MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'drug war'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:51:00 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181765&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fr0cNjxl2pWc%2F By David RittgersThe controversy over the ATF’s ill-conceived scheme to “walk” guns across the border with Mexico finally resulted in the removal of one high-ranking official: Acting Director Kenneth Melson. The U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, Todd Jones, will fill the position for now. A quick review:  ATF supervisors ordered agents to facilitate firearm sales to known or suspected “straw buyers” that intended to move the guns across the border and give them to drug cartels. Gun dealers in the U.S. reported the suspicious transactions to the ATF, expecting to cooperate in apprehending the gunrunners. As it turns out, the suspect buyers had disqualifying conditions that should have shown up in federally mandated instant background checks…but didn’t. The firearms trafficked acro... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181765 Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:24:18 +0100 5181765 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139686&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbnZJRxaxutE%2F By Tim LynchThe New York Times has an article today about how city officials take children away from parents because of marijuana use.  Here is an excerpt: Hundreds of New Yorkers who have been caught with small amounts of marijuana, or who have simply admitted to using it, have become ensnared in civil child neglect cases in recent years, though they did not face even the least of criminal charges, according to city records and defense lawyers. A small number of parents in these cases have even lost custody of their children. The article explains that even if a child is not immediately removed a “neglect finding” can kill prospects for certain jobs involving kids, such as a daycare assistant, and will make it easier for judges to order a removal down the road.  Even though m... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139686 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:26:05 +0100 5139686 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062222&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FdqYS8cogEZY%2F Cory Maye was in his home one evening minding his own business when his front door came crashing down.  Frightened that criminals were going to harm him and his child, Maye quickly retrieved a gun.  When his bedroom door came crashing down next, Maye fired.  When the lights came on, it turned out that the intruders were police officers and that Maye had killed one of them.  The nightmare had only just begun for Maye.  Police and prosecutors twisted a case of self-defense into a “murder” charge and they sought the death penalty.  Cato fellow Radley Balko read about the case when he was researching a paper concerning the militarization of police tactics and no-knock raids.  Radley then wrote about the injustice of Maye’s situation and word spread via the internet.�... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062222 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 19:20:16 +0100 5062222 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4992658&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FyjJ8mYw5q7Y%2F By Gene Healy…that’s what former Cato policy analyst, Reason senior editor and now Huffington Post reporter Radley Balko reports: I’m in Monticello, Mississippi, this morning, where Circuit Court Judge Prentiss Harrell has just signed a plea agreement between Cory Maye and the state. Maye has plead guilty to a reduced charged of manslaughter, and has been resentenced to 10 years in prison, time he has already served. He’ll be sent to Rankin County for processing. He should be released and home with his family in a matter of days. Cory Maye’s is a story about a paramilitary-style drug raid gone grotesquely wrong, a cautionary tale about the human costs of the War on Drugs, and a lesson in how a dedicated investigative reporter can throw a wrench in the ever-grinding wh... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4992658 Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:42:39 +0100 4992658 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4852839&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fr-54cWzkD4s%2F By Tim LynchThis morning the Supreme Court issued a remarkable ruling [pdf] concerning California’s prison system.   Because of years of pervasive overcrowding, there have been systemic violations of the Constitution’s ban on Cruel and Unusual Punishments.  To remedy those violations, the Court affirmed a lower court order to reduce the prison population.  I was not surprised to learn that Justice Anthony Kennedy authored the majority opinion in this case, Brown v. Plata. In a 2003 speech to the American Bar Association (reprinted in my book In the Name of Justice), Kennedy tried to raise more awareness about America’s prison system.  He made the point that every citizen ought to take an interest in the prison system–it is not just the realm of correctional... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4852839 Mon, 23 May 2011 19:01:00 +0100 4852839 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4828857&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FhzHPoibVVBQ%2F By Edward H. CraneMichael Gerson’s predictable, reflexive attack on Rep. Ron Paul in his May 10 op-ed in the WaPo for Paul’s sensible stand in favor of ending the futile crusade called the War on Drugs, makes a curious argument.  He asserts that there is a “de facto decriminalization of drugs” in Washington, D.C.  Curious, because there are few places in the nation where the drug war is waged more vigorously.  Doesn’t seem to be working, does it? Yet Gerson would expand the effort.  Never mind that the social pathologies in the District for which Gerson’s compassionate conservative heart bleeds are mainly a result of making drugs illegal:  Turf wars with innocents caught in the crossfire; children quitting school to sell drugs because of the artificially high prices prohib... