Rosenblum’s victory Tuesday came with the help of marijuana activists who flexed their political muscles in a state with 55,000 registered pot users. She defeated former interim U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton, who has criticized Oregon‘s medical marijuana law.

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http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/e949e5f0d6cc45af96c241abb161800c/OR–Oregon-Primary-Attorney-General/

NNPA COLUMNIST

Gary L. Flowers

Contrary to public opinion, white people in the U.S. account for more arrests for drug use than do people of color. Yet, the widely-held and erroneous belief that 1) most drug crimes are committed by people of color, and 2) most people of color commit drug crimes that result in the disproportionate imprisonment of non-whites. How did America become come to target people of color for socalled “war on drugs?”

Most Americans have no idea that drugs such as opiates, cocaine, and marijuana were not always illegal in the United States. In fact, in the early 1900s, many wealthy people commonly used such drugs recreationally, peaking with 250,000 American addicts among the nation’s 76 million citizens.

During the 20th century, while some Americans were addicted because of doctor-issued prescriptions, drug use by wealthy whites was considered a medical problem. For others, addictive drugs were considered chic—so much so that Congress enacted the first Food and Drug Safety Act in 1906, requiring drug companies list contents in drugs on their labels. Accordingly, largely due to economic status, the rich were given rehabilitation rather than incarceration.

By 1909, the phrase “war on drugs” was first used and targeted Chinese, African American, and Mexican people as drug users. California passed laws prohibiting smokable opium as people of color were perceived as the “problem.” For example, Chinese immigrants became the face of opium use, despite their low percentage of California’s population. The result came in the form of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. As would be the case with other people of color later in America’s history “respectable white women” were thought to be corrupted by Chinese, leading to loose sexual habits. In 1902, the Committee on the Acquirement of the Drug Habit of the American Pharmaceutical Association declared: “If the Chinaman cannot get along without his dope, we can get along without him.” Truth be told, competition for cheap labor by Mexicans influenced the discrimination towards Chinese.

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http://www.frostillustrated.com/atf.php?sid=10294

When President Richard Nixon declared a “War on Drugs” in 1971, he was merely placing a new administrative emphasis on the American prohibition of many psychoactive substances that began in 1914 — 41 years later, it isn’t even surprising for this columnist to agree with many others, including noted conservative Pat Robertson, who have declared that war to be over, the country having suffered ignominious defeat.

Ohio State University law professor Michelle Alexander in her acclaimed new book argues eloquently that the Drug War is The New Jim Crow. It seems that Nixon’s failed drug war was never only about drugs.

It was, and is, about subjugating African Americans by incarceration on felony drug charges, intended to deny them the right to vote, as one element of Nixon’s long successful Southern Strategy for Republican success.

So although this “war” failed in its efforts against drugs, it did and does succeed as a political strategy by depriving millions of citizens of their right to vote, even lifelong.

As a toxicologist and forensic pathologist, I have been on the record since 1971 that marijuana is far less harmful  than either tobacco or alcohol.

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http://www.medpagetoday.com/Columns/At-Large/32681

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http://www.europeanplasticsnews.com/subscriber/featured2.html?cat=1&featuredid=1468

But Riverside County has been cracking down on dispensaries (“Medical marijuana dispensary raided,” April 4). For a month, I lacked access to medication, reverting to my former agony.

A doctor recommended an FDA-approved drug for $3,000 a year. Its possible side effects include suicidal thoughts, coma and death. I declined.

My current dispensary lacks a sense of safety. Marijuana tincture is difficult to find, so I’m forced to restrict doses.

If people were denied access to popular medicines, there would be an outcry. In desperation, I now expose myself to ridicule, but I want to know how Riverside County will offer safe access to a natural medication mitigating my fibromyalgia symptoms without side effects, addiction, or financial struggle.

I want the public educated about the medicinal value of a plant so stigmatized I can’t advocate it without hearing pothead jokes.

Riverside County, help me out.

Jessica Bradshaw

Lake Elsinore

http://www.pe.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor-headlines/20120514-your-views-may-14.ece

Nigerian student to hang for drug trafficking

The majority of respondents to an online poll on MaltaToday.com.mt vote for the decriminalisation of possessing small amounts of cannabis.

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/5/11/stop_the_drug_war_mexican_poet

With the birth of my first child 10 months ago, this is a very special Mother’s Day for me. It is a time for me to pause and think about the mother I want to be to my little boy as he continues to grow. I plan to take some quiet time to imagine both the joys and challenges that lie ahead.

Looking down the road, I know, like every other parent, that one of the greatest challenges my husband and I will face is the possibility of teen drug, tobacco and alcohol use. Fortunately, as a parent, I have more than a decade before that really becomes an issue. But as a Colorado citizen, I have the opportunity this year to address the subject on a societal level.

In November, the voters in our state will consider Amendment 64, an initiative that would regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. It would allow adults 21 years of age or older to use and possess a limited amount of marijuana. And it would direct the legislature to impose on excise tax on marijuana, with the proceeds going toward public school construction.

Most importantly, from my perspective as a future parent, the initiative would establish a regulated system for the cultivation and sale of marijuana. This means that marijuana would be sold in stores in which employees would be required to check IDs before conducting any transaction.

Taking the sale of marijuana out of the criminal market and putting it in the hands of state-regulated stores would be a dramatic improvement over the existing system. In fact, if your concern is the health and well-being of teens, it can be argued that we currently have the worst possible marijuana policies.

By keeping marijuana illegal, we are ensuring that the only market for marijuana, aside from the controlled sale of medical marijuana in the state, is the criminal market. One that is easily accessible in any Colorado neighborhood. Therefore, when teens inevitably decide to acquire marijuana, they enter a market where dealers have a financial incentive to turn them on to harder drugs.

In addition, marijuana obtained in the criminal market is completely unregulated and untested. A purchaser, especially a young, novice purchaser, has no idea whether there are any impurities or additives. For those concerned about the potency of marijuana, it is also relevant that underground marijuana is not professionally packaged or labeled.

Most of all, there is the simple fact that drug dealers don’t card.

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http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_20595598/guest-commentary-mothers-and-marijuana-colorado