Legislation & Reform Articles and Information

[Yeti101]

This thread is for people to post articles relating to (or useful for) arguments for (and if you want to play devils advocate, against) changes to the way that ethnogens/entheogens etc are dealt with by the law. Trolling is a no-no, serious articles only. If you want to discuss the ideas start another thread and refer back to here.

It can be hard to find links that work for everyone. I admit that most of mine only work for people with uni student access, but I'll post updates if I can. I don't advocate breaking copyright law, but some friendly student might be able to help you out if you just ask......

Here's the first of my finds:

"Development of a rational scale to assess the harm of drugs of potential misuse"

Prof David Nutt, Leslie A King, William Saulsbury and Prof Colin Blakemore, The Lancet, Volume 369, Issue 9566, 24 March 2007-30 March 2007, Pages 1047-1053.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=A...1e5ba85078e08ff

(This is the one Ace was referring to in the salvia thread)

Summary(Abstract)

Drug misuse and abuse are major health problems. Harmful drugs are regulated according to classification systems that purport to relate to the harms and risks of each drug. However, the methodology and processes underlying classification systems are generally neither specified nor transparent, which reduces confidence in their accuracy and undermines health education messages. We developed and explored the feasibility of the use of a nine-category matrix of harm, with an expert delphic procedure, to assess the harms of a range of illicit drugs in an evidence-based fashion. We also included five legal drugs of misuse (alcohol, khat, solvents, alkyl nitrites, and tobacco) and one that has since been classified (ketamine) for reference. The process proved practicable, and yielded roughly similar scores and rankings of drug harm when used by two separate groups of experts. The ranking of drugs produced by our assessment of harm differed from those used by current regulatory systems. Our methodology offers a systematic framework and process that could be used by national and international regulatory bodies to assess the harm of current and future drugs of abuse.

"The Use of Hallucinogens in the Treatment of Addiction"

Author: John H. Halpern

DOI: 10.3109/16066359609010756, Addiction Research & Theory, Volume 4, Issue 2 June 1996 , pages 177 - 189

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~c...84956538~db=all

Abstract

Research into treating drug dependence with hallucinogens, although promising, ended with questions still unanswered because of varying, in some cases skeptical, methodology and insufficient adherence to a double-blind, placebo-controlled design. Interest is again emerging, especially with the recent patenting in the United States of ibogaine for its apparent anti-craving properties. A review of the literature shows that these properties may be present across the entire family of hallucinogens. Potential efficacy may be tied to their agonism and antagonism at specific serotonin receptor sites. After the administration of a hallucinogen, there is a positive “afterglow” lasting weeks to months which might be extended through repeated dosing. Ibogaine and LSD both have lengthy periods of action, making their application unwieldy. However, tryptamines, such as N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), are so short-acting that they could easily be administered in an office setting. With numerous hallucinogens yet to be tested, a hallucinogen might well be discovered with superior anti-craving properties and non-deleterious side-effect profile.

From harm reduction to human rights: bringing liberalism back into drug reform debates"

Author: Andrew D. Hathaway

DOI: 10.1080/0959523021000023270, Drug and Alcohol Review, Volume 21, Issue 4 December 2002 , pages 397 - 404

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~c...13659788~db=all

"Andrew Hathaway notes that harm reduction seldom articulates or acknowledges the moral foundation on which it might build to affect meaningful changes in policy. He argues that despite the rhetorical strengths of empiricism, an openly liberal, human rights orientation imbues rational argument with the principles needed to sustain pragmatic drug reform solutions. Liberalism, with its norms of social tolerance and respect for civil liberties, is presented here as key to the future development of harm reduction discourse as a way of advancing human rights themes in contemporary drug policy debates."

More to come, I promise.

Yeti101

Edit: I can't spell to save my life sometimes.

Edited August 18, 2008 by Yeti101

[MindExpansion]

Ok, here are the results from the 2007 national drug survey. Keep in mind that this is done by the gov. (in an ideal world this would have no impact but you can never be that sure)

It actually makes for a really interesting read (the dot points under the tables are just text translations of the tables, so you don't need to check out the tables and the text...its more 'either/or' depending on which you find easier).