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4828857 Mon, 16 May 2011 14:46:31 +0100 4828857 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4610796&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIdpiqIBq5kE%2F By Juan Carlos HidalgoAs Ted Carpenter notes below, President Obama is departing on an important trip to Latin America. The countries that he will visit exemplify the macroeconomic stability and advancement of democratic institutions now found in much of the region. Brazil, by far the largest Latin American economy, has enjoyed almost a decade of sound growth and poverty reduction. Chile is the most developed country in the region thanks to decades of economic liberalization, a process that has also made it Latin America’s most mature democracy. And El Salvador is undergoing a delicate period in its transition to becoming a full-fledged democracy with its first left-of-center president since the end of the civil war in 1992. In an era when most Latin American nations are moving in the... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4610796 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 17:54:10 +0100 4610796 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4610797&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fiwx_-UAQHks%2F By Ted Galen CarpenterPresident Obama’s trip to Latin America is likely to focus on economic topics, but two security issues deserve scrutiny during his stops in Brazil and El Salvador.  Washington’s diplomatic relationship with Brazil has become somewhat frosty, especially over the past year.  U.S. leaders did not appreciate Brazil’s joint effort with Turkey to craft a compromise policy toward Iran’s nuclear program.  The Obama administration regarded that diplomatic initiative as unhelpful freelancing.  And when Brazil joined Turkey in voting against a UN Security Council resolution imposing stronger sanctions on Tehran, the administration’s resentment deepened.  Obama should not only try to soothe tensions, he should shift Washington’s policy, express appreciation for B... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4610797 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 16:16:49 +0100 4610797 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489650&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F79jJmJifJ1E%2F By Tim LynchHere is a new publication from Cato, "How the War on Drugs Is Destroying Black America,"  (pdf) by John McWhorter, who is a lecturer in linguistics and American Studies at Columbia University and a contributing editor to the Manhattan Institute's City Journal and The New Republic.  Here is his conclusion: If we truly want to get past race in this country, we must be aware that it will never happen until the futile War on Drugs so familiar to us now is a memory. ... The time to end the War on Drugs, therefore, is yesterday. Read the whole thing.  You can also listen to McWhorter's speech by clicking here. For additional Cato work related to drug policy, go here. The Drug War and Black America is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489650 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 19:22:22 +0100 4489650 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399500&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FP8LrZTmuJoU%2F By Jason KuznickiFrom a press release by Law Enforcement Against Prohibition: [A] U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent… was fired for saying in a casual conversation that legalizing and regulating drugs would help stop cartel violence along the southern border with Mexico. After sharing his views with a colleague, the fired agent, Bryan Gonzalez, received a letter of termination stating that his comments are “contrary to the core characteristics of Border Patrol Agents, which are patriotism, dedication, and espirit [sic] de corps.” Last week, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, Gonzalez filed a lawsuit seeking damages. I know very little about employment law and have no idea whether the agent has a case. But just consider that even som... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399500 Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:15:02 +0100 4399500 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4183282&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLC5uUKIHJJg%2F By David RittgersI wrote an op-ed for National Review (Online) last week showing how conservative exploitation of the Supreme Court’s broad misreading of the Commerce Clause to reach intrastate medical marijuana facilitated liberal exploitation of the same to create the individual mandate in Obamacare. A principled stand on the limits of federal power does not begin and end with health care. The Commerce Clause is a double-edged sword: Conservatives cannot wield it in the drug war without making it a useful tool for advancing progressive visions of federal power. I’m happy to see Barton Hinkle, winner of the 2008 Bastiat Prize for Journalism, pick up on my writing and drive the point home in today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch: So far, many conservatives outraged over Obamacare do not se... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4183282 Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:18:56 +0100 4183282 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133683&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F_AHhBDrV-sE%2F By David RittgersBuilding on Ilya Shapiro’s post on the sealed grand jury proceedings against Siobhan Reynolds, founder of the Pain Relief Network, and the sealed Reason Foundation/Institute for Justice amicus brief, here is some more background on the Wichita witch hunt: The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Wichita, Kansas, indicted physician Stephen Schneider and his wife, Linda, a nurse, for illegal drug trafficking in December 2007. Reynolds found an eerie parallel between Schneider’s case and the prosecution that denied her husband pain medication, so she took action. Her public relations campaign on behalf of Dr. Schneider so annoyed Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway that Treadway sought a gag order to bar Reynolds’s advocacy. The presiding judge denied the gag order. When the ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133683 Wed, 03 Nov 2010 14:14:08 +0100 4133683 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4118883&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2hGlMix9WLI%2F By David RittgersCato Fellow Radley Balko highlighted the trend toward heavy-handed police practices in Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America. Radley continues to chronicle police abuses at The Agitator and Reason. Recent examples of police excesses include the unnecessary death of seven-year old Aiyana Jones in Detroit and this raid on an innocent elderly couple in Chicago (immigrants who fled the Soviet Union because of oppression). One of the fruits of Radley’s research was the Raidmap, a Google map application that allows you to see the scope of this epidemic of “isolated incidents.” You can also sort botched raids by category: death of an innocent, raid on an innocent suspect, death or injury of an officer, death of a nonviolent offender, unnecessary raids o... