Follow-ups set to talk.politics drugs
Drug War Chronicle, Issue #494 -- 7/20/07
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Publication of Stop the Drug War (DRCNet)
David Borden, Executive Director, borden@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"
STILL TIME TO LOBBY ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA VOTE:
http://stopthedrugwar.org/medicalmarijuana
SIGN THE PETITION -- WE WANT PARDONS:
http://stopthedrugwar.org/wewantpardons
Table of Contents:
1. EDITORIAL: WHY SHOULD THE DRUG CZAR'S OFFICE EVEN EXIST?
Catching the drug czar's office in deceptions, misconduct, and
generally inexplicable behavior is getting to be like shooting
fish in a barrel. What is the evidence to justify the agency's
existence at all?
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/ondcp_week
2. FEATURE: IN SPREADING SCANDAL OVER WHITE HOUSE POLITICAL
OPERATIONS, HOUSE PANEL HEAD ACCUSES DRUG CZAR'S OFFICE OF
ELECTIONEERING
Citing smoking-gun memos between White House political staffers
and the drug czar's office, the head of the House Oversight and
Government Reform Committee Tuesday accused the Bush
administration of politicizing the Office of National Drug
Control Policy. And they're deposing witnesses.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/waxman_accuses_white_house_drug_czar_of_electioneering_john_walters
3. FEATURE: PAIN DOCTOR AND PATIENT ADVOCATES GET A
CONGRESSIONAL HEARING... FINALLY
For the first time in more than a decade, the DEA came under
congressional scrutiny last week for its interference in the
practice of medicine. Pain patient and doctor advocates got a
chance to tell a congressional committee about the crisis in
chronic pain and how the DEA gets in the way.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/pain_patient_advocates_get_congressional_hearing_DEA
4. LAW ENFORCEMENT: THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
A New York City cop helps drug dealers rip off other drug
dealers, a North Carolina cop builds a really impressive bad cop
resume, a former North Carolina sheriff can't account for much
of his evidence, and an Indiana cop gets a slap on the wrist for
stealing from a drug suspect.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494_drug_police_corruption
5. MEDICAL MARIJUANA: DEA, ONDCP TAKE FLAK ON DISPENSARY RAIDS,
RESEARCH OBSTACLES IN HOUSE COMMITTEE HEARING
DEA and ONDCP functionaries got a grilling on medical marijuana
issues at a House subcommittee hearing last week.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/house_committee_medical_marijuana_hearing
6. MARIJUANA: DRUG CZAR CALLS POT GROWERS DANGEROUS TERRORISTS
Drug czar John Walters suffered a severe bout of rhetorical
excess last Thursday at a press conference in Northern
California, claiming that marijuana growers are violent criminal
terrorists who would not hesitate to help foreign terrorists
enter the country and inflict mass casualties.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/drug_czar_john_walters_calls_marijuana_growers_terrorists
7. MEDICAL MARIJUANA: ONDCP CLAIMS STEVE KUBBY HAS CHANGED HIS
MIND, KUBBY SAYS NO WAY!
The drug czar's office told Congress that California medical
marijuana activist Steve Kubby had changed his tune. Kubby begs
to differ.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/464/ondcp_czar_david_murray_steve_kubby_medical_marijuana
8. DRUG USE: ONE IN 12 US WORKERS USES DRUGS, SAMHSA SAYS
One out of 12 full-time workers in the US re****ted using drugs
within the past month, according to survey data released by
SAMHSA.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/one_of_twelve_workers_used_drugs_past_month_samhsa
9. HARM REDUCTION: JERSEY CITY SIGNS UP FOR NEEDLE EXCHANGE
The Jersey City City Council voted Wednesday for an ordinance
allowing the city to participate in a pilot needle exchange
program. It's the fifth Garden State city to do so since Gov.
