The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), headed by Drug Czar John Walters, decided to
harness the power of YouTube to reach out to young people (their profile says they're an 18-year-old) and begin posting their
failed advertising and other videos online. If there's something I agree with Drug Czar Walters on, it's that keeping minors from using illegal drugs is a vital part to reducing overall demand for drugs in a society. Where I disagree with him is on just about everything else. Posted at YouTube is a 3-part speech by Walters which I wanted to comment on.
Part I
Walters is referring to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a large annual survey to study patterns in drug use. The data from these surveys show a rough picture of trends in drug use, but generally don't give good indications of the ONDCP's role in affecting those trends. For example, Walters talked about the recent drops in teenage marijuana use. However, the Government Accountability Office revealed recently that the ONDCP's ads have actually been counterproductive in keeping kids from using it. Why the statistical drop then? There are several possibilities, from the fact that medical marijuana laws have made the drug seem less cool (which is supported by the fact that the biggest drops have been in medical marijuana states), to the fact that prescription drug abuse among teens is on the rise, to the possibility that more teenagers lie on the survey because of increased talk of drug testing. Regardless, the survey is a good opportunity for the Drug Czar to mine some spin.
Part II
Walters continues to provide some facts and data, both good and bad, before concluding that the news he was delivering was positive. However, one trend that he only briefly touched on is the misuse of legal prescription medications by young people. This is a trend that has been on the rise over the past fifteen years, rising from 573,000 new users in 1990 to 2.5 million in 2005. In fact, according to the testimony of National Institute of Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow (not online), 2004 was the first year that the number of new users of prescription drugs without a prescription surpassed the number of new users of marijuana.
Part III
Before discussing some issues related to health care in the third part, Walters touches upon an area where drug use is on the rise - among those between the ages of 50-59. The dominant drug in this age group is marijuana. Despite all the scare tactics and claims of the drug's danger, millions of Americans have been able to use it into old age. Walters also glosses over the contradiction between the rise in use among parents while use drops among their children, but it's important and expected. There's nothing that makes marijuana seem less cool than having your lame-ass parents like it.
Of course, it's still too difficult to read into any of the numbers from this survey and assign the exact causes, but there's no question that the Drug Czar's office under John Walters has seen a shift in the numbers of younger people using prescription drugs like OxyContin and Vicodin instead of marijuana to get high. And to add to that, nearly 40 percent of teenagers believe that drugs like OxyContin and Vicodin (which are both addictive and deadly) are safer than marijuana. Yet Walters continues to focus on marijuana as if it's the major problem we face, for reasons that only seem to make sense to him and the drug warriors who keep his bubble intact.
In the news in the past two weeks...
The Bush Administration's annual report on drug producing countries pointed fingers at Bolivia and Venezuela for defying U.S. policy.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is not happy with the Office of National Drug Control Policy's (ONDCP) budget.
A record number of people were arrested for marijuana in the U.S. last year - 88% for simple possession.
A bill in the House of Representatives, H.R. 5295, passed the House on a voice vote, but isn't expected to be taken up in the Senate. The bill would make it easier for school officials to search students for drugs. Eric Sterling describes exactly how bad this bill is.
Mark Thornton writes about the history of how economists have viewed prohibition.
Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project has a new book coming out called "Pot Politics: Marijuana and the Costs of Prohibition".
Maia Szalavitz wonders why Democrats like Chuck Schumer are still fighting the war on drugs in an age when no one wants to and it's causing so many problems.
The Drug War Chronicle discusses the skepticism over the new DEA guidelines for doctors who prescribe Schedule II drugs for pain management.
Canadian seed entrepreneur Marc Emery has a MySpace page where he provides voting information for U.S. political races this fall.
Donald E. Wilkes Jr. reviews Radley Balko's new book Overkill.
Nick Gillespie also can't figure out what the Drug Czar is thinking.
Drug warriors are getting their panties in a bunch over a new energy drink called "Cocaine".
The American Dental Association has posted more information online about the damage that meth can do to teeth and gums.
A massive high-tech surveillance effort was used to monitor people at the Wakarusa Music Festival near Lawrence, KS.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) held a panel with one of his home state's anti-drug officials to discuss the meth problem.
An engineer working for the City of Chicago was arrested and charged with running a heroin distribution ring.
Nine people in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan were arrested and charged with running a crack-cocaine distribution ring.
The Oneida County, NY branch of the NAACP is criticizing a drug raid in Utica.
Radley Balko writes about John W. Perry, an anti-prohibition New York City police officer who died on 9/11.
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia threw out a 24-year prison sentence because the judge relied on the 100:1 sentencing disparity between powder and crack cocaine, which is no longer mandatory.
An Adams County, PA woman admitted in court to smoking marijuana with her 13-year-old son as a reward for finishing his homework.
Scott Morgan attended a viewing of the new film on medical marijuana Waiting to Inhale, followed by a debate between Special Assistant to the Drug Czar David Murray, Marijuana Policy Project's Rob Kampia, and the Drug Policy Alliance's Ethan Nadelmann. Whig from Cannablog has some more thoughts and links. The transcript is here.
28 people in Winchester, VA were indicted on charges of running a cocaine distribution network.
Drug warrior Bob Stutman and former High Times editor Steven Hager continued their debate series at Stetson University in Florida.
