A lot happening right now, and a fairly good recap of that by Tony Newman: What a Week! Everyone’s Hopping on the ‘No More Drug War’ Train
New Gallup Poll: 58 Percent Support for Legalizing Marijuana…
130 Leading Law Enforcement Leaders Join Call to End Mass Incarceration…
New Canadian Prime Minster Plans to Legalize Marijuana…
Federal Ruling Protects Medical Marijuana Dispensaries That Follow State Law…
Leaked United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Paper Calls for Decriminalizing Drug Use and Possession…
Obama Announces Criminal Justice Reform Tour…
Maia Szalavitz has the right question.
Can Anyone on Earth Come Up with a Good Reason to Jail People Who Take Drugs? http://tinyurl.com/p8lzpv9
President Obama Says It’s Time To End The War On Drugs And Start The War On Addiction http://tinyurl.com/ov5axt6
Arresting people to force them into treatment is not the way to do things.
Noooooo!
Not another war on anything.
Don’t they have a more extensive vocabulary than to have a freaking war on any and every perceived social problem?
Good grief.
I suggest we turn the DEA into the DTA (Drug Treatment Agency) – for the voluntary treatment of drug problems without coercion or force, for those who ask for help.
Perhaps the DEA can really become the drug enforcement agency instead of the dog elimination agency by becoming the regulating/compliance agency over drug manufacturing and monitor manufacturers/distribution for compliance with federal drug standards and the regulations for a legal market..
TC, like your idea of “recycling” USELESS members of society. That shows you’re “thinking clearly.”
But, the computer term GIGO comes to mind. Garbage-in, garbage-out. What skills or talents would current DEA bring to the table?
Good point.
I am not promoting religion but beating the swords into plowshares, turning something destructive and useless into something that helps instead of harms, is the idea that I had in mind.
“you’ve got to crack a few eggs to make an omelette”
http://tinyurl.com/paqyugt
The egg in this case being the DEA.
With well over 10,000 employees at the DEA, surely there are some believing a better way exists. Finding them, however, may net the same result Obama had in finding and training those Iraqis to fight ISIS. So I wouldn’t hold my breath.
But I do find your suggestion of providing uncoersed treatment, in principle, to be a sound one, and not, as NorCalNative seems to imply, just ‘recycling’ useless members of society, but rather helping them become more useful. Big difference.
1. Let’s be clear, a government agency was tasked to find-vet/train/equip Syrian rebels… But, the politicians involved made it conditional that they were to fight rebel terrorists namely Isis & Not Bashar Assad.
That sounds easy but there were a lot more than 3 sides to that civil-war/cluster#*ck… They had about 17 at some point & what was basically a flow chart to sort out who actively hated whom that week or month.
Sadly, That was a lost cause before it started, and some people were trained – But who either didn’t end up fighting Isis = or not for long certainly not a the point (a few weeks ago?)
Which was when the question of “how many trained fighters do.we have “right now” fighting Isis?
And the answer was = “five or six” which while factually accurate, is intentionally misleading and deliberately asked that way – to produce a simple short answer for both the left & right sides of the media to use *dramatically*.
The anti-war side using it to bolster “this is why we shouldn’t get involved” & the anti-government side to say, “Obama Bad” in an Incredible Hulk tone/voice .
2. I’m not certain if you really mixed up the two sides of:
“Recycling Useless DEA agents” = when we scale back the drug war…
With the separate statement about “not coercing people into treatment” – And by contrast the implied joke “not coering people into a very different job”.
And Dan, I think -only you- really inferred that anyone here would EVER suggest society should/would “Recycle Addicts” or imply they’re as ‘Useless’ as gov agents.
Or, maybe you were just *being cute* = in a smart-ass libertarian manner? Which is fine (and TBH we’d let you voice just about any argument here), I’m just overly curious and have – not alot to do ATM- besides soakup more Media in some form.
Daniel, this looks more like McCain funding ISIS and it backfired. The DEA has only tried using the Universal Soldier defense anytime I’ve read their posts. Or their appeasers. Been a while. It was whining that they get all the bad press when they’re just following orders. Just because the politicians laws and prohibitionist corporations propaganda and eliminating competition doesn’t mean enforcement isn’t as rotten to the core. I can understand their dilemma feeding a family, its a job crap. They choose to cash the paychecks. So they have no excuse in my book. They choose to persecute Americans and lie under oath swearing to follow the Constitution.
John McCain Circa 2013 “We should arm ISISâ€
John McCain Admits He’s “Intimate†with ISIS September 16, 2014
Isis burn down marijuana farm in Syria – video
Birds of a feather…
Ben Carson Wants To ‘Intensify’ War On Drugs
As More Americans Support Legalizing Marijuana
Daniel, in the context of drug rehab, I stand by my comment.
USELESS MOTHER FUCKERS!
You want to get all warm-and-fuzzy with current and/or former DEA? Have at it. Guess we won’t be having that beer after work.
With that said, I do admire the DEA who made the leap to LEAP. Big difference.
Look, I misunderstood the comment. My bad. Which pound of flesh would you like?
And it appears NorCalNative misunderstood my comment, as I was talking about those in need of help, not DEA agents. Correct me if I’m wrong, though, but aren’t you saying all DEA agents are useless mother fuckers until they join LEAP? Because, in the context of your comment, that circle is hard to square.
But if all this puts me outside your circle of beer drinking buddies, so be it.
And to B. Snow: Not being cute in any kind of smart-ass manner. I made a mistake. Ride that pony someplace else.
Pound of Flesh? C’mon dude a few grams of shrooms could work.
Sorry for being so harsh. I’m working on a theory that prohibition is a form of WAR CRIMES against humanity (mental anguish, physical suffering, and a growing body-count) and I’m struggling to bring myself to acknowledge the humanity of my enemies.
I need to work on that.
BTW, Sunil Aggarwal M.D., PhD, is on the same page as me in regard to the facts of a prohibition-based body count. See his blog the cannabinologist.
When you believe someone is EVIL, it’s very easy to consider them USELESS to society in ANY constructive way. The real mind-fuck is the fact that our medical system is complicit.
and let’s not forget… Oz is legalizing mmj.
