The Drug Update

The latest CESAR Fax reports on the proposed FY 2007 Federal Drug Control budget, which namely gives more money to drug courts, national drug-free school programs, anti-drug media campaigns, and methamphetamine lab clean-up programs. Some programs have their funding reduced, including the High Density Drug Trafficking Areas program, which has been touted for its cost effectiveness in the past, while many state and local programs have been eliminated altogether. Programs eliminated from the budget include enforcement of underage drinking, Residential Substance Abuse Treatment, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities State Grants, and Alcohol Abuse Reduction Programs.

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February 20th's CESAR Fax reports on a study of methamphetamine - prevalent areas, which found that 5% of pregnant women used the drug at least once during pregnancy. A quarter of the women surveyed also used tobacco during pregnancy, while 23% drank alcohol.

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February 13th's CESAR Fax calls to attention a Colorado survey that found a high number of adolescent patients in treatment report usage of club drugs at least once in their lifetime. Nearly 50% had used LSD, followed by MDMA and methamphetamine usage both pinned around 30%.

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Consumers are pushing for a relabeling of alcohol products that will include nutritional information. Additionally, there is an effort to get companies to publish allergen information on these products.

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Wisconsin will most likely add alcohol to the state's sexual assault statute as a date rape drug. It is the only state that does not list alcohol as a date rape substance in its sexual assault statute.

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United States Director of National Drug Control Policy John P. Walters issued the following statement today:

The commitment of the Government of Colombia to attacking the international drug trade is unparalleled. Today's agreement further strengthens the partnership between our nations and our ability to reduce the threats that narcotics pose to both of our democracies. The job creation fostered by this free trade agreement will enhance the Colombian government's ability to move against illegal drug production. By fostering legitimate economic development in Colombia, we weaken the ability of terrorist groups to profit from the drug trade and inflict harm on the citizens of Colombia and the United States.

Information about the free trade agreement can be found at http://www.ustr.gov/.

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A review of scientific literature in the Drug Court Review concluded that marijuana detection times are actually shorter than previously thought. The review finds that the detection window for frequent users is less than 10 days, and 3-4 days for casual marijuana users. After these time periods, indicators of marijuana usage - which can disqualify users from a great number of jobs - disappear.

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Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia have found that a compound in marijuana is useful in preventing the loss of eyesight in diabetics. An unmanaged case of diabetes can lead to the proliferation of blood vessels in the eye, which causes blindness.

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Salvia has been cited as a leading cause for the suicide of a 17 year-old Delaware youth. Efforts to nationally outlaw the powerful hallucinogen in the United States have stalled because of salvia's importance to Native Americans.

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The great city of Lake Elsinore is considering banning medical marijuana dispensaries. Currently the city does not have a medical marijuana dispensary, but the city still wants to protect themselves from the "increased loitering around the dispensaries, as well as marijuana being smoked around them." Lake Elsinore is following the growing trend among California cities to ban medical marijuana dispensaries.

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Arizona's Governor Janet Napolitano announced plans to give $5 million to the Arizona Department of Public Safety to fight the growing meth abuse problems the state is seeing. The money will be used to "form three meth interdiction and investigation squads and provide support to our rural communities, which often have limited crime-fighting resources," the governor explained. Governor Napolitano also showed support for a bill that's making its way through the state legislature that would restrict the availability of pseudoephedrine. The proposal for controlling the sale of the ingredient follows Ohio, which just signed a similar bill, and Connecticut, which currently has a bill on the agenda.

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The College of Charlston has revised its marijuana policies for students. The new policy suspends pupils for possession of marijuana on campus, and they must move out of housing without reimbursement. As housing fees can run up to $7000, there are a lot of angry students protesting the policy change. There are no second chances - students are punished on their first offense, and seven have already been suspended under the new rule.

