or repealed, except by a vote of the electors unless otherwise provided in the initiative measure or by three-fourths of the members elected to and serving in each house of the legislature." The law does not provide for change by the state legislature. Perhaps in the future the three-fourths needed will vote to improved the law as the above editorial asks. Any change which would undermine the law is not likely.

Michigan's law sends a strong message to elected and appointed officials at all levels of government that marijuana is medicine - a message you may help send, also.

Most news clippings about the law and the various issues involved may be accessed at http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Michigan+Medical+Marijuana

In Michigan the people have spoken.

It will be interesting to see how the press covers the issue in Michigan in the months ahead just as it is in the other states with medicinal marijuana laws.

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Prepared by: Richard Lake, Senior Editor www.mapinc.org

===
.
DrugSense provides many services at no charge, but they are not
free to produce. Your contributions make DrugSense and its Media
Awareness Project (MAP) happen. Please donate today. Our secure Web
server at http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm accepts credit cards
and Paypal. Or, mail your check or money order to:
.
DrugSense
14252 Culver Drive #328
Irvine, CA 92604-0326.
(800) 266 5759
.
DrugSense is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising
awareness about the expensive, ineffective, and destructive "War on
Drugs." Donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.

There's a war going on, adding more victims each day. Stories such as these, representing less than one-month's-worth of drug war abuses, are still far too common:

1. An estimated 6,290 drug-related murders occurred last year in Mexico, six times the standard definition of a civil war, according to a leading scholar at the Brookings Institution.

2. Within 24 hours, the president and the army-chief-of-staff of Guinea-Bissau, a small country in Africa, lost their lives following violent explosions linked to the drug trade.

3. Engaged in a "battle against drug trafficking" along a busy highway connecting Houston with Louisiana, police in Tehana, Texas have been increasing city coffers by seizing cash from black motorists - including a grandmother and an interracial couple - without charging them with a crime.

4. Two executives with the Mutual Benefits insurance company have been charged with orchestrating a billion dollar Ponzi scheme that allowed narcotics traffickers to purchase life insurance policies payable upon the deaths of people with AIDS and other fatal diseases.

5. After a disabled Colorado medical marijuana patient was busted for growing a couple of marijuana plants, police checked county records, found that he had paid off his mortgage with accident settlement money, and started forfeiture proceedings against him, profiting their agency while seizing his home.

6. After learning of vandalism and several thefts in a Baltimore neighborhood, about two dozen SWAT officers, wearing all black with guns drawn, raided a nearby mobile home belonging to a computer analyst with no criminal record; they handcuffed his wife and shot his dog near his bed.

7. Suspicious of drug sales, an Ontario, Canada, high school vice principal took away a student's cell phone, deleted its numbers, summoned the holders of the numbers to his office, and forced them to confess to drug trafficking.

8. A farm purchased and operated by widows from Colombia's civil war was decimated by the chemical defoliant spray used by U.S. contractors to kill coca plants on 2.6 million acres of Colombian land at the cost of a half billion dollars.

Angry Yet?

There are actions that you can take to end this failed and costly drug prohibition. Here are several suggestions:

a. Write a letter. Articles about each of these atrocities (see references below) can be found in our DrugNews Archive, http://www.drugnews.org. Each article contains an e-mail address or web link to directly contact the source publication. It's "point and click" access to editors and Websites that want to hear what you think.

b. Join local, state or federal groups working on drug policy reform here and around the world. Our Drug Policy Central provides web services to more than 120 drug policy focused organizations. Check out http://www.drugpolicycentral.com/hosting/clients.htm for a group in your area.

c. Hate the drug war, but can't locate a group near you? Join DrugSense at http://www.drugsense.org to find and network with thousands of like-minded people.


d. DONATE. We're able to get the word out about the incredible harms of the drug war and alternatives to prohibition because people like you DONATE. It's quick, easy, and secure. Just visit http://www.drugsense.org/donate.
Help stop this war on our personal rights and freedoms.
Get involved. Write. Join. Donate.



Mark Greer
Executive Director

DrugSense is a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit organization. Your donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.