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4118883 Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:51:13 +0100 4118883 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3920824&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FwT5d--kk2qo%2F By Juan Carlos HidalgoColombia’s new president Juan Manuel Santos came out last week in support of a debate on drug legalization, endorsing the call made a few weeks ago by his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderón. Santos even said that if Californian voters passed a ballot initiative this November to legalize marijuana, he would team up with the presidents of Mexico and Peru “to work out how we are going to react and what is going to happen after this referendum.” This seems to confirm the reports of the Mexican newspaper El Universal which claimed that Calderón’s turn around in his willingness to discuss drug legalization came after meeting with then president-elect Santos, who told him that Mexico should lead a debate on drug legalization. A week ago, Costa Rican president Lau... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3920824 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:12:01 +0100 3920824 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3822908&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FynGYbZvuz1A%2F By Juan Carlos HidalgoFor the first time ever, Mexican President Felipe Calderón said yesterday that it was “fundamental” to have a debate on the legalization of drugs. Calderon, from the conservative National Action Party (PAN), had until now been reluctant to pay heed to the growing calls in Mexico and Latin America for a hemispheric debate on drug legalization. Once they left office, two of Calderón’s predecessors—Ernesto Zedillo and Vicente Fox—have also engaged in the debate, calling for the need to legalize drugs as a way to battle the drug violence that is crippling Mexico. Others, such as Jorge Castaneda, former foreign minister of Mexico, have also called for an end to prohibition. In today’s edition, El Universal newspaper in Mexico City claims [in Spanish] that... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3822908 Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:59:22 +0100 3822908 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3776366&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fq2uEnI2ZJao%2F By Ilya ShapiroThe L.A. Times reports that the city of Oakland has approved an ordinance paving the way for the industrial production of marijuana. There is more to this than simply a victory for liberty in the drug war.  As the story describes and Josh Blackman analyzes, the episode demonstrates “Baptists and Bootleggers”-style public choice economics in action: existing small-time growers are displeased at the competition, barriers to entry are high, the approved pot factories engaged in serious rent-seeking, and the city profits from a new stream of tax revenue. And so, as liberty expands, government reserves the power to decide who gets to benefit most — after taking a slice for itself off the top. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3776366 Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:48:38 +0100 3776366 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3599353&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2kV0kcE7VQw%2F By Gene HealyMy Washington Examiner column this week begins with a look back at the Disco Era: In his high school yearbook photo, President Barack Obama sports a white leisure suit and a Travolta-esque collar whose wingspan could put a bystander’s eye out. Hey, it was 1979. Maybe that explains the rest of young Barry’s yearbook page, with its “still life” featuring a pack of rolling papers and a shout-out to the “Choom gang.” (“Chooming” is Hawaiian slang for smoking pot.) Survey data suggest some 100 million Americans have tried pot, including political elites and drug war supporters Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin. So the point here isn’t to play “gotcha” by calling the president out on some harmless fun ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3599353 Wed, 26 May 2010 15:33:05 +0100 3599353 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3566604&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtJYDEG8Tjo8%2F By Juan Carlos HidalgoEl Paso, TX is one of the safest cities in the country, but its residents are strongly identified with the human tragedy affecting their Mexican neighbors across the Rio Grande. El Paso shares a metropolitan area with Ciudad Juárez, México, arguably one of the most dangerous cities in the world, where over 4,000 people have been killed in the last couple of years. This situation is something that the communities of El Paso and Las Cruces, NM want to change. On Monday, politicians, academics, civic and business leaders of both cities will hold an event calling for a “comprehensive revamping of the failed War on Drugs waged by the United States and other countries.” You can read the press release here. Among other things, they …advocate, as an important first st... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3566604 Fri, 14 May 2010 20:51:25 +0100 3566604 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3566607&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4Z9UQCVY4go%2F By Tim LynchFrom an Associated Press story: After 40 years, the United States’ war on drugs has cost $1 trillion and hundreds of thousands of lives, and for what? Drug use is rampant and violence even more brutal and widespread.  