Changing the Debate About Drug Policy

Pete Guither has a thought-provoking post up about the way that we traditionally think about drug policy on this continent. I have been knee-deep in my attempts to make campaign literature and I am very glad that Pete posted this today. All I seem to be able to do is make some colorless references like "Drug policy costs $1 - $1.5 billion per year according to the Senate Special Committee". I want to appeal to emotion but with facts to back it up. I think that this is the way we drug-policy wonks want to go. We need to stop debating on their terms. When they say "But what about the children?" We say, "Yes, what about the children of farmers living in Columbia that have seen their non-drug crops destroyed by aerial spraying programs?" "What about all the children in the United States that don't have health insurance while you are spending billions of dollars on the Drug War?" I like it. I will get to work honing this argument. This upcoming provincial election could be fun.

O Canada: Long, disjointed rant ahead

In case you have been too busy looking for weed to pay attention to the latest bit of nonsense from our fine, Canadian, best-medicare-in-the-world government, well go ahead and light up your fatties and sit down and enjoy reading about this craziness. Our "health minister" Tony Clement must have smoked some bad wampum if he thinks that a brand-new re-packaging of very old and ineffective reefer madness propaganda is a good idea. He is quoted in the Vancouver Sun as saying that:

The government plans a campaign emphasizing the dangers of all illicit drugs in any quantity, he said. "We will discourage young people from thinking there are safe amounts or safe drugs," he said, later telling doctors that the marijuana available today isn't the same as what they might have smoked experimentally during their youth.

They must have gotten their drug information from the drug czar, John Walters. Marijuana is not stronger or more dangerous than it used to be. Saying it over and over again doesn't make it true.

Luckily sensible harm-reduction polices are being supported by the Canadian Medical Association and the provincial NDP health critic. Anyway, my reason for bringing this up is the recent brouhaha calling for a brand-new drug education campaign. The problem is, it isn't brand new at all. It's just a re-packaging of some very old ideas. You know what I mean, the ideas that all use is abuse, marijuana is a gateway drug, there is no safe amount to ingest and marijuana is stronger and more powerful than it used to be. None of these ideas are accurate and they define the pitfalls of our past attempts at drug education. What is wrong with telling kids the truth about drugs? There is nothing wrong with telling kids that marijuana does not cause cancer or schizophrenia. Why is the truth so scary to these people?

Just read some of the prize quotes in this "editorial" that happens to be completely short of any sort of critical analysis.

If the Conservatives have made up their minds against decriminalizing marijuana - an option we continue to favour - the next best solution is to make sure the law is understood, and to inform Canadians of the legal and health consequences of using it.

They then go on to criticize the government if they go ahead and increase the number of citizens they are currently arresting. (OOOPS! They are already increasing the number of possession arrests in Canada.) They also continue onward with the reefer madness propaganda.

Studies have found even a so-called soft drug like marijuana is not entirely harmless. Among some users predisposed to mental illness, specifically schizophrenia, marijuana might heighten the risk of mental-health problems.

If this was true we would be swimming in schizophrenics. But the number of schizophrenics has stayed the same over the years even though the number of marijuana users has gone way up. Could it be that pot isn't as dangerous as its' made out to be? They even go on about an anti-smoking campaign. The problem is they don't explain that there is a huge difference between the health risks of smoking tobacco and the health risks of smoking cannabis. Cannabis does not cause schizophrenia, lung cancer or heart disease. The overdose rate is still zero. If we decide to lie by omission in future anti-drug campaigns, they will fail just like the anti-drug campaigns of yesterday. I remember clearly how I felt when I discovered that most of what I was taught about drugs in school was inaccurate or misleading. We owe our kids better than that.

Speaking of child abuse, I ran across this absolutely terrible letter to the editor written by Peter John Mitchell of the basket-of-puppies institute. Oh so sorry, I meant the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada. He sings the same old song about marijuana causing schizophrenia (it doesn't) and depression.

At least Mitchell has the good sense to mince his words when they are published in the newspaper and read by the general public. But you should go on and take a look at the whacky anti-family ideas espoused by the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada on their website. I found these papers on their homepage: A foul screed blaming single mothers for the downfall of humanity and A disgusting homage to child abuse. I wonder if they have an article about beating your wife when she gets out of line. I really don't want to know.