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The New York Times reports on the trend of states passing the cost of legal defense to the criminals who are guaranteed such a service as a right. One example is a former park ranger who served nine months in prison for possession and sale of marijuana and returned to society only to face $1900 in court costs and fees. The state has taken away her right to vote until she pays.

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A leftover West Virginia law from the prohibition era has been the focus of controversy lately. The law prohibits sale of beer that has a level of alcohol content that surpasses 6%, which essentially makes gourmet and microbrewed beers illegal. A consequence of this law is that residents travel out of state to acquire these specialty beers, and local businesses lose sales and income.

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Neal Levine, head of the the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, describes the ballot measure his committee petitioned for. The group doesn't advocate marijuana use, just that current marijuana policy causes more harm than good. They propose to legalize small amounts of marijuana for personal use and regulate it just as with alcohol. Their main goal is to steal marijuana from the dangerous criminal markets that currently control it.

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A study has found that people who smoked heavily will be at higher risk for stroke even years after quitting when compared with those who never smoked in the first place. Researchers found, through MRIs, that smokers who had quit even 30 years prior still had thicker arteries than those who never started smoking.

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Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro decided to follow the examples of other states by restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine--one of the many common chemicals used to make meth. Ohio's specific restrictions put medicines containing the chemical behind the counter, allow only adults to purchase it, and allow only 9 grams per month to any single customer. The legislation comes at a time when meth use in Ohio is still small, but the occurrence of meth labs is increasing.

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An obscure religious sect in New Mexico was banned from drinking a tea made with the illicit hallucingen DMT. The case was appealed up to the Supreme Court, who ruled in favor of the religious sect called O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal, known as UDV. The opinion was based on the fact that the precendent has been set with Native Americans and their use of peyote (which contains the controlled substance mescaline).

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A Boston University study found that alcohol use reduces the frequency with which diabetics monitor their own glucose levels, preventing effective self-treatment. Moderate and heavy drinkers are significantly less likely to monitor their glucose levels daily.

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The Drug Policy Alliance reports on 49 convenience store owners and their clerks who were arrested in Georgia for selling the legal ingredients of methamphetamine production. A recently passed Georgia law mandates that stores display these ingredients behind the counter, and the state is trying to get clerks to recognize when not to sell them.

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Connecticut governor Jodi Rell unveils a bill that would restrict the sale of certain over the counter medicines whose ingredients, pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, are used in meth production. Both of these substances would be classified as controlled, and records would be kept of who purchases them.

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Bolivia's President, Evo Morales, took office last month with a campaign pledge to eliminate restrictions on personal coca farming while clamping down on the illegal drug trade. In line with that policy, after a meeting with the United States Ambassador to Bolivia, Morales agreed to define coca growth in excess of 40 meters by 40 meters as "surplus," which must be eradicated. Personal coca growth is permitted by the Bolivian government. The U.S. provides aid to Bolivia in order to help combat the cocaine trade.

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The number of women drinkers has increased drastically in the U.S. and U.K., and the alcohol industry is modifying product lines and advertising to meet the demographic shift. In the two nations, young women have increased alcohol consumption by drinking a third more in 2004 than five years before. Additionally, alcohol advertising has been effective in reaching those too young to drink - by four years. According to a New York Times poll, Budweiser advertisements during the super bowl were voted most popular among 17 year-olds.

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This past Friday, North Dakota, Massachusetts, West Virginia, and Wisconsin presented the Drug Enforcement Agency with an argument for the allowance of industrially cultivated hemp. North Dakota's argicultural commissioner met with DEA officials for advice and assistance in carrying out the complicated task of legalizing industrial hemp production in accordance with state laws passed from 1999 through 2005. Industrially grown hemp would contain only trace amounts of the psychoactive ingredient present in marijuana, and can be used in the production of textiles, dyes, ropes, paper, and much more. The United States is the only industrialized nation to still have a ban on industrialized hemp production.

