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The Drug Debate

The Drug Debate Subtopics:
Decriminalization
Legalization
Media
Medicalization
Moderates
Prohibition
Public Opinion
Regulation of Legal Drugs
Spending Priorities
Tax and Regulate
Treatment Not Jail

US Drug War Military Presence in Costa Rica Rejected

In the middle of this year, the Costa Rican Parliament authorized the arrival of 7,000 soldiers, 46 war ships, more than 200 helicopters, 10 Harrier planes and two submarines. The permission provoked the rejection of various parties and social sectors, regarding it as anti-constitutional and violating national sovereignty. "We are quite much worried with such an excessive military force to fight drug trafficking," said Victor Emilio Granados, from Partido Accesibilidad sin Exclusion (PASE) - Accessibility without Exclusion Party. Other parties such as Frente Amplio and Accion Cuidadana also rejected the US military presence.

Inquirer Editorial: Sell Drugs Or Go Jobless (Opinion)

The Philadelphia Inquirer's editorial board opines that many government officials are finally admitting the prohibitionist war on drugs is a costly failure, and that the United States has spent at least $1 trillion on the war on drugs, but the streets of Kensington prove it hasn't worked.

WikiLeaks: Nicaragua Government Took Bribes from Drug Traffickers

U.S. diplomats accused Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s government of taking bribes from drug traffickers in exchange for freeing suspects, in cables released by Wikileaks. The Nicaraguan Consulate in Washington declined to comment, deferring to the Foreign Ministry, which didn’t respond to a request for comment. Government representatives in Managua couldn’t be reached. The State Department didn’t respond to a request for comment on the cable.

The Prospects for Drug Reform in This Country Have Never Been So Good (Opinion)

Ethan Nadelmann, founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, opines that prospects for reforming drug policy have never been so good, as the persistent failure and negative consequences of drug war policies, combined with budgetary woes and generational change, are mainstreaming reformist ideas once considered taboo.

You Did It (Action Alert)

We Are the Drug Policy Alliance.

Senate leadership is sitting on a bill that would pave the way for criminal justice and drug policy reforms. Urge your Senators to support this bill!

Take Action!

Email Your Senators

Dear friends,

Thanks so much for your emails and phone calls to the U.S. Senate! We're very close to creating an independent commission to urge Congress and President Obama to reduce incarceration and improve public safety. This commission is a great opportunity to put the failed war on drugs on trial. I'm optimistic we can finally make this happen, but we need your help again.

Please contact your Senators today before Congress adjourns for the year. Tell them to pressure Senate leadership to pass the National Criminal Justice Commission Act.

If we can get this commission established, we hope to force Congress and the President to consider important ideas like making marijuana legal, treating drug use as a health issue instead of a criminal justice issue, and eliminating failed drug war programs that waste taxpayer money.

Senator Jim Webb (D-Va) and others have a plan to pass the bill, but in order for the plan to work we need to show enormous support. The best thing you can do is email your Senators. And then forward this email to friends and family.Please contact your Senators now and help pass this critical legislation. Together we can march this bill over the finish line. We're very close.

Sincerely,

Bill Piper
Director, Office of National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance

Government Heads for Clash with Scientists Over Drug Advice: A Plan to Remove the Legal Minimum Number of Scientists from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs Risks Further Harming Relationships with Scientists and with Evidence (Opinion)

The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill has major implications for UK drug laws and the potential to damage the quality of scientific advice the government (and parliament) gets, and to further dent the scientific community's confidence in the government.

Drug Truth 12/06/10

Cultural Baggage * Century of Lies * 4:20 Drug War NEWS  *  Time 4 Hemp PLEASE sign petition to drug czars to appear on our programs:  http://www.petitiononline.com/dtn/

Cultural Baggage for  12/05/10 29:00  Neill Franklin, Dir of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Daniel Robello of DPA re horrors of Mexican drug war + Mary Jane Borden with Drug War Facts "What is harm reduction?"

LINK:   http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3182

TRANSCRIPT:  Mon

Century of Lies for  12/05/10  29:00  Wanda James speaking for Kush Con, largest ever cannabis conference in Denver Dec 17-19, Dr. Robert Melamede, Pres of Cannabis Science + DTN Editorial

LINK:   http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3183

TRANSCRIPT: Mon

4:20 Drug War NEWS, 12/06 to 12/16/10  Link at www.drugtruth.net on the right margin -

Sun - Daniel Robello of Drug Policy Alliance re horrors of Mexican drug war Sat - Dr. Robert Melamede, "Flips Vs Blips"

Fri - Neill Franklin, director of LEAP (2 of 2) + DTN Editorial Thu - Dr. Robert Melamede the absurdity of prohibition Wed - Neill Franklin, Dir of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition 1 of 2 Tue - Wanda James speaks for Kush-Con the worlds largest marijuana convention in Denver, Dec 17-19 Mon - Mary Jane Borden of Drug War Facts: "What is Harm Reduction?"

Programs produced at Pacifica Radio Station KPFT in Houston, 90.1 FM.  You can Listen Live Online at www.kpft.org

-  Cultural Baggage Sun, 7:30 PM ET, 6:30 PM CT, 5:30 PM MT, 4:30 PM PT

-  Century of Lies, SUN, 8 PM ET, 7 PM CT, 6 PM MT & 5 PM PT

-  Time 4 Hemp, My segment Fri 12:45 AM ET, 11:45 PM CT, 10:45 PM MT, 9:45 PM PT at www.americanfreedomradio.com

Who's Next?":  Kathy Staudt, UTEP Professor

Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org and now at James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.  http://www.bakerinstitute.org/dtn

We have potcasts, searchability, CMS, XML, sorts by guest name and by organization. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates.  You can tune into both our 1/2 hour programs, live, at 6:30 central time on Pacifica's KPFT at http://www.kpft.org  and call in your questions and concerns toll free at 1-877-9-420 420. 

The two, 29:00 shows appear along with the seven, daily, 3:00  "4:20 Drug War NEWS" reports each Monday morning at http://www.drugtruth.net .  We currently have 95 affiliated, yet independent broadcast stations.  With a simple email request to [email protected] , your station can join the Drug Truth Network, free of charge.

Check out our latest videos via www.youtube.com/fdbecker  Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform.  "Prohibition is evil." - Reverend Dean Becker, DTN Producer, 713-462-7981

WikiLeaks to Target Drugs

WikiLeaks, a whistleblowing online site, obtained 8,324 documents related to drugs, an area of great interest to the border region. However, the public will have to wait to learn what most of those cables contain because WikiLeaks does not plan to release all 251,287 of its leaked documents at once. As of Monday, only 272 diplomatic cables had been released.
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