Anyway, if that gets you down, I also found this interesting document on the Swedish governments' web-site. I will have to read it if I get a minute. In the meantime, I will be re-organizing my office and making anti-drug war propaganda in anticipation of the upcoming provincial election. This could be a lot of fun.

Court Protects Casual Drug Use

Will workplace safety be trumped by human-rights law?

What is wrong with this question as published in the National Post?

Oh you don't know? Well allow me to explain. By asking this question we have to agree on a set of underlying assumptions. You have to believe, in spite of all the evidence, that drug testing improves the safety of the workplace. You also have to believe that handing over your pee to the pee police is not an invasion of privacy.

This headline is all wrong and so is the question. It should read Court Protects the Privacy of Workers. Or how about Will the misguided concerns of overzealous employers trump common sense? Or Court Protects Workers from the Pee Police.

Listen up, you pee-policing morons. Drug testing is ineffective. It doesn't test for impairment and a failed drug test means absolutely nothing. There is an unacceptably high rate of false positives. You can lose your job based on a flawed drug test. If you think that false positives are not a problem, think again. Workers should be judged by their job performance. If you can't identify drug users without subjecting their pee to analysis, how much of a problem can drug use be?

From personal experience I can tell you that fatigue and your mental state are the biggest on-the-job impairments. Staying up all night with a cranky baby or missing my morning coffee affect my job performance. But there is no drug test for that. At least, not yet. Pretty soon if my caffeine levels go too low I will be considered impaired.

I wish that the National Post would quit re-printing this ill-thought out reefer madness and call it news.

Smoking weed makes me a feminist!

It's true because Feministing says so.

Seriously, I think that everything that we do to fight patriarchy, whether it's volunteering for clinic defense or trying to end the drug war is a feminist act. But picking up the bong? I don't know about that. The real question is this: Is the drug policy reform movement feminist?

Why of course it's feminist! Just take a look at the latest issue of High Times. That's almost as feminist as pole dancing.

I saw the article in The Stranger and I was going to ignore it simply because the pointless stereotypes about pot-users seemed to stupid to argue against. Male users are cuddly and adorable, just like that miserable tool from Knocked Up. Female users don't want to be stigmatized as lazy. I've seen it all before. All I know is that women in pot culture are just like women everywhere. We are there to be seen and not heard.

Race and the Drug War

America has 5% of the world's population and 25% of the worlds' prisoners. The drug war and the racist, uneven application of the drug laws is to blame for this unfortunate situation. Glenn C. Loury has a great article about this very problem in the Boston Review.

In light of the injustice of this modern day Jim Crow law, I would expect that the sole African American presidential candidate might be interested in reforming the drug laws. I am in for a huge disappointment. While it is true that all the Democratic candidates are on record stating that they will end the raids on the medical marijuana gardens, there is no sign that serious drug policy reform is on the Democratic agenda. The only candidate that has the voting record to back up his opposition to the drug war is Ron Paul, the pro-life baby doctor*. Luckily he has no chance of getting elected. At any rate, Obama is on record wavering on the infamous crack-cocaine sentencing disparity. Here's the prize money quote from the Boston Globe:

"Even if we fix this, if it was a 1-to-1 ratio, it's still a problem that folks are selling crack. It's still a problem that our young men are in a situation where they believe the only recourse for them is the drug trade. So there is a balancing act that has to be done in terms of, do we want to spend all our political capital on a very difficult issue that doesn't get at some of the underlying issues; whether we want to spend more of that political capital getting early childhood education in place, getting after-school programs in place, getting summer school programs in place."

I guess he doesn't realize that increased enforcement has had little to no impact on rates of drug use. Very disappointing. First a pro-life baby doctor, now a black man who doesn't oppose the racist drug laws? WTF? The only reason he made it in politics was his ability to stay out of jail. 60% of black male high-school students aren't so lucky.

* A pro-life baby doctor! What's next? A Christian feminist?

I'm a better mother when I'm stoned

We can always find time to vilify mothers. If you are screwed up with a drinking habit, blame mom. You probably weren't breastfed as a baby. If you are a mom you can do no right. And as a reward for all those sleepless nights, saggy boobs and episiotomy scars, what thanks do we mothers get? Endless judgment and articles about all the ways that we mothers are WRONG.

