It turns out that three of the Massachusetts district attorneys leading the fight against Question 2, the Massachusetts marijuana decriminalization initiative, admit to having used marijuana themselves in the past. To our knowledge, they have yet to explain how their having criminal records that would have barred them from their present careers would leave the state better off.
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How Bizarre is Our Drug Czar: John Walters and the Unicorns
You may remember a few weeks back when Dan posted a couple of John Walters's question and answer segments from a drug czar press conference where Walters claimed that "finding somebody in jail or prison for a first time, non-violent offender [sic] for possession of marijuana is like finding a unicorn." More recently, Ben found plenty of unicorns by Walters's definition.
Over at MPP-TV, we decided to take a look at the drug czar's numbers and do the math ourselves ... and came up with this video on his bizarre claims. Enjoy!
Just How Bizarre is Our Drug Czar?
Drug Czar John Walters claims that finding a first time marijuana offender in jail for possession is like finding a unicorn. Here's what we think.
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Medical Marijuana Pain Study Needs Volunteers
There is evidence that marijuana may work synergistically with opioid pain drugs, allowing equal or better relief with reduced doses of narcotics and reduced development of tolerance to the drugs. But most of this evidence comes from animal studies, so data from human clinical trials is urgently needed.
Dr. Donald Abrams of the University of California, San Francisco, is doing just such a study right now and needs volunteers who are suffering from chronic pain and currently taking OxyContin or MS Contin. Compensation and assistance with transportation to San Francisco are available. If you or anyone you know might be eligible to participate, please check out the details here and consider joining this important effort.
Drug Czar Supports Decriminalization -- In Mexico
Dealing with White House drug czar John Walters increasingly feels like a trip into some sort of alternate universe. Last week he told The New York Times that he supports a Mexican government proposal to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana or other illicit drugs.
How shocking is that? Well, in a March 19, 2008, press release, deputy drug czar Scott Burns called a New Hampshire proposal to impose a $200 fine rather than jail time for possession of a small amount of marijuana "a dangerous first step toward complete drug legalization."
Mexican President Felipe Calderón's proposal is much more sweeping than the New Hampshire bill, applying not only to marijuana, but also to drugs like cocaine, heroin, and meth. And there would be no fine at all, just drug treatment for those who are addicted or drug education for those who aren't. And yet our drug czar told The Times, "I don’t think that's legalization."
Hypocrisy, thy name is John P. Walters.
Drug Warrior Day of Reckoning
What else will happen on November 4?
As Bruce Mirken pointed out in another post, Rep. Mark Souder, a stalwart drug warrior, may lose his seat in Congress this year. Souder’s possible departure is part of a larger trend of drug warriors losing elections to more sensible candidates.
This change is largely due to the unpopularity of President Bush and the fact that most virulent prohibitionists have maintained close ties with his policies for the last eight years. Their departure is significant for MPP and other drug policy organizations that hope to pass legislation in the next Congress.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the more exciting contests.
Kentucky Senate Race: Senator Mitch McConnell (R) v. Bruce Lunsford (D)
Sen. McConnell is currently in a dead heat with his opponent, Democrat Bruce Lunsford. McConnell prides himself on securing millions of dollars in federal funding for marijuana eradication in Kentucky. Come November, he may be seeking a new job.
Florida’s 24th District: Congressman Tom Feeney (R) v. Suzanne Kosmas (D)
Rep. Feeney introduced an amendment in 2003 that would have forced federal judges to hand down harsh sentences to minor drug offenders and has opposed every sensible piece of drug policy legislation that’s come across his desk. His opponent, Democrat Suzanne Kosmas, is currently leading by a 23-point margin. The only catch here is that Kosmas supported the Marijuana Grow House Eradication Act, a Florida law that MPP opposed. However she has supported alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders.
Colorado’s 4th District: Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave (R) v. Betsy Markey (D)
Rep. Musgrave has been a consistent opponent of medical marijuana legislation in Congress. In 2006, Musgrave took significant contributions from the National Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association while opposing a Colorado initiative to legalize adult marijuana use. She’s currently losing to Democrat Betsy Markey by nearly 10 points.