A new movie called Cocaine Cowboys will be released in late-October about the drug trade in 1980's Miami.
The mayor of Jackson, MS, Frank Melton, was indicted over his tactics in fighting the drug trade in Mississippi's capital.
Radley Balko discovers the mysterious informant in the Cory Maye case, who later left an angry, racist, answering machine message for Maye's attorney.
The terminally clueless Asa Hutchinson is running campaign ads in his race for governor of Arkansas that claim that he will crack down on illegal immigration and meth use with law enforcement, despite the fact that cracking down on meth use with law enforcement has been a major CAUSE of illegal immigration.
The tour bus of dangerous criminal Willie Nelson was searched in Louisiana. Five people were cited for misdemeanor drug possession. Lafayette native Ian McGibboney shares some thoughts.
Texas independent Gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman, who's polling at 16%, is in favor of legalizing marijuana.
The Houston Chronicle writes about the dangerous Aryan Brotherhood gang in the Dallas area, which is supporting itself through meth trafficking.
A South Texas police officer has been indicted for taking bribes to protect a cocaine shipment across the border.
Officials in Las Cruces, NM confiscated over 450 pounds of marijuana.
City officials in Carlsbad, NM were given an introduction to buprenorphine treatment for heroin addicts by a local doctor.
An elementary school in Albuquerque was put on lockdown while officials raided a meth lab across the street.
Mason Tvert is asking a judge to force Colorado officials to rewrite the marijuana initiative so that it's not misleading about how the law pertains to those under 18. Kari Lyderson writes about the attempts by the Colorado DEA to undermine the legalization effort. Publicly funded con artist Andrea Barthwell is heading to Colorado to fight the initiative as well.
A Montana woman who let her 18-month old baby inhale from a bong will not have to serve a jail sentence.
Residents of Salt Lake City are asking the city council to take action to keep people from unknowingly buying homes tainted by meth labs.
In Arizona, some law enforcement officials need to be reminded that when you claim you've confiscated a certain weight of marijuana, you don't arrive at that figure by weighing the entire marijuana plant, roots and all.
Nevada's Democratic Attorney General candidate doesn't support the state's voter-approved medical marijuana law, while her Republican opponent does.
Megan Farrington talks about the politics behind California's Proposition 36. An Alameda County Superior Court judged ruled last week that a new bill passed by the state legislature and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger violates the initiative's intent.
Allison Hoffman writes about the crackdown on medical marijuana in San Diego County.
Whig from Cannablog has more news on the attempts to re-try medical marijuana advocate Ed Rosenthal.
Two Berkeley, CA residents pleaded not guilty to drug charges after making marijuana cookies for a house party.
Toronto officials arrested four men for running a smuggling operation that recruited people to smuggle cocaine through Pearson Int'l Airport.
Drug educators in Alberta are critical of an approach to meth which focuses more on punishment than treatment.
Canadian MP Libby Davies writes about how Vancouver was able to keep Stephen Harper from shutting down the successful heroin safe-injection site.
Kari Huus writes about the growth of the Mexican meth industry.
Sam Logan writes about the politics of Mexican drug cartels in the aftermath of the arrest of Javier Arellano-Felix in August. Scott Henson has more.
Scott Henson also writes about the recent murder of the main anti-drug official in Nuevo Leon state.
Alleged Colombian smuggler Jaime Maya Duran was arrested in Mexico City and will face trial in the United States.
Luke Brown at Rehabology discusses the case of the Guatemalan anti-narcotics officials facing charges in the U.S. for conspiring to smuggle cocaine.
USAID has suspended anti-drug activity in the southern parts of Colombia where much of the coca in that country has normally been harvested. The rebel group FARC, claiming that they are not involved in the drug trade, are calling for worldwide legalization of drugs.
The newly elected President of Peru is looking to work with the U.S. to eradicate coca farming.
Tom Phillips writes in the Observer about the fight against the powerful PCC drug gang in Brazil.
Portugal has approved heroin safe-injection sites and prison needle exchange programs.
Police in London are arresting blacks for marijuana offenses at much higher rates than whites.
A teacher in Blackpool, England was fired after he was caught with cocaine at a club.
A recent European study showed that Hepatitis C patients who smoked marijuana showed more improvement fighting the disease than those who didn't.
More law enforcement officials in Ghana are suspected of corruption in the case of some missing cocaine from a ship.
Five Israeli soldiers serving in Gaza were arrested under suspicion of dealing drugs.
John Cooley writes in the Christian Science Monitor about the situation in Afghanistan. Cooley mentions the Senlis Council plan, but seems to dismiss it because "the drug lords have blocked it." President Karzai claims it will take 10 to 15 years to shift farming away from opium.
Five people in northern Vietnam have received death sentences for smuggling heroin.
A mother of 10 in Cebu City in the Philippines was shot and killed. It is believed that she sold shabu (meth).
Six of the nine Australians known as the Bali nine will be executed in Indonesia for smuggling heroin after losing an appeal.
A 62-year-old man was charged after $35 million worth of cocaine was confiscated in Brisbane.
Police in Melbourne, Australia have conducted a large scale drug sweep.
Islands in the South Pacific are becoming a bigger source of drug production.
This is your brain on the war on drugs.