Glasgow MSP Adam Tomkins revealed drug addicts have told him: “The one thing you do not want to do is to make it easier for us to take heroin”.
![\"\"](\"http://www.dontlegalizedrugs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/JunkieSpoon.png\" "\\"JunkieSpoon\\"")
PaulPaladin
The Home Office has said it will not sanction the widespread opening of drug consumption rooms, amid pressure from pro-legalisation MPs to do so.
Last month, the Government approved a trial ‘shooting gallery’ in Cleveland, where drug addicts will be able to inject themselves without fear of arrest.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Drug Policy Reform, alongside seven police commissioners, called on the Government “to allow the relevant local authorities the discretion to proceed with locally developed, closely evaluated pilots”.
‘No plans’
The group, co-chaired by Crispin Blunt MP, who also heads a lobby group which has indicated support for decriminalisation, said the Government “must urgently escape the simplicity of ‘drugs are bad, they are banned’”.
But the Home Office responded: “Our drug strategy is bringing together police, health, community and global partners to tackle the illicit drug trade, protect the most vulnerable and help those with a drug dependency to recover.”
It added: “The UK Government has been clear that there is no legal framework for the provision of drug consumption rooms and there are no plans to introduce them.”
Scotland’s epidemic – for complete article go to https://www.christian.org.uk/news/home-office-rejects-proposals-for-drug-shooting-galleries/
SENATOR HARRIS MORE BILL LIKE PROP 64 IS ANOTHER GIMMICK
Yesterday Senator Kamala Harris and Representative Jerrold Nadler introduced the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, a bill to federally legalize, commercialize, and tax the use of marijuana.
Senator Harris owns much responsibility for the marijuana problems that plague the state of California. When she first ran for Attorney General in 2010 she promised not to go after the marijuana industry. She kept the hands-off approach, allowing illegal growers whose plants continue the destruction of the environment in California. Four federal district attorneys still prosecuted marijuana growers, despite Harris’ opposition.
More blame should laid on her than anyone else, because she wrote the ballot to legalize marijuana in California. Ultimately, she was responsible for the 100-word description that was put on the ballot:
“Legalizes marijuana under state law, for use by adults 21 or older. Imposes state taxes on sales and cultivation. Provides for industry licensing and establishes standards for marijuana products. Allows local regulation and taxation. Fiscal Impact: Additional tax revenues ranging from high hundreds of millions of dollars to over $1 billion annually, mostly dedicated to specific purposes. Reduced criminal justice costs of tens of millions of dollars annually.”
Senator Harris (or employees in her office) wrote Proposition 64 as a fiscal initiative expected to bring in $1 billion annually, while reducing costs of criminal justice by tens of millions of dollars. We don’t know legalization’s effects on criminal justice costs. But we do know that 80% of the marijuana in California is still sold illegally and the state is only collecting 1/3 of the promised revenue.
The Sacramento Bee reported that NO ONE was in jail for possession of small amounts of marijuana in 2016, the year Harris’ ballot passed with its misleading ballot language.
SAM explains the law as full legalization, not decriminalization
Though articles in the press called this bill decriminalization, that characterization misleads the public. Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana said,
“To be clear, this bill is not a decriminalization bill. This is a bill to legalize the sale of addictive, high potency marijuana candies, gummies, ice creams, soda, waxes, dabs, and concentrates nationwide. It is irresponsible to confuse these two different policies.
“Expunging previous records is commendable, but it is counterproductive to pair that with the commercialization of marijuana that has led to very real negative impacts in the handful of states that have chosen to legalize the drug. Being from California, Senator Harris must know that just last week, her state admitted it has failed to regulate the marijuana industry.
He continued: “Encouraging drug use in disadvantaged communities is in fact a social injustice…they (pot shops) are disproportionately located in low income and minority communities. What’s more, less than one percent of the marijuana industry is minority-owned. The individuals most harmed by previous drug laws are not the ones benefited by commercialization.”
As a Libertarian publication reports, the Harris-Nadler bill takes legalization and commercialization much further than any other marijuana bill.