Florida’s 8th District: Congressman Rick Keller (R) v. Alan Grayson (D)
Rep. Keller has pushed for legislation to increase penalties for marijuana users and has always opposed medical marijuana legislation. He currently trails his opponent by 4 points.
Michigan’s 7th District: Congressman Tim Walberg (R) v. Mark Schauer (D)
In a state where MPP hopes to pass a medical marijuana initiative this fall, Walberg stands out as a strong opponent to medical marijuana legislation in Congress. He is currently losing by 9 points to his Democratic rival.
Washington’s 8th District: Congressman Dave Reichert (R) v. Darcy Burner (D)
Rep. Reichert, despite hailing from a medical marijuana state, has opposed efforts to protect Washington’s state law from federal interference. He currently trails by 3 points in the polls.
Visit MPP’s online action center and ask for your member of Congress’s support.
A New Low in New Mexico
I don't know how much attention this is going to get in the press, but this strikes me as an extraordinary – and as far as I know, unique – instance of cowardice and cruelty:
SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) — A woman was told to move out of her apartment when the landlord discovered she has marijuana for medical use.
Bobbie Wooten, 47, uses a wheelchair because she was paralyzed from the waist down in a car crash several years ago and suffers severe spasms. She joined the state's medical marijuana program when it went into effect last year. ...
"My lease provides for a drug-free environment," said David Kotin of Kay-Kay Realty. "Obviously, she is in violation of my lease."
I suppose Kotin will also be going through the building checking for beer, Tylenol, and coffeepots now, right? That, or he and Kay-Kay Realty are unforgivably stupid, intellectually lazy, and inhumane. Or both.
Has anybody out there heard of similar instances of housing discrimination toward qualified medical marijuana patients operating within legal limits?
Medical Marijuana's Arch-Foe in Trouble?
We have special feelings for Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) here at the Marijuana Policy Project, because a few years ago he called our executive director, Rob Kampia, "an articulate advocate for an evil position." Souder is perhaps the most implacable foe of medical marijuana in the U.S. Congress. And he may be in trouble.
Last week CQ Politics, which tracks House races, changed its rating of Souder's Indiana 3rd District from "Republican Favored" to "Leans Republican," writing that "Republican strategists are concerned about Souder, even though he represents a strongly Republican-leaning district."
His latest troubles involve a report that he sought a congressional earmark for a company in which he owned stock. That would seem to be a pretty blatant ethical no-no, even though Souder's stock holdings were fairly minor.
Michigan Medical Marijuana Campaign on TV
The Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care, the committee backing Proposal 1 on the state's November ballot, has gone on the air with its first TV spots. One commercial features George Wagoner, M.D., whose wife Beverly died of ovarian cancer in 2007. The other features Deb Brink, a registered nurse and four-time cancer survivor.
The initiative has been endorsed by many of the state's leading newspapers, including the Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, and Lansing State Journal. MCCC has assembled a collection of recent news clips, including the endorsements.
Can Marijuana Help ADHD?
A new study, published in the journal Schizophrenia Research, adds to the growing evidence that marijuana may be helpful to some who suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. The study also sheds light on the ongoing controversy over marijuana's relationship to schizophrenia.
Researchers looked at three groups of young people, age 14-21 -- non-psychotic siblings of schizophrenia patients (considered at "genetic risk" for psychosis), adolescents with ADHD, and healthy controls -- and compared the marijuana users with non-users in each group on a variety of psychological tests. There was a correlation between signs of mental health disturbance and marijuana use for the group of siblings at genetic risk for psychosis, but not for the other groups. This suggests that marijuana may worsen the prognosis of those with a predisposition to psychosis but does not make healthy people psychotic.
In the ADHD group, the results suggested marijuana may be beneficial: In several of the tests, there was a trend toward better functioning among the marijuana using ADHD patients than among the non-users. In the article, the researchers discuss a possible mechanism by which marijuana "could attenuate some of the behavioral symptoms of ADHD." This is an area that cries out for more research.