Followup are set to talk.politics.drugs so if anyone has
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alt.drugs.pot,talk.politics.drugs,alt.drugs,alt.drugs.culture,alt.hemp,alt.hemp.politics,rec.drugs.cannabis,rec.drugs.misc,alt.drugs.psychedelics,rec.drugs.psychedelic,uk.rec.drugs.cannabis,alt.politics.marijuana,alt.drugs.cannabis.nl
Drug War Chronicle, Issue #504 -- 10/5/07
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"
More DRCNet Stories Are Going Big Thanks to Your Donations --
will you help us continue it?
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/more_drcnet_stories_are_going_big_thanks_to_your_help
Students: Intern at DRCNet to help stop the drug war!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/drcnet_intern****ps_to_stop_the_drug_war
Table of Contents:
1. EDITORIAL: YES, THE DRUG WAR REALLY IS STILL FAILING, DEA AND
ONDCP
One small uptick in cocaine prices after decades of decline has
the government bragging for weeks on end. A look at the big
picture shows that it doesn't really mean anything.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/yes_the_drug_war_really_is_still_failing
2. FEATURE: SUPREME COURT WEIGHS ARGUMENTS ON LIMITS OF JUDICIAL
DISCRETION IN SENTENCING
The Supreme Court Tuesday heard oral arguments in a pair of
cases that will further refine just what discretion federal
judges have when it comes to sentencing outside the now advisory
sentencing guidelines.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/supreme_court_oral_arguments_sentencing_guidelines_discretion
3. DRUG WAR CHRONICLE BOOK REVIEW: "ADDICTION-PROOF YOUR CHILD:
A REALISTIC APPROACH TO PREVENTING DRUG, ALCOHOL, AND OTHER
DEPENDENCIES," BY STANTON PEELE (2007, SEVEN RIVERS PRESS, 258
PP., $14.95 PB)
Dr. Stanton Peele has written an excellent, level-headed
handbook for parents, educators, and anyone else worried about
teen drug use. Read it now!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/book_review_stanton_peele_addiction_proof_your_child
4. APPEAL: MORE DRCNET STORIES ARE GOING BIG THANKS TO YOUR
DONATIONS
When yet another DRCNet blog post went big last week, thanks to
your donations our server was ready to handle it. We still need
your sup****t to continue this successful web campaign.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/more_drcnet_stories_are_going_big_thanks_to_your_help
5. WEEKLY: BLOGGING @[EMAIL PROTECTED]
THE SPEAKEASY
John McCain is Sick of Being Asked About Medical Marijuana,"
"Obama Comes Out Against Mandatory Minimums," "Does Partner****p
for a Drug Free America Oppose Random Student Drug Testing?,"
"Record Marijuana Seizures Mean There's More Pot, Not Less,"
"Harvard Scientists Build Very Cool Bong," "Drug War to Figure
Prominently in Sen. Webb's Incarceration Hearing Tomorrow --
Available by Webcast," "Video of Ron Paul Debate Comments
Opposing Drug War," "The Drug War Costs Each Taxpayer $530 a
Year."
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/blogging_at_the_speakeasy
6. STUDENTS: INTERN AT DRCNET AND HELP STOP THE DRUG WAR!
Apply for an intern****p at DRCNet for this fall (or spring), and
you could spend the semester fighting the good fight!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/drcnet_intern****ps_to_stop_the_drug_war
7. LAW ENFORCEMENT: THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
Scheming cops, greedy cops, rogue cops ripping off dealers, and,
of course, yet another jail guard falls prey to temptation.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/law_enforcement_police_corruption_drugs
8. MARIJUANA: POT PROHIBITION COSTS $41 BILLION A YEAR IN
ENFORCEMENT COSTS, LOST TAX REVENUES, STUDY FINDS
Marijuana prohibition costs governments in the US more than $10
billion a year in law enforcement and more than $30 billion a
year in lost revenues, a new study finds.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/marijuana_prohibition_costs_billions_jon_gettman_study
9. MARIJUANA: HAWAII SUPREME COURT REJECTS RELIGIOUS USE DEFENSE
A religious challenge to Hawaii's marijuana law was rejected by
the state Supreme Court late last month.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/hawaii_supreme_court_rejects_religious_marijuana_defense
10. LATIN AMERICA: US PLANS TO SUPERSIZE MEXICO DRUG WAR AID --
$1.4 BILLION PACKAGE IN WORKS
With the Pentagon sticking $1.4 billion in anti-drug aid for
Mexico into its 2008 budget, Wa****ngton is preparing to
radically ramp up its involvement in the drug war south of the
border.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/pentagon_mexico_US_anti_drug_aid_increase_proposed
11. EUROPE: DUTCH MARIJUANA TRADE UNDER PRESSURE
Holland's cannabis coffee shops have been operating openly for
more than 30 years, but now it looks like the slow squeeze is
on.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/dutch_marijuana_trade_under_pressure_coffee_house
12. ASIA: NINE NATIONAL RED CROSS/RED CRESCENT GROUPS ENDORSE
HUMANITARIAN DRUG POLICIES
The national Red Cross/Red Crescent organizations in nine Asian
countries have joined a growing number of such groups that have
signed onto a consensus statement calling for humanitarian drug
policies.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/nine_asian_red_cross_crescent_sign_rome_consensus_humanitarian_drug_policy
13. CANADA: VANCOUVER SAFE INJECTION SITE GRANTED SIX-MONTH
EXTENSION, AGAIN
Vancouver's safe injection site has won another six-month
reprieve from the Canadian government, but sup****ters are
getting tired of jumping through hoops.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/vancouver_safe_injection_site_insite_wins_six_month_reprieve
14. EUROPE: NEW AGENCY CREATED TO BATTLE BOOMING COCAINE TRADE
Faced with a booming trans-Atlantic cocaine trade aimed at
insatiable European markets, some European countries have formed
an organization to coordinate efforts to block it.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/european_countries_create_new_agency_battle_cocaine_trade
15. 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/504/do_you_read_drug_war_chronicle
16. WEEKLY: THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of
years past.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/drug_war_history