Of course: To punish them for doing something the government doesn’t want them doing. It’s good to punish people who do not respect the government’s authori-tay.
It keeps the right banks handling the money.
As Nixon and his henchmen discussed on tape, you can’t put them in jail just because they’re n*****S.
reminds me of this quote from Atlas Shrugged:
“There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.”
Along with other events, a new, well illustrated, 67-page report has been released entitled “The Impact of Drug Policy on Human Rights: The Experience in the Americasâ€, funded by a Soros group (Open Society Foundations) and encompassing the contributions of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Association for Human Rights in Peru (APRODEH), Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), Center for Research on Drugs and Human Rights (CIDDH), Center for the Study of Law, Justice and Society (Dejusticia), Collective for an Integrated Drug Policy A.C. (CUPIHD), Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH), Conectas Human Rights, Humanas Corporation, Institute for Legal and Social Studies (IELSUR), Intercambios, Latin American Institute for Security and Democracy (ILSED), Medical College of Chile, Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (CMDPDH), Myrna Mack Foundation, and Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).
The report concludes (from a discussion):
The United States is blamed for the drug war:
However, rather than implying a swift liberalisation of illicit drugs, Sefatian suggested another direction: re-introducing the cultivation of plants such as poppy and cannabis under state supervision; legalisation of cannabis and opium use under specific circumstances outlined by ad hoc laws, for instance, only in private places and for opium – as he told me – only for people above a certain age. The latter, in particular, is reminiscent of pre-1979 revolution drug laws where opium vouchers were distributed to all registered opium users above the age of 50. The current regime already envisages the prescription of opium tincture to drug abusers registered at state addiction centres, therefore the ground for selective legalisation is in part paved.
Given that cannabis and opium are both indigenous plants that have had a historical presence in Iran, they are also a good place to start a new indigenous approach to drug control. The way this new strategy towards drug use is taking shape is that of a comprehensive discussion among Iran’s drug policy, addiction, anti-narcotics and social policy experts through the Expediency Council, which is the institution that has the power to carry out this change.
This won’t solve all of Iran’s problems with drugs and addiction, but would potentially open up a venue for comprehensive and open-ended discussions about the objectives and means of drug control.
If successful, Iran could become a model for other countries, especially in the Middle East and North Africa, which given the current levels of trauma and distress, are having or will probably witness increasing levels of drug use.
http://tinyurl.com/ayatolaribatman
Huffingtonpost is afraid of getting a ticket from the PC cops?
– Opium still not proper enough to include in title.
– Americans still not ready to drop “marijuana” for cannabis.
Could Iran Be The Next Country To Legalize Marijuana?
Anyone struggling to answer to the many articles about “Marijuana Use, Disorders Doubled Since 2001” http://tinyurl.com/ptzuwle , needs to read:
“As Pot Prohibition Crumbles, Marijuana Consumers Are Less Likely To Abuse It” by Jacob Sullum http://tinyurl.com/oatowyh
to hear the real story on this issue.
CANNABIS USE DISORDER
☛ There is no FDA-approved pharmacological treatment for cannabis dependence.
☛ There are only two pharmacological, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials which had a positive outcome (N-acetylcysteine, gabapentin) – but neither of these clinical trials has been replicated.
☛ There are no randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials of any psychosocial treatment. Thus the effectiveness of psychosocial treatment for Cannabis Use Disorder is unknown.
Available Treatments for Marijuana Use Disorders NIDA
standard treatments involving medications and
behavioral therapies may help reduce marijuana use
☛ Cognitive-behavioral therapy
☛ Contingency management
☛ Motivational enhancement therapy
Medications that have shown promise in early studies or small clinical trials include the sleep aid zolpidem (Ambien®), an anti-anxiety/anti-stress medication called buspirone (BuSpar®), and an anti-epileptic drug called gabapentin (Horizant®, Neurontin®) that may improve sleep and, possibly, executive function. Other agents being studied include the nutritional supplement N-acetylcysteine and chemicals called FAAH inhibitors, which may reduce withdrawal by inhibiting the breakdown of the body’s own cannabinoids.
zolpidem (Ambien®) Side effects take up a page.
Some of the side effects that can occur with zolpidem may not need medical attention. Your health care professional may also be able to tell you about ways to reduce or prevent some of these side effects. Like seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there, unusual excitement, nervousness, or irritability, burning, crawling, itching, numbness, prickling, “pins and needles”, or tingling, binge eating, diarrhea, difficulty with swallowing,confusion about identity, place, and time, continuous ringing, buzzing, or other unexplained noise in the ears, discouragement, double vision, false or unusual sense of well-being, feeling of unreality, feeling sad or empty, loss of interest or pleasure, nightmares or unusual dreams, sense of detachment from self or body, trouble concentrating, vomiting…,
buspirone (BuSpar®)
This medication may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be alert. Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may interact with buspirone and lead to unwanted side effects.
Horizant (gabapentin enacarbil) Extended-Release Tablets are indicated for the management of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) in adults. Treatment of Restless Legs Syndrome not recommended for patients who are required to sleep during the daytime and remain awake at night. Horizant may cause significant driving impairment, somnolence/sedation and dizziness. Suicidal Behavior and Ideation, increase the risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior in patients taking these drugs for any indication. Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS), also known as multiorgan hypersensitivity, has been reported in patients taking antiepileptic drugs, including gabapentin, potential of withdrawal seizure. Tumorigenic Potential In an oral carcinogenicity study, gabapentin enacarbil increased the incidence of pancreatic acinar cell adenoma and carcinoma in male and female rats [see Nonclinical Toxicology. The clinical significance of this finding is unknown. The following adverse reactions are described in more detail. Nervous system disorders. Gastrointestinal disorders. General disorders and administration site conditions. Metabolism and nutritional disorders. Ear and labyrinth disorders. Psychiatric disorders.
