Pushing the drug policy envelope
By Mindelle Jacobs
Winnipeg Sun
November 4, 2009

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2009/04/c5665.html
>
> Mandatory minimum sentences fail to deliver, says CAMH
>
> TORONTO, Nov. 4 /CNW/ - Mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related
> offences are an expensive and ineffective approach to substance use
> problems in Canada. That's the message being delivered today by an
> addictions professional at Canada's largest mental health and
> addictions treatment and research hospital to a Senate Committee on
> Bill C-15 - legislation that would create mandatory minimum sentences
> for certain drug-related offences.
>
> Wayne Skinner, deputy clinical director of the Addictions Program at
> the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), has worked in
> substance abuse for more than three decades. He appears at the Senate
> Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs today alongside
> Dr. Gabor Mate, a physician and author with extensive experience in
> addictions.
>
> "The evidence from the U.S. and other jurisdictions tells us that
> mandatory minimum sentences are most effective at increasing prison
> populations and the cost of jailing them," Skinner tells the Senate
> Standing Committee today. "Reducing the demand for illicit drugs by
> investing in addiction treatment, including drug treatment courts,
> have proven to be much more cost effective and successful approaches."
>
> CAMH submitted a brief to both the House of Commons and Senate
> Committees examining Bill C-15. The submission is available at
> www.camh.net . CAMH believes that drug use is fundamentally a health
> problem that should be dealt with within a public health framework.
> Incarcerating large numbers of small scale drug dealers who are
> selling drugs to support their own substance use problem only adds new
> problems such the risk of contracting HIV or Hepatitis C. Also, the U.S.
> experience with mandatory minimums has led to ballooning prison
> populations. This policy is now being reversed in several states and
> resources are instead being directed to drug treatment programs.
>
> "I encourage Senators to reflect on the overwhelming evidence telling
> us that mandatory minimum sentences cost governments more and fail to
> reduce the significant harm and cost of substance abuse," said
> Skinner.
>
> For further information: For more information or to arrange interviews
> contact Michael Torres, CAMH Media Relations,
> 416-595-6015 ormedia@camh.net
>
>
> __._,_.___

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Attachment: http://drugsense.org/temp/PvEVIkrL3Pik.html

NewScientist
Magazine issue 2733
4 November 2009

David Nutt: Governments should get real on drugs

by David Nutt

IF THERE is one thing that politicians can and should do to limit the damage caused by illegal drugs, it is to take careful note of the evidence and develop a rational drug policy. Some politicians find it easier to ignore the evidence, and pander to public prejudice instead.

I can trace the beginning of the end of my role as chairman of the UK's official advisory body on drugs to the moment I quoted a New Scientist editorial (14 February, p 5). Entitled, fittingly enough, "Drugs drive politicians out of their minds", the editorial asked the reader to imagine being seated at a table with two bowls, one containing peanuts, the other the illegal drug MDMA (ecstasy). Which is safer to give to a stranger? Why, the ecstasy of course.

I quoted these words in the Eve Saville lecture at King's College London in July. This example plus other comments I have made - such as horse riding is more harmful than ecstasy - prompted Alan Johnson, the home secretary, to say that I had crossed the line from science to policy.

This, he said, is why I had to go.

But simple, accurate and understandable statements of scientific fact are precisely what the advisory council is supposed to provide. Why would any scientist take up some future offer of a government advisory post when their advice can be treated with such disdain?

As well as ignoring its own advisers, the UK is falling out of step with international trends. When Portugal softened its drugs laws in 2001, drug use remained roughly constant, but ill health and deaths from drug taking fell. Decriminalisation quietly crept up the agenda in Vienna this year at a meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, where governments heard new, independent evidence on how the harms of criminalisation were outweighing the benefits. In August, President Felipe Calderón of Mexico approved a law decriminalising possession of small amounts of marijuana and other drugs. And just last month, Eric Holder, the US attorney general, instructed federal prosecutors to stop hounding medical users of marijuana in the 14 states where such use is legal.

No one doubts that heavy users of marijuana are risking trouble with their mental health. What I have simply pointed out is that we need a consistent policy, recognising that heavy users of alcohol and tobacco are more numerous and are causing themselves - and others - even more trouble through their indulgence.

Policies that ignore the realities of the world we live in are doomed to fail. This is true for just about all the biggest issues that we confront, from energy and climate to criminal justice, health and immigration. I'm not arguing that science dictate policy; considerations such as cost, practicality and morality also have a role. But scientific evidence should never be brushed aside from the political debate.

The current British government has said repeatedly that it wants its policies to be evidence-based, but actions speak louder than words. On ecstasy, for example, it made policy first, sought advice second - and cynically rejected the advice it was given. The result is shambolic policy-making which gives great cause for concern if that is how governments operate more generally.

The results of a government inventing its own reality and acting on it can be seen in the appalling consequences the George W. Bush presidency had for world peace, the environment and human rights. The message for the British government is a simple one: don't exclude rational argument in order to exploit a visceral public response. Politicians have to win the hearts and minds of their electorate. If your policy is informed by an underlying moral imperative, be open about what that is, and don't try to disguise it with a veneer of pseudo-science. We ignore scientific evidence at our peril.

David Nutt, professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, was chairman of the UK government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs until he was dismissed last week by the UK home secretary.

Reuters
Thursday Nov 5, 2009

Dutch among lowest cannabis users in Europe - report

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch are among the lowest users of marijuana or cannabis in Europe despite the Netherlands' well-known tolerance of the drug, according to a regional study published on Thursday.

Among adults in the Netherlands, 5.4 percent used cannabis, compared with the European average of 6.8 percent, according to an annual report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, using latest available figures.

