Global: Cashed Up and Hedonistic Western Punters, Drive Drug Demand

Middle-class drug-users are funding wave of violence

by Baroness Helen Newlove

Speech by the UK Victims’ Commissioner in the House of Lords during a debate on the UK Government’s Serious Violence Strategy, June 11, 2018.

However, no child is born with a knife or a gun in their hand. We must do something in the intervening years before those weapons become essential accessories attached to their hands. They have weapons already–hands and feet. Any strategy must start long before the children have been sucked into gangs and a hostile and violent culture.

If we are going to ask schools, youth services and local authorities to help spot and support these children, then the £40 million committed in the Government’s Serious Violence Strategy is to be welcomed, but I fear it will be a drop in the ocean given the scale of the problem we have to tackle.

The challenge to tackle this issue is obviously for government but it is also for perpetrators. However, let me be clear that when I say perpetrators I do not mean only the children armed with knives or the gang leaders causing terror in our cities but also the middle-class drug users who are funding this wave of violence.

City workers who drink their fairtrade coffee out of a reusable cup during the week think nothing of the supply chain of the stuff they snort up their noses at the weekend. In my view, they are as guilty as the moped riders.

We need to change social attitudes and to stem the increase of crack cocaine use.

A full transcript of the House of Lord’s debate on the British government’s Serious Violence Strategy can be found here in Hansard: House of Lords, Vol. 791, June 11, 2018, columns 1509—1547.

For complete article go to https://victimscommissioner.org.uk/vc-speech-house-of-lords-debate-on-the-governments-serious-violence-strategy/

 

Australia: There has been \’no war on drugs\’ and there still isn\’t!

People Are Pissed Off After South Australia Announced It Was Going To Ramp Up Its War On Drugs

South Australian attorney-general Vickie Chapman announced on Monday plans to quadruple fines for cannabis possession and introduce prison sentences.

Currently cannabis is decriminalised in South Australia — it became the first state to do so in 1987 — and most people caught with small amounts of the drug face a fine of $125 to $500.

But Chapman\’s new legislation could see that fine reach $2,000, as well as a prison sentence of up to two years.

\”It is a serious drug,\” she told ABC radio, saying the new penalties bring the state into line with the rest of the country. \”It needs to be dealt with as a controlled substance.\”

A coronial inquest into the 2012 shooting death of 18-year-old Lewis McPherson is being cited by Chapman as a major reason for the new policy, after deputy coroner Anthony Schapel recommended an increase in the penalty associated with cannabis.

McPherson\’s killer was found to be affected by alcohol, ecstasy and cannabis when he shot the teenager.

Chapman said there were \”a number of medical people\”, including the coroner, who backed up the need for harsher punishment. She did not specify on who these people were.

For more https://www.buzzfeed.com/bradesposito/south-australia-cannabis-drugs?utm_term=.ndz0Kreo5

 

 

 

Global: Entitled, Cashed Up Hedonists Drive Drug Demand & its Harms!

Forget \’evil\’ dealers. It\’s time to target the REAL drug villains…

The real drivers of drug crime in this country are the smug and self-satisfied people who buy and use illegal drugs. Yet, somehow, they are the ones who get away with it, even though their actions are severe crimes — in theory.

This has long been my view, but I was moved and pleased to hear Baroness Newlove, cruelly robbed of her brave husband by the violent crime from which nobody is now safe, making this point in the House of Lords.

Alas, her powerful words received little attention. Could this be because parts of our media are corrupted by widespread drug abuse? I could not possibly say. She condemned \’the middle-class drug users who are funding this wave of violence. City workers who drink their Fairtrade coffee out of a reusable cup during the week think nothing of the supply chain of the stuff they snort up their noses at the weekend. In my view, they are as guilty as the moped riders\’.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-5852689/PETER-HITCHENS-Forget-evil-dealers-time-target-REAL-drug-villains.html (cited 19/8/18)

 

USA: Idaho Chronic State Marijuana Documentary

Subject: Idaho\’s Chronic State marijuana documentary is now available

Friends, the Idaho premiere of Chronic State was a great success. Held at the historic Egyptian theater in downtown Boise, audience members were introduced to Idaho\’s new marijuana education campaign \”KeepIdaho\” (KeepIdaho.org) before watching a powerful one-hour documentary that reveals the true consequences of legalization. This was followed by a panel discussion that included some of the amazing experts who appear in the film: Jo McQuire, Dr. Libby Stuyt, Dr. Brad Roberts, Aubree Adams, and Lynn Riemer.