Fatty acid amide hydrolase
FAAH inhibitors, which may reduce withdrawal by inhibiting the breakdown of the body’s own cannabinoids. Regulating Endocannabinoid Levels: CB receptor ligands, MAGL, FAAH. Unfortunately due to their potential to elicit psychoactive effects, many of these compounds have piqued the interest of recreational chemists and experimental drug users.
nutritional supplement N-acetylcysteine
☛ Those who supplement with NAC should drink 6 to 8 glasses of water daily in order to prevent cysteine renal stones. Cysteine renal stones are rare but do occur.
☛ Cysteine plays a role in the sulfation cycle, acting as a sulfur donor in phase II detoxification. Cysteine also helps synthesize glutathione, the body’s most important intracellular antioxidant and a vital detoxifier.
Clinical Endocannabinoid Deficiency
Drug Side Effects
Drug Worriers preferred methods of treatment…
The most important part of Sullum’s piece IMO was:
Can we prove that? Not yet, But it sounds/seems perfectly reasonable – that many people wouldn’t be completely forthcoming with the truth about something that’s illegal.
I’m surely not alone in thinking that the reported numbers of people who use cannabis ‘regularly’ was much lower than the reality of what we’ve actually come across in our day-to-day lives.
The Catch of course, Is that we’ve never been in a position to argue with the ‘official’ stats on what are (afaik) largely self-reported use numbers… Now – we may soon want to consider disputing the accuracy of these stats/numbers?
That’s why real scientists go to the sewer systems for unbiased results. No worries about self-reporting lies or omissions.
Seattle? Be nice, flush twice!
I agree with that B. Snow. Reagan Bush years it went underground. Nancy’s pee quizzes. Off with the Riding High tee shirts. Same with discussions and polls when its politically incorrect. Clinton or maybe the democrat party and Lil Debbie Wasserface seem to believe forced rehabilitation is the opposite of prison. Same with McCaffrey’s treating it like cancer is what Obama is about to push in today’s more open climate. Plus in 45 years of toking I’ve never been ask. I don’t remember even knowing someone who has been ask. What they push to quit cannabis is much more harmful. Prison for pot is beyond logic.
I was called by that survey way back in the late ’90s. I lied my ass off, and packed a bowl while I answered their qiestions. I can tell you that I would not lie now, both because I am “out”as an activist and a cannabis consumer, andbecause the atmosphere is very different today. I am fairly sure that goes for a lot of people.
Definition of “marijuana use disorder?”…. the cops find your stash and you cop a plea at the “drug court.” Jesus, this study was done by the National Council on Alcoholism (or whatever it now calls itself). In other words, Big Treatment. These are time-servers wanting to keep their funding and jobs. Where’s Upton Sinclair when you need him?
I am going to bring up that last night there was meant to be a debate between SAM Oregon (Randy Philbrick and Bridget Klotz), Parents Opposed to Pot run by Julie Ann Schauer and Raphael Mechoulam on skype instead Randy Philbrick, Bridget Klotz and Julie Ann Schauer refused to turn up, I wonder why Prohibs are scared of Dr Raphael Mechoulam, instead the prohibs took the cowards way out
Randy doesn’t like debates so he blocked me from his FB page.
a few years back when Linda Taylor was a self-inflated presence on the wwweb I offered more than once to travel to her and debate her publicly. I think we were even offered space at the local community college – she never accepted. So yes, Alex, “cowards’ way out” is old habit to Prohibs. At least Kev-kev has no shame and doesn’t mind being humiliated in public (h/t RussB, Judge Gray, Doc Sunil).
It’s typical modus operandi for prohibs. They simply do not have the strength of their convictions or intestinal fortitude to face those the system they support harms.
I recall very clearly that in 2003 Johnny Pee had made a public offer to debate re-legalization proponents. When Rob Kampia of MPP took him up on the offer, the crickets sounded like fire sirens.
A few months later ol’ Johnny tried to sound imperious when he said there was no need to debate anything, they had all the facts. But his bladder was no doubt in need of relief at the prospect of facing someone with full command of the literature.
Yes, they’re cowards. Like Mencken said of alcohol prohibs, they hide behind a wall of guns and judge’s robes, too afraid to confront those they’ve hurt for decades, because those they’ve hurt for decades would like to ‘enlighten’ them as to the error of their ways.
And we will, folks, we will. The political cover they enjoyed is thinning by the day, exposing them for what they are. They can run all they want, but they’re running inside an increasingly smaller box. Kevvie and the Semblers are starting to understand that…too late for them.
And we stand at the exits, barring the doors. To paraphrase Gandalf, “They shall not pass” without getting the very public verbal drubbing they so richly deserve.
They’re not just cowards. They’re human rights criminals. And they have bet their lives and careers on believing no one in their lifetimes will figure it out. So they revert to authoritarianism and personal belief when confronted by compassionate people trying to resolve health problems.
A perfect example of belief culture in action is the segment below starring Chris Christie and a nurse who challenges Christie on his marijuana policies and attitudes. Note Christie’s defense. He ‘believes’ this, he ‘believes’ that, never relying on evidence or scientific progress in the field of cannabinoid medicine. It’s all about him and his narcissism. He can’t accept real expertise on a topic because he’s a phony and a demagogue:
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/10/22/3714999/chris-christie-medical-marijuana-veteran-nurse/
Earlier this year in New Zealand, I was in a Ministry of Health Inquiry which was chaired by the New Zealand version of Kevin Sabet (Peter Dunne) and other Prohibs in Parliament which includes Minister of Health Jonathan Coleman and Justice Minister Amy Adams, it was about Raw Cannabis for the treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder which happens to cause panic and anxiety attacks and sometimes they simply would lock themselves inside (refer to hikikomori) and when I proposed that Raw Cannabis could be the answer to the symptoms associated with Autism and in the end Peter Dunne, Jonathan Coleman and Amy Adams made the decision that Sativex is the best thing when I asked them how are people with Autism Spectrum going to able to afford Sativex at $1,300 NZD a bottle and I was told that the Government does not know. Also when I raised up with some Autism Advocacy groups in New Zealand about Raw Cannabis as a viable treatment for Autism, most Autism Advocacy groups in New Zealand did not want to get involved in the issue, sooner or later I think moving to the US is my last option.
