Latest
Latest News
In The Trenches
Update: The Second Chance Act Status (S.1934)
[From our friends at Open Society Institute/Open Society Policy Center]
The Second Chance Act Status (S.1934)
December 5, 2006
This afternoon the Senate sponsors of the Second Chance Act tried to move the bill through the Senate by unanimous consent. In recent days there has been an enormous outreach to Senator Coburn from Okalahomans ranging from state and local government officials, to law enforcement leaders, to service providers, to ordinary citizens. The hope was that all of that and some great press coverage had persuaded Senator Coburn to let the bill pass. However he placed a hold on the bill just a little while ago.
In The Trenches
Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) Action Network Alert: Congress to Vote on Poisoning People
From our friends at Drug Policy Alliance:
Congress to Vote on Poisoning People This Week
Earlier this year we warned you about a bill in Congress that would revive controversial research on the use of toxic, mold-like fungi called mycoherbicides to kill illicit drug crops in other countries. This provision could unleash an environmental disaster of monumental proportions. But Congressman Mark Souder and Senators Hatch and Biden are rushing it to the House and Senate floors this week. Here are three things you can do:
In The Trenches
Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) Job Opening: GSMM Campaign Manager
Start Date and Duration: The position begins in early 2007 (no later than April) and will terminate after the January 2008 primary in New Hampshire.
Location: This position is based in New Hampshire.
Blog
Gateway Theory Debunked...Again
A 12 year study from the university of Pittsburgh pokes yet another whole in the wet paper napkin known as the "gateway theory."
From NORML:
No kidding. It's such a perfectly logical conclusion, it's hard to understand why anyone thought otherwise. Especially since one study after another has shown the exact same thing.
From NORML:
Investigators said that environmental factors (e.g., a greater exposure to illegal drugs in their neighborhoods) as well as subjects' "proneness to deviancy" were the two characteristics that most commonly predicted substance abuse.
"This evidence supports what's known as the common liability model ... [which] states [that] the likelihood that someone will transition to the use of illegal drugs is determined not by the preceding use of a particular drug, but instead by the user's individual tendencies and environmental circumstances," investigators stated in a press release. They added, "The emphasis on the drugs themselves, rather than other, more important factors that shape a person's behavior, has been detrimental to drug policy and prevention programs."
No kidding. It's such a perfectly logical conclusion, it's hard to understand why anyone thought otherwise. Especially since one study after another has shown the exact same thing.
Chronicle
Weekly: This Week in History
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
Chronicle
Pain Patients: Richard Paey Loses Appeal, Wheelchair-Bound Man to Remain in Prison
Richard Paey, the wheelchair-bound pain patient serving a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence as a drug dealer under Florida law, will remain in prison after losing an appeal this week. But a sympathetic appeals court suggested he seek clemency from the governor.
Chronicle
DRCNet Book Review: "Fatal Distraction: The War on Drugs in the Age of Islamic Terror," by Arnold Trebach (2006, Unlimited Publishing, 398 pp., $19.95 PB)
Arnold Trebach, the dean of American drug reform, is at it again with the publication of his latest book, "Fatal Distraction: The War on Drugs in the Age of Islamic Terror."
Chronicle
Announcement: New Format for the Reformer's Calendar
Visit our new web site each day to see a running countdown to the events coming up the soonest, and more.
Chronicle
Announcement: DRCNet RSS Feeds Now Available
A new way for you to receive DRCNet articles -- Drug War Chronicle and more -- is now available.
Chronicle
Announcement: DRCNet Content Syndication Feeds Now Available for YOUR Web Site!
Support the cause by featuring automatically-updating Drug War Chronicle and other DRCNet content links on your web site!
Chronicle
Drug Reform and the Democratic Congress: What's Going to Happen?
Will Democratic control of the Congress mean significant drug reform progress next year? Drug reformers certainly hope so, but the prospects are uncertain.
Latest News
Chronicle
Harm Reduction: New Jersey Needle Exchange Bill Moves to Final Floor Votes Next Week
New Jersey is the only state in the nation with neither needle exchange nor non-prescription needle sales, but that could change Monday as a needle exchange bill heads for final floor votes in both houses of the legislature.
Chronicle
Medical Marijuana: County Lawsuit Challenging California Law Thrown Out
Officials of San Diego, Merced and San Bernardino counties who are hostile to California's medical marijuana law lost a court battle.
Chronicle
Marijuana: Yet Another Scientific Study Debunks "Gateway Theory"
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are the latest to produce studies challenging the validity of the "gateway theory" -- the idea that the use of marijuana is a "gateway" to harder drug use.
Chronicle
Hemp: North Dakota Becomes First State to Legalize Industrial Production
North Dakota becomes the first state to legalize industrial hemp production, with licenses available beginning January 1. But someone is going to have to do something about the DEA's opposition, or nobody's going to be growing hemp any time soon.
Chronicle
Law Enforcement: Rev. Al Sharpton Calls for Congressional Hearings into Police Killings of Civilians
In the wake of a trio of high-profile police killings of civilians, African-American civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton is calling for congressional hearings on police violence.