References to the articles about the drug war victims described above:

(1) Mexico. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n297/a02.html

(2) Guinea-Bissau, Africa.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n294/a06.html

(3) Tenaha, Texas. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n293/a04.html

(4) Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n291/a10.html


(5) Denver, Colorado. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n272/a04.html

(6) Baltimore, Maryland.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n246/a07.html

(7) Peterborough, Ontario.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n259/a04.html

(8) Colombia.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n262/a03.html

Convinced? DONATE NOW to help us stop the War on Drugs. http://www.drugsense.org/donate

14252 Culver Drive #328 Irvine, CA, 92604-0326 (800) 266-5759

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DrugSense FOCUS Alert #397 - Wednesday, 25 February 2009

Headlines from Tuesday and Wednesday morning newspapers alert us.

Wave of Drug Violence Is Creeping into Arizona From Mexico, Officials Say http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n223.a04.html

El Paso Police Investigate Threats Against Juarez Mayor http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n223.a06.html

A Treaty That Can Help Stem Drug Violence in Mexico http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n223.a07.html

Colombia's Worry: Looser US Ties http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n224.a02.html

Mexico Attorney General: We Don't Need U.S. Troops to Intervene in Drug War http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n224.a03.html

Gov. Perry Wants U.S. Troops Guarding Border http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n224.a04.html

Mexico Drug War Prompts Federal Contingency Plan http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n224.a05.html

Today the Los Angeles Times website states that there has been 7,337 drug war related deaths in Mexico since January, 1997 as the newspaper continues it's Mexico Under Siege series http://mapinc.org/find?255

You know the solution as do the former Presidents as reflected in their OPED below. Please write those LTEs as they help shape public opinion. Please also contact the folks who represent you in Congress and President Obama. What you do does make a difference.

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Pubdate: Mon, 23 Feb 2009

Source: Wall Street Journal

Copyright: 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Contact: wsj.ltrs@wsj.com

Authors: Fernando Henrique Cardoso, CeSar Gaviria and Ernesto Zedillo

Note: Mr. Cardoso is the former president of Brazil. Mr. Gaviria is a former president of Colombia. Mr. Zedillo is a former president of Mexico.

Cited: The Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy http://drugsanddemocracy.org/

THE WAR ON DRUGS IS A FAILURE

We Should Focus Instead on Reducing Harm to Users and on Tackling Organized Crime.

The war on drugs has failed. And it's high time to replace an ineffective strategy with more humane and efficient drug policies. This is the central message of the report by the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy we presented to the public recently in Rio de Janeiro.

Prohibitionist policies based on eradication, interdiction and criminalization of consumption simply haven't worked. Violence and the organized crime associated with the narcotics trade remain critical problems in our countries. Latin America remains the world's largest exporter of cocaine and cannabis, and is fast becoming a major supplier of opium and heroin. Today, we are further than ever from the goal of eradicating drugs.

Over the last 30 years, Colombia implemented all conceivable measures to fight the drug trade in a massive effort where the benefits were not proportional to the resources invested. Despite the country's achievements in lowering levels of violence and crime, the areas of illegal cultivation are again expanding. In Mexico -- another epicenter of drug trafficking -- narcotics-related violence has claimed more than 5,000 lives in the past year alone.

The revision of U.S.-inspired drug policies is urgent in light of the rising levels of violence and corruption associated with narcotics. The alarming power of the drug cartels is leading to a criminalization of politics and a politicization of crime. And the corruption of the judicial and political system is undermining the foundations of democracy in several Latin American countries.

The first step in the search for alternative solutions is to acknowledge the disastrous consequences of current policies. Next, we must shatter the taboos that inhibit public debate about drugs in our societies. Antinarcotic policies are firmly rooted in prejudices and fears that sometimes bear little relation to reality. The association of drugs with crime segregates addicts in closed circles where they become even more exposed to organized crime.

In order to drastically reduce the harm caused by narcotics, the long-term solution is to reduce demand for drugs in the main consumer countries. To move in this direction, it is essential to differentiate among illicit substances according to the harm they inflict on people's health, and the harm drugs cause to the social fabric

In this spirit, we propose a paradigm shift in drug policies based on three guiding principles: Reduce the harm caused by drugs, decrease drug consumption through education, and aggressively combat organized crime. To translate this new paradigm into action we must start by changing the status of addicts from drug buyers in the illegal market to patients cared for by the public-health system.

