Drug WarRant

The DEA, in their new “hip” drug website Stumble Weed, has this remarkable news:

Truth is, marijuana is not just a plant.

?
Um. What is it, then?

In today’s Chicago Tribune

Pete Guither’s attempt to criticize the war on drugs has become a war of its own.
When an exhibition sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration opened at the Museum of Science and Industry in August, Guither showed up with a sack full of pamphlets denouncing the government’s anti-narcotics strategy.[…]

Go read.

Some time ago, I talked about the fact (I can’t find the post right now) that some courts, employers and certification review boards were using a controversial testing system that measures the presence of ethyl glucuronide or EtG — a metabolite of alcohol that stays in the blood. People were losing jobs, children, and freedom over failed tests. The problem is that the test is subject to all kinds of false positives from things as silly as using a hand sanitizer or drinking apple juice.
Scientists have known for some time that the test was not reliable for this kind of use, yet the testing companies sold it to anyone who wanted to use it and touted its accuracy.
Take a look at just one of the many drug testing companies’ claims:

The presence of EtG in urine is a definitive indicator that alcohol was ingested…. Ideal for zero tolerance and abstinence situations… Expert witness and affidavit services available… provides highly accurate results.

Uh… not so much.
SAMHSA has now issued an advisory (pdf) about EtG testing:

Currently, the use of an EtG test in determining abstinence lacks sufficient proven specificity for use as primary or sole evidence that an individual prohibited from drinking, in a criminal justice or a regulatory compliance context, has truly been drinking. Legal or disciplinary action based solely on a positive EtG, or other test discussed in this Advisory, is inappropriate and scientifically unsupportable at this time. These tests should currently be considered as potential valuable clinical tools, but their use in forensic settings is premature.

In today’s Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Whether the agency’s warning will help these people reclaim the jobs that some lost after flunking EtG tests is unclear. In any case, the warning is a blow to the credibility of the $4 billion-a-year urine-testing industry, which introduced the EtG test two years ago as offering fail-safe proof of alcoholic-beverage consumption.

This is an out-of-control industry that is using the government to insert itself into our lives for its profit.

I thought this might be a good time to remind people about Dennis Hastert, since many people seem to think that he’ll be resigning as Speaker of the House shortly over the Mark Foley scandal cover-up scandal.

Hastert’s voting record:

• 2006 Based on a point system, with points assigned for actions in support of or in opposition to National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws’s position, Representative Hastert received a rating of -20.
• 2005 Based on a point system, with points assigned for actions in support of or in opposition to National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws’s position, Representative Hastert received a rating of -3.
• 2005 Representative Hastert supported the interests of the Drug Policy Alliance 0 percent in 2005.
• Given a D rating by Vote Hemp (Dec. 2003)

Just a couple of the bills he has sponsored:

• H.AMDT.886 to H.R.4300 (1998) Amendment requires the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to develop a 10-year master plan for the use of mycoherbicides to control narcotic crops in the United States and internationally
• HR2610 (1997) “Not later than March 1, 1998, the Director shall submit to Congress a long-term plan for reducing the population of illegal drug users in the United States by December 31, 2001, to 3 percent of the population of the United States or less.”

Hastert on medical marijuana:

“The recent dialogue on so-called ‘medical marijuana’ sends an ambivalent message to our kids about the dangers of marijuana…. The way some have constructed this debate sends the wrong signal to our kids about drug use.”

Ah, yes… Medical marijuana: bad signal to kids. Congressmen having IM sex with kids: no big deal.
In August, 2004, Hastert slandered George Soros on national television:

“You know, I don’t know where George Soros gets his money. I don’t know where – if it comes overseas or from drug groups or where it comes from,” Hastert mused. An astonished Chris Wallace asked: “Excuse me?” The Speaker went on: “Well, that’s what he’s been for a number years – George Soros has been for legalizing drugs in this country. So, I mean, he’s got a lot of ancillary interests out there.” Wallace: “You think he may be getting money from the drug cartel?” Hastert: “I’m saying I don’t know where groups – could be people who support this type of thing. I’m saying we don’t know.”

I had my own dream rebuttal to Hastert (and it may have been prescient).
Lies about marijuana on the Speaker of the House website:

• More than 10,000 scientific studies show that marijuana is a hazardous, addictive drug.
• Among other symptoms, marijuana usage can cause premature cancer; coordination and perception impairment; mental disorders, including depression, hostility and increased aggressiveness; memory loss; reproductive disabilities; and immune system impairment.
• Smoking marijuana is more carcinogenic than smoking cigarettes.
• The marijuana currently sold on the streets is up to 25 times stronger than the versions sold a generation ago.
• Twelve to 17 year-olds who smoke marijuana are 85 times more likely to use cocaine than those who do not. Sixty percent of adolescents who use marijuana before age 15 will later use cocaine.

Don’t let the door hit you in the ass.

We’re not just talking about religious groups supporting medical marijuana. This is pretty big.

A dozen Northern Nevada religious leaders plan to announce today they support the initiative to legalize marijuana.

And there are some pretty smart religious leaders involved…

The Rev. William Webb of Second Baptist Church, the largest black church in Reno, said he does not want to see drugs dealt on neighborhood streets.

“If there has to be a market in marijuana, I’d rather it be regulated with sensible safeguards than run by violent gangs and dangerous drug dealers,” he said.

Exactly.
More here.

For an interesting view on how the U.S. government often uses the drug war as a pretext to cover its real political foreign affairs agenda, read Washington’s Searching for a Smoking Gun on Chavez
I’m guessing they’re not going to be using “child molester.”

I had missed this when it came out, but it seems Joe Lieberman has taken up with child abuser Mel Sembler, the founder of Straight, Inc.

Given the actions of Foley, the cover-up by House leadership, and bizarre moments like this, I think it’s fair to say that politicians have also lost any moral footing to claim that the drug war laws (or any other laws) they pass are… “for the children.”

And from now on, any time a politician suggests that having school children pee in a cup is a good idea, someone needs to ask if they’re pulling a Mark Foley.

Great post from TalkLeft

What is it with members of Congress that they think entering alcohol rehab is an appropriate response to whatever misdeeds they are accused of? Mark Foley is the latest:

Foley has said nothing since announcing his resignation. Yesterday, a statement purportedly sent by Foley to news organizations, including The Washington Post, said he has entered an alcohol-treatment facility in Florida.

[…] Can anyone think of a pot-smoker who blamed pot for inappropriate sexual contact with juveniles? I can’t.

Olivier Rabin, World Anti Doping Agency’s director of science, on the reason for keeping marijuana a banned substance in sports:

“We know full well that cannabis can alleviate feelings of fear which can help performance in some sports.”

If only my gym teacher had been aware of this when I was young and afraid.