Drug WarRant

At the Drug Czar’s “blog” the news is that we should suddenly get all concerned and panicked about drugged driving, based on a new roadside survey from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

More than 8% tested positive for marijuana, a clear sign that continued substance abuse education, prevention, and law enforcement efforts are critical to public health and safety. “The troubling data shows us, for the first time, the scope of drugged driving in America, and reinforces the need to reduce drug abuse,” said Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. “Drugged driving, like drunk drivingá puts us all at risk and must be prevented.”

…clear sign … critical … troubling data… puts us all at risk …
Must be some real damning info from the NHTSA, huh?
Not so much.
The NHTSA appears to have a lot more integrity than the Drug Czar. Their research note makes it clear that they don’t want people to do what the Drug Czar just did — make assumptions that aren’t there.

The reader is cautioned that drug presence does not necessarily imply impairment. For many drug types, drug presence can be detected long after any impairment that might affect driving has passed. For example, traces of marijuana can be detected in blood samples several weeks after chronic users stop ingestion. Also, whereas the impairment effects for various concentration levels of alcohol is well understood,
little evidence is available to link concentrations of other drug types to driver performance.

Good for the NHTSA. Maybe they’re actually interested in the truth or the science rather than the political grandstanding.
Update: In a rare move, the AP subtly slams the Drug Czar by placing the NHTSA caution right before his remarks.

… Researchers said the presence of drugs can remain in a driver’s system for weeks, making it difficult to know whether those drivers were impaired.
“This troubling data shows us, for the first time, the scope of drugged driving in America and reinforces the need to reduce drug abuse,” said Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

You’ve read my earlier reports of insane coroners in the UK. Here’s a judge to add to the mix…
Judge Issues Warning On Dangers Of Cannabis After Hapton Teen’s Case

A TEENAGER suffering cannabis-induced psychosis who attacked a pensioner on her drive has been spared jail – as a judge hit out at the dangers of the drug. […]
Sentencing, the judge said: “Those misguided people who seem to believe the use of cannabis is harmless would do well to read some of the reports before me, because this 19-year-old man, from a good family, has developed psychosis, thanks to the use of cannabis and also ecstasy.”

Thanks to the Bloomington-Normal Citizens for Peace and Justice for allowing me to come and talk about the drug war. We had a great discussion afterward. I really enjoy these opportunities!

I’m preparing for a talk I’ll be giving on the drug war to a Peace group tomorrow at 4 pm at the Unitarian Church, 1613 E. Emerson, Bloomington, Illinois. I’m sure anyone who was in the area and wanted to drop in would be welcome.
“bullet” Pope lauds drug war in Mexico.

He acknowledged the nation’s efforts to build a more “just and united ordering of society and to overcome the contrasts that continue to afflict the country.”
In particular, the Holy Father noted Mexico’s work to eliminate “violence, drug trafficking, and inequality and poverty, which are fertile ground for delinquency.”

Yeah, the 10,000 dead must be a real feather in your cap. And how is that eliminating violence and drug trafficking going, huh?
“bullet” Police vs. Police

In a hair-raising standoff that sent motorists scrambling for cover, municipal police pulled their guns on masked federal agents in one of Mexico‰s biggest cities Ö a stark display of the tensions caused by a crackdown on drug corruption among the country‰s lawmen.

“bullet” Attorney General Eric Holder speaks some truth. (Excerpts highlighted at kath.A.rine)

Getting smart on crime requires talking honestly about which policies have worked and which have not, without fear of being labeled as too hard or, more likely, as too soft on crime. Getting smart on crime means moving beyond useless labels and instead embracing science and data, and relying on them to shape policy.

“bullet” Court makes marijuana activist give up his 1st Amendment rights.
“bullet” Dean Becker in Huffington Post: Pissing on Drug Warrior Graves

Those who support drug prohibition are the best friends the drug lords could ever hope for.

