Think Tanks: Substance Abuse Center "Join Together" Merges With Califano's Controversial CASA
The drug treatment and prevention group Join Together has joined together with the controversial National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA).
Addiction Treatment
The Drug Czar: Harm Reductionists, Treatment and Recovery Advocates Come Down on Different Sides of Rumored Ramstad Nomination
The drug reform movement is not a monolith, and the rumored nomination of former Minnesota congressman, recovering alcoholic, and recovery advocated Jim Ramstad is showing where some of the fissures lie. But with an acting director appointed this week from ONDCP's current ranks, and with Ramstad himself jockeying for a different post, the exercise may be an intellectual one.
Feature: Gazing Into the Crystal Ball -- What Can We Expect in 2009?
Will 2009 be a happy New Year for positive drug policy changes? Here, we take a look at what could -- or couldn't -- be coming down the pike, as well as some festering issues that aren't going to go away.
Europe: Government Must Support Employers in Hiring Drug Users, British Drug Watchdog Group Warns
Plans are afoot in the British Isles to push "problem drug users" into treatment and onto the job market, but the government is going to have to do more, a new report says.
Southeast Asia: Thai Government in New Drug Crackdown
Five years ago, the Thai government waged a "war on drugs" that left nearly 3,000 people dead in less than three months. Now, it has declared a new drug war, and human rights groups are issuing warnings.
Feature: Sentencing Reform Initiative Defeated in California, "Tough on Crime" Initiatives Win in Oregon
California's "treatment not jail" Proposition 5 is defeated and so is one "tough on crime" initiative, but another one won favor with Golden State voters. Meanwhile, dueling "tough on crime" initiatives also passed in Oregon.
Addiction Treatment: Canadian NAOMI Study Finds Heroin Maintenance Safe, Cheap, Effective
Research results from the North American Opiate Maintenance Initiative (NAOMI) are in, and the researchers say heroin maintenance is safe, effective, and economical.
Latin America: Honduran President Joins Drug Legalization Chorus
The president of Honduras has joined a growing chorus of Latin America leaders calling for drug legalization, or is it decriminalization?
Latin America: UNODC Head Again Blames Drugs -- Not Drug Prohibition -- for Crime and Violence
UNODC chief Antonio Maria Costa trotted out some tired old arguments last week in Mexico City as he warned of "drug crime," but ignored the role of prohibition in facilitating it.
Feature: War on Marijuana Failing Despite Drug Czar's Happy Talk, New Reports Find
In 2002, the Office of National Drug Control Policy set goals of reducing marijuana and overall drug use. Despite artful manipulation of the numbers, ONDCP has failed at its stated goal, but it has managed to drive into treatment thousands of pot smokers who didn't need it.