The event concluded with a standing ovation from most members of the audience.

Chronic State was produced by DrugFree Idaho in partnership with the fantastic documentary film team of Ronn Seidenglanz and Tanya Pavlis (Sidewayz.com). Sidewayz previously produced our amazing youth video called Natural High. https://vimeo.com/181200245.

Although Chronic State was produced in Idaho as part of our statewide marijuana education efforts, it is being made available to everyone. After watching it, I am confident that each of you will find ways that it can benefit your state.

Chronic State can be accessed through the DrugFree Idaho website (www.drugfreeidaho.org).

Idaho\’s new media campaign can be seen here: http://keepidaho.org.

Please forward these resources to everyone you know. If this information is widely shared with legislators, other public officials, community stakeholders, youth, and the general public, it will greatly assist you in your efforts to expose the real consequences of legalization.

To help us evaluate the impact of the film, we would greatly appreciate hearing from you regarding public showings and the number of audience members.

Best wishes to you all. Monte

www.drugwatch.org
[email protected]

 

UK: The Walking Dead? Welcome to the \’freedom\’ of Drug Use!

Outcry over drug abuse after photo shows \’spice zombies\’ slumped on bench in town centre

Police say fighting substance use is a \’priority\’ amid fears of endemic sweeping Britain

A widely-shared photo showing three men slumped in a zombie-like trance in a Welsh town centre has prompted fears that use of the drug spice is getting out of control in parts of Britain.

The image — taken in Bridgend — shows the trio sprawled on and around a bench. One is semi-naked.

All three appear to have taken the psychoactive substance, which can leave users in a catatonic state for hours at a time.

The picture — taken on Tuesday afternoon — has been shared almost 2,000 times on social media. A second later emerged showing a fourth man unconscious on another town bench.

The person who took it but asked not to be named told walesonline.co.uk: “It\’s terrible…There was kids in the background and walking past.\”

It appears to add to growing concerns that use of spice in Britain is turning into an epidemic. Similar photos from Manchester, Liverpool, Blackpool, Wolverhampton, London and Cambridge have all been shared in the past. In March, a 14-year-old died in Stockport after taking the drug. Just last month, health officials warned that abuse of the drug in prisons was creating a health crisis.

As the latest picture was eliciting horrified reactions online, South Wales Police moved to reassure residents that fighting the drug was a priority.

“Tackling the illegal drug supply on our streets is a priority for us as this kind of criminal activity has a hugely detrimental impact on our communities,” he said.

He added: ““We recently held Operation Pacific in the town centre which targeted county lines and the supply of drugs. This led to a number of arrests.

For complete article Is this the best our new amoral ‘freedom’ can produce?

 

USA: Dangers of Pot – Boston Globe

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Dear friend,

The piece shared below is a new opinion editorial written by SAM founder and president, Dr. Kevin Sabet,  that was published today in the Boston Globe.

Please feel free to send this to  and also share on social media by clicking the links above.
Thanks for all you do.