Even U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske concedes the strategy hasn’t worked. “In the grand scheme, it has not been successful,” Kerlikowske told The Associated Press.” Former Drug Czar John Walters complains, ”To say that all the things that have been done in the war on drugs haven’t made any difference is … saying all the people involved in law enforcment, treatment and prevention have been wasting their time. It’s saying all these people’s work is misguided.”  Precisely. Read the whole thing.  Mor... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3566607 Fri, 14 May 2010 19:12:08 +0100 3566607 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3538074&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F8tQ5Vyi4ZwQ%2F By Tim LynchThat’s one lesson that this video of a drug raid should drive home. Warning: Graphic Language and Material In America today, lawmaking is discussed much too casually.  The consequences are not seriously considered.  We allow agencies to issue regulations without having a formal vote in the legislature.  “Too cumbersome.”  Compliance is automatically assumed.  Few want to consider whether the use of brute force can be justified against someone who resists, or the danger that might be created for the innocent who get swept up in investigations.   We now have thousands of rules and regulations on the books. We suffered through the painful lessons of liquor prohibition, but have been slow to see the parallels in the drug war.  A few years ago, Cato pu... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3538074 Wed, 05 May 2010 20:30:51 +0100 3538074 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3475808&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FX1T41JksHM0%2F By Tim LynchUpon sentencing a 24 year old to 27 years in federal prison on a drug charge, the Federal Judge Alan Bloch lamented, “I was basically taking the rest of his life away.” Go here to read about that case, which is coming before the Supreme Court for review.  For related Cato scholarship on sentencing, go here and here (pdf).  For Cato work on the drug war, go here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3475808 Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:47:01 +0100 3475808 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3370397&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2lwOsgicfxo%2F By Ian VasquezThe apparent drug gang killings of U.S. consular employees this weekend in Juarez, Mexico are a bloody reminder that President Obama is getting the United States involved in yet another war it cannot win. Drug gang killings also occurred in Acapulco, with a total of 50 such fatalities nationwide over the weekend. Unfortunately, Obama has responded to the latest incident by following the same failed strategy as his predecessors when confronted with drug war losses: a stronger fight against drugs. Though the deaths are the first in which Mexican drug cartels appear to have so brazenly targeted and killed individuals linked to the U.S. government, illicit drug trade violence has killed some 18,000 people in Mexico since President Calderon came to power in December 2006—more th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3370397 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:53:18 +0100 3370397 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3071136&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUEmjpJ9IIwg%2F By Ian VasquezIn 2008, there were some 6,300 drug war killings in Mexico, double that of the previous year. El Universal newspaper in Mexico reports that deaths related to the drug war have just surpassed 7,000 since the beginning of 2009, with more than 1000 of those homicides in the last 48 days. That’s a daily rate of 21.3 deaths for the year. Drug traffickers have long operated in Mexico, but the rise in drug violence is a direct result of President Calderon’s all out war on the drug trade, which he announced upon coming into office December 2006. Annual drug war deaths have more than tripled since then. As Washington starts to spend the bulk of the $1.3 billion Merida Initiative to help Mexico fight drugs (Washington has spent $24 million so far), we can expect the violence to con... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3071136 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:36:59 +0100 3071136 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2927289&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fv4NwTDrOfkc%2F This report from USA Today tells the story of several patients who were harassed and threatened by federal agents. Excerpt:  ”In August 2002, federal agents seized six plants from [Diane] Monson’s home and destroyed them.” This report from the San Francisco Chronicle tells the story of Bryan Epis and Ed Rosenthal.  Both men, in separate incidents, were raided, arrested, and prosecuted by federal officials.  The feds called them “drug dealers.”  When the cases came to trial, both men were eager to inform their juries about the actual circumstances surrounding their cases–but they were not allowed to convey those circumstances to jurors.  Federal prosecutors insisted that information concerning the medical aspect of marijuana was “irrele... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2927289 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:32:07 +0100 2927289 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2916088&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJHuFE6-xScU%2F Kathleen Parker in the Washington Post: Arguments for and against decriminalization of some or all drugs are familiar by now. Distilled to the basics, the drug war has empowered criminals while criminalizing otherwise law-abiding citizens and wasted billions that could have been better spent on education and rehabilitation. By ever-greater numbers, Americans support decriminalizing at least marijuana, which millions admit to having used, including a couple of presidents and a Supreme Court justice. A recent Gallup poll found that 44 percent of Americans favor legalization for any purpose, not just medical, up from 31 percent in 2000. Read the whole thing.  