Hot Off The 'Net
- Time to declare peace in the worlds longest running war
- Legalizing Marijuana May End the Opioid Crisis, Say Scientists
- Rep. Cohen Asks Atty. Gen. Sessions Which Marijuana Smokers Were Not Good People
- Associations between medical cannabis and prescription opioid use in chronic pain patients
- Federal marijuana legislation clears House of Commons, headed for the Senate
News
US: 4 States Ready To Roll With Recreational PotAmericans were still waiting for clarity on the presidential race Wednesday morning. Perhaps lost in the frantic haze of election night was the legalization of recreational marijuana in four states.US OR: Oregon Votes To Decriminalize All Drugs, Allow Psilocybin For
Oregon became the first state in the nation to decriminalize the possession of all illegal drugs and also legalize the use of psilocybin-the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms-for mental health treatment, after voters passed a pair of ballot measures this week.Canada: Canadian Study Finds A Link Between Starting Medical Cannabis
43.5 per cent of study participants who used marijuana as a substitute for alcohol decreased the frequency of their drinking.US: State Ballots Show A Shifting Debate On Legalizing Drugs
Oregon has an addiction problem. Pockets of rural poverty, chronic homelessness and cities with lots of young people have given the state one of the highest rates of substance abuse in the nation. It is also, because there is so little money allocated to it, one of the toughest places to get treatment.
Opinions
Mexico: Oped: End The War On Drugs NowMEXICO CITY - On June 17, 1971, President Richard Nixon stood in front of the White House press corps and made his historic declaration of a new type of war. "Public Enemy No. 1 in the United States is drug abuse," he said. "In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it's necessary to wage a new all-out offensive."US: 50 Years After The Start Of The War On Drugs, Americans
Next year will mark 50 years since President Richard Nixon declared drugs "public enemy number one," launching a new war on drugs that has pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into law enforcement, led to the incarceration of millions of people - disproportionately Black - and has done nothing to prevent drug overdoses. In spite of the widespread, growing opposition to this failed war, made clear yet again on Election Day, punitive policies and responses to drug use and possession persist. As President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris prepare to take office, it is abundantly clear that they have a mandate from the electorate to tackle this issue.US PA: Philadelphia Case Could Clear The Way For Safe Injection
All eyes were on Philadelphia this month, as the outcome of the election rested in poll workers' hands. It's not surprising that the citizens of Philly were ready for change - they've faced a disproportionately heavy toll as a result of the current administration's ineffective coronavirus policies. And that toll has tragically included an increased rate of deadly opioid overdoses.US: Republicans and Democrats Agree: End The War On Drugs
One of America's greatest mistakes over the last century was the war on drugs, so it's thrilling to see voters in red and blue states alike moving to unwind it.
Letters
US: Black Parents Can't IndulgeRe "Parents' Little Helpers" (Sunday Styles, Oct. 4): To be a Black mother is to be in a constant state of alertness when it comes to protecting your family from the government. As a Black woman, mother and lawyer, I am no different in that regard.CN AB: Harm Reduction Still An Effective Strategy
Like myself, I suspect many citizens of Lethbridge were alarmed by the finding of misappropriated funds within ARCHES, and the subsequent withdrawal of provincial funding to their supervised consumption site (SCS). As an RN who has worked for a number of years in harm reduction, I am reeling for our clients and their families in terms of how this will impact them.US: Cities Want To Use Pot As A Cure-All
Give Marijuana Tax Revenues to the Harmed We have a moral imperative to try to right the wrongs of the war on drugs. We should start by investing in the very communities it harmed.US: Give Marijuana Tax Revenues To The Harmed
Using cannabis tax revenues to plug local budget holes has been an effective talking point in advancing marijuana-legalization proposals across the country ("Cities Look to Marijuana Taxes for Help," U.S. News, Feb. 5). However, it is vital that lawmakers also use these cannabis tax revenues to fund programs that serve the individuals whose lives and communities have been destroyed by the misguided, racially biased policies of America's war on drugs. Decriminalization and expungement bills don't go far enough.US: No Vape Disease From Legal Marijuana In California
Kevin Sabet has it backward in "How Legal Weed Shops Feed the Vaping Crisis" (op-ed, Jan 21). Here in California, not a single case of vape disease has been traced to a legal, state-regulated source, according to the state Bureau of Cannabis Control. Rather, the source of the problem is illicit manufacturers of contaminated goods on the underground market.US: The Majority Agree With Policy Reform
One in five Americans reside in a jurisdiction where the adult use of cannabis is legal under state statute, and the majority of citizens reside some place where the medical use of cannabis is legally authorized. Many of these latter programs have been in place for the better part of two decades.US: The Gateway Theory Is A Joke
"Is Marijuana Fueling a Public-Health Crisis?" The statistic from your editorial, that "95% of heroin and cocaine users report first using pot," doesn't prove much. Remember, 99% of criminal motorcycle-gang members started by riding bicycles.