Drug WarRant

Yes, this is that time when blog readers have to put up with the inevitable annoying recap of a blogging “career.” In a normal job, this wouldn’t happen until someone retired with a gold watch for decades of service, but anniversaries in blogging for some reason seem to be kind of like dog years (which I guess would make this blog 21).
I’ll try to be brief.
When I started, I really was looking for a way to ocassionally get things off my chest that wouldn’t work in a Letter to the Editor. I figured I’d probably post about once a week… (This is post # 1,698 in 1,095 days. You do the math.) I hoped some people might find and read my posts, and a few did (I’m currently approaching my first million mark in page views.)
My first full post was coverage of the Hinchey Amendment (which means I’ve now actually covered that failure in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Sigh.)
Probably my most effective items have been Why is Marijuana Illegal? and Drug War Victims, because they’ve been spread all over the internet inspiring and angering people, followed by this page, which became one of the prime web resources for the Raich v. Ashcroft Supreme Court case.
I’m particularly proud of taking down Andrea Barthwell and her Illinois Marijuana Lectures, and my reports on DEA’s Karen Tandy and Michele Leonhardt. Had some good responses from my 2004 Voting Guide, and I enjoyed covering Irv Rosenfeld at the Illinois Medical Marijuana hearing. And yes, I had some fun along the way. Probably my most humorous entry was the parody Increase in Burger Abuse Seen, which still cracks me up.
With a little help from my friends, we managed to challenge the DEA’s attempt to frame the Vigil for Lost Promise as a pro-prohibition event, and we’ll do the same with their museum exhibit. And this year, we started the building of a vibrant Drug WarRant community, with Drug WarRant.net, complete with an active messageboard, and a wiki to build a new Voting Guide and source for drug policy reform studies.
A big thanks to commenters sukoi, kaptinemo, daksya, sixtyfps, thehim, DdC, kwix, baylen, Brian, Hope, j, runruff, ezrydn, jackl, John, Jon, Raging Bee, yan, William, Adam, me, serial catowner, Trent, Tom, Tim, Terry, Steve, roy, Scott, SayUncle, Rick, muleskinner, rachelrachel, nhop, befuddled, nephalim, M., Klay, Jim, Ben, Jeff, Bill, Casey, Cliff, Ethan, Eric and all the others who have been kind enough to correct me when I was wrong and provide feedback so I know I’m talking to someone.
I also thank all the lurkers — all the wonderful people who may not feel comfortable (or may not enjoy) commenting, but stop by, read, and tell their friends. I know you’re out there, and I keep doing this for you as well.
And, of course, thanks to Libby for being there when I was getting started so I didn’t feel so lonely, and to Jeralyn, who provided me with my first major readership boost.
And to John Walters, and Andrea Barthwell, and Karen Tandy, and Mark Souder, and all the other prohibitionists — as long as you continue to lie, and to declare war on the American people, my friends and I will be there to fight back and tell the truth.

Relax. Take a moment.
No gifts are necessary. Just have a seat next to the plants and grab some espresso. (If George Soros stops by, though, have him take a look at this little item.)

To the People turned one year old this month and is turning it into weeks of partying. Go join them, but be careful — they’re serving PBR, and doing strange things with an intern.
Drug WarRant turns three tomorrow. We’ll have a small tasteful event. Espresso will be served. Stop by.

This is priceless.
A week ago, Donald Rumsfeld was saying that Europe needs to take a stronger role in dealing with the opium problem in Afghanistan.
So…