For more Cato work, go here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2916088 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:19:19 +0100 2916088 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2842511&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiyOFfpp3X50%2F A grandmother in Indiana has been arrested for purchasing cold medicine. We can all sleep more safely now that this hardened criminal has been taught a lesson. The Terre Haute News reports: When Sally Harpold bought cold medicine for her family back in March, she never dreamed that four months later she would end up in handcuffs. Now, Harpold is trying to clear her name of criminal charges, and she is speaking out in hopes that a law will change so others won’t endure the same embarrassment she still is facing. …Harpold is a grandmother of triplets who bought one box of Zyrtec-D cold medicine for her husband at a Rockville pharmacy. Less than seven days later, she bought a box of Mucinex-D cold medicine for her adult daughter at a Clinton pharmacy, thereby purchasing 3.6 grams tot... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2842511 Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:40:14 +0100 2842511 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2809665&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fe7U0w9qx3R4%2F S. 1536, the “ALERT Drivers” Act (”Avoiding Life-Endangering and Reckless Texting by Drivers” — get it?) would reduce federal highway funds available to states if they don’t pass laws prohibiting people from writing, sending, or reading text messages while driving. The circle is complete. Senators, who were once chosen by state legislatures, now believe it is their role to tell state legislatures what to do. Federal command over our lives, in ever more intricate detail. It’s the product of exalting democracy — in this case, direct election of senators — over liberty and over the governmental structure originally established in the constitution. Texting while driving is dangerous to your health and others’. Letting governments ama... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2809665 Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:50:37 +0100 2809665 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2804149&cid=t_153110_133_f&fid=35452&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.graphictruth.com%2F2009%2F09%2Flittle-reminder-on-tactical-and.html A little reminder on the tactical and strategic value of maintaining the moral high ground.t r u t h o u t | The Moral Character of Our Country: "What the revisionists fail to understand is that morality is not a tool of advantage for the strong and/or the privileged to be used and appealed to when it is in their interest to do so, and when it is not, to be modified, ignored, or manipulated. Nor is morality a prop, a façade through which we may proclaim our superiority and/or condemn others. If morality is to have any meaning at all, it must recognize as a fundamental principle the dignity and the rights - the lives and well-being - of ALL human beings. If we do not value persons, all persons, not just members of our particular community, religious group, ethnic group, gender etc., and re... Graphictruth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2804149 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:12:00 +0100 2804149 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2747916&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJsiD9Jf658g%2F According to Rasmussen Reports, a majority of Americans believe that alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana: Pot or not, that is the question. Fifty-one percent (51%) of American adults say alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Just 19% disagree and say pot is worse. But 25% say both are equally dangerous. Just two percent (2%) say neither is dangerous. Younger adults are more likely than their elders to view alcohol as the more dangerous of the two. Fifty-three percent (53%) of women say alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana, compared to 48% of men. Men by a two-to-one margin over women say pot is riskier, but women are more inclined to say both are dangerous. Unmarried adults are more critical of alcohol than those ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2747916 Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:35:27 +0100 2747916 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2719675&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FsmW9JJc_KgI%2F New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof cites the Cato report about Decriminalization of Drugs in Portugal by Glenn Greenwald.  Here’s an excerpt: Above all, it’s time for a rethink of our drug policy. The point is not to surrender to narcotics, but to learn from our approach to both tobacco and alcohol. Over time, we have developed public health strategies that have been quite successful in reducing the harm from smoking and drinking. If we want to try a public health approach to drugs, we could learn from Portugal. In 2001, it decriminalized the possession of all drugs for personal use. Ordinary drug users can still be required to participate in a treatment program, but they are no longer dispatched to jail. “Decriminalization has had no adverse effect on drug usage rates i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2719675 Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:34:48 +0100 2719675 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2712074&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMWlhBvDlNOM%2F The Washington Post reports that despite reports of widespread violence and human rights abuses since Mexico increased its fight against the drug trade, the U.S. government is considering pumping more money to their failing efforts: The Obama administration has concluded that Mexico is working hard to protect human rights while its army and police battle the drug cartels, paving the way for the release of millions of dollars in additional federal aid. The Merida Initiative, a three-year, $1.4 billion assistance program passed by Congress to help Mexico fight drug trafficking, requires the State Department to state that the country is taking steps to protect human rights and to punish police officers and soldiers who violate civil guarantees. Congress may withhold 15 percent of the annual ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2712074 Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:47:08 +0100 2712074 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2477540&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFzHqHTnyA_Q%2F New York Times columnist, Nicholas Kristof’s latest column is about the failure of the drug war.  