I had the misfortune of reading yet another pile of crud heaped at mothers, with a huge dose of reefer madness thrown in for good measure. I am speaking of this monstrosity, posted on a trendy forum for trendy parents known as Babble.*

Now before I continue whining about all the ways that society dumps on the unpaid and unappreciated labor of mothers, let me back up. I actually enjoyed the article by the pot-smoking mother. I can definitely relate to having a few puffs before playing with the Legos. What is wrong with admitting that sometimes the inane games that kids want to play are somewhat tiresome and boring? There are times when I refuse to read the Berenstein bears again. Guess what? That hokey, cutesy-poo crap gets old. Of course I am going to admit proudly and loudly that moderate use of marijuana is wonderful. Since I have smoked it for years I know what I am talking about. I smiled and nodded in agreement as I read this article. I remember taking out the old one-hitter in the garage when I was at the end of my rope and coming back in the house a much calmer, happier and better parent.

I was annoyed to death by these thoughtless, ignorant people that dumped all over this poor mom for admitting to doing what 16.8% of the Canadian population does. Since I don't have the time or the inclination to quote the endless stupidity from that thread, let me summarize. The fears of the posters can be summarized like this:

1. What if your child finds out?

2. What if your child grows up and smokes marijuana and then ends up on something much stronger?

3. What kind of a parent needs a drug to cope with their life?

Ugh. The head-slapping stupidity is mind-boggling. I am guessing that none of these people has ever smoked marijuana, especially after reading the charming, judgmental comments from the poster who admits to not knowing what a one-hitter is.

So let me just answer these questions as a fellow pot-smoking parent, who is not currently in possession of any weed. $#&*^)#(^$&)*^

1. My kids know and they seem to be fine with it. They seem fine but I am sure that in this mother-hating culture they will grow up and blame me for all of their problems. I'll make sure to send them over to Babble so they can come up with more things to blame me for.

2. There is no gateway effect. It doesn't exist. It's reefer madness cooked up by the DEA and the ONDCP and Partnership for a Drug-free America. You are being lied to so the government can justify throwing people in jail for smoking the wrong plants.

3. I am not sure why parents are held up to this ridiculously high standard. When you become a parent you do not lose your humanity or your need to have a little fun once in a while. Expecting people to never smoke weed or drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes or eat sugar is unreasonable and pointless. Kids do not need a supermom. A human being will do just fine.

* Babble seems like the place to go to get your self esteem knocked down a peg or two. Bad Parent: Birthdays gone wild and Straight to the Bottle were just two of the parent-bashing articles I was treated to.

Cocaine Use Common

A third of the crew on a Canadian warship based at CFB Esquimalt used cocaine with regularity, according to testimony at a military court martial. The ship's clandestine drug operation, which apparently divided the crew into camps of users and non-users, is surprising and disappointing, the navy says.

That's pretty surprising, even to me. So much for JUST SAY NO!

Bad News

My boyfriends' boss was killed by a drunk driver. This is such a pointless tragedy. I am at a loss for words.

Kicking you when you are down

Marc Emery has done an amazing amount of work and is the face of the cannabis reform movement. He was busted by the DEA back in 2005 and is facing extradition to the United States for selling seeds. If he is extradited, he will probably die in an American jail. Those aren't his only problems! Revenue Canada wants their money from his now-defunct seed business. It's a damn shame what Marc is going through and I wish I had a big wad of cash to give him to help him fight his battles. If you can afford to help him out, go ahead and give him a few dollars.

Here is the link to his story on Orato.

Activism is hard, hard work. We have a huge uphill battle to climb. We are fighting 80 years of reefer madness, against a heavily funded government. When I think of what we are up against, it makes me sad. But then I get all fired up and angry and I realize that if good people like us don't fight against this insanity, who will?

Lego Tanya

This is what bloggers do when we can't think of anything intelligent to write about. Make a mini-me!