Senior Conservative MPs are urging David Cameron to push for the licensing of legal opium farming in Afghanistan as he pays a surprise visit to the country today, Guardian Unlimited has learned.
Opposition whip Tobias Ellwood said that the lives of British troops in the south of the country were being endangered because of the coalition’s insistence on eradicating opium crops, which are often the sole means of livelihood for impoverished families in the region.
Six British soldiers have died in Helmand province over the past six weeks, most in the former opium market town of Sangin where they are fighting a fierce insurgency of Taliban warlords who have gained the support of local farmers.
“The poppy crops are the elephant in the room of the Afghan problem. We’re in complete denial of the power that the crops have on the nation as a whole, and the tactics of eradication are simply not working,” Mr Ellwood told Guardian Unlimited.
“Last year we spent 600m on eradication and all that resulted was the biggest-ever export of opium from the country.”
He said that opium farming should be licensed so that the harvest could be sold legally on the open market, bringing in income for Afghan farmers and helping to plug a global shortage of opiate-based medicines.
The plan would also limit the supply of opium to the black market, where it finds its way into Britain as heroin, he said.
Mr Ellwood said the plan had the support of several Conservative MPs and senior military figures in Afghanistan. He will meet international development secretary Hilary Benn to discuss the issue later this week. […]

Why are they so much smarter than Rumsfeld?

I’ve got an incredible group of readers! Only one day since I issued the challenge and we’re already 65% of the way toward our goal for the DEA museum exhibit propaganda-countering flyer fund. Thanks!

KSLA News 12 — Coverage you can Count On – #1 in the ARK-LA-TEX
Check this gem out!

A new study by the National Association of Counties says meth is not only “on the rise”, but it is the most used drug in America, with more users now than heroin, pot and coke combined.

And in the weather, the forecast is for sunny skies with highs in the mid-90’s, causing icing on the roads.
The “study” they reference — from the National Association of Counties — is a promo piece survey of some sample of law enforcement officers. It’s used to get more drug war funding and has no real scientific validity. But even still, I don’t believe it said anything quite that stupid!

By now, most of you know about the extraordinarily offensive DEA exhibit that uses pieces of wreckage from the World Trade Center with children’s toys mixed in as a means of promoting the DEA!
(If not, more detail is available here)
As Newsday reported on the exhibit when it was in New York:

Like many anti-drug campaigns before it, this one rests on shaky evidence and throws a fast emotional punch. [..]
To hammer it home, there’s a prominent display of World Trade Center debris accompanied by an audio sound track reliving Sept. 11 and tying it straight to the drug trade.

“Target America: Opening Eyes to the Damage Drugs Cause” will be opening at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago on August 11 and running until December 3.

We need your help to counter this propaganda!

At Drug WarRant, we have crafted a response and plan to make a powerful statement:

We’re working on getting a full color hand-out flyer printed to pass out to people at the Museum of Science and Industry that counters the DEA’s propaganda and encourages them to find out more of the real facts.
You can view the flyer here. That site will also provide detailed sources for the information on the flyer and eventually include point-by-point rebuttals of the exhibit.

What you can do

1. Volunteer to help pass out flyers at the museum. If you’re in the Chicago area, or plan to be there during the run of the exhibit, we need your help. No experience needed — simply sign up to legally and non-confrontationally stand outside the museum and welcome people while giving them one of our flyers. Sign up here or email .
2. If you’re not in the area, or don’t have the time to volunteer, help us print the flyers. Keep in mind that I rarely have asked for money from readers. In the three years that this blog has been operating, I’ve made a major ask… never.
It’s really easy. Contribute here through a simple and easy charge to your credit card.

If you’d rather make a contribution while buying fun stuff, go to the Drug WarRant store.

The best contribution is through buying the 11×17 poster of the new graphic for $14.99. $10 of that purchase price will go toward the flyer printing fund. I encourage you to buy other things as well to tell the world you don’t support the drug war, but the others are priced much closer to cost.
If you don’t like sending money online, you can send a check:
Pete Guither
909 W Market St
Bloomington, IL 61701
Thanks for helping us counter DEA propaganda.