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The "Bali Nine" - nine Australians caught smuggling heroin through Bali - were victim to the Indonesian government's tough stance on drugs. Of the nine, seven have received life terms in prison and two were sentenced to death via firing squad. Australia's Prime Minister John Howard supported Indonesia's right as a sovereign nation to punish the smugglers, and pleaded with young Australians, "please, take notice of this, I even beg...not to take the terrible risks that these young people have done, their lives destroyed in the case of two people."

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Senate candidate and former Arizona Democratic Party chairman Jim Pederson's 24-year-old son was arrested for charges that include possession of narcotics, marijuana and paraphernalia, and misconduct with weapons. He was accused of selling to college-age students.

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Connecticut has started taking a heavy stance on marijuana dealers, recently arresting three different college students who were found dealing at or around their college campuses. The minimum sentence for someone convicted of selling marijuana within 1,500 feet of a school is three years jail-time, a punishment that some feel is just too much when violent offenders end up with less time.

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An article uses James Frey's sensationalized accounts of drug use as an example of overhyping the threat of drugs. While not playing down the consequences of drug abuse, the article evaluates the negative trend of fabricated stories or absolute hyperbole in writing about drug usage, citing societal attitudes and misguided legislation.

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The Harm Reduction Journal has published a study analyzing the effectiveness of the war on marijuana. The study finds that, since 1990, enforcement has focused on low-level marijuana offenses. Quoting from the abstract, "of the nearly 700,000 arrests in 2002, 88% were for possession" and "1 in 18 of these arrests results in a felony conviction, with the rest either being dismissed or adjudicated as a misdemeanor, meaning that a substantial amount of resources, roughly $4 billion per year for marijuana alone, is being dedicated to minor offenses." The study concludes that "law enforcement resources are not being effectively allocated to offenses which are most costly to society" and believes the data represent a "questionable policy choice."

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The city council of Turlock, CA voted to extend the moratorium on creating marijuana dispensaries from 45 days to a full year. This followed from other California areas that have passed similar ordinances: Modesto, Fresno, Rocklin, Concord, Susanville, and Pasadena.

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A new study by UCLA's BioMed Central explored the effects of loud noise in combination with ecstacy. By studying rats on the same dose of ecstacy, different noise levels were compared. Rats who were stimulated with loud acoustics took about five days for their brain functions to return to normal, as compared to just a single day for rats who weren't int he loud environment. Because of some nerve deterioration in the rats (more in the ones with music), the study suggests that ecstacy could be linked to mental illnesses later in life.

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Yesterday, we reported on the WHO's warning regarding the growing threat of counterfit drugs. Today, the Financial Times reports that the World Health Organization will prepare a taskforce this week to tackle the issue. The WHO has chosen such a response over an international treaty, as critics fear that such a treaty "could simply serve as an excuse for delay and inaction."

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Earlier, we reported on San Marcos' coming decision regarding a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries. The city council voted yesterday 4-0 to ban such dispensaries, but declared that one, Legal Ease, is allowed to operate as long as it follows all applicable laws.

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PBS has a documentary about meth abuse fully available online. There are many resources available on the PBS website, like an interview with Steve Suo about meth and a section about meth's effects on the body. Also available is an interview with filmmaker Carl Byker regarding the program.

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The World Health Organization warned of the harmful consequences of drug counterfitting, which it described as "an increasingly sophisticated and lucrative business." It is estimated that fake drugs account for 10% of all drug sales worldwide.

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The quest for medical marijuana in the state of New Mexico has hit a major snag in the House Agriculture Committee. The committee voted four to three to table the bill, thus preventing any progress of the bill, including a floor vote. The Drug Policy Alliance requests that citizens pressure state representatives to get the bill out of committee.

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The latest (February 6th) CESAR Fax reports that 15.3% of workers were impaired by or under the influence of alcohol in the workplace at least once in the past year. The National Survey of Workplace Health and Safety released data that 9.2% of workers reported being hung over at work, while 7.1% drink during the workday. 70% reported impairment or use on a less than monthly basis.