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It might be cliché but lately the prohibitionists have been reminding me of the Black Knight in The Holy Grail. What’s next? Are they going to threaten to bite off our collective legs?
Alex…. The Land of the Free will regard you as a dissident, drug -promoter and enemy of the state, should you ever apply for a visa.
Here’s an example of how that can work:
BC psychotherapist denied entry after border guard googled his work.
“When Feldmar said he was psychologist, the official typed his name into his Internet search engine. Before long the customs guard was engrossed in an article Feldmar had published in the spring 2001 issue of the journal Janus Head. The article concerned an acid trip Feldmar had taken in London, Ontario, and another in London, England, almost forty years ago. It also alluded to the fact that he had used hallucinogenics as a “path” to understanding self and that in certain cases, he reflected, it could “be preferable to psychiatry.” Everything seemed to collapse around him, as a quiet day crossing the border began to turn into a nightmare.”
http://thetyee.ca/News/2007/04/23/Feldmar/
Is that a joke or serious, so if I want to move to the US just because I stood up and spoke up for the Autism community in New Zealand that I could be potentially denied a visa to the US?
Alex
Unfortunately not a joke. I don’t doubt for a moment that some letter-gang bureaucrat will have a transcript of everything any of us posts here, cross linked to other sources of information. The computer readable letters on the cover edge of your passport will give US border control full access to anything the NZ government may have on you.
When asked the reason for your visit, just don’t say you’re here to help autism patients get cannabis treatment. The tools and cogs of the drug war are still grinding up it’s victims despite changes in the wind of drug reform.
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They will if they hear about it. Almost if not all people who get snagged on that one provided the agents with the facts used to exclude them. It seems highly unlikely that they’re going to do such a deep, all inclusive background check that they’ll figure it out in your case absent your own help or a snitch who doesn’t like you. I’ve heard that the people who self disclosed thought it wasn’t going to be a big deal and didn’t want to be caught in a lie. But in this case the penalty for being caught in a lie are the same as self disclosure. It is a big deal, so keep your mouth shut. The rule is don’t put it in writings if speaking a sentence when a word will suffice. Don’t speak a sentence if a word is enough. Don’t speak a word if a physical gesture will work. Don’t use a physical gesture if you can answer with a knowing expression. I think it’s the best rule for everything in life, but in particular with an adversary with government authority. The customs agent is not like a hotel concierge trying to welcome and make your stay more pleasant. His job is to figure out who the PNGs are and to send them back where they came from.
Do New Zealanders require a visa to enter the US? If not and there comes a time when you want to visit you might want to apply for it at the American Embassy in advance rather than waiting until you get to the US only to be turned away.
Alex, it’s all Bullshit. There is no sense in trying to figure it out. There is nothing to figure out. It’s all Bullshit. They can’t debate. It’s Bullshit. We know it and anyone who checks knows it. No victims. Other than those of Prohibition. They profit on. Selling Hobgoblins, that is Bullshit. Word smithing innuendo’s in a factual setting is Bullshit. Manipulating statistics and lying under oath is Bullshit. Reefer Madness was not a Comedy. It was made as a Documentary. Cheech and Chong are not making Documentary’s, they make Comedy.
Reefer Madness is Bullshit, and now it is Comedy. Exaggerations or Gossip under a title of authority is Bullshit. Prohibitionists have taken over a Trillion tax dollars plus billions from victims of their Bullshit. So telling us about the vermin or naive twits is like telling us about kids fighting dragons in their living room fort. Fantasy, only with uncreative adults its Bullshit. Can’t debate it. To the kids, they are fighting dragons.
Outside of profit or paychecks, numbnuts like Pizzaboy’s ECS is deficient, dulling his imagination with larger fear centers to leave reason for authority to sort things out. He joined a group that won’t criticize him and fulfills his lonely world with fake heroism. Saveding the world from Bullshit.
Recycled Bullshit. Ganja is an essential endocannabinoid supplement as Hemp seed is an essential fatty acid. Essential in that it is required, except the body can’t produce it. The ugly people spreading their vile Bullshit know that keeping essentials from humans creates opportunities to sell treatments. That is what all of the diversion Bullshit is about. To maintain prohibition. So crush them, you can’t debate their foolish Bullshit. It doesn’t exist in the world of atoms and molecules.
Now clean your shoes before tracking that Bullshit over the new Mesopotamian Hemp carpet. That the probers denied to god almighty, that it didn’t exist. Just a back door to the reefer addicts. When Hemp Fests starting bringing Hemp to people and the Grange. Then the Net started selling its products. The Bullshit turned to Medicinal. Just another back door to the reefer addicts. Then “re-creational” coming through the front door to the reefer addicts. Bullshit!
The Columbia History of the World states that the oldest relic of human industry is a piece of Mesopotamian hemp fabric dating back to approximately 8,000 BC
The core of the hemp stalk is used to produce fibreboard, insulation, carpet, fiberglass substitute, cement blocks, concrete, stucco and mortar.
When it comes to drug policy in Britain it’s still pure python. The Conservative government have appointed this idiot to review their drug policy:
“David Amess appeared on the satirical television programme Brass Eye in 1997 where he was filmed referring to Cake as “a big yellow death bulletâ€.
David Amess comes in at about 2:25, but the whole thing is worth watching from a couch pov.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-mp-tricked-into-condemning-a-fake-drug-called-cake-has-been-put-in-charge-of-scrutinising-drugs-a6704671.html
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Well they couldn’t have picked a more appropriately named person for the job. Perhaps a person from the Outhouse family? Drugs policy is most certainly a mess, but it does stink like an outhouse. Perhaps we could get an Outhouse to marry Amess and combined family name thingie e.g. Outhouse-Amess. Well that one is beyond my ken so you get to figure it out.
Or a Spanish style marriage Amess y Outhouse?
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I often regret choosing to study Mandarin and French instead of Spanish when I was in school. Tip of the pin Jean.
