From the Tahoe Daily Tribune: Czar: Drug test students

Youths are more dependent on marijuana than cigarettes or alcohol, provoking the White House drug czar to call for drug testing at middle and high schools.

John Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, made the statement during a keynote speech at […]

From the Georgia Ledger Enquirer

Walker, 39, was among three other men riding inside a gray GMC Yukon when it was stopped Wednesday night as part of a drug investigation.æ The unarmed man was fatally shot by a Muscogee County Sheriff’s Deputy after authorities said Walker failed to comply with the deputy’s commands to reveal his hands.æ The three friends were not arrested and were later released.æ Authorities later learned there was no information that Walker was involved in any kind of criminal activity.

In some communities, black teens are told to never run down the street because their parents fear the teens may be shot by some police officer who may mistake them for criminals….

When reports of an unarmed Walker being fatally shot circulated, blacks may have been shocked, but they were not surprised.æ Law enforcement has never been viewed as user-friendly in the black community.

And from WTVM (beware: linked page behaving erratically, particularly in Safari).

In a tearful interview, long-time best friend of Kenneth Walker says the thirty-nine year old was a role model to the community.

“He was a family man. He was man of morals and principles. He lived for his daughter,” says Tim Crumbley….

Walker was working at Blue Cross-Blue Shield at the time of his death. Both he and his wife were active in the St. Mary’s Road United Methodist Church.

The funeral for Walker is set for Tuesday, December 16 at St. Mary’s church. His wife Cheryl is requesting only family and friends attend the service.

Drug WarRant is officially endorsing Dennis Kucinich as the Democratic nominee for President in 2004. Mr. Kucinich has already received the highest grades possible from Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana (an A+), based on his strong positions in favor of medical marijuana and his stated willingness to sign an executive order permitting its use. […]

You may remember my September post on Severe Pain Care as a victim of the Drug War.
Some positive steps are happening now.
1. Act quickly. This is very short notice, but I just got the information this evening.
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons is hosting an important Hill briefing on Tuesday, and they need your help in encouraging your Congressmen to attend. So give your rep a call on Monday morning if you can.
Call the D.C. offices.æThe main switchboard is 202.224.3121. They will patch you through to your members.
It sounds like a great briefing, including 5 groups taking part in the Coalition Against Prosecutorial Abuse (CAPA):
The Politics of Pain Management: Public Policy and Patient Access to Effective Pain Treatments, featuring

Ronald T. Libby, PhD., Professor,University of North Florida: “DEA investigation initiatives and funding sources”
Rev. Ronald Myers, Sr., M.D., Founder, President, American Pain Institute: “Effects on African-American community”
James Martin, President, 60 Plus Association, “Seniors’ and end-of-life concerns”
Julie Stewart, Families against Mandatory Minimums
William Hurwitz, M.D., J.D., Indicted pain management specialist-McLean, VA: “‘Deserving’ vs. ‘undeserving’ patients?”
Jane M. Orient, M.D., Clinical lecturer,University of AZ, Executive Director, AAPS: “Opioid-phobia and reluctance to treat patients”
Siobhan Reynolds, Founder & President, Pain Relief Network, “Impact on families and economic issues”
DEA Diversion Program (Invited)
Moderator: Kathryn Serkes, President, Square One Media Network

More than 48 million people in the U.S. suffer from chronic pain, according to the National Institutes of Health.æRecent high-profile news cases of opioid usage have placed the issue on the front pages, including a debate over dependency vs. addiction, who is “deserving” and who is “undeserving,” of opioid treatment, and whether pain patients should be subjected to different standards of personal scrutiny than others.

The DEA claims drug diversion has reached crisis proportions, justifying increased investigative initiatives that frequently circumvent the Congressional appropriations process. Physicians are prosecuted and imprisoned, and patients sentenced based on pill counts.

Medical research and treatment has made tremendous advances in pain management, but is public policy keeping up?æAnd is law enforcement discouraging patient access to treatment as a result of prosecution of physicians under the Controlled Substances Act?

This distinguished panel will examine the current state of pain management, law enforcement initiatives, patient experiences, economic impact of untreated pain, funding sources, sentencing guidelines, H.R. 3015 prescription drug database act, and solutions for cooperation between lawmakers, regulators, law enforcement and the medical community.

æ
Tuesday, Dec. 16,æ2003, B-338 Rayburn House Office Building, 12 Noon-1:30 pm, (luncheon served)
To register, visit www.aapsonline.org, email Jeremy Snavely at briefing@aapsonline.org, fax 520.325.4230, or call 800.635.1196 by 12:00 noon, Monday, Dec 15.

2. Start planning now for Pain Relief Network’s March on Washington, April 18-20, 2004

“bullet”Chong Family Values in the LA Weekly:

The word most used by Paris and Precious Chong to describe their father’s ordeal is “surreal.” “They couldn’t have picked a kinder, more generous person to throw in jail than my father,” Paris says. Today the family remains afraid of what the Justice Department might yet do […]