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The January 30th CESAR Fax reports a continued decline in the use and availability of LSD, PCP, and ecstasy among 12th graders. Possible reasons include the "dismantling of large ecstasy trafficking organizations, and the seizure of a major LSD-producing lab in late 2000."

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The Centers of Disease and Prevention conducted a study of rhesus monkeys that has provided "the strongest animal data yet suggesting that potent antiretrovirals given before HIV exposure may prevent sexual HIV transmission." The study consisted of six monkeys given Truvada, a drug typically given to HIV patients as part of a cocktail to prevent the onset of AIDS. All six monkeys were then exposed to the HIV virus once a week for fourteen weeks. The six monkeys remained HIV free. Earlier in the study, nine different monkeys were exposed in the same way without the drug, and they all became infected.

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Canadian law enforcement and drug advocacy groups worry and warn the public about a disturbing new trend: Teenage girls are starting to use crystal meth as a way to lose as much as 39 pounds in a single month.

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Two air marshals were charged today after they were found to be smuggling cocaine. The two marshals, both from Houston, used their positions to get by airport security.

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MSNBC has an article detailing the medical marijuana situation in Hawaii. Medical marijuana has been legal for in the state for five years, and while 3,000 patients have applied for eligibility, very few doctors are willing to to certify them. There are only eight physicians who "account for nearly 80 percent of the people who have registered to use marijuana. There are currently 164 doctors who have registered with the state as certifying their patients' need for marijuana." Advocates blame the state for failing to properly support medical marijuana, while at the same time, doctors have simply been reluctant to prescribe it. There are "many doctors (who) remain leery of legal complications and unconvinced that marijuana actually helps patients."

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A North Dakota State student found out the answer to this question the hard way when she attempted to purchase marijuana from the police station. Shortly thereafter, the police arrested the student for criminal attempt and possession of drug paraphernalia.

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Many questions arise with a new case of marijuana use in Montana, which just legalized medical marijuana last year. How much is needed for "uninterrupted availability of marijuana" to relieve symptoms? What about the affirmative defense since the defendant did not get his medical ID card until after he was arrested? The courts will hopefully address these questions and others in their decision.

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The City Council of San Marcos in San Diego will decide on a proposal to target underage drinking, marijuana use, and noise violations. The proposal includes penalties for hosts who knowingly provide alcohol to minors, fines for a second visit regarding noise violations, and prohibiting medical marijuana vendors. If approved, the ordinance would go into effect 30 days later.

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In Britain, only new recruits were tested for drugs like marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and heroin. A new policy changes that, however. As of January 25th, all metropolitan officers including the chief constable can be tested for drug use. The policy's goal is to help keep addicts out of the police force.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics revised their policy statement, lending support to needle exchange programs to slow the spread of HIV. The revision is "part of a comprehensive set of positions on dealing with HIV infection among youth."

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American skier Steve Nyman was approached by doping officials just before a television appearance. The unorthodox methods of doping officials have been stepped up for this year's Olympic Games. Athletes are only given one hour "to submit blood and urine samples after signing the doping form - a policy designed to ensure they can't do anything such as using a masking agent that might let them beat the test."

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India's national newspaper reports that the government has put forth "several measures including slashing excise duty by 50 per cent, exempting cancer and HIV/AIDS drugs from taxes, and making the maximum retail price inclusive of all levies." The result would be cheaper and more accessible drugs for the Indian populace. India's government is committed to providing free drugs for all citizens below the poverty line.

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Seniors depending on affordable drugs from abroad might find that their package never arrives. Canadian pharmacies report that there were 800 seized packages in January, a big jump up from the average 15. While ordering drugs from overseas is illegal, the FDA is lax in its enforcement. The U.S. government claims that there has been no change in policy, and there is no crackdown.

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