PROPAGANDA ALERT: This one is so bad the researchers can’t even spell the chemical name for THC correctly, spell checker please:
Remember when the Onion did a piece about a group of mothers who opposed an illicit drug that didn’t exist? This is it in real time, ‘tetrahydrocanabis’. To continue:
The study is still embargoed, but the abstract is supposed to be available today, Oct. 23:
AAAS Press Release: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-10/aaop-mt2101615.php
Shades of those prank petition drives trying to ban ‘di-hydrogen-oxide’, a.k.a water.
As an ersatz philologist, I know the English language is changing (‘moar’ overtaking ‘more’, etc. and maybe that’s a good thing because phonetically it makes more sense, but I digress) but not that much.
Jeeeez, it’s not even my profession, and I know how to spell it. So, when purported scientists can’t even get a proper scientific term (‘tetrahydrocannabinol’) right, then I think that the Idiocracy is here, and we don’t have to wait 500 years.
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Newborns sure don’t need it because mother’s milk is teeming with endo-cannabinoids for the first few days after birth. I have a suspicion that it’s why some men find breasts so attractive.
My gawd this stuff is just getting too darn surreal.
No amount of alcohol safe for pregnant women, report advises
Moms for Marijuana International
Pregnancy & Breastfeeding
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9WorIM0RhA
Dr. Dreher explains her cannabis and pregnancy research study in Jamaica.
Ganja Mothers, Ganja Babies
Prenatal Marijuana Exposure and Neonatal Outcomes in Jamaica:
An Ethnographic Study
Although no positive or negative neurobehavioral effects of prenatal exposure were found at 3 days of life using the Brazelton examination, there were significant differences between the exposed and nonexposed neonates at the end of the first month. Comparing the two groups, the neonates of mothers who used marijuana showed better physiological stability at 1 month and required less examiner facilitation to reach an organized state and become available for social stimulation. The results of the comparison of neonates of the heavy-marijuana-using mothers and those of the nonusing mothers were even more striking. The heavily exposed neonates were more socially responsive and were more autonomically stable at 30 days than their matched counterparts. The quality of their alertness was higher; their motor and autonomic systems were more robust; they were less irritable; they were less likely to demonstrate any imbalance of tone; they needed less examiner facilitation to become organized; they had better self-regulation; and were judged to be more rewarding for caregivers than the neonates of nonusing mothers at 1 month of age.
Breathe, Push, Puff? Pot Use and Pregnancy: A Review of the Literature
So far the abstract has not been released for the moms-on-pot propaganda being wielded by Dr. Shirley Chen and Dr. Edith P. Allen. Medpagetoday.com has a follow-up about the study, but notes the following caveat:
Even with the title: “Pot Smoking Pregnant Moms Likely Use Other Drugs: Study suggests complete screening of mothers and infantsâ€, the inept MSM, at least, has not become hysterical and seized upon the idea that 26.1% of all mother/newborn pairs are likely to test “positive for tetrahydrocanabis [sic] (THC) in urine-meconium screenings, 11.6% … positive for opioids, followed by amphetamines (10.8%) and cocaine (6.5%)….â€
This tidbit by Dr. Sharon Levy was curious:
We may be witnessing a failed launch of a scientific publication by the prohibs. The paper might never see the light of day beyond its press release. I’ve never encountered this jagged scenario before in all the AAAS press releases I’ve ever read. It appears to be a prime example of human rights criminals running the drug enforcement empire and getting caught in the act. Creighton University, in Omaha, NE, where this study was supposedly done, is a “private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic universityâ€.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/cocaine-funding-isis-drug-smuggling-profits-islamic-state-linked-jihadists-north-africa-1475824
It appears that all Conservatives who do not support legalizing all drugs are members of the Islamic State by default.
Many of us on this couch at one time in our life have lived in the Middle East and have seen with our own eyes how our drug policies are killing them and fueled the War on Terror. The Red States talk differently than the Medical Marijuana States. ISIS, Afghanistan, Israel, Boko, Egypt etc are key issues to winning the war on drugs in America and worldwide, since those are Republican hot topics.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights urges governments to support decriminalisation and harm reduction
http://idpc.net/alerts/2015/10/united-nations-high-commissioner-for-human-rights-exhorts-governments-to-support-decriminalisation-and-harm-reduction
“We want to continue to build on this momentum…”
sounds like a good plan
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Maybe they’re worried about appearing impotent? A lot of people might even realize that the U.N. is a paper tiger if we refuse to follow their orders. If they give us permission then they still appear to be in charge. Perhaps they just can’t stand the prospect of being marginalized into irrelevance?
I can’t believe that they actually admitted that it would be in compliance with the SCTs if we just pretend that it’s illegal. I had suspected that the UN was just a very sophisticated Potemkin village but now I’m certain that it is.
The [Irish] Minister with Responsibility for Drugs says young people believe the “just say no to drugs†message is “a lie†and that a more realistic policy must be adopted.
Labour TD Aodhán Ó RÃordáin commended advice like “it is less risky to take half [a pill]†being offered by student unions in Trinity, UCD and DIT as part of a new campaign, and said instructions on drug use should not be issued from a moralistic standpoint.
“Young people who talk to me say that they can’t connect with the ‘Just say no’ message because it’s a lie.â€
“They say it’s a lie because they know what their parents were doing for the last 15 years, their uncles, their aunts – the entire society didn’t say no and doesn’t say no,†he told an official launch ceremony in Dublin’s Mansion House on Friday.
http://tinyurl.com/siobandango
And there it is. And in another country, too. The generational backlash against prohibition…and against the hypocrisy of those who favor it. In both Developed and Developing nations, all over the planet.
“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when we think our children are naive.” – Ogden Nash
Prohibs are finding out that phrase has equivalents in every language.
Lying about drugs in the age of the Internet is not only pointless, but stupid. The truth is found out, and adult credibility crumbles to dust. Better to just be up-front about it.
Interesting and confusing. Does this mean that mj businesses no longer have to pay federal taxes?
Between Pot and a Hard Place: Fed Rejects Colorado Marijuana Bank
And guess what? The Federal Reserve is actually a consortium of private banks…that all got rich from drug money laundering. The (ahem) UNODC confirmed that, as did former head of ONDCP, Barry McCaffery.
