Focusing On Prevention And Neuroscience, President Obama Ends Reagan’s War On Drugs

[mucifer]

It may have taken 30 years to prove, but it seems we were on the right track way back when: on Wednesday, the White House announced a new direction in the War on Drugs, where stopping drug use before it starts and treating drug addition as a health issue will now be priorities.

“Drug policy should be rooted in neuroscience, not political science,” said Gil Kerikowske, director of the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy.

Kerikowske said that 45 percent of incarcerated Blacks are locked up for drug offenses while that number shrinks to 29 percent for Whites and 20 percent for Hispanics. At the same time, Black women are more than twice as likely to be imprisoned for drug offenses than White women.

http://newsone.com/2412446/obama-war-on-drugs/

Finally, after so many years this might change.

[Vincardog]

1. So we can expect him to AG Holder to quit attacking MM facilities?

[mucifer]

2. I sure hope so.

[EOTE]

8. And I would think not.

This at a time when the DoJ has doubled down on both medical and recreational marijuana use in states where it has been legalized. If the Obama administration were serious about bringing changes to this horrendous awfulness which is the drug war, they'd at least be respecting state laws with regard to drug use. I'm very disappointed in the Obama admin. with regard to drug policy. When I see changes in ACTION rather than just rhetoric, then I'll change my tune. However, I see public pressure on this issue growing so quickly that I think some change might be forced upon the White House before Obama's second term ends.

[forestpath]

6. Not holding my breath.

[Buddyblazon]

29. Lets be very clear about MMJ raids.

This is happening in CA mostly. It's not happening here in Colorado. At least very rarely.

Here's CA's problem:

The refused all regulation. All the MMJ facilities are "non-profit". And while the facilities may actually be "non-profit", the owner are making ridiculous bonuses and salaries. See, they're full of shit. And the feds know it. It's dealers trying to game the system. Not all. But many. So they have caught the eye of the Feds.

Here in Colorado, where we have heaped lots of regulations on ourselves, the raids ARE NOT HAPPENING. We have made an attempt to be as legitimate, law-abiding, and regulated as possible...and the Feds have left us alone. The ONLY raids you see are when someone breaks state laws. See, it's the state LEO's calling the Feds on the dispensary that are blatantly breaking state laws.


So everybody needs to stop with the "Obama is raiding dispensaries". He may be. But it's such a small part of the truth...it's bullshit.

How do I know this? Wife and I and another partner (a GM and part owner at another dispensary) are currently shopping for a turn key dispensary and grow (you MUST own both in CO). In fact, looked at one a couple of hours ago. We've done boatloads of research and spent thousands of dollars getting our business plan, financials and facts all in a row.

Now you've inspired me to make a thread about this so that people stop uttering this "barely truth".

[Vincardog]

32. If you find one and need help running it; PM me and I will be there

[Jamaal510]

3. Is this for real?

It's about time (and I say this as a non-smoker and non-drug user). It should be a no-brainer; just legalize 420 and tax it like alcohol. Let people smoke it in their homes, but not out in public around others.

[mucifer]

4. They are changing the focus away from the horribly racist current policy.

How much better we have to just wait and see.

Another article on it.

The strategy "rejects the opposing extremes of legalization or a law enforcement-only," according to a 104-page document that spells out the administration’s plans.

"Rather, the strategy pursues a 21st century approach to drug policy that balances public health programs, effective law enforcement, and international partnerships. This 'third way' is rooted in the knowledge that drug addiction is a disease of the brain — one that can be treated, recovered from, and, most importantly, prevented."

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/administration/295889-obama-seeks-new-approach-to-the-war-on-drugs#ixzz2RQWG3faF
Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook

[Vincardog]

5. I hope so but will wait to see some ACTION.

[immoderate]

7. When you have a good war going, you don't want to end it all at once!

What's he doing? Nothing you could notice.

If he stops prosecutions in states that have medical pot, and reschedules it with the DEA, that would indicate he intends to do something.

Frankly, I think Obama is too chicken to deal with drug-enforcement establishment.

--imm

[Mopar151]

14. To be fair, the drug warriors don't fight fair

Their idea of dialouge is scorched-earth retribution. Look at the history of the ineffective DARE program and you'll see plenty of examples.

[immoderate]

21. So far, he is on their side.

--imm

[truebluegreen]

9. So we can expect a change in priorities

in the budget and the military? Including overseas operations?

'Cause, speaking as someone with good cause to know, other nations are WAY tired of fighting the US's battles on their own territory.

[Hekate]

10. Be still, my heart

If it is as you say, this would be a life-changing turn of events for this nation.