Raining on the Ron Paul Parade

It would be impossible to miss out on all the recent buzz about Ron Paul in the cannabis community. Marc Emery is pushing Ron Paul at every turn and every time I visit CC I hear more and more about how great Ron Paul is. Sure there are some great things about Ron Paul. He never supported the war in Iraq, for example. He is opposed to the war on drugs.

But it is impossible for me to overlook his pro-life views.

You see, the fact is, the entire world hates women. We are the sex-class and the entire battle for reproductive freedom illustrates this quite beautifully. Marriage was nothing more than the way that men traditionally controlled womens' reproduction. When birth control came along, it threatened that control of womens' bodies and sexuality that men have enjoyed for thousands of years. Now that we have safe abortion and birth control, women can control their bodily functions. But there is no way in the world that men wanted to give it up. Hence, god-bags like Ron Paul (and his supporters) find ways to infringe on womens' rights. This leave-it-to-the-states mentality is the way that they are justifying these views. This is the same way that Jim Crow laws were justified.

The simple fact is that there is absolutely no way to justify a pro-life stance. None. If you can not control your body and your reproduction, you are not free. It's just that simple. Why is this a point of contention?

What we all need to fight against is patriarchy - the paradigm of submission and domination that defines and poisons all human relationships. Master and Slave. Dominator and dominated. United States vs. the world. Husbands and wives. Parents and children. White and black. Johns and the prostituted. Men and women.

Fighting the drug war is one way of fighting the patriarchy. After all, the idea that the government has the right to throw people in jail for smoking the wrong plants is just one more example of patriarchy at its' finest. But let's not lose sight of the big picture. We have to stand for the rights of all human beings.

I realize that the perfect presidential candidate does not exist. (Kucinich anyone?) We still have to choose between a douche and a turd. But the way that the cannabis community is making excuses for Ron Paul is pathetic. Sometimes I question the wisdom of working to reform the drug laws alongside privileged white, straight liberal dudes. Will they ever see women as human beings?

Drug Prevention Starts Early and It Starts At Home

This article doesn't really seem that bad at first glance. It gives parents some helpful advice about their truly legitimate fear that their children will use marijuana which will then lead to heroin. And nobody wants that for the children, right?

After all, it is true that Canada has the highest rate of marijuana use in the industrialized world. 16.8% of the population used marijuana in the last year!* That's a lot of pot-smoking hippies. As I was reading this article I was thinking that we are all so reefer madness indoctrinated that this seems fairly innocuous. I spend a lot of time thinking about drug policy and I often do not see the reefer madness that is right in front of me. Take this statement from that article:

Those with parents who need alcohol and other drugs to take the edge off or to have fun are likely to grow up with a similar appreciation for substances.

All the parents are nodding their heads in agreement. Kids do what their parents do! So if we stay drug-free, our kids will be drug-free too.

But let's take that very same sentence and replace it with other commonly enjoyed substances:

Those with parents who need coffee and other drugs to take the edge off or to have fun are likely to grow up with a similar appreciation for substances.

Those with parents who need sugar and other drugs to take the edge off or to have fun are likely to grow up with a similar appreciation for substances.

Sounds kind of stupid now, doesn't it? What is so bad about having fun anyway? I love coffee and nobody would bother to condemn me for my 4 cup a day habit. But if I dare to admit to my nightly pot-smoking ritual hoo-doggies the condemnation would be swift. This kind of thinking drives me nuts. It makes me wish I had some weed.

*It should be 100%.

Question for the Republican Candidates

I am definitely not the only one that would like to hear an answer to this question. But I have a feeling this question will be overlooked.

Cool Quote

Even if they don't become alcoholics, teens who drink too much may suffer impaired memory and other learning problems, says Aaron White of Duke University Medical Center, who studies adolescent alcohol use. He says parents should think twice about offering alcohol to teens because their brains are still developing and are more susceptible to damage than adult brains. "If you're going to do that, I suggest you teach them to roll joints, too," he says, "because the science is clear that alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana."

I found this in an MSNBC article about The Teen Drinking Dilemma. I would take this as an invitation to teach my teenagers that letting them smoke marijuana is A-OK. I do suspect that White is suggesting that alcohol is worse than demon weed so we better save the children and make sure they stay far away from alcohol. It's even worse than marijuana and we all know how bad that stuff is for you.