In fact, the very oldest banks within the consortium, the old monied families of the 19th century Robber Barons, were up to their eyeballs in the opium trade, actually got their start in banking for the traders in it.
The irony of that level of hypocrisy, to make such a claim when they got their start from the very same trade (and flourished despite illegality by laundering the proceeds of it) is beyond words.
Alice will need diving gear if she goes any deeper down that rabbit hole…. totally insane behavior by these “guardians” of the US banking system.
Then they’ll turn around and say that these cash only businesses are a magnet for robbery. Drugs and crime; mission accomplished.
Alice would need an oxy’ed fluorocarbon suit to go that damn deep. And take a long time coming back up to avoid the bends.
For something this important, I forgot to include a very enlightening link. My bad. I plead stonage. Or stonation. Or stone-something. Whatever.
Apologies to all. Rectifying error:
The Boodle Boys
Followers of deep politics will know this is 100% pure Alice. Alice in Kevlar (I know, I know, it sounds like a band name…). Kevlar with plates.
Mentioning the origins of many of America’s major financial banking houses is guaranteed to get you ousted from the circles of the currently high (maybe some did indulge)-and-mighty. Especially when you figure in how the laundering of drug money from the beginning of British – and then American – opium prohibition through the international banks funded such monstrosities as the nascent NSDAP and the Bolsheviks via Lenin’s 6 million gold train to St. Petersburg.
I said it was deep, didn’t I? This shite has been going on for almost two centuries, now. The original banking cartels got a lot of their boost in the 19th and early 20th centuries from the illicit opium trade, and became the giants they were long before the industrial utility of oil was seriously studied. The roots run deep; any wonder why we have such a hard time pulling this poison tree out of the ground?
But fall it shall, and from a force that cannot be held against for very long, and that very simply are the numbers we as cannabists manifest every time a vote to reform the laws occurs.
Real democracy faces off against the Potemkin Village one we’re supposed to accept, where the ‘beliefs’ of pols and bureaucrats somehow checkmate scientific data. Not in the Biblical sense but a good one, I say: Our name is Legion, for we are many And we prove that every time. Sheer numbers are acting like a tornado wind, stripping away the facades of prohibition and revealing its inherent authoritarian, anti-democratic heart. The Powers That Be must relent, or the entire game may be discovered.
As part of Operation Gladio, not only did the CIA, mafia, and Escobar use the Vatican Bank to launder drug money, the CIA ultimately learned the best way to rob a bank was to buy one. Money was taken out, bankruptcy declared, and the cash used for black-ops. Here is the scenario one might have encountered doing business with such a bank, in this case the Banca Privata Finanziaria (BPF).
BTW, the bank formerly known as the BCCI was totally owned and operated by the CIA.
Recent Research on Medical Marijuana
Emerging Clinical Applications For Cannabis & Cannabinoids
A Review of the Recent Scientific Literature, 2000 — 2015
PDF Version of this Document
Did anyone listen to Bernie last night? So, if Trump represents the 1% and if the 1% own more if not the same as the bottom 99%, then does this logically make the Donald a King (contrasted through historical definitions)–like a ruler of a small independent nation known as Trump Enterprises and his other reaches? Would the Constitution lawfully allow the American people to elect a king of some other nation as their president?
where’s that missing 13th Amendment when we need it?
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Nice try but your half baked analysis is just plain silly. I’m going to keep it simple and stick with thesis that since his hair is imported he’s disqualified because he’s not a full fledged natural born citizen. I’m almost certain that it’s Italian or possibly Greek. Someone needs to dig up his birth certificate and see if it has any mention of his hair. I expect that any mention will be noticeably absent. Hey, go ahead and call me a kook hairer but now more than ever we need a President who is 100% all American.
I’m going to have a lot of fun in 2016 if it’s the Socialist vs the Capitalist. A lot of fun indeed. Please, please let it be so.
I had a moment of childlike hope: like clapping your hands and repeating very loudly “I Believe in Fairies”. A Private Citizen controlling thousands of people cannot be a King, simply because he is a Private Citizen: A standard GOP Tautology.
I just found a tree trunk in my bag, which is better than the leggo in the last. Sadly Mexican Grass is America’s number one brand of grass. We are losing the Marijuana fight in this Very Red State. Everyone keeps on ignoring cancer and jail reform in this State, while all the talk is about oil and the war on terror, which should also be key issues for drug legalization amongst conservatives (which I’m not one of them) and liberals, if we truly want to end weed prohibition in the Red States. Don’t forget couch, Alcohol Prohibition didn’t totally end here in this Red State until 1985.
So, who on the couch will come down here and rescue us with a semi full of delicious legal or medical weed at ya’ll’s prices? Anyone willing to offer up a free big bedroom or house to some Red State War on Drug refugees?
Presidential candidate Ben Carson favors intensifying the drug war. The guy must live in a bubble. He seems to know nothing outside of being a surgeon.
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Isn’t Mr. Carson the drunken surgeon who botched KevKev’s lobotomy?
ben carson has performed many a lobotomy without a single malpractice suit. must have been another slash and burn practitioner who removed the kindness and compassion centers from kevin’s noggin.https://depts.washington.edu/ccfwb/content/change-your-brain-transforming-your-mind
Hey Bungling Ben NEOsurgeon Bungling Ben
Children asked if to lie was not a sin,
‘He’s a Liar’ – Ben Carson’s Former Patient Blasts Surgeon for Ruining Her Life
Carson’s surgical specialty is hemispherectomy to prevent seizures in severe epilepsy. This involves the removal of one half of the brain, in theory the side where the seizures are occurring. There is no guarantee that this will reduce seizures but it is a certainty that the patient will experience semi- paralysis of the opposite side of the body.Having worked with epilepsy patients I have seen cases where the seizure rate is unaffected by this operation but the patient then has the added disability of impaired walking and arm/hand control. If he can sell that risk to parents, selling the drug war should be a doddle.
if only there were an herbal remedy for epilepsy. oh wait, i think i grew some this year.
