Something Is Wrong

Here are some interesting quotes from American Judges who don't like mandatory minimums for drug offenses.

Judge Morris S. Arnold
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
Appointed by George H.W. Bush, 1992

"You may say that I said that many of our drug laws are scandalously draconian and the sentences are often savage. You may also quote me as saying the war on drugs has done considerable damage to the Fourth Amendment and that something is very wrong indeed when a person gets a longer sentence for marijuana than for espionage."

That is only one quote. There are more.

The Drug War shreds our Constitution and wastes resources. Apparently there are some folks in government who actually understand that we are in a real war and that the Drug War is a waste.

Taken from a study: Republican Judges Speak

Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values

American Morality

Eric at Classical Values is discussing Clayton Cramers's piece on the prevalence of abortion before Roe. His conclusion about abortion is that it may actually be happening at a lower rate since Roe.

Clayton's most important point is his conclusion.

If you have to arrest and try your own citizens for a crime on a massive scale (as would be necessary to enforce a general ban on abortion), it is usually a bad indicator for the moral health of your society.

I wonder when we are going to apply this kind of thinking to drug prohibition? I look forward to a return of American morality.

Update:

David Hecht made this comment at Classical values:

"If we can't stop abortion when it's legal, we'll never stop it when it's illegal."

Words of wisdom.

Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values

Lung Cancer Stopper

Well what do you know? Marijuana can stop lung cancer.

The administration of THC significantly reduces lung tumor size and lesions, according to preclinical data presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Los Angeles.

Investigators at Harvard University's Division of Experimental Medicine reported that THC inhibited the growth and spread of cells in vitro from two different lung cancer cell lines and from patient lung tumors. They also reported that THC administration reduced the growth of lung tumors in mice by more than 50 percent compared to untreated controls over a three-week period.

Researchers noted that THC appeared to block a specific cancer-causing protein in a manner similar to the pharmaceutical anti-cancer drugs Erbitux (Cetuximab) and Vectibix (Panitumumab).

Results of a large-scale, case-controlled population study published last year found that smoking cannabis, even long-term, is not positively associated with increased incidence of lung-cancer. Investigators in that study noted that one subset of moderate lifetime users had an inverse association between cannabis use and lung cancer, leading them to speculate that cannabinoids may possess certain protective properties against the development of lung cancer in humans.

So what do you think a plant extract might do to the market for anti-cancer drugs like Erbitux (Cetuximab) and Vectibix (Panitumumab)?

I will let you draw your own conclusions about why the pharmaceutical companies are the biggest supporters of the Drug Free America Campaign.

Special to Astute Bloggers' readers:

For over thirty years the Drug War has suppressed research into the beneficial uses of banned drugs. Fortunately, thanks to efforts of researchers like Israel's Dr. Raphael Mechoulam and America's Rick Doblin those embargoes are being broken.

Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values

The Pain In The Brain

I just learned something new today about pain. What I learned is that Arthritis pain is processed in the brain's 'fear center'.

Researchers at The University of Manchester have discovered that arthritis pain, unlike that induced as part of an experiment, is processed in the parts of the brain concerned with emotions and fear.

So repeated pain trains you. It causes your experience of pain to be more painful. Which is a good thing since it will tend to reduce the stress on the areas in pain. The more it hurts the less you use it.

"We thought that arthritic and acute experimental pain would be processed within the same areas of the pain matrix," Dr Kulkarni continued. "But, although both activated both the medial and lateral pain systems, arthritic pain prompted increased activity in the cingulate cortex, thalamus and amygdale within the medial system - the areas concerned with processing fear, emotions and aversive conditioning.

"This suggests that arthritic pain has more emotional salience than experimental pain for these patients, which is consistent with the unpleasantness scores they themselves gave. The increased activity in the areas associated with aversive conditioning, reward and fear, which are less commonly activated during experimental pain, suggests they might be processing fear of further injury and disability associated with the arthritic pain."

This I is very important because I think fear, if it reaches a high enough level, is experienced as pain. On top of that it is likely that extreme fear memories can be experienced as pain as well.

Which points out something another study looks at. Fear memories are at the heart of PTSD as I discussed in PTSD and the Endocannabinoid System. One of the keys tying this all together is this study: Fear memories, the amygdala, and the CB1 receptor. It turns out that cannabinoids are a part of this signaling mechanism and that the strength of the signal is in part genetically determined.

All this corroborates what I have been saying for years. The idea that "drugs cause addiction" is superstition. People in chronic pain chronically take drugs for pain relief. It doesn't matter if the pain is from a broken bone or rape memories. The same drugs work to provide relief.

The drug war is a persecution of people in pain.

Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values

Testing

Did you know that your soap can test positive for contraband by some field drug test kits?

Don Bolles, drummer for the legendary punk band the Germs, was going to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting with his girlfriend, 21-year-old Cat Scandal, after picking her up for "a day off" from drug rehab, on April 4, when they were pulled over in a traffic stop by Newport Beach Police. During a search of the vehicle -- to which Bolles unwisely consented -- police found a bottle of peppermint Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap. According to a police field drug test, the soap contained GHB (gamma hydroxyl butyrate), a so-called date rape drug illegal under state and federal law.

It turns out that the police gave Bolles a tour of Orange County jails before releasing him after 3 1/2 days in the system. A better test verified no drugs in the soap. All charges were dropped.

The field test was performed by a kit manufactured by Armor Forensics/ODV called the Narcopouch 928. Armor Forensics/ODV did not respond to calls from the Chronicle about the false positives reported by its product. One man at ODV who refused to identify himself said only that he could not comment because of possible legal action.

The Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association did not respond to Chronicle queries about accuracy standards within the industry. In the group's defense, however, it should be noted that they were all out of the office this week attending a national drug testing industry convention.

The Newport Beach Police Department did not respond to calls from the Chronicle about the accuracy of the GHB field test.

There are no standards for field drug tests.

"The testing of substances for drugs is basically unregulated," Kevin Zeese, a prominent long-time drug reformer and political activist with expertise in the intersection of law and drug testing. "If it were the feds, the DEA would set the standards, but at the local level, it's state and local police who make the decisions. This all takes place within the criminal justice system; there is no regulation by the FDA or any other agency apart from law enforcement agencies," he told the Chronicle.

"There have been lots of cases of these sorts of tests not being accurate and causing problems, so this is not surprising," said Zeese. "Now, the local police are going to have to do something to correct their standards so they don't falsely accuse people. If they don't, this kind of thing ends up being regulated by the courts."

It is not just Dr. Bronners.

At least four other soaps have resulted in false positives in the Narcopouch 928 GHB test kit, including Neutrogena and Tom's of Maine. "We are testing more products and videotaping those tests. Products from Johnson & Johnson and Palmolive are testing positive, so we'll go to the Cosmetics, Toiletries and Fragrances Association, show them these products are testing positive, and then work through them to explore options for addressing the situation with these field drug test kits. Ideally, we could force a product recall, but we need at least a disclaimer if this product is going to continue to be sold. If they don't know soap tests positive, what else don't they know?"

Evidently the IVth Amendment no longer means what it used to. A series of excessive searches for contraband caused the founders to enact the prohibition against unreasonable searches. Why does that sound familiar? We now have a drug war contraband exception to the IVth Amendment.

Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values

LONG TERM CANNABIS USE MAY CAUSE SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESSES

LONDON TIMES/ (VIA NRO-THE CORNER):

By the end of the decade one in four new cases of schizophrenia could be triggered by smoking cannabis, scientists say. Research has suggested that regular users of the drug are up to six times more likely to develop schizophrenia, although whether the drug is the direct cause remains disputed.

The Department of Health says it is now generally agreed among doctors that cannabis is an “important causal factor” in mental illness. A study published in the journal Addiction predicts that, if the causal link between cannabis use and schizophrenia is accepted, rates of the illness will increase substantially by 2010, especially among young men.

AND CANNABIS IS NOT CONSIDERED AN ADDICTIVE NARCOTIC.

IMHO: THIS IS A GOOD REASON TO KEEP IT ILLEGAL. LONG-TERM RECREATIONAL USE IS HIGHLY DANGEROUS. THE STATE HAS AN ADDED INTEREST IN REGULATING ITS USE: SCHIZOPHRENICS CAN BE A DANGER AND BURDEN TO THE COMMUNITY.

[ASIDE: I WONDER IF A HIGH PERCENTAGE (NO PUN INTENDED) OF THE TRUTHERS AND BDS AFFLICTED LEFTIES ARE POTHEADS?]

More HERE at NEWS-MEDICAL.NET.

PROOF THAT MEXICO HAS FINALLY JOINED THE WAR ON NARCOTICS SMUGGLING:

BBC:

The number of police deaths in Mexico in incidents involving organised crime has jumped 50% this year, according to official statistics. At least 61 police officers have been killed in Mexico since the year began. The increase in police deaths follows a crackdown on drug-related violence by the Mexican government.

THIS INCREASE IS BECAUSE THE MEXICAN GOV'T IS FINALLY COUNTER-ATTACKING.

Addiction might have a genetic component, but it can no more excuse bad behavior than a diathesis for rape can excuse rape; (we would never make rape legal because most who commit it have a genetic diathesis for sexual aggression/predation. Nor would we legalize serial murder if we found a gene for a predisposition for psychopathic/sociopathological multiple homicide).

Genetic diatheses can only serve as a basis for treatment, and cannot logically argue for legalization - in my opinion. M. Friedman and M. Simon disagree - maybe one of them will weigh in...

Addiction is a Genetic Disease

Surpisingly the NIDA says “addiction” is a genetic disease triggered by environmental factors. They had to be dragged kicking and screaming to this conclusion. It was pretty much established science by the time they allowed as how it might be true. Here is what they have to say:

Evidence from adoption and twin studies and from animal models suggests that vulnerability to addiction has a moderate to high heritable component. The gene variants underlying increased vulnerability to addiction are unknown, but new advances in science and technology will facilitate the identification and characterization of these gene variants.

You can read more, including evidence, anecdotal and scientific, about how almost all female heroin addicts were sexually abused: Addiction Is A Genetic Disease.

The drug war is a war on the traumatized. Way to go America. Or put another way: people take pain relievers to relieve pain. And we have laws against this? Here is my concluding paragraph from "Addiction Is A Genetic Disease":

In any case we know that the genetic factor is an important component. Why doesn’t the NIDA trumpet this? Well it hardly helps the drug war to think of it as a scheme for genetic discrimination and persecuting the tormented.

Here is some background that may help your understanding of the biological basis for addiction: Fear memories, the amygdala, and the CB1 receptor.

The Worst Job in America

R rated - language

Selling drugs in the inner cities is the worst job in America. The pay is low and the death rate is much higher than the death rate in Iraq. Drug prohibition has literally created a war zone in American inner cities.

A University of Chicago economist who lived with a gang for ten years looks at the details from an economic and sociological perspective. The talk lasts about twenty-two minutes and is given by one of the researchers on the project, economist Steven Levitt. If the video is not visible on your browser here is a alternate Youtube version. (Cross Posted at Classical Values.)