Excerpt: Here in the United States, four decades of drug war have had three consequences: First, we have vastly increased the proportion of our population in prisons. The United States now incarcerates people at a rate nearly five times the world average. In part, that’s because the number of people in prison for drug offenses rose roughly from 41,000 in 1980 to 500,000 today. Until the war on drugs, our incarceration rate was roughly the same as that of other countries. Second, we have empowered criminals at home and terrorists abroad. One reason many prominent economists have favored easing drug laws is that interdiction raises prices, which increases profit margins for everyone, fr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2477540 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:10:36 +0100 2477540 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2477547&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Flv6m2FgXeP4%2F War is an awful thing.  Yet, to show they are serious, politicians constantly use the “war” analogy.  A “war on poverty.”  An “energy war.”  The “drug war.” Yet militarizing these and other issues is precisely the wrong way to deal with them.  So it is with the drug war, which has come most to resemble a real war.  Indeed, more Mexicans have been dying in their “drug war” than Americans have been dying in Iraq. It’s time to call a truce.  Writes Sherwood Ross: Gil Kerlikowske, Obama’s new head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, has renounced even the use of the phrase “War on Drugs” on grounds it favors incarceration of offenders rather than treatment. But talk is no substitute for action. To his cre... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2477547 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:37:28 +0100 2477547 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2464093&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FjzE5RQAUQr8%2F A wild shootout over the weekend in Acapulco indicates that the drug-related violence in Mexico is spreading. The Washington Post reports: Suspected drug traffickers trapped in a safe house fought a furious gun battle with Mexican soldiers early Sunday in the beach resort city of Acapulco. As terrified residents and tourists cowered in their rooms, the firefight raged for two hours, leaving 16 gunmen dead. Two soldiers were also killed and several bystanders were wounded. The gunmen, suspected members of one of Mexico’s major cartels, threw as many as 50 grenades at the advancing soldiers, and both sides fired thousands of rounds from assault rifles. Mexican officials have long argued that while there has been serious turmoil in some cities along the border with the United States, th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2464093 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:51:47 +0100 2464093 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2414746&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fv5YrgURk1hc%2F White House Official Says Government Will Stop Using Term ‘War on Drugs’ The Wall Street Journal reports that White House Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske is calling for a new strategy on federal drug policy and is putting a stop to the term “War on Drugs.” The Obama administration’s new drug czar says he wants to banish the idea that the U.S. is fighting ‘a war on drugs,’ a move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use…. The Obama administration is likely to deal with drugs as a matter of public health rather than criminal justice alone, with treatment’s role growing relative to incarceration, Mr. Kerlikowske said. Will Kerlikowske’s words actually translate to an actual shift ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2414746 Fri, 15 May 2009 19:18:09 +0100 2414746 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2405023&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNDxdjh4svC0%2F Obama’s new drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, says it is time to move away from the “war” rhetoric surrounding federal drug policy.  Since Kerlikowske has just assumed office, this is exactly the right thing to do — set a whole new tone from the militarized approach we have seen over the past 20-30 years.  Drug abuse is a problem that must be dealt with, but we don’t need to send troops to Latin America, we don’t need former generals like Barry McCaffrey to oversee drug policy, and we don’t need police officers conducting raids on American homes with machine guns and  flash bang grenades. The political climate on drug policy is shifting.  Republican governors like Arnold Schwarzenegger are calling for a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2405023 Thu, 14 May 2009 17:21:32 +0100 2405023 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2405025&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJBpC4vSvZRs%2F This morning in The Wall Street Journal: The Obama administration’s new drug czar says he wants to banish the idea that the U.S. is fighting “a war on drugs,” a move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use. …Gil Kerlikowske, the new White House drug czar, signaled Wednesday his openness to rethinking the government’s approach to fighting drug use. Mr. Kerlikowske’s comments are a signal that the Obama administration is set to follow a more moderate — and likely more controversial — stance on the nation’s drug problems. …The Obama administration is likely to deal with drugs as a matter of public health rather than criminal justice alone, with treatment’s role gr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2405025 Thu, 14 May 2009 14:22:01 +0100 2405025 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2381012&cid=t_153110_133_f&fid=35452&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.graphictruth.com%2F2009%2F04%2Fglenn-greenwald-on-cbc-drug.html A toast to Common Sense in aHemp for Victory Mug by webcarveVia CBC Radio: The CurrentTen years ago, Portugal had a serious drug problem. Throughout the 1990s, just about every indicator from the rate of drug use, to drug-related crime, to sexually transmitted diseases was pointing the wrong way. But instead of responding with more arrests or harsher penalties for drug traffickers, the Portuguese Government decided to decriminalize drugs including so-called hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin. At the time, critics predicted an explosion in drug use and all of the social problems that go with it. But according to Glenn Greenwald, decriminalization has worked in Portugal and it might work elsewhere too. He is a constitutional lawyer and the author of a new report for the Americ... Graphictruth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2381012 Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:36:00 +0100 2381012 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375843&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F-YKIb_IA6zc%2F While Iraq’s security situation has been improving–though the possibility of revived sectarian violence remains all too real–the conflict in Afghanistan has been worsening.  