No War On Durgs

by Mark Greer Executive Director, DrugSense MGreer@mapinc.org

While the main purpose of DrugSense is to encourage accuracy and honesty in the media with respect to illegal drugs, our goal is ultimately to stop the costly and ineffective drug war. Through our extensive archive of more than 170,000 articles on all aspects of drug policy, we have identified 10 specific steps that would result in ending prohibition as we know it.

1. Grant agronomist Lyle Craker a license to grow medicinal-grade cannabis at the University of Massachusetts. http://www.mapinc.org/people/Lyle+Craker

Effect: End the federal government’s monopoly on growing marijuana to meet the FDA’s requirement for an independent, high quality cannabis supply for approved cannabis-based research and product development.

2. Pass the Hinchey-Rohrbacher Amendment. http://www.mapinc.org/people/Hinchey

Effect: End the costly DEA harassment of California dispensaries and allow states in which medical cannabis is legal to begin regulated access without federal interference.

3. Accept the Petition to Reschedule Cannabis. http://mapinc.org/find?165

Effect: Remove cannabis from the restrictive Schedule I designation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and permit its prescription by physicians like pharmaceuticals.

4. Make Afghani opium available to pharmaceutical companies.http://www.mapinc.org/areas/Afghanistan

Effect: Develop a licensing system so that opium grown in Afghanistan can be legally sold to make narcotic pain relievers, thereby alleviating a worldwide shortage of these medications.

5. Defund the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign.http://www.mapinc.org/campaign.htm

Effect: Save taxpayers hundreds of millions by eliminating this campaign, which has only resulted in making drug use more attractive to teens.

6. Increase funding for needle exchange and safe consumption sites.http://www.mapinc.org/find?142

Effect: Prevent overdoses, reduce drug-related hospital admissions, and slow the spread of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C.

7. Eliminate Mandatory Minimum Sentencing. http://www.mapinc.org/find?199

Effect: Reduce the non-violent prison population, and end the racial disparity in sentencing that has resulted in one in three black men between the ages of 20 and 29 being under correctional control.

8. Free non-violent drug prisoners and stop the Federal trials of Marc Emery and Ed Rosenthal. http://www.mapinc.org/people/Marc+Emery

http://www.mapinc.org/people/Ed+Rosenthal

Effect: Save the taxpayers the wasted time and expense spent trying these non-violent individuals on unpopular charges.

9. Develop citizen oversight boards for SWAT squads.http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm

Effect: Save lives and property that are needlessly disrupted through the use of a violent techniques for non-violent situations, which are too often drug raids based on bad information.

10. Pass as many lowest-priority marijuana initiatives as possible.http://www.mapinc.org/props.htm

Effect: Help the government understand that citizens want to be protected from violent terrorists, not non-violent marijuana consumers. Public officials, including police, need to prioritize their scarce dollars and resources according to that which is most dangerous and most urgent to public health and safety.

Of course, we at DrugSense know that many more steps need be taken to move away from drug policies based on fear, prejudice, and misinformation, and toward policies grounded in science, reason, and compassion. If you have an idea or step that could be added to this list, please post it tohttp://www.drugsense.org/nuke/Forums&file=viewtopic&p=2654

While you are at it, please make a contribution to help fund the hard work that makes such a list possible. http://www.drugsense.org/donate/ DrugSense is a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit; your donation is tax deductible to the extent provided by law.

You may also mail a check or money order to:
14252 Culver Drive #328
Irvine, CA 92604-0326

Do not forget about our matching funds grant! Every dollar you donate will be matched by a generous funder. Your contribution will have twice the value! http://www.drugsense.org/donate/

Help change drug policy now! You can begin by pushing for these 10 steps and by donating to DrugSense to promote more sensible policies.

DrugSense is working to encourage accuracy, honesty, and common sense in matters involving the failed, expensive, and destructive “War on Drugs.”

Get Involved - Learn about the Issueshttp://www.drugsense.org/

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By Betsy Blaney The Associated Press

Pampa, Texas - Rick Roach got elected district attorney in the Texas Panhandle on a vow to rid the streets of drug dealers and users, and he went after them mercilessly.

“Drugs, drug usage, drug trafficking has become a scourge in our society,” Roach thundered during closing arguments at a drug trial that sent a 30-year- old man to prison for 60 years in 2001.

Few guessed, until recently at least, the hypocrisy behind it all: Roach himself did drugs.

Roach, 55, was arrested inside a courtroom Jan. 11 and charged with possessing methamphetamine and cocaine. In February, he took a plea bargain on one charge - possession of a gun by a drug addict. He could get up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in mid-April.

Roach said that he had suffered from depression from age 13 and that he used illegal drugs to medicate himself.

“I just sort of, you might say, went nuts: I made irrational and wrong decisions,” he said. “There’s no excuse. I’ve gotten what I deserve.”

Now under house arrest at his mother’s home until sentencing, he wears an electronic monitoring device that prohibits him from venturing more than 200 feet from the house.

The tough-on-drugs DA won re-election in November in his five-county Texas Panhandle district and was just days into his second term when he was arrested.

John Mann, the district attorney who lost to Roach in 2000, said he noticed a difference in the man about 18 months before Roach stepped down in February. Roach had “kind of backed off” drug prosecutions, Mann said.

“I think it was probably his inability to be coherent,” Mann said. “I saw him acting like a fool for a year and a half.”

Roach became prone to extreme mood swings and was sometimes incoherent and paranoid, according to court documents. He also had lost 30 pounds, and his skin was sallow.

Shortly before his arrest, a worker in his office in Pampa found a syringe containing meth residue floating in a toilet. And according to court records, Roach shot up drugs in front of an employee in his office.

He also had trouble sitting still and had unexplained absences from work. In December, he appeared “wired” during a court hearing, fumbling through papers and repeating what defense lawyers said until a judge told him to be quiet, Mann said.

“There have been rumors for years, but this time it was so pronounced and so obvious it really couldn’t be ignored,” said Leslie Breeding, the Roberts County attorney.

Roach was arrested after federal agents said they were tipped off by people in law enforcement.

As he awaits sentencing, Roach said he knows prison time anywhere will be tough on him.

“Prosecutors don’t do well in the pen,” he said.

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