Also check out the bottom 10 or so pages (before the appendixes start) on methadology, particularly page 55 which is about the reliability of results. The last paragraph on that page is an interesting statement.

The rest of those pages are interesting too. According to the standard error chart, it looks like when applied to the whole population, the estimates are all likely to be fairly good (Assuming I'm reading it right). They do list other issues that may make this less the case though, such as the exclusion of all institutions (boarding schools, prisons, university lodging, hospitals etc). All of this is outlined at the end of the report though, like I said.

On the second last page it mentions the availability of some more detailed data if anyone wants to get to nitty gritty.

It's a bit late for me to type any more so ill attach the pdf, and put the link below in case the attaching doesn't work (haven't done it before).

Download site

Peace,

Mind

National_Drug_Survey.pdf

National_Drug_Survey.pdf

National_Drug_Survey.pdf

[JDanger]

Unions NSW Statement on Drug Policy Reform

Quite an old statement (May 1999), but still quite good.

[MindExpansion]

Here is the report outlining a 9 point multifaceted criteria for the assessment and ranking of substances.

Really good read, really outlines the illogical nature of current legislation.

Peace

Edit: my bad, uploaded the version which has my highlighting on it... no biggie, there isn't much there.

Rational_Scale.pdf

Rational_Scale.pdf

Rational_Scale.pdf

Edited September 17, 2008 by MindExpansion

[apothecary]

Err isn't that the first link in the thread?

http://eprints.qut.edu.au/archive/00003442/01/3442.pdf

Jiggens, John L. (2005) The Cost of Drug Prohibition in Australia. In Proceedings Social Change in the 21st Century, QUT Carseldine, Brisbane.

The purpose of this paper is to measure the costs of drug prohibition in Australia and to examine the effects of prohibitionist drugs policy on the cannabis and heroin markets. The key argument will be that prohibition, rather than being a hinderance to the drugs black market, acts as an economic multiplier for the black market. Prohibition is a subsidy for the corrupt. This economic history was heavily influenced by Drugs, Crime & Society, the Report by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority, hereafter referred to as the Cleeland Report (after its Chairman Peter Cleeland MP) which was the first government report to approach drugs as a commodity and to understand the drug trade as a market.1 It was a wonderfully numerate report: the first government report to estimate the size of drug markets, just as it was the first to estimate the cost of drug law enforcement. Because of their pioneering nature, Cleeland’s estimations were often rudimentary, back-of-the-envelope calculations, and later investigators, like Marks2 and Clement and Daryal,3 have refined these estimates. This paper continues the tradition of Cleeland revisionism, developing methods for calculating the value of the cannabis market and for estimating the cost of drug law enforcement, over a 25 year period. By comparing the value of the marijuana market and the cost of drug law enforcement over this period, this paper argues that the value of the cannabis black market has increased as a multiple of the cost of drug law enforcement.

and...well this one is just too huge to bother pasting any part of, definitely worth a read to see where the lawyers probably go...

http://www.aic.gov.au/research/drugs/

http://www.aic.gov.au/research/drugs/links.html

Edited September 17, 2008 by Sina

[MindExpansion]

Nice, thanks Sina, you're right it is the first link, I'm an idiot.

Got some nice holiday reading lined up here.

That first article you just posted looks really good.

[Yeti101]

Nice, thanks Sina, you're right it is the first link, I'm an idiot.

Sorry MindExpansion - it was actually my fault as I didn't have the .pdf of the article when I first posted, and then didn't edit to add it later.

Nice finds Sina. The government sites are worth reading as I suspect they inform many of the policy makers (which is a bit scary).

[notguilty]

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/PARL...y/LC19941027038

speaks for itself

[MindExpansion]

Great link

Fairly well sums up my ideas on the issue, and sends a very obvious message.

Peace

[complex]

Ok, here are the results from the 2007 national drug survey. Keep in mind that this is done by the gov. (in an ideal world this would have no impact but you can never be that sure)

It actually makes for a really interesting read (the dot points under the tables are just text translations of the tables, so you don't need to check out the tables and the text...its more 'either/or' depending on which you find easier).

Also check out the bottom 10 or so pages (before the appendixes start) on methadology, particularly page 55 which is about the reliability of results. The last paragraph on that page is an interesting statement.