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The Dangers of Pot
By Kevin Sabet  July 25, 2018
Pot shops will soon be officially open for business in Massachusetts. While this may be good news for the marijuana industry and its lobbyists, state officials need to proceed with caution – especially when regulating high-potency pot products such as gummies, lollipops, and other treats aimed at children. The fact is that we really don\’t know what\’s in these products, nor do we know about their long-term effects. More awareness is desperately needed about the dangers of today\’s highly potent marijuana. Public health – not the pot industry – should be leading this conversation.
Make no mistake: Pot is no longer about Woodstock – it\’s about Wall Street. Replicating the playbook of Big Tobacco, the marijuana industry routinely manufactures and markets kid-friendly products with the intent of creating life-long customers. Some of these new edibles and vaping extracts are 99 percent THC, the ingredient in marijuana that gets you high. Compare this to the 5 percent potency of the average joint in the 1970s.
While more research and data are needed to understand what these newly engineered products do to your brain, the negative impact of marijuana commercialization is already being felt in other legalized states. In the years since these states moved to liberalize their pot laws, drugged driving deaths have increased, emergency room visits  have risen, and more young people  are using marijuana. Last month, the National Institutes of Health  released a study finding that 1 in 4 12th-graders reported that they would try marijuana for the first time, or use it more often, if marijuana were legalized.
That\’s why it is so critical to launch an aggressive public health education campaign in our schools and communities. Studies have shown that children who use any drug are more likely to develop an addiction or substance-use disorder. According to the  Center on Addiction , 90 percent of all addictions start during adolescence, and 17 percent of adolescents and teens who begin using marijuana develop a marijuana-use disorder. Our brains are rapidly developing – and are highly susceptible to addiction – until at least our mid-20s. Industries that depend on addicted users have always targeted the young and vulnerable.
What the marijuana industry will not tell you is that regular, heavy marijuana use during adolescence is associated with an 8-point drop in IQ – a loss that is not reversed when marijuana use stops. We also know   from several studies that heavy marijuana use among adolescents is associated with lower grades and exam scores, and a lower satisfaction with life. People who use marijuana are less likely to graduate from high school and enroll in college and more likely to earn less income.
Pot potency should be capped. The marijuana industry\’s influence on rule-making should be halted. And protections for vulnerable populations should be established and strictly enforced. In Colorado,  an undercover study recently found that 69 percent of randomly selected marijuana stores recommended THC products to treat pregnancy-related nausea in the first trimester. Fewer than 1 in 3 of these stores recommended consulting a doctor.
Our choice was never between locking up users or commercializing an addictive substance. But now that we have forsaken a sensible policy of decriminalization for a commercial regime that thrives on addiction, the stakes are too high to let the marijuana industry define the terms of regulation. Public officials have a responsibility to curb industry influence, enforce rigorous THC standards, protect vulnerable populations, and launch comprehensive public health campaigns. Our children, communities, and families deserve nothing less.
Kevin Sabet is a former three-time White House drug policy official and president of SAM, Smart Approaches to Marijuana
Originally published in the July 25th, 2018 edition of the Boston Globe

 

USA: S.A.M Opens New York Office

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 26, 2018
CONTACT: Pat Brogan [email protected]
SAM Action Opens Office in Manhattan
(New York, New York) –  In response to the marijuana industry\’s wide expansion into the state, Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action (SAM Action), a non-profit 501 (c)(4) organization opposed to the legalization and commercialization of marijuana, whose sister organization SAMwas founded by former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy, is proud to announce the opening of our New York office in the West Village of Manhattan. This office will serve as a critical center of collaboration and work for SAM Action and it\’s New York affiliate, SAM-NY , as well as regional partners . Check out the video announcement of our office by clicking here or on the image below.
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\” SAM has now grown to almost a dozen employees around the country, and we are thrilled to be able to plant a flag in the historic West Village neighborhood of New York. As 311 calls for marijuana problems skyrocket in the city, New Yorkers deserve better,\” said Kevin Sabet, President of SAM Action. \”And we will be keeping a watchful eye down the road on Wall Street, where investors are hopping onto the \’green rush\’ in pursuit of profits over public health. We also will be active in Albany.\”
A recent Emerson College poll found more than half of New Yorkers oppose the full legalization of marijuana when given the full range of options on drug policy. The poll also found that 76% of New Yorkers did not support marijuana advertising, 73% did not support public use of marijuana, 58% did not support marijuana stores in their neighborhoods, and half of New Yorkers were against marijuana candies, gummies, cookies, and other edibles. The New York State Department of Health released a study recommending the state legalized the drug for recreational use. SAM is currently evaluating this report with its award-winning scientific advisory board will soon release a response.
\”The SAM family has successfully worked hard across the river in New Jersey this year to thwart marijuana commercialization and we intend to do the same in New York,\” said Sabet. \”I look forward to the ways this new office space will allow our team to expand in ways we\’ve never been able to before to better push back against Big Marijuana.\”
To learn more about the efforts in New York, please visit www.SAM-NY.org. To keep up with actions in other states, head over towww.samaction.net, and to learn more about action at the federal level, as well as learning more about the impact of marijuana legalization, check out www.learnaboutsam.org.
About SAM Action