We also propose the careful evaluation, from a public-health standpoint, of the possibility of decriminalizing the possession of cannabis for personal use. Cannabis is by far the most widely used drug in Latin America, and we acknowledge that its consumption has an adverse impact on health. But the available empirical evidence shows that the hazards caused by cannabis are similar to the harm caused by alcohol or tobacco.

If we want to effectively curb drug use, we should look to the campaign against tobacco consumption. The success of this campaign illustrates the effectiveness of prevention campaigns based on clear language and arguments consistent with individual experience. Likewise, statements by former addicts about the dangers of drugs will be far more compelling to current users than threats of repression or virtuous exhortations against drug use.

Such educational campaigns must be targeted at youth, by far the largest contingent of users and of those killed in the drug wars. The campaigns should also stress each person's responsibility toward the rising violence and corruption associated with the narcotics trade. By treating consumption as a matter of public health, we will enable police to focus their efforts on the critical issue: the fight against organized crime.

A growing number of political, civic and cultural leaders, mindful of the failure of our current drug policy, have publicly called for a major policy shift. Creating alternative policies is the task of many: educators, health professionals, spiritual leaders and policy makers. Each country's search for new policies must be consistent with its history and culture. But to be effective, the new paradigm must focus on health and education -- not repression.

Drugs are a threat that cuts across borders, which is why Latin America must establish dialogue with the United States and the European Union to develop workable alternatives to the war on drugs. Both the U.S. and the EU share responsibility for the problems faced by our countries, since their domestic markets are the main consumers of the drugs produced in Latin America.

The inauguration of President Barack Obama presents a unique opportunity for Latin America and the U.S. to engage in a substantive dialogue on issues of common concern, such as the reduction of domestic consumption and the control of arms sales, especially across the U.S.-Mexico border. Latin America should also pursue dialogue with the EU, asking European countries to renew their commitment to the reduction of domestic consumption and learning from their experiences with reducing the health hazards caused by drugs.

The time to act is now, and the way forward lies in strengthening partnerships to deal with a global problem that affects us all.

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Prepared by: Richard Lake, Senior Editor www.mapinc.org

===
DrugSense provides many services at no charge, but they are not
free to produce. Your contributions make DrugSense and its Media
Awareness Project (MAP) happen. Please donate today. Our secure Web
server at http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm accepts credit cards.

Or, mail your check or money order to:
DrugSense
14252 Culver Drive #328
Irvine, CA 92604-0326.
(800) 266 5759

DrugSense is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising
awareness about the expensive, ineffective, and destructive "War on
Drugs." Donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.
http://drugsense.org/lists/listform.htm?alerts

DrugSense offers a number of incredible, free services to drug policy
reformers, researchers, and advocates (please see
http://www.drugsense.org/ ). However, our main mission is to promote
honesty and accuracy in the War on Drugs, with the goal of moving us
towards a more evidence-based, public health-centered approach to
substance use.

Although it would be nearly impossible to list all of the
misinformation disseminated by the U.S. federal government in regards
to the War on Drugs, we believe that it's useful to occasionally point
out major mistruths. With this in mind, the following list embodies
the three most recent Drug War lies told by John Walters, America's
drug czar, as well as links to the articles on http://www.mapinc.org
that help to dispel these misguided myths:

1. Canada is shipping "Extreme Ecstasy" to the U.S. The ONDCP's first
major press release of 2008 made a disturbing announcement. According
to Walters, there is a "dangerous new drug threat coming from Canada:
Extreme Ecstasy." Less than two weeks after the January 4th press
release, the head of the RCMP's national drug branch sternly rebuked
the ONDCP claims. Supt. Paul Nadeau said he doesn't know why Walters
would make such fictional statements without checking facts with
Canadian officials. He added that he himself has never heard of
"extreme Ecstasy.... it would appear that it's a term that somebody
came up with in a boardroom in Washington, D.C."
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n077/a02.html

2. The War on Drugs is working. After government research suggested
that cocaine prices had gone up 44% over a 9 month period, Walters
declared that the federal government's international interdiction
policies were affecting supply. This was quickly countered by experts
like Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy
Alliance, who stated that "assuming that high cocaine prices are
hurting cartels is like assuming high gasoline prices are hurting oil
companies". http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1291/a04.html

3. Cannabis cultivators are terrorists. "These people are armed;
they're dangerous. [They're] violent criminal terrorists," said
Walters at a press briefing in 2007, "who wouldn't hesitate to help
other terrorists get into the country with the aim of causing mass
casualties." Scott Thill of Alternet researched this claim and
concluded that there is no existing data to support this absurd
allegation. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1011/a03.html

It is always frustrating when a public official deceives the public
with misrepresentation and half-truths; however, because of the "war"
approach to substance use advocated by the U.S. federal government,
these lies are leading to an unacceptable increase in:

* the incarceration of non-violent drug offenders;
* the demonization and stigmatization of substance users;
* the number of HIV/AIDS and hep-c infections;
* the misrepresentation of the potential harms of substance use,
whether legal or illegal.