A higher percentage of adults in Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic and France took cannabis last year, the EU agency said, with the highest being Italy at 14.6 percent. Usage in Italy used to be among the lowest at below 10 percent a decade ago.

Countries with the lowest usage rates, according to the Lisbon-based agency, were Romania, Malta, Greece and Bulgaria.

Cannabis use in Europe rose steadily during the 90s and earlier this decade, but has recently stabilised and is beginning to show signs of decline, the agency said, owing to several national campaigns to curb and treat use of the drug.

"Data from general population and school surveys point to a stabilising or even decreasing situation," the report said.

The policy on soft drugs in the Netherlands, one of the most liberal in Europe, allows for the sale of marijuana at "coffee shops", which the Dutch have allowed to operate for decades, and possession of less than 5 grams (0.18 oz).

Nearly a fifth of the 228 coffee shops in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam, a popular draw for tourists, are scheduled to be shut down because they are too close to schools.

The full report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction is available at r.reuters.com/vef87f

(Reporting by Reed Stevenson; Editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)

Tri-City Herald
Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009

Maine becomes 5th state to allow pot dispensaries

By CLARKE CANFIELD

PORTLAND, Maine Voters approved a referendum making Maine the fifth state to allow retail pot dispensaries, but medical marijuana advocates say it won't become like California, where hundreds of marijuana shops have popped up and come under critical scrutiny.

California, Colorado, New Mexico and Rhode Island allow for places where medical marijuana patients can legally buy pot. Maine voters gave their approval Tuesday, 59 percent to 41 percent.

Referendum opponents pointed at Los Angeles as proof that cannabis outlets are a bad idea. There, the district attorney has vowed to crack down on places that are selling the drug to people who don't qualify.

But Ethan Nadelmann of the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance said there's no chance Maine would become like Los Angeles, which he called the "wild west West" of medical marijuana, because of stricter provisions.

Maine law requires that dispensaries be licensed by the state, while California law does not, he said. Maine law also narrowly defines medical conditions for which patients can be prescribed pot, while California allows doctors to recommend it for virtually any ailment.

"You aren't going to see hundreds of dispensaries popping up all over Maine," Nadelmann said. "You're going to see a more regulated system."

Nonetheless, the director of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency said the language of the Maine referendum lacks proper oversight and control. The potential exists for a dispensary to become "nothing more than a storefront for the criminal activity of drug dealing, which is the experience in California," said Roy McKinney.

"If there isn't sufficient oversight, inspection, audits, etc., the potential is there for criminal activity to flourish," he said.

Fourteen states have laws allowing some use of marijuana for medical purposes. Maine's medical marijuana law, first approved in 1999, allows the use of pot for debilitating conditions such as cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis.

The original law allows patients to possess up to 2 1/2 ounces of pot and up to six marijuana plants, but many of those patients don't have a legal way to obtain it. The new law will give them places where they can buy it.

The number of dispensaries has exploded in California and Colorado. Los Angeles alone has up to 800 of them by some estimates, and Colorado has about 100. New Mexico has one and Rhode Island doesn't have any.

While many cannabis clubs have sprouted in Los Angeles, most California towns and cities have rules that regulate them on the local level and reflect the local values and attitudes, said Allen St. Pierre of the National Organizatoin for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

In Maine, dispensaries are more likely to show up in liberal-leaning cities and towns, he said.

"Obviously, the Portlands of the world will have more than Aroostook County," he said, contrasting Maine's largest city with the state's conservative northernmost county.

More states could adopt measures to allow for marijuana dispensaries with the recent announcement that the Obama administration would not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers under federal laws as long as they conform to state laws, said Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project.

"I think it's a signal to the states, to voters and state legislatures, that this is something we can do without getting into a fight with the federal government, which nobody wants," he said.

 

http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/annual-report/2009

 

Good update of the European drug situation.

Associated Press
November 4, 2009

Colorado ski town legalizes pot

DENVER -- The Colorado ski town of Breckenridge has voted overwhelmingly to legalize marijuana.

Early returns Tuesday night showed the proposal winning with 72 percent of the vote. The measure would allow adults over 21 to have up to 1 ounce of marijuana.

The measure is largely symbolic because pot possession remains a state crime for people without medical clearance. But supporters said they wanted to send a message to local law enforcement to stop busting small-time pot smokers.

The vote comes as communities nationwide are struggling with how to enforce pot laws at a time when medical marijuana has surged in popularity.

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In Mexico, fears of a 'lost generation'
Violence among young soars as drug cartels recruit more minors
By William Booth and Steve Fainaru
Washington Post
November 3, 2009

The promise of safer inhalation
By Evan Wood
National Post 
November 2, 2009

Fiorito: Why tough drug laws won't work
Toronto Star
November 2, 2009

David Nutt: my views on drugs classification
David Nutt, the government's former chief drugs adviser, on how he formulated his controversial views on drugs
The Guardian (UK)
November 3, 2009

Creating a Culture of Prevention

Please find attached a flyer for a free event on Nov 17^th 2009

<<flyerNov3.pdf>>

This is the third in a series of events around how to  create a culture of prevention from harmful drug use in Vancouver.

It is being organized by the City of Vancouver and a broad-based coalition of partner groups. Please help us spread word of this event by forwarding this e-mail to your networks.

Registration is required. Please click on the link in the flyer.
The flyer contains yet another link for a networking document, if you wish to send us information about you/your organization

If you cannot open the attachment, please visit http://vancouver.ca/fourpillars/ to view the information and to register or call 604 829-2003.

Drug Policy
City of Vancouver

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