A Christian conservative speaks his mind:
” You know, we’re gradually just removing all the barriers to hedonistic activity…” 🙂
BTW mates… today (10/24) is Pete’s birthday!
Happy birthday to you…
yup,,happy day Pete with no videos going viral on youtube.
Thanks!
happy birthday, Pete. hope you have plenty of happiness to pursue.
I hope you are having a happy birthday, Pete.
Thank you, Hope. It was fantastic, with over 100 former students coming back for a big party. Still recovering.
New Zealand’s Kevin Sabet wants Fat Pharma (Big Pharma) to have control over Cannabis and when me and my mates called him out on that and how that will screw the autism sufferers over, me and my mates were called a TROLL
https://twitter.com/PeterDunneMP
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Mr_Alex, please remember to limit the beating your head against a brick wall. It’s cumulative so before you know it you could have brain damage. Just keep an objective eye on your mental performance. If at any time you begin to think that the prohibitionists are starting to make sense you need to STOP! doing that. Look at what happened to poor Stupidpatrick. Do you want to end up sitting on the SAM BoD? Of course you don’t.
Hang in there bud. Here’s a few lines from a Cal Berkeley school newspaper way back in 2000. Think you might recognize someone.
I pledge allegiance to student action
That I will not side with any other faction
Nor will I put any plan into traction
That offers real reform and satisfaction
We will stick together against all odds
BEHIND US SABET AND GRAY AND THEIR CATTLE PRODS
To the grave I take the secrets I know
Or out from the party, back to Theta I go
If ever I question how I am led
A copy of CAL-Facts will be thrown at my head
This is just one paragraph out of a really long poem so it’s not likely to make sense. The context is Sabet’s behavior during student election season when he was running for student senate. Apparently our “boy” had political aspirations.
Also, if you haven’t already, Sunil Aggarwal, M.D. Phd, and his blog the Cannabinologist has a “library” on Sabet’s time at university.
http://www.activistpost.com/2015/10/coming-soon-to-the-war-on-drugs-the-marijuana-breathalyzer.html
The anticipated delivery date of 2016 is probably optimistic considering researchers are still working to make it more accurate. Figure on 2017, or 2018, by which time marijuana consumption will be recognized as a human right in most places and the device won’t be needed anymore.
It’s not unusual for a product like this one to become obsolete within three months of market introduction because a superior technology emerges, or the patents are so weak anyone can copy the item with some minor changes and compete with the same technology. Anyone contemplating building hardware to facilitate right wing extremist social agendas should keep in mind the winds of change are blowing both technically and politically. For an investor or company in this new era, drug detection devices are an extremely shortsighted and risky business venture.
Just another red herring. When alcohol breathalyzers were first developed, there was a prolonged discussion of whether they were appropriate, due to variations in personal response to alcohol. There was no alternative, so the breathalyzer was adopted. If the decision had been that the breathalyzer not be adopted, the hunt for an alternative, one that would measure actual impairment, would have proceeded more quickly. Since that time, such devices have been developed. They measure impairment from a variety of causes; fatigue, OTC drugs, emotional upset, distraction, alcohol etc. When we adopt a per se method of evaluating impairment, we are ignoring the fact that different people react differently to drugs depending on many other factors. It is quite possible that a person is fit to drive at 0.1 in some circumstances, yet unfit to drive at .05 in others. Same for all drugs. Detection of impairment should be the goal. To focus on substance quantities is the wrong approach. It is time to change the dialogue from detection of substances and amounts to detection of degree of impairment.
They’ve had field impairment tests as long as booze testers. They rejected them due to potentially busting a cops mother in law for being impaired by sleep depravation or over elderly or a kid after binging on sugar. Prescription meds or emotional stress or being hung over. Another violation of the 5th Amendment forcing citizens into self incrimination.
Non-invasive Impairment tests – 03/11/00
http://www.pmifit.com/
The Texas one-step has sufficed for decades as proof of impairment,,even before dash cams could record it for the trial.
If you can stand on one foot,,spread your arms,lean your head back and close your eyes,,then touch your index fingers to your nose then you are not impaired and if you can’t the dash cam films it and it is used against you in your trial if needed.
No further technology needs to be developed and the only people spreading the “stoned drivers” scaremongering are the corporations developing the detectors.
Poll after poll shows that a growing number of Americans want the drug war to be replaced with a public policy that isn’t such a failure. Americans feel that the war on drugs has been an absolute failure, and it doesn’t take much research to hammer home that point. The math is clear, the war on drugs has failed. The money that has been spent on the war on drugs has grown exponentially over time, yet consumption rates have remained the same. So why does Dr. Carson want to ‘intensify’ it?
>>
“… and I don’t think this is something that we really want for our society. You know, we’re gradually just removing all the barriers to hedonistic activity.â€
http://tinyurl.com/hedonistickactivity
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The rate of people who choose to enjoy cannabis hasn’t just held steady, it has skyrocketed. From observation I believe that the typical prohibitionist believes that criminalization reduces rates of use which is desirable because a certain percentage of people are going to catch an addiction if they give cannabis for enjoyment a try. Even if we presume the latter fiction to be true and also presume the existence of problem users of cannabis for the sake of argument it’s laughably absurd to presume that in the absence of cannabis the problem user will instead be as sober as the proverbial judge.
One of my brothers-in-law likes to have a few drinks and catch a buzz. He only does that perhaps as many as 10 times in a year. There’s just no way to reasonably conclude that he’s a problem drinker. Another thing he likes to do while enjoying that buzz at family events is to buttonhole me to express his support for regulated re-legalization and that he’d much prefer to enjoy cannabis on those occasions. My point is that I believe that he would enjoy cannabis in a similar way if afforded the lawful opportunity. Problem users don’t give a flip about the law.
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I just have to say it,
What’s wrong with a little hedonism?
It’s not like we haven’t earned it.