In other words, these lies are not only offensive; they are resulting
in an entirely avoidable loss of freedoms, life and liberty.
DrugSense would like to put an end to this misguided, misrepresented,
and ineffective War on Drugs, but we need your help.

To help us keep the federal government honest, please DONATE TODAY by
clicking http://drugsense.org/donate/ It's fast and easy. All on-line
donations are secure, private, and tax-deductible.

Checks can also be made payable to DrugSense and mailed to:

DrugSense
14252 Culver Dr 328
Irvine, CA 92604-0326

SPECIAL NOTE: You can spread your donation over the course of a year
by automatically repeating it every month, quarter, or half year. (
http://www.drugsense.org/donate/) Thank you again for working to end
the international war on drugs, and for supporting DrugSense/MAP.

Mark Greer,
Executive Director

P.S. You might note that MAP is driven by volunteers who not only
archive articles, but also respond to them with Letters to the Editor.
That's the beauty of MAP. We empower those who want to change policy.
Among them are:

I Apologize For Drug Czar: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n083/a06.html

Voluntary Student Drug Tests: Bad Idea:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n814/a04.html

Drug Testing Pitfalls:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n926/a11.html

Bureaucrats Don't Want to Win the Drug War:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1220/a01.html

You, too, can participate in reforming drug laws. Please see our Media
Activism Resources ( http://www.mapinc.org/resource/ ), help Newshawk
articles ( http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm ) or join our editing team
by contacting Jo-D Harrison at jo-d@mapinc.org.

Could it really happen in 2008?

Is it possible that in 2008 we might actually turn the corner on this endless, expensive, and ineffective War on Drugs?

There are definitely a few signs of hope. For one, although it's still early in the presidential election process, a number of candidates have already stated that, if elected, they will end the federal DEA raids on medical cannabis users and dispensaries ( http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1060/a11.html). In addition, support is growing for retroactively applying reductions in sentencing to those in prison for crack. This could free thousands of victims of mandatory minimum sentencing laws, which punish those associated with crack much more harshly than those facing charges for powder cocaine ( http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1458/a04.html).

However, these slight cracks in federal prohibition of illicit substances have not resulted from the compassion or kindness of elected officials. Instead, they emanate from years of educating the press and public, lobbying lawmakers at all levels of government, and pressure from drug policy reform organizations like DrugSense. If we're actually starting to see progressive policy shifts with regard to substance use, our hard work is just beginning.

And that's where DrugSense comes in. Resources like our Media Awareness Project (http://www.mapinc.org), which currently archives over 190 000 drug-related news stories, are invaluable resources for pushing an evidence-based approach to drug policy.

Getting accurate information to the media is important, but getting their attention can be difficult. To make this easier, we have compiled an incredible list of over 31,000 media contacts (including e-mail addresses, postal addresses, and fax numbers). And it's all available for FREE from our Media Contact On-Demand database ( http://mapinc.org/mcod/z_clickmap.htm).

If you're interested in local reform, please check out our Community Audits and Initiatives Project (http://www.drugsense.org/caip), which lists the initiative language, media strategies, and contact information of every major municipal drug policy reform initiative or audit in the last ten years.

Although these resources will help to move us away from drug laws based on fear and misinformation, and towards laws based on science, reason and compassion, none of this can happen without your support. DrugSense wants to encourage greater participation and involvement by everyone who cares about personal rights and liberties in this coming year. If you want to help out at the national level, then please check out our Activism Center (http://www.mapinc.org/resource/maf.htm).

The bottom line is that we need your financial support to continue our good work. To donate quickly and easily online, please click here: http://drugsense.org/donate/. All on-line donations are secure, private, and tax-deductible.