The social justice gimmick
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The chart tracks the rise in Colorado drug deaths through 2017. Notice the sharp rise in methamphetamine deaths that came after legalization in 2014.No state created racial equity or social justice by legalizing marijuana. Legalization states have brought more addiction to all kinds of drugs, for all races, with marijuana as the foundation drug. There’s also the increase in murder, other crimes and traffic deaths that accompanies an impaired populace, many suffering with hallucinations.
In California, pregnant women use marijuana at an alarming rate, apparently oblivious to the harms it may cause to fetuses. The rise occurred under Harris’ tenure as Attorney General, and it affected the young women, low-income women and African-American women.
Getting more pregnant women to use pot is not a win for social justice, but, rather, an agent of inequality.
Representative’s Nadler’s home state, New York, rejected social justice reasons for legalizing, while expunging marijuana convictions. We can support social justice reform without giving the green light to the marijuana industry.
Senator Harris probably knows that the “joy” marijuana initially brings deteriorates rapidly. The rest of the country rejects her marijuana mistakes. Harris’ gimmick of revenue promoted Prop 64, and now she uses the social justice ploy to deceive the public.
https://poppot.org/2019/07/24/senator-kamala-harris-more-bill-is-a-gimmick/
WHO’S REALLY IN PRISON FOR MARIJUANA? (Less than 1% of Incarcerates!)
by David G. Evans, Esq.
Drug legalization advocates claim that prisons are overflowing with people convicted for only simple possession of marijuana. This claim is aggressively pushed by groups seeking to relax or abolish marijuana laws. A more accurate view is that the vast majority of inmates in prison for marijuana have been found guilty of more than simple possession. They were convicted for drug trafficking, or for marijuana possession along with other offenses. Many of those in prison for marijuana entered a guilty plea to a marijuana charge to avoid a more serious charge. In the US, just 1.6 percent of the state inmate population were held for offenses involving only marijuana, and less than one percent of all state prisoners (0.7 percent) were incarcerated with marijuana possession as the only charge. An even smaller fraction of state prisoners was first time offenders (0.3 percent). The numbers on the US federal prisons are similar. In 2001, the overwhelming majority of offenders sentenced for marijuana crimes were convicted for trafficking and only 63 served time for simple possession. [FN1]
Plea Bargains Distort the Picture
The standard practice in drug cases is for the offender to be given the opportunity to plead guilty in exchange for lighter punishment thus sparing the taxpayers the expense and risk of a trial. If the offender is only charged with one crime, the prosecutor will typically offer a shorter sentence to a lesser charge. If the offender has multiple charges, the common practice is to dismiss one charge in exchange for a guilty plea to another lesser charge, especially if the government feels the offender can provide valuable assistance to law enforcement by providing information on drug trafficking.
Drug legalization advocates claim that nearly one-third of all federal drug defendants are charged with marijuana offenses. [FN2] However, only a tiny percentage of that number are actually convicted for marijuana possession. [FN3]
There are a number of circumstances under which a simple-possession marijuana offender might receive a sentence to prison. For example, this may happen if:
1. the marijuana offense was committed while the offender was on probation or parole;
2. an offender charged with a more serious crime pleads guilty to the lesser offense of marijuana possession but as part of a plea bargain is required to serve a prison sentence;
3. the offender has a criminal history, particularly one involving drugs or violent crime;
4. the violation took place in a designated drug-free zone (such as on school property); or
5. the marijuana sentence runs concurrent with the sentence for one or more other offenses;
How Much Marijuana Did the Average Offender Possess to Get a Prison Sentence?
According to US Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates based on a survey of federal prisoners, the median amount of marijuana involved in the conviction of marijuana-only possession offenders was 115 pounds. [FN4] This is far more than is needed for personal use.