17. JOB LISTING: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ACCESS WORKS!
Access Works!, a non-profit organization that provides harm
reduction services in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, is seeking
a new executive director.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/job_op****tunity_access_works_needle_exchange_minneapolis
18. WEBMASTERS: HELP THE MOVEMENT BY RUNNING DRCNET SYNDICATION
FEEDS ON 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/504/drug_policy_content_syndication_feeds_now_available
19. RESOURCE: DRCNET WEB SITE OFFERS WIDE ARRAY OF RSS FEEDS FOR
YOUR READER
A new way for you to receive DRCNet articles -- Drug War
Chronicle and more -- is now available.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/drug_policy_RSS_feeds_now_available
20. RESOURCE: REFORMER'S CALENDAR ACCESSIBLE THROUGH DRCNET WEB
SITE
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/504/drug_reform_calendar
(Not subscribed? Visit http://stopthedrugwar.org
to sign up
today!)
================
1. Editorial: Yes, the Drug War Really is Still Failing, DEA and
ONDCP
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/504/yes_the_drug_war_really_is_still_failing
David Borden, Executive Director,
http://stopthedrugwar.org/user/borden
When the drug czar announced a few weeks ago that cocaine prices
had gone up -- a sign of success in the drug war, so he claims
-- I was surprised but not shocked. I was surprised -- slightly
-- because in most years for the last few decades the price has
dropped and dropped and dropped. Retail, or "street" cocaine
prices are about 40% of what they were in the early 1980s, and
that's without adjusting for inflation. Factor in inflation and
it's closer to 20%, a five-fold decrease.
The reason I wasn't shocked is simply because within this steep,
long-term decline, there have been upticks now and then, maybe
once every four or so years. I was surprised in the way that one
is surprised when flipping two coins and seeing both of them
come up heads. Most of the time that doesn't happen -- you
either get two tails, one is heads and the other tails, or the
first one comes up tails and the second one comes up heads. But
in one out of every four tries, on average both of them will
come up heads.
I was surprised again on Wednesday, when I saw the same story
come up a second time a few weeks later, this time in the Los
Angeles Times. But not very surprised -- ONDCP and DEA have an
obvious incentive to continue to pitch a story that seems
favorable to them for as long as there's interest in it.
Unfortunately, the key word here is "seems." It certainly seems
like a big jump when you read what they told the Times
(http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-drugs3oct03,1,3729037.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california):
"[T]he cost of cocaine increas[ed] 24%, from $95.89 to $118.70
per gram over the six-month period ending in June." Okay, but
when looking at the DEA information sheet
(http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/cocaine_prices_purity.html),
one learns that that number is an average including all cocaine
purchases during the time period, both wholesale (trafficker to
dealer) and retail (seller to customer). The retail average --
the meaningful quantity when it comes to the end result -- went
from $145.42 to $166.90, a lesser 15% increase.
Ultimately, price is not really the end result to judge the drug
program, of course. The final result of im****tance, setting
aside civil liberties issues, is the net harm to society of both
drugs and drug policies. Driving up prices can lead to more
crime, for example, and more of those who are addicted suffering
financial destitution and driven to extreme cir***stances. Price
-- in this case, the adjusted price for a pure gram -- is
considered a measure of a drug's availability -- the higher the
price of the drug, the less available it is, and the fewer
expected users. Or at least that's the theory. In this
discussion, retail price is defined as purchases of up to 10
grams, the range used by the DEA in its STRIDE data collection
program.
If so, it seems pretty silly to talk about prices rising over
half a year to $167, in light of the fact that it's down from
$423 -- $957 in 2007 dollars -- since 1981.
(Click on http://stopthedrugwar.org/files/cocaine-prices.gif
to
view the graph. You'll notice I'm missing a few years. I had
trouble finding 2001-2006 data online this morning. I'd
appreciate if someone could point me in the right direction, and
I'll post a complete chart back here then and in our blog. The
price data is from the aforementioned STRIDE program, divided by
the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index figures.)
Given how small the street price of cocaine still is compared
with the past, this recent news just doesn't seem to me like
something to brag about. Also, the DEA's write-up says they
analyzed data going back to April 2005, but only goes on to
discuss what happened from December of 2006. I wonder what that
means.
Bottom line, when you're only presenting the last six months to
re****ters, after multiple decades of data show something
different -- when you don't even present the entire time range
that you analyzed in the very study you just completed, your
argument is weak. Sorry, the drug war really is still failing,
just like it always has.
You can learn more about the drug czars' data shenanigans by
picking up a copy of "Lies, Damn Lies, and Drug War Statistics."
Better yet, order one from us
(http://stopthedrugwar.org/donate).
================
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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