Checks can also be made payable to DrugSense and mailed to:

DrugSense 14252 Culver Dr 328 Irvine, CA 92604-0326

SPECIAL NOTE: You can spread your donation over the course of a year by automatically repeating it every month, quarter, or half year. Plus, online donations are private and secure. ( http://www.drugsense.org/donate/)

Even though it's clear that much work still needs to be done in 2008 to put an end to this war on our personal rights and freedoms, there may finally be a light at the end of this long, dark tunnel. This year, let's also remember to support those people and organizations that work so hard to make things better for all of us.

Happy New Year from DrugSense/MAP!

Mark Greer Executive Director

P.S. Are you looking to make an even bigger impact on reform through your charitable giving? Please contact me for ideas on how to put your estate to work at DrugSense, both now and in the future, to create a legacy of sensible drug policies.

Although we offer an incredible array of online services for those interested in drug policy reform, DrugSense has always focused on an honest, evidence-based critique of the War-on-Drugs. With the holiday season upon us, we thought that it would be worthwhile to examine a few facets of reform for which we are most thankful:

1. The Sentencing Commission. The U.S. Sentencing Commission is on the verge of reconsidering the coke/crack disparity and potentially lowering about 20,000 prison sentences. What a holiday gift to so many families!

2. Socially responsible substance use researchers. These creative researchers often face personal and professional criticism for taking evidence-based stands regarding illicit substances. Without their dedication to the truth, we would have a much weaker scientific basis for our work.

3. Our remaining federally-authorized medical cannabis patients. With Irv Rosenfeld recently celebrating his 25th anniversary in the now defunct Compassionate IND program, we all owe the few remaining IND participants gratitude for their strength and courage as they speak out for our right to make fundamental decisions affecting our personal health.

4. Effective national DPR organizations (you know who you are!). In this David and Goliath battle to end prohibition, we need and benefit from these remarkable organizations (and their wealthy funders) and a big-picture approach to evidence-based policies.

5. Community-based reform organizations. Change begins at home. The impact of local drug policy reform groups and initiatives that they field can be felt nationally and internationally. We salute local reformers who risk so much for all of us.

6. Informed voters. As we have recently seen in both Denver and Hailey, Idaho, (and in so many cities and states before these), a well-informed electorate is quick to reject the War on Drugs when given the chance. Let's hope that politicians note this trend as we approach the 2008 elections.

7. Informed politicians. Whether incumbents or newcomers, it is becoming clear that challenging failed prohibitionist policies is no longer political suicide, but rather a sign of common sense and compassion.

8. National and international DPR gatherings. With the MPP and NORML conferences earlier in the year and the DPA and SSDP conferences about to take place, now is a good time to reflect on and give thanks for these opportunities to strategize, socialize, and quite simply reenergize our batteries with fellow reformers.

9. Egg Nog. Yummy!!

10. All of you. Because you care about ending the War on Drugs, we're able to offer the invaluable services found at http://www.mapinc.org/ and http://www.drugsense.org/. DrugSense is a volunteer-driven organization dependent on your donations to continue our good work. Help us perpetuate an honest, evidence-based critique of the drug war by donating quickly and easily at http://drugsense.org/support.php All online donations are secure and private.

Plus, the end of the year represents a great time to make tax deductible contributions to 501(c)(3) educational non-profits like DrugSense. Donating before January 1 offers you tax benefits in April. Further, some regulations expire or change after the first of the year, so timing can be all important. http://drugsense.org/support.php

You can also make your check or money order payable to DrugSense and mail it to:

DrugSense
14252 Culver Dr 328
Irvine, CA
92604-0326

REMEMBER, you can easily repeat your donation every month, quarter, or half year to provide DrugSense with automatic, recurring support. Please sign up for whatever you can afford. http://drugsense.org/support.php

Even though there's still much work to be done to put an end to this war on our personal rights and freedoms, let's also remember during the holiday season to give thanks for those people and organizations that work so hard to make things better for everyone.

Happy Holidays from DrugSense/MAP!

Mark Greer
Executive Director

P.S. Are you looking to make an even bigger impact on reform through your charitable giving? Please contact me personally or e-mail donor@drugsense.org for ideas on how to put your trust or will to work at DrugSense, both now and in the future, to create a legacy of sensible drug policies.