Corzine signed a needle exchange bill in December.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/jersey_city_approves_needle_exchange_syringe
10. SOUTHWEST ASIA: AFGHAN POPPY CROP SETS NEW RECORD, US
AMBASSADOR SAYS
The 2007 Afghan opium poppy crop has set another record, the US
ambassador conceded this week. All the more reason to embark on
forced eradication, he said.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/afghan_opium_poppy_crop_new_record_ambassador_says_2007
11. EUROPE: BRITAIN TO REVIEW MARIJUANA'S CLASSIFICATION, COULD
BE MOVED BACK TO TOUGHER DRUG SCHEDULE
New British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced Tuesday that
his government will seek a review of marijuana's status as a
Class C drug -- with an eye toward moving it back to the more
serious Class B.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/british_review_marijuana_classification_status
12. FEEDBACK: DO YOU READ DRUG WAR CHRONICLE?
Do you read Drug War Chronicle? If so, we need your feedback to
evaluate our work and make the case for Drug War Chronicle to
funders. We need donations too.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/do_you_read_drug_war_chronicle
13. WEEKLY: BLOGGING @[EMAIL PROTECTED]
THE SPEAKEASY
Time for the Drug Czar to Resign, Sen. Coburn Thinks Police
Should Shoot Drug Suspects in the Back, Clinton Promises to End
Federal Raids on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries, The Difference
Between Pot Growers and Terrorists, Rudy Giuliani's Position on
OxyContin and Pain Management Is Correct , When Oversight Means
Oversight: Waxman Goes After Walters for Politicizing His
Office, more...
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/blogging_at_the_speakeasy_every_day
14. WEB SCAN
World Politics Review on Colombia fumigation, The Nation on
pardons for drug offenders, American Prospect on crack
sentencing reform prospects, The Hill, Ibogaine in Barcelona,
DrugTruth Network, Belgium drug consumption rooms video, France
marijuana study
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/drug_policy_links
15. WEEKLY: THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of
years past.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/drug_war_history
16. JOB OP****TUNITY: RESEARCH AND POLICY ASSOCIATE, VERA
INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE, D.C.
The Vera Institute of Justice seeks a research and policy
associate to work in its Wa****ngton DC Office.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/vera_institute_job_op****tunity
17. ANNOUNCEMENT: DRCNET CONTENT SYNDICATION FEEDS NOW AVAILABLE
FOR YOUR WEB SITE!
Sup****t the cause by featuring automatically-updating Drug War
Chronicle and other DRCNet content links on your web site!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/drug_policy_content_syndication_feeds_now_available
18. ANNOUNCEMENT: DRCNET RSS FEEDS NOW AVAILABLE
A new way for you to receive DRCNet articles -- Drug War
Chronicle and more -- is now available.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/drug_policy_RSS_feeds_now_available
19. ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW FORMAT FOR THE REFORMER'S CALENDAR
Visit our new web site each day to see a running countdown to
the events coming up the soonest, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/drug_reform_calendar
(Not subscribed? Visit http://stopthedrugwar.org
to sign up
today!)
================
1. Editorial: Why Should the Drug Czar's Office Even Exist?
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/ondcp_week
David Borden, Executive Director,
http://stopthedrugwar.org/user/borden
The frequency of inappropriate or dishonest (or strange)
behavior by the US Office of National Drug Control Policy (the
drug czar's office) seems to be increasing. Last month, DRCNet
Blog Editor Scott Morgan and I were wondering at the growing
inanity of ONDCP's "anti-drug" ads, which has reached a point
where we don't think even ONDCP could really believe they could
work. Bizarre productions comparing smoking marijuana with
putting leeches on your body, or suggesting if you smoke pot
then an alien might steal your girlfriend, were themselves
trumped by "Stoners in the Mist"
(http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle_blog/2007/jun/13/new_ondcp_video_demonstrates_exa),
a fake do***entary video posted on ONDCP's AboveTheInfluence.com
web site featuring the fictional character "Dr. Barnard Puck,"
who performs various experiments on marijuana users to test
their behavior and reflexes. It's really hard to see this
slickly-produced video as making any positive or meaningful
contribution to anything. How much of our money did they spend
to create it? I suggested that maybe they've admitted to
themselves that the ads just don't work and can't be made to
work, and have decided to go wild and have fun with any looney
idea they can come up with while the money lasts.