[dembotoz]

11. believe it when i see it

[Nevernose]

12. I think it was Jimmy Carter who said

"The cure is worse than the disease," or something to that effect. The reason drugs are illegal? Because they destroy lives, families, and communities (leaving out, for the sake of argument, the Puritanism). And what does criminalizing large swaths of the population and locking up people in the drug trade do? Destroy lives, families, and communities. It's just stupid.

[RainDog]

13. Congress will have to make the change

Hopefully this is a signal to Congress that the executive branch agrees with the bill, submitted on Feb. 5th, to move cannabis from the DEA to the Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco.

http://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=318723

Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) and Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) today introduced two pieces of legislation to de-federalize marijuana policy and create a framework for the federal taxation of cannabis. Polis’ Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act would remove the Drug Enforcement Agency’s authority over marijuana and allow states to choose whether to allow marijuana for medicinal or recreational use. Blumenauer’s Marijuana Tax Equity Act would create a federal excise tax on marijuana. Together, these bills would provide a system of regulation and taxation for marijuana in states where it is legal.

“We are in the process of a dramatic shift in the marijuana policy landscape,” said Blumenauer. “Public attitude, state law, and established practices are all creating irreconcilable difficulties for public officials at every level of government. We want the federal government to be a responsible partner with the rest of the universe of marijuana interests while we address what federal policy should be regarding drug taxation, classification, and legality.”

The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act follows Colorado’s model of regulating marijuana like alcohol by:

Removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act;
Transferring the Drug Enforcement Administration’s authority to regulate marijuana to a newly renamed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana and Firearms, which will be tasked with regulating marijuana as it currently does alcohol;
Requiring marijuana producers to purchase a permit, as commercial alcohol producers do, of which the proceeds would offset the cost of federal oversight; and,
Ensuring federal law distinguishes between individuals who grow marijuana for personal use and those involved in commercial sale and distribution.
States could choose to continue to prohibit marijuana production or use in their states and it would remain illegal to transport marijuana to a state where it is prohibited.

[Cha]

15. Good on President Obama! And, good on these people, too..

Earlier in the month, a group of 100 entertainers, ranging from Lil Wayne to “Opie” from the “Andy Griffith Show” (movie director Ron Howard), sent an open letter to President Barack Obama calling for a change in drug laws.

Organized by rap mogul Russell Simmons, the group voiced its support for drug incarceration reform and added that “the time is right” to move toward replacing jail sentences with intervention and rehabilitation for non-violent offenders.

Thanks mucifer!

[LuckyLib]

16. David Simon, creator of The Wire, on the failure of the War on Drugs:

http://video.pbs.org/video/2328459017


a snippet of "The House I Live In" Independent Lens, PBS documentary

[Le Taz Hot]

17. And yet . . .

Just last week the Feds came back to so cal and raided several more dispensaries.

[silverweb]

18. Corroboration?

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]I'm hesitant to applaud just yet.

[Comrade Grumpy]

19. Follow the money. They're still spending 58% of the federal drug budget on cops and prisons.

That's down slightly from last year, but still in line with the historical 2/3-1/3 split between drug war spending and drug prevention and treatment spending at the federal level.

[skydive forever]

20. Is this the Onion?

[decayincl]

22. I doubt that...

Private Prisons and their lobbies will allow any reduction in incarceration rates or reduction of sentences.

[markpkessinger]

23. I'll believe it when I see it

The Administration has, for four years, said one thing while doing the exact opposite on this issue. I don't trust the administration's, or the President's, word on much of anything at this point.

[scarletwoman]

25. Ha! I hadn't seen your post when I posted my own "I'll believe it when I see it" below.

I'm with you. They talk a good game about all kinds of things, but when it comes down to crunch time, they bow to the status quo.

[markpkessinger]

30. "Great minds," etc.

[scarletwoman]

24. "President Obama Ends Reagan’s War On Drugs" - I'll believe it when I see it.

And I seriously doubt that we are going to see anything of the sort.

[ohheckyeah]

26. Rehab centers must have a new, powerful

lobby. Now everyone who is busted with pot will get to spend 30 to 90 days in a "voluntary" rehab program.

[unrepentant progress]

27. "Being a college student at the time..."

Being a college student at the time, I clearly remember when Nancy Reagan and the conservative wave in national government helped usher in the nation’s War on Drugs in the 1980s.

Well, I think it's safe to say Mr. Shepard wasn't a history major. Nixon created the modern "War On Drugs."
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-5IjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RLcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=973,31915&dq=nixon+war+on+drugs&hl=en

[hopemountain]

28. it is an encouraging beginning/new direction

easy does it so that it is done in a good, lasting way.

[reformist2]

31. Is this kind of like he's ended* all the wars overseas?

That is to say, with an asterisk?