Column in Monday’s paper by Terry Michael

Many officials admit behind closed doors that our drug policy needs radical revision. Few will say so publicly. This “third rail” of politics is exacerbated by the collusion of mainstream media, suspending usual rules of journalistic practice, publishing government propaganda without quoting critics of drug-war policy.
Our policies result in tremendous harm creation, about which much has been written, but I’ll summarize here:
Denial of liberty. Our drug war constitutes an assault on individual liberty, privacy and choice, from both the left and right. […]
Waste of treasury. […]
Government-created violent black market. Alcohol did not create Al Capone. Prohibition created Al Capone, with the mayhem, official corruption and murder that accompanied the 18th Amendment. And cocaine does not create drug cartels. America’s War on Drugs creates drug cartels.
Government violence against its own people. […]
Promoting disrespect for the rule of law. […]
Health harm creation. […]

Read the whole thing.
Nice job, Terry!

One of the biggest problems with the treatment community is the fact that so many of them are willing to blatantly lie in order to increase their profits. There are undoubtedly legitimate, principled treatment organizations. It’s time to call upon them to step up to the plate and make a statement when others in their industry are so irresponsible.
“bullet” 1. From a business-promoting press release from the folks at Scientology’s Narconon, and uncritically spread around by perennial wanker Jim Kouri:

Most experts agree that there is enough THC in one gram of high grade marijuana to produce a lethal overdose that could result in death if swallowed by a toddler.

Of course, they neglected to include even one “expert” because that’s simply not true. I particularly like the poetic “lethal overdose that could result in death” redundancy.
“bullet” 2. The Weyburn Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse says

This article is not intended as a scare tactic, rather a truthful look at marijuana and it’s effects on the human body.

Yeah, right. Let’s see…

Marijuana … is currently 500 per cent more powerful now than it was 10 years ago, therefore the dangers of smoking marijuana now are much more serious than they were in the 1960’s. […] Marijuana smoke causes cancer more than cigarette smoke. […] Marijuana is called a “gateway” drug, because it often leads to subsequent use of even harsher drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and crystal meth. […] The dangers of marijuana include: impaired perception, diminished short-term memory, loss of concentration and coordination, impaired judgment, increased risk of accidents, loss of motivation, diminished inhibitions, anxiety, panic attacks, paranoia, hallucinations, damage to respiratory systems, damage to reproductive organs, damage to immune system, increased risk of cancer, and psychological dependency. […] its use can lead to risky sexual behaviour, resulting in exposure to STD’s like AIDS.

Thank goodness they just stuck with lies and didn’t use “scare tactics.”

“bullet” 3. Libby at LastOneSpeaks gives us an interesting quote from the University of Vermont Treatment Research Center. Dr. Budney is concerned at how insidious marijuana dependence is. In fact, it’s really hard to spot — almost as if they weren’t addicted at all, which of course we know isn’t true.

People often fail to notice that a friend or neighbor has a marijuana problem because the consequences of cannabis use are less striking than those associated with other drugs, according to Dr. Alan J. Budney of the University of Vermont’s Treatment Research Center. “You don’t see the severe acute consequences you get with alcohol or cocaine,” Budney said.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, marijuana is the most widely abused drug in the world.

Just like windows are the most widely abused things for looking through in the world because lots of people… look through them. You can’t tell they’re abusing windows — that’s what’s so dangerous about it.

This is interesting.
Some researchers did a study where they asked one group of college students how often they used drugs and another group how often they exercised. Later, they did a follow up and the first group was more likely to have increased drug use and the second group was more likely to have increased exercising.
It’s not enough to make too much of it yet, and there’s little doubt that there’s some amount of normal suggestibility in behavior (cigarette smokers will tell you that anti-smoking ads often make them want to light up). And this doesn’t make those who didn’t already use drugs/exercise start up.
But it does add a wrinkle to the whole notion of doing behavioral surveys:

Since the study appeared in the June issue of the academic journal Social Influence, Fitzsimons’ research team has fielded calls from health practitioners concerned that asking patients about depression and possible thoughts of suicide might make matters worse.

I don’t have time to think about it. I’m busy conducting a survey — asking women how often they’ve slept with red-bearded men.