This is the grave of Esequiel Hernandez, another innocent victim of the drug war .
Is it worth it ?
Is it moral ?
Mission:
To provide scientific information and expert opinion about drugs and to suggest a path to better policies.
Drug Use, Abuse and Dependence (Addiction) In America
To solve a problem, first define it
How many addicts? What drugs?
TIME TO END THE ENDLESS WAR ON DRUGS
By Suzanne Wills, Special Contributor
Statesman.com AUSTIN. TX, Dec. 8, 2011
When President Richard Nixon created the Drug Enforcement Administration by executive order 40 years ago, the promise was a diminishing market for illegal drugs and a decrease in crime and violence.
The reality has been much different.
(read more )
MAKE DRUGS LEGAL URGE FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS
Jimmy Carter and Sting Amongst Those Who Signed the Petition
David Cameron is being advised to legalise drug use in Britain by an elite group former U.S. presidents, Nobel Prize winners and six British MP's.
In a letter that have been sent to the Prime Minister, Cameron has been encouraged to reverse current UK law that treats drug use as criminal one rather than a medical issue.
The Global Commission on Drug Policy
Goals
- review the basic assumption, effectiveness and consequences of the 'war on drugs' approach
- evaluate the risks and benefits of different national responses to the drug problem
- develop actionable, evidence-based recommendations for constructive legal and drug policy reform
Past Year Dependence or Abuse |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (more ) |
||||||||
ILLICIT DRUGS |
3.0 |
2.9 |
3.0 |
2.8 |
2.9 |
2.8 |
2.8 |
2.8 |
Marijuana and Hashish |
1.8 |
1.8 |
1.9 |
1.7 |
1.7 |
1.6 |
1.7 |
1.7 |
Cocaine |
0.6 |
0.6 |
0.7 |
0.6 |
0.7 |
0.6 |
0.6 |
0.4 |
Heroin |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.2 |
Hallucinogens |
0.2 |
0.1 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
Inhalants |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
Nonmedical Use of Psychotherapeutics |
0.9 |
0.8 |
0.9 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
0.9 |
0.9 |
0.9 |
Pain Relievers |
0.6 |
0.6 |
0.6 |
0.6 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
Tranquilizers |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
Stimulants |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
Sedatives |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
ALCOHOL |
7.7 |
7.5 |
7.8 |
7.7 |
7.6 |
7.5 |
7.3 |
7.4 |
BOTH ILLICIT DRUGS AND ALCOHOL |
1.4 |
1.3 |
1.4 |
1.3 |
1.3 |
1.3 |
1.2 |
1.3 |
ILLICIT DRUGS OR ALCOHOL |
9.4 |
9.1 |
9.4 |
9.1 |
9.2 |
9.0 |
8.9 |
8.9 |
DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA: IT'S FAR LESS HARMFUL THAN ALCOHOL
"I witness the adverse health effects of licit and illicit drugs daily. As emergency physicians, we are the ultimate realists. We know that the prohibition of marijuana is a failed public health policy."
Past president of the American College
of Emergency Medicine, Larry A. Bedard, MD
Editorial: Rice forum tackles drug war
March 7, 2012
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Needle-exchange programs Christian thing to do
Houston Chronicle, April 5, 2009
by William Martin
James A. Baker III Institute at Rice University
injecting illegal drugs."
'Think of the message we now send: 'You are social lepers and, as upright, moral, sincerely religious people, we prefer that you and others in your social orbit die.' ”
More: “Needle Exchange Programs: Sending the Right Message”
Physicians Urge Government to Recognize Marijuana as Medicine
by Eric Bailey, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, 2-25-08
The American College of Physicians, the nation's largest organization of doctors of internal medicine, with 124,000 members, contends that the long and rancorous debate over marijuana legalization has obscured good science that has demonstrated the benefits and medicinal promise of cannabis.
"We felt the time had come to speak up about this," said Dr. David Dale, the group's president. "We'd like to clear up the uncertainty and anxiety of patients and physicians over this drug."
The American College of Physicians position paper February 2008 http://drugsense.org/url/RTJp0V7l
See: Key Points
"We believe that the global war on drugs is now causing more harm than drug abuse itself."
Public Letter from
"It is time for America to move beyond its moral crusade and adopt a public-health approach to the problem of drug abuse, an approach that is likely to be much more successful and certainly more humane."
The Lancet, leading medical journal
THE DRUGS ARE HERE TO STAY
A decorated former undercover narcotics detective explains why
Russ Jones speaks to San Antonio Rotary Club (28 minutes)
also see : Supply and Availability
Speakers available throughout TX