References
[FN1] Who’s Really in Prison for Marijuana?, Office of National Drug Control Policy,
www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov; Substance Abuse and Treatment, State and Federal Prisoners, 1997,” BJS Special Report, January 1999, NCJ 172871; Unpublished BJS estimates based on the 1997 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, National Archive of Criminal Justice Data; Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2002, Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin, April 2003, NCJ 198877; Prisoners in 2002, Bureau of Justice Statistics, July 2003, NCJ 200248; Who’s Really in Prison for Marijuana?, Office of National Drug Control Policy, www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov
[FN2] Pot Violators Comprise Largest Percentage of Federal Drug Offenders, Department of Justice Study Shows, NORML News, August 30, 2001; Who’s Really in Prison for Marijuana?, Office of National Drug Control Policy, www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov
[FN3] US Sentencing Commission’s 2001 Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics; Who’s Really in Prison for Marijuana?, Office of National Drug Control Policy, www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov
[FN4] Who’s Really in Prison for Marijuana?, Office of National Drug Control Policy, www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov
David G. Evans, Esq., is Senior Counsel for the Cannabis Industry Victims Educating Litigators (CIVEL) who educate lawyers on how to make the marijuana industry accountable to their many victims. Mr. Evans was a plaintiff’s litigator in personal injury and employment law cases. Attorneys who desire more information can contact Mr. Evans at [email protected]. The CIVEL website is: www.civel.org
Learn more about this issue: What You Don’t Know About Mass Incarceration
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Today, SAM staff faced down the lions during a U.S. Senate hearing on marijuana banking.
And we made them tremble.
Our VP of Government Affairs Garth Van Meter perfectly laid out all the reasons why giving Big Pot banking access would be a terrible idea.
Namely, promoting and normalizing addictive drug use during the height of an addiction crisis would be disastrous for health and safety. The Un-SAFE Act would drastically expand institutional investment from Big Tobacco, Big Alcohol, and Big Pharma. According to former House Speaker and current Big Marijuana lobbyist John Boehner, there are \”hundreds of billions of dollars sitting on the sidelines\” from these groups.
The best-case scenario with the industry getting banking access: vast investment floods the industry allowing more production of stronger, kid-friendly products.
The worst-case scenario: international drug cartels use the industry\’s access to the financial system as a money laundering tool.
Not only did we make the industry tremble, we also caught them in a very big lie:
The CEO of LivWell, a Colorado-based pot shop chain testified that his company is a \”cash-only\” operation due to the lack of banking access. This is a claim made non-stop by Big Marijuana\’s team of lobbyists.
SAM went undercover in Denver to prove that marijuana businesses (including LivWell) are actively taking card payments, and the industry lobbyists are willing to lie to Congress in an attempt to grant Big Marijuana more legitimacy and open up the floodgates on Wall Street cash.
Check out the video of Denver pot shops gladly admitting they accept cards here: www.bigpotexposed.com
Some praise for SAM\’s testimony from senators:
Senator Mike Crapo: \”Mr. Van Meter has raised some significant questions…\”
Senator Sherrod Brown: SAM\’s arguments are \”very persuasive…\”
Senator Jon Tester: SAM\’s argument to have the debate over merits of legalization prior to banking access is \”spot on…\”
All of our work is crucial in keeping Big Marijuana in check and preventing its growth. Our inclusion in today\’s hearing is because of our tireless efforts and because of the support of individuals like you.
Thanks for all you do,
Dr. Kevin Sabet, Founder and President – Smart Approaches to Marijuana
About SAM:Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) is a nonpartisan, non-profit alliance of physicians, policy makers, prevention workers, treatment and recovery professionals, scientists, and other concerned citizens opposed to marijuana legalization who want health and scientific evidence to guide marijuana policies. SAM has affiliates in more than 30 states
Sydney fast ferry services affected after some staff fail random drug test
By Nick Bonyhady July 5, 2019 – 5.28pm
The NRMA-owned Manly Fast Ferry has confirmed it stood some deckhands down after they tested \”non-negative\” for illicit drugs on Monday, as revealed by the Herald\’s CBD column on Friday.
With fewer staff available, the NRMA said it had been forced to reduce the frequency of some of its tourist services that travel between stops including Taronga Zoo and Darling Harbour on Friday.
But a spokeswoman said Manly to Circular services were unaffected and it expects normal schedule times to operate across the weekend.
\”Some deckhand staff returned non-negative results and others who did not make themselves available for the random drug test have been stood down indefinitely,\” a NRMA spokeswoman said.
\”We’ve done this to give our passengers assurance around safety and that we have a zero tolerance policy around illicit drug use,\” the spokeswoman said.
The NRMA, which operates 11 fast ferry vessels through a subsidiary, is locked in a dispute with the Maritime Union over worker pay which has lasted for months.
About 80 fast ferry workers have gone on strike several times this year in a campaign for higher wages after an enterprise agreement was struck down in January.
