Addiction Treatment

Athens Cycle Tour (cityofathens.gr)

Greek Government Proposes Drug Decriminalization

The Greek government has submitted a bill that would decriminalize drug possession in most circumstances and provide for drug treatment instead of jail for addicts.

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Chronicle Book Review: Drugs and Drug Policy

A trio of academic experts have come up with a drug policy book you're going to want to read, even if only to argue with it. Especially to argue with it.

Obama Says Drug Users Must Be Treated as Criminals

No, those weren't his exact words, but his exact words don't sound much better. My latest piece at Huffington Post explores the inherent contradictions that spring forth from the president's most recent contribution to the drug policy debate. Check it out.

screening of "10 Rules for Dealing with Police," NAACP national conference, July 2010

NAACP Calls for End to War on Drugs

In a historic step, the nation's largest and oldest black advocacy group has formally come out against the war on drugs.

Will Auckland become more like Oakland? It will if the Law Commission has its way. (Image via Wikimedia.org)

New Zealand Commission Urges Drug Law Reform

A sweeping review of New Zealand's drug laws is calling for steps toward medical marijuana, decriminalization of drug possession and small-time dealing, and doing away with drug paraphernalia laws. Not too bad.

California Gov. Jerry Brown takes a tiny step toward corrections reform.

California Corrections "Realignment" Not Nearly Enough [FEATURE]

California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill "realigning" corrections in the state, but that's just the tiniest of baby steps toward fixing an out of control prison system. How about some real sentencing reform?

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Drug Courts Poor Public Policy, Reports Charge [FEATURE]

New new reports take a hard look at drug courts and suggest more effective alternatives.

Florida Taxpayers Spent Hundreds of Millions Jailing Nonviolent Drug Abusers, Treatment a Less Expensive and More Effective Method

Officials across Florida are realizing that in situations where drug offenders are non-violent it would be a better use of limited resources to send them to treatment instead of prison. But, there aren't enough treatment programs and Florida currently houses 19,414 inmates for non-violent drug offenses costing taxpayers $377,971,166 a year. Mary Lynn Ulray, the executive director of a Drug Treatment Program DACCO, says she thinks the legislature is starting to understand there is a cost benefit from drug treatment. Ulray says the agency's 6 month residential program has close to a 70 percent success rate in six months at a cost of $10,000 compare that to the average 6.4 year sentence costing taxpayer $124,601 per offender.

Bill to Lessen Penalties for Some Drug Offenders Clears Kentucky Senate Panel

A Kentucky Senate committee has approved legislation aimed at reducing the stateâs fast-rising prison population by bolstering drug treatment and alternative sentences for non-violent offenders. The bill cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee without opposition. Supporters say the bill would produce net savings of $147 million over 10 years.

Bangkok looks so modern, but some Thai drug policies are downright medieval. (Image via Wikimedia)

Thai Government in Massive Campaign to Round Up Drug Users [FEATURE]

The Thai government has officially embraced harm reduction, but the Interior Ministry doesn't seem to have gotten the memo. Mass roundups of suspected drug users are once again underway.

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