SAM Action is a non-profit, 501(c)(4) social welfare organization dedicated to promoting healthy marijuana policies that do not involve legalizing drugs. SAM Action engages in high-impact political campaigns to oppose marijuana legalization and commercialization. Under the IRS code, political activity cannot be deducted for tax purposes. Your contribution will be used for maximum impact, but is not tax-deductible as a charitable contribution (IRC § 170) or business expense (IRC § 162(e)(1)).

 

UK: Middle-aged stoners, stupefied and seriously stifling health & well-being

Rise of the middle-aged pothead: Huge rise in over-40s becoming addicted to super-strength \’skunk\’

Camilla Turner, education editor  15 JUNE 2018

There has been a 114 per cent rise in those aged over 40 seeking help from drug clinics, citing cannabis as their primary health concern

It used to be thought of as the drug of choice among the younger generations. But now researchers have found a huge increase in cannabis use among those aged over 40 who have become addicted to super-strength skunk.

Using data from Public Health England, researchers from York University examined trends in the characteristics of people seeking help from specialist drug treatment services over the past decade.

They found that there has been a 114 per cent rise in those aged over 40 seeking help from drug clinics, citing cannabis as their primary health concern.

For complete article https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2018/06/15/rise-middle-aged-pothead-huge-rise-over-40s-becoming-addicted/?WT.mc_id=tmgliveapp_androidshare_AqzV9ZrJHmRT#

 

Global: Cannabis NOT HELPING!

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We wanted to make sure you had seen four key studies from the past week:

  • A groundbreaking study in The Lancet found that marijuana use over four years actually made it harder for patients to cope with chronic pain, and did not reduce their use of opioids.
  • A study in Frontiers in Psychiatry found that increasing self-exposure to non-medical marijuana was a predictor of greater odds of opioid dependence diagnosis.
  • A study in the International Review of Psychiatry found an increased rate of serious mental illness in states that had legalized medical marijuana.
  • In JAMA: \”(The) associated acute and long-term psychoactive effects on brain function (of marijuana) are…known. Expanding use of cannabis among pregnant and lactating women (as likely will occur with legalization) may lead to increased risk from fetal and child exposures if the teratogenic potential of cannabis remains underappreciated.\”

Additional Resources on Link Between Marijuana and Opioids

These articles follow other warnings from medical professionals: the recent editorial published in the Journal of the Society for the Study of Addiction, which cautions against drawing policy conclusions from population studies, and the editorial comment from the American Society of Addiction Medicine on February 20, 2018. And don\’t forget NIDA\’s rigorous study showing pot users are twice as likely to have abused opioids and have an opioid use disorder than non-marijuana users.

SAM has published a one-pager describing the overwhelming link between marijuana and opioid abuse. While not every marijuana user will go on to use heroin, nearly all heroin users previously abused marijuana. We need smart policies that discourage use, get people back on their feet, and restore people to participate in and contribute to society. States that have legalized marijuana, by contrast, see increased drugged driving, increased arrests of minority youth, and increased emergency room visits. Colorado is experiencing the highest number of drug overdoses in its history. Legalization is a failed experiment.

Please visit learnaboutsam.org to learn about a smarter approach.

Sincerely, Dr. Kevin Sabet President, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM)                         Affiliated Fellow, Yale University

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