On the honesty front, professors Robinson and Scherlen provided
an embarrassment of riches in the form of their
recently-released book "Lies, Damn Lies, and Drug War
Statistics"
(http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/474/book_review_lies_damned_lies_drug_war_statistics),
which do***ents in detail the misleading presentations of data
ONDCP has made in their annual National Drug Control Strategy
re****ts to create an appearance of an effective drug policy when
in reality the policy has proven itself completely ineffective.
David Murray, a high-level ONDCP official who is involved with
the statistics, professed offense and indignation at a book
forum hosted by the Cato Institute where he confronted the
authors, artfully playing the part of an injured victim whose
integrity has been unfairly maligned
(http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/489/ondcp_critics_debate_cato_robinson_scherlen_drug_war_statistics).
The details don't sup****t that act, of course, and Murray's most
recent public statement demonstrates his true stripes. In
testimony to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime,
Terrorism and Homeland Security last week, Murray offered as
evidence against the legitimacy of medical marijuana the claim
that Steve Kubby, a prominent medical marijuana advocate, had
reversed his position. In a response distributed by email, Kubby
vehemently denied the claim
(http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/464/ondcp_czar_david_murray_steve_kubby_medical_marijuana),
and demonstrated how Murray had taken his words out of context
to create an appearance about them that is completely false.
Strange, but not the only strange words to come out of ONDCP
recently. According to a news re****t from Redding, California:
"John P. Walters, President Bush's drug czar, said the people
who plant and tend the gardens are terrorists who wouldn't
hesitate to help other terrorists get into the country with the
aim of causing mass casualties"
(http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle_blog/2007/jul/15/drug_czar_says_pot_growers_are_t).
WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?
When I saw the article, my first reaction was to wonder if
Walters' presentation could have been misconstrued by the
re****ter, as it was not a direct quote, but a description. The
direct quotes from Walters were offensive enough. But this
particular idea just seemed too far out to me for even Walters
to be willing to go there. I emailed the re****ter to ask about
this, but I haven't heard back from him, so I guess I can't say
for sure. But I think we should give the re****ter the benefit of
the doubt, absent any evidence to the contrary. And a post on
ONDCP's blog
(http://pu****ngback.com/blogs/pu****ng_back/archive/2007/07/13/34893.aspx)
links to the Redding story, and calls it a "good story,"
suggesting they don't consider it inaccurate. The blog post has
been online and unmodified now for six days, plenty of time for
the higher-ups to catch anything they considered inappropriate.
Let's all agree that marijuana growers are out to make money,
and therefore want most of all to remain undetected and to go
about their business. Hence, they have a strong disincentive to
get involved in anything that might attract attention to them,
including sup****ting international terrorism targeting the
United States. (I can't believe that even needed to be said.)
ONDCP week isn't over yet, though, we still have one more really
big one
(http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/494/waxman_accuses_white_house_drug_czar_of_electioneering_john_walters).
On Tuesday Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Operations
and Government Reform Committee, accused ONDCP of engaging in
electioneering last fall by sending drug czar Walters to make
public appearances with Republican Representatives and Senators
who were facing tough reelection campaigns. The evidence, which
involves communications between Karl Rove, former White House
Director of Political Affairs Sara Taylor and ONDCP staff, seems
pretty compelling to me, at first glance at least. Of course, as
drug reformers we know Walters has violated the law to campaign
against marijuana reform ballot initiatives many times.
That's a political scandal. The policy scandal is that the
agency continues to fund and lobby for programs which they know
do not work. From the ad campaign and student drug testing, to
Plan Colombia and the drug war as a whole, the evidence clearly
shows we're not getting our money's worth, or maybe any worth.
Putting that together with the nonsense constantly emanating
from the agency -- misrepresentations of facts, violations of
state and federal election laws, ads and quotes that can be
truly wild and strange -- this seems like a good time to ask
whether ONDCP should exist at all. What are we really getting
from this agency that's worth keeping? Even people who agree
with the drug laws ought to be taken aback at ONDCP's behavior
by now.
Catching ONDCP in lies or lunacy or misconduct is getting to be
like shooting fish in a barrel.
================
later
bliss -- C O C O A Powered... (at california dot com)
--
bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco
"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of cocoa that the thoughts acquire speed,
the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
--from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.
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