The challenge for allied (which means mostly American) forces is obvious, which is why the Obama Administration is sending more troops. But the administration risks wrecking the entire enterprise by turning American forces into drug warriors. Reports the New York Times: American commanders are planning to cut off the Taliban’s main source of money, the country’s multimillion-dollar opium crop, by pouring thousands of troops into the three provinces that bankroll much of the group’s operations. The plan to send 20,000 Marines and soldiers into Helmand, Kandahar and Zabul Provinces this summer p... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375843 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:20:58 +0100 2375843 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2349322&cid=t_153110_133_f&fid=35452&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.graphictruth.com%2F2009%2F04%2Fcafferty-says-war-on-drugs-is-insane.html Lincoln on Prohibition by webcarve Commentary by Jack Cafferty on CNN: War on drugs is insane: "How many prison cells are filled with drug offenders? And how many corrections officers does it take to guard them? How much food do these convicts consume?And when they get out, how many parole and probation officers does it take to supervise their release? And how many ex-offenders turn right around and do it again?So how's this war on drugs going?Someone described insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result each time. That's a perfect description of the war on drugs."Cafferty is right on this. The more you look at the "conventional wisdom" of drug policy, the less sense it makes, the less savory the motives, the more side effects and the less social benefit... Graphictruth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2349322 Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:18:00 +0100 2349322 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2263803&cid=t_153110_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZdoY4khTN2k%2F Harvard Economist Jeff Miron tells CNN that the drug laws make no sense. On March 17, Cato will be hosting an event about The Politics and Science of Medical Marijuana.  One of our guest speakers, Rob Kampia of the Marijuana Policy Project, was recently interviewed by Glenn Beck. For more Cato work on the drug war, go here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2263803 Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:48:54 +0100 2263803 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1927888&cid=t_153110_151_f&fid=35823&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FAddictionInbox%2F%7E3%2F440337518%2Fgo-vote.html (Source: Addiction Inbox) Addiction Inbox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1927888 Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:59:00 +0100 1927888 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1868608&cid=t_153110_151_f&fid=35823&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FAddictionInbox%2F%7E3%2F417063737%2Fdrugs-on-ballot.html States to vote on drug policy proposals.The Drug War Chronicle has done an excellent job of rounding up the various drug policy initiatives that will appear on state ballots in November. The majority of these initiatives concern marijuana decriminalization, medical marijuana, and prison sentencing reform. The Drug War Chronicle reports in its October 3 issue that the pace of drug policy initiatives has slowed, compared to the beginning of the decade, when medical marijuana initiatives were on the ballot in dozens of states.While California voters will be asked to strengthen their support of medical marijuana and lessen penalties for possession, voters in Michigan and Massachusetts will have the opportunity to follow California’s lead with marijuana decriminalization initiatives of their ... Addiction Inbox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1868608 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:45:00 +0100 1868608 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1848042&cid=t_153110_151_f&fid=35823&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FAddictionInbox%2F%7E3%2F409388813%2Fmccain-on-drugs.html Full speed ahead on the Drug War.One issue largely missing in action during the presidential campaign has been the Drug War, and all the policy implications for addiction treatment that go with it. Our thanks go out to OnTheIssues blog for compiling the admittedly skimpy record of public statements about drug policy by both candidates. In this post, we examine the on-the-record views of Republican candidate John McCain.In his long career in the U.S. Senate, John McCain’s support for the Drug War has never wavered. Campaigning for president in 2000, McCain’s positions were the most hawkish of the four major candidates, the Boston Globe reported. “He wants to increase penalties for selling drugs, supports the death penalty for drug kingpins, favors tightening security to stop the flow ... Addiction Inbox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1848042 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:41:00 +0100 1848042 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1829344&cid=t_153110_151_f&fid=35823&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FAddictionInbox%2F%7E3%2F403369459%2Fobama-on-drugs.html Will he do anything about the Drug War?One issue largely missing in action during the presidential campaign has been the Drug War, and all the policy implications for addiction treatment that go with it. Our thanks go out to OnTheIssues blog for compiling the admittedly skimpy