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Another interesting tidbit from the recently published Prevalence of Marijuana Use Disorders in the United States Between 2001-2002 and 2012-2013
/snip/
The findings of this study contrast with National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data suggesting that the prevalence of marijuana use increased only 12% from 2002 to 2012 and that the prevalence of marijuana use disorders did not increase (1.6% in 2002 and 1.5% in 2012).
/snip/
Cheese Is as Addictive as Drugs, New Medical Study Shows
http://tinyurl.com/pk3f6hj
If Kevin Sabet really cared about public safety, he would dissolve SAM and start SAC (Smarter Approaches to Cheese).
Monty Python knew the threat to society of cheese addiction decades ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK92NYwBMts
How dare those derelict dirty doper douchebag druggie scum bring in all that tax revenue:
http://www.activistpost.com/2015/10/colorado-voters-to-decide-who-gets-huge-overflow-of-marijuana-tax-revenue.html
Attention backwards bankrupt bible thumping states Oregon made $11 million in the first five days of cannabis dispensary sales.
The numbers:
http://www.kgw.com/story/news/2015/10/07/oregons-first-week-recreational-pot-sales-tops-11-million/73558096/
The two most popular Halloween costumes this fall season are Donald Trump costumes (including piñatas) in the U.S., and El Chapo Guzman costumes in Mexico. I wonder if the Guzman costumes come with their own little shovel and ‘get out of jail free’ card signed by President Nieto.
That has to be fiction. No way that the Hell’s Angel petition the government for redress of grievances. Who the heck does that lady think that she’s fooling? Oh wait it is Canada. It might be a kinder, gentler breed of Hell’s Angel up there. Never mind.
I was just posting the same thing at a different link. More legitimacy to the news? http://extract.suntimes.com/news/10/153/6132/hells-angels-protest-marijuana-legalization-canada
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I’m not sure what Extract is but my impression is that it’s a virtual Reader’s Digest. They’re following all the news outlets and when it meets their criteria they (hold on) “extract” (who didn’t see that one coming?) the interesting parts. Anyway I got to World News because of the citation in the Extract article. Best evidence is straight from the horse’s mouth.
I understand the HA protesting for sure,,first the government hands them a cash and carry market with little competition and now the government wants to take it away from them.
Spoof website. World News Daily Report. The rest of their stories are sarcasm too but I thought the HA story was funny.
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Ha! I saw right through that one, didn’t I? I may look dumb but that’s just a disguise…
If you substitute prison guard’s union or police benevolent society for hell’s angels it becomes a true story….
Saudi Royal Detained After 2 Tons of Drugs Found on Private Jet http://tinyurl.com/p4awdrq
Operation Golden Flow: America’s Urine is Liquid Gold for Drug War Profiteers http://tinyurl.com/nauodhk
Big business for who? Drug war profiteers.
No love for NIDA in the Lancet:
if it quacks like a duck…
if it quacks like a duck
it’s obviously an armadillo to Naughty Nora.
Nora is so stupid that she tried to put M&M’s in alphabetical order! She puts lipstick on her head just to make-up her mind. You have to dig for her IQ! So stupid she sold her car for gasoline money! She bought a solar-powered flashlight! Nora is so stupid she thought Hamburger Helper came with a friend. First time she used a vibrator she broke her two front teeth. She’s a person of rare intelligence. It’s rare when she shows any. If you look into her eyes you get the feeling someone else is driving. They all love what she’s done with her hair. Then wonder how she got it to come out of one nostril like that? She got a brain transplant, but the brain rejected her. She should consider suing her brains for non-support. Hard to tell what makes her so stupid, but it really works.
Seriously though, this is one hell of an indictment of NIDA and its operatives….”disappointed” is strong language at the Lancet. Anywhere else, off the government tit, after a panning like that of her life’s work, Nutty Nora would find a loaded gun had been left on her desk.
Study:
As Pot Prohibition Slowly Becomes Thing of the Past,
Consumers Less Likely to Abuse It
The outcome of legalizing marijuana has not had the effect that prohibitionists warned and expected. The behavioral and psychological problems that they feared would follow legalization have not materialized.
Microwavable Marijuana Meals
Are Coming Soon to a Dispensary Near You
Dope or Rope?
Feds Raid Reservation of Wisconsin’s Menominee Tribe
DEA agents raided the reservation of Wisconsin’s Menominee Indian Tribe last week, destroying what federal authorities say was a crop of illegal marijuana— but tribal authorities say it was a field of industrial hemp.
The Ganjawar Comes to the The Rez
Know Your Rights 101
The Basics of Dealing with Police
A real “Killer Tiller.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/video-of-cop-shooting-zachary-hammond-released_562f8de6e4b06317990f5ff6
WTF?????
Wisconsin: Menominee Tribe’s Hemp Crop Destroyed By DEA Agents
4 Dumb Things GOP Candidates Have Said About Legal Marijuana
The Republican presidential candidates are facing off yet again in another primary debate to be held at the University of Colorado Boulder—so you can guarantee they’ll be asked about that state’s wildly successful experiment with marijuana legalization.
Pot is a tricky subject for the GOP candidates. They want to support the states’ rights to be “laboratories of democracy,” but they mostly hate the idea of making pot legal.
That tension has led to some pretty wild and stupid rhetoric. Watch the video above to see four of the weakest arguments the Republican candidates have made against legalizing marijuana. And you can watch the debate Wednesday, October 28th on CNBC at 8pm ET, or follow Reason’s liveblog for all the latest updates and commentary.
https://reason.com/reasontv/2015/10/27/4-dumb-things-gop-candidates-marijuana
Pot Use study couldn’t prove that marijuana caused strokes
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jAqo401jWPU/Vi_lo8pN2jI/AAAAAAAAgv8/VMB_XBfaTpU/w426-h320/funny-weed-propaganda-2.jpg
Drug Worriers Beware!
Your lies and deceit will catch up eventually.
Now for your dining pleasure, Justice is served…
Dennis Hastert pleads guilty in hush-money case;
plea deal recommends up to 6 months
Ok, its leftovers. Better than nothin.
i doubt if this slap on the wrist is going to do much in the way of protecting the children. yet Paul Free is serving life for nothing at all. really makes me proud to be an american.