“bullet” Ryan Grim on CNN

“bullet” DrugSense Weekly
“bullet” “drcnet”

Commentary by Ruben Navarrette Jr. at CNN.com

Calderon squeaked out a narrow victory against a third-party candidate in 2006.
The Harvard-educated lawyer and economist immediately and bravely took the fight to drug lords across the country, unleashing the military in a conflict that has so far killed more than 10,000 Mexicans with no end in sight.
And there are now serious issues — as spelled out this week in The Washington Post — involving allegations of torture, forced disappearances and other abuse by the Mexican military as it seeks to retaliate for the killing of soldiers and other terrorist acts committed by the drug cartels. […]
Still, Calderon’s war remains a noble battle for the soul of Mexico. […]
…it’s great news for the Mexican people, even if they don’t know it. [emphasis added]

Killing and torturing you for your own good.

Medical marijuana: ‘Safe medicine’ or crime magnet?
Milk: ‘Nutritious drink’ or delinquency enabler?
Apples: ‘Fruit’ or an element in the discovery of gravity?
Cars: ‘Transportation’ or economy destroyers?
Headline writers: ‘People who don’t know when to use internal quotes’ or people who don’t know the meaning of the word “or”?

I know I’m late getting to this, but I just watched “Damage Done: The Drug War Odyssey” with my parents tonight. I had not seen it yet, and it’s a really excellent DVD. It’s also great to sit down and watch with your family and friends.
You can get your own copy at Law Enforcement Against Prohibition for only $19.95.

Still on the road with very limited internet access.
“bullet” A Patriot’s Guide to Legalization by Kevin Drum in Mother Jones. Not a bad overview. I think he significantly understates the costs of prohibition, but still good.

“bullet” Mike Gray’s book “Drug Crazy” is now available for free online at Libertary.com.

Drug Crazy: How We Got Into this Mess and How We Can Get Out

Read this eye-opening book free at Libertary.com

“bullet” My close friend coralsbey wrote a stranger about Glenn Beck’s support of marijuana legalization under certain conditions.
“bullet” It’s amazing how people are afraid to talk about marijuana. Some California TV Stations consider a discussion that the Governor has asked for to be too controversial.
“bullet” Copping to the Poppy Crop Flop – Jacob Sullum discusses the administration’s drug war policies in Afghanistan.

Interesting Study

Previously, DaugÚ and her colleagues had shown that rats deprived of their mothers at birth become hypersensitive to the rewarding effect of morphine and heroin (substances belonging to the opiate family), and rapidly become dependent. In addition, there is a correlation between such behavioral disturbances linked to dependence, and hypoactivity of the enkephalinergic system, the endogenous opioid system.
To these rats, placed under stress from birth, the researchers intermittently administered increasingly high doses of THC (5 or 10 mg/kg) during the period corresponding to their adolescence (between 35 and 48 days after birth). By measuring their consumption of morphine in adulthood, they observed that, unlike results previously obtained, the rats no longer developed typical morphine-dependent behavior. Moreover, biochemical and molecular biological data corroborate these findings. In the striatum, a region of the brain involved in drug dependence, the production of endogenous enkephalins was restored under THC, whereas it diminished in rats stressed from birth which had not received THC.

Obviously, this is not a definitive statement about humans, but it’s a very promising line of research.
Gee, I wonder… Will the mainstream media will jump all over this, like they do when studies with much flimsier support conclude some negative effect of cannabis?
Marijuana: the anti-gateway

My show opened very successfully this weekend, and now I’m off to visit the folks. My Dad is in Quincy, IL and my Mom is in Indianola, IA, and both turn 87 this week.
My internet access will be spotty this week, so blogging is likely to be light. Have at it in comments.
Here’s something to kick things off. I’m not really sure what to make of this: Police Crackdowns May Encourage Drug Use. It’s interesting, but I don’t quite understand where they’re headed with their conclusions.
Or if you’d rather have something to get upset with, try this fun piece: OPED: It’s Actually Very Easy To Argue Against Legalizing Marijuana. You should have no trouble dismantling it.