record of public statements about drug policy by both candidates. In this post, we examine the on-the-record views of Democratic candidate Barack Obama.The official Obama plan, as outlined in his campaign booklet, Blueprint for Change, calls for greater use of drug courts, job training for ex-offenders, and the elimination of sentencing disparities like the crack/powdered cocaine inequities. He does not favor lowering the current drinking age from 21 to 18, despite a collective push to do so by dozens of university p... Addiction Inbox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1829344 Fri, 26 Sep 2008 02:20:00 +0100 1829344 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1325285&cid=t_153110_151_f&fid=35823&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FAddictionInbox%2F%7E3%2F257805620%2Ffewer-people-testing-positive-for-meth.html Quest Diagnostics releases 2007 figuresQuest Diagnostics, the nation’s leading provider of employee drug testing services, reported a 22 percent drop in the number of U.S. workers and job applicants testing positive for methamphetamine last year. The percentage of positive tests for cocaine fell 19 percent in the same period—the largest single-year decline since 1997, the company reported.Overall, drug test positives were at an all-time low (see chart). The company said 3.8 percent of employees had tested positive for drug use in 2007, compared to a high of 13.6 in 1988. Quest Diagnostics based its conclusions on a summary of results from more than 8 million workplace drug tests the company conducted in 2007. The data include pre-employment, random, and for-cause testing. The primary t... Addiction Inbox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1325285 Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:44:00 +0100 1325285 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1158318&cid=t_153110_151_f&fid=35823&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FAddictionInbox%2F%7E3%2F218436077%2Fcocaine-is-cocaine-new-sentencing.html U.S. Supreme Court relaxes jail time for crack crimes In a little-noted ruling last month, the U.S. Supreme Court bowed to reality and restored a measure of sanity to cocaine sentencing guidelines. The Court ruled, on a 7-2 vote in the case of Kimbrough v. U.S., that federal judges had the discretion to reduce prison terms for crack-cocaine offenses.The move was an effort by the Supreme Court to bring crack cocaine sentences more in line with sentencing guidelines for powdered cocaine. Many drug experts expressed relief, noting that the changes were long overdue. “There’s no scientific justification to support the current laws,” said National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) director Dr. Nora Volkow.Writing for the majority, Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg noted that the two substances in qu... Addiction Inbox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1158318 Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:09:00 +0100 1158318 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1131731&cid=t_153110_151_f&fid=35823&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FAddictionInbox%2F%7E3%2F211696674%2Fcocaine-prices-climb-us-drug-czar.html NPR Investigation Suggests OtherwiseIt’s hard to win a war on drugs. Success stories are few, so it is not surprising that a temporary hike in recent cocaine prices in selected American cities was seized upon by U.S. Drug Czar John Walters as the lynchpin of a promotional campaign touting a victory in the war on drugs. After the U.S Coast Guard’s seized a record 160 metric tons of cocaine in early December, Walters declared: “These seizures are having a profound effect on availability of drugs in the U.S.”But are they? In late December, National Public Radio (NPR) undertook an investigation of this claim by contacting the police departments in the 37 cities—including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee--in which Drug Czar Walters claimed that interdictions had ... Addiction Inbox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1131731 Sat, 05 Jan 2008 17:25:00 +0100 1131731 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1019421&cid=t_153110_151_f&fid=35823&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FAddictionInbox%2F%7E3%2F183183493%2Fafghanistan-opium-supplier-to-world.html Will defoliants be used (again) on Afghan farmers?Afghanistan appears poised to break all opium harvest records in 2007. Experts estimate this year’s crop at more than 8,000 tons of opium, a 34 per cent surge over 2006. This amount represents roughly 93 per cent of the world market for heroin and other opium products, according to information provided by the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA). The amount of land under cultivation for poppies exceeds the amount of land used for coca cultivation in all of Latin America combined. For all practical purposes, Afghanistan has cornered the market, and is the undisputed leader.And, according to U.S. defense officials, serving as a primary source of ready cash for the Taliban insurgents in the south. According to Reuters... Addiction Inbox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1019421 Sun, 11 Nov 2007 17:58:00 +0100 1019421 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=966970&cid=t_153110_151_f&fid=35823&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FAddictionInbox%2F%7E3%2F172970289%2Fdrug-addiction-in-mexico-severed-heads.html Substance abuse worsens as drug war heats up“Mexico is no longer just a transit country for drugs bound for the United States. It is a country of drug users as well,” James C. McKinley Jr. concludes in an October 3 article for The New York Times (reg. required). According to the Commander of Police in Zamaro, “Ten or 15 years ago we didn’t even see powdered cocaine, just marijuana. Then about three years ago we started to see a lot of signs of ice, crack and heroin.”Observers note that alarm over drug trafficking has reached new heights as more and more dealers shift their business south toward the beach resort areas of Acapulco and Veracruz. Mutilated bodies and severed heads are sometimes left on the beaches for the television crews, Reuters reported. There have been more than ... Addiction Inbox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=966970 Sun, 21 Oct 2007 18:12:00 +0100 966970