An NRMA spokeswoman said the CFMMEU, of which the Maritime Union is a part, was notified when the staff were stood down.
But the spokeswoman declined to say how many ferry workers were stood down or what drugs were allegedly in their system because the company has not informed other workers. It is understood that will happen on Monday.
The Maritime Union declined to comment.
For complete story https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-fast-ferry-services-affected-after-some-staff-fail-random-drug-test-20190705-p524li.html
Recent cannabis use tied to memory deficits, slowed mental processing
People who have recently used cannabis may be more likely to experience memory deficits or difficulties with cognitive function than those who don’t use the drug, a recent study suggests…cannabis users might have short-term impairments that aren’t easy to spot but could be dangerous in certain situations, said Mary-Ann Fitzcharles, a researcher at McGill University, in Montreal. That’s because the deficits aren’t verbal; they relate more to visual and spatial skills.
“The impairment is therefore assessed as being in the visuospatial domain which is not easily perceived to be an impairment by an individual,” Fitzcharles added. “For example, persons may believe that they are perfectly competent to drive a car, operate a crane, or respond quickly in an unexpected situation after cannabis use, but in fact are impaired and at risk.”
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2JPd6gq Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, online June 27, 2019. (For complete article go to In charge, but Stoned – VancouverSun!
GUILTY: Train-rage killer was schizophrenic cannabis-addicted gangster with 30 convictions who psychiatrist had ruled was NO DANGER to himself or others – just 24 hours before he stabbed father 18 times in front of his son, 14
- EXCLUSIVE: Darren Pencille ran with London\’s South Man Syndicate [SMS] gang
- Cannabis-addict was previously jailed for possession of a gun and a stabbing
- The 36-year-old murdered Lee Pomeroy, 51, on Guildford to Waterloo train
- Knife-obsessed killer brushed past his victim and later stabbed him in the neck
- Killer fled the train at the next stop where his girlfriend helped him escape police
- He was considered \’no risk to others\’ by a psychiatrist 24 hours before murder
- Pencille was a paranoid schizophrenic – but refused to take medication and smoked super-strong cannabis to treat it instead
Italy and Sweden: court decisions on low-THC cannabis products
Italy’s highest court says low-THC cannabis cannot be sold
On 30 May 2019, Italy’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, published a note of information on the legality of selling low-THC cannabis. This followed attempts to prosecute entrepreneurs who were openly selling cannabis flower and other extracts. The products were marketed in a way to avoid the attention of law enforcement by using labels such as ‘collectors item’ or ‘not for consumption’. The sellers claimed that these cannabis products contained less than 0.2 % THC (the main psychoactive chemical in cannabis) and therefore were not controlled under the narcotics law. The Italian Law 242 of 2016 states that cultivation of certain varieties of hemp plants containing less than 0.2 % THC is permitted without any licence, and the plants could be used to produce various specified products including food and cosmetics. The court’s note of information stated that ‘the marketing of Cannabis sativa L. and, in particular, of leaves, inflorescences [flowers], oil, resin, obtained from the cultivation of the aforementioned hemp variety, does not fall within the scope of application of Law 242 of 2016’, which exhaustively lists the products that may be marketed. Therefore, sale and marketing to the public of products derived from cannabis is an offence under the Italian drug control law ‘unless the products are in practice devoid of narcotic effects’ (‘privi di efficacia drogante’). It is not yet known how this last phrase will be interpreted.
Sweden’s Supreme Court says CBD oil containing THC is a narcotic preparation
On 18 June 2019, the Supreme Court of Sweden ruled on a case involving possession of ‘CBD oil’ extracted from industrial hemp. Under Swedish law industrial hemp, defined as any variety of cannabis eligible for EU support, is exempt from the narcotic control laws. However, the oil contained THC (the concentration was not determined). THC and preparations containing it are covered by the narcotic control laws. The offender was charged with a minor case of possession of a controlled drug (a preparation of THC). The court ruled that, while industrial hemp is exempted from coverage, preparations made from it that contain THC are not exempted, and are therefore included in narcotic control laws.
For complete story go to http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/news/2019/italy-and-sweden-court-decisions-low-thc-cannabis-products_en
WE URGE CONGRESS TO VOTE AGAINST STATES ACT
Parents Opposed to Pot urges Congress to reject the STATES Act, which would allow states to break federal law in order to become drug dealers. Senators Gardner and Warren and Representatives Blumenauer and Joyce introduced bills into their respective houses of Congress. Some states like California and Colorado feed illicit drug markets throughout the country. We should not sanction this rampant lawlessness, because it leads to terrible public health and safety consequences.
Congress should not allow STATES Act which sanctions a deviant, criminal pot industry.
Most of Senator Gardner’s and Senator Warren’s constituents have buyer’s remorse over the way marijuana fails at regulation. Marijuana commercialization fails the public health tests in every state that has a commercial pot industry, while supporting a handful of investors who make money. It can’t solve any state’s financial issues, and California collects 1/3 of the taxes promised to the voters. The fallout of car crashes, mental illness and homelessness are worse than anyone ever imagined.
POPPOT.org, has over 50 testimonies from parents, individuals and families who report about the harms of marijuana, which caused mental illness, addiction and suicide in many of these cases.
Dangers of Marijuana
Dr. Martien Kooyman of the Netherlands stated, in 2014: “The damage to the brain from chronic use is worse compared with chronic use of heroin.”
MENTAL ILLNESS: No serious psychiatrist denies that marijuana use can trigger schizophrenia, according to Sir Robin Murray, one of the world’s leading researcher into mental illness. Yet most young people ages 13 — 35 believe the claim that marijuana is ‘harmless.”
GATEWAY DRUG It’s the foundation drug for all other drug use. As an adjunct drug, it is used to intensify the highs of alcohol, Xanax, heroin, cocaine, and to lessen the withdrawal effects of meth, heroin. This companion drug is also the great “enabler” drug of our current addiction epidemic.
While pot industry cheerleaders use surveys to claim that youth use doesn’t go up with legalization, we believe people in the trenches. “Horrible things are happening to kids,” said Dr. Libby Stuyt, one of our professional advisors. Jennifer Oldham interviewed Dr. Stuyt for a Washington Post article, “Potent pot, vulnerable teens trigger concerns in first states to legalize marijuana.”
A lawsuit in Oregon over the death of a 20-year-old who died while in psychosis demonstrates that our emergency health system doesn’t have the capacity to take care of the mental health victims who used pot prior to their breakdowns.
Claims that marijuana prohibition is racist lack merit
Mexico outlawed marijuana in 1920. A worldwide call to ban marijuana came from Egypt in the 1920s. Minorities have the most to lose by using drugs, because of the many ways people become disabled from – in education, on the job, mental health and in relationships. Arrests for Black and Hispanic youth went up after legalization in Colorado, although it went down for white youth.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE –there are ways to reform criminal justice without legalizing drugs.) Marijuana legalization is not a racial or social justice issue. Many leaders in the African — American community oppose legalization, saying that it amounts to companies “pimping” blacks and Hispanics.
In powerful testimony for a House subcommittee, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called out marijuana legalization for compounding the racial wealth gap.
Marijuana industry follows opioid pain pill industry
The former president of Purdue Pharma now runs a marijuana company.
Marijuana Industry follows playbook of OPIOID PAIN PILL industry:
- Promotes illness, give hope to people who can’t get relief from other medications
- Sell doctors on it and get advocates in Congress
- Create front organizations that are patient advocacy groups. Americans for Safe Access fulfills the same function for the marijuana industry as pain groups did for the opiate industry.
- Hire KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) to speak for them. John Boehner, Howard Dean and Rick Steves act as spokesmen for the marijuana industry. Former politicians now serve on the boards of marijuana companies.
Don’t repeat the mistake: Congress allowed the opiate industry to push pain pills and then waited far too many years to take action when it turned out to be a problem. Most (90%) of the young people who die of drug overdose began their drug use with marijuana. At least 68,000 people died of drug overdose last year. Over-prescribing by doctors is only one of the reasons for this problem. We believe that it’s also related to marijuana legalization, fraudulent practices of the medical marijuana industry and the message that “drugs are harmless.”
Keith Humphreys and Chelsea Shover published a study showing that medical marijuana doesn’t lead to fewer opioid deaths, as previously claimed.
States that legalized pot found out that marijuana industry is impervious to regulation.
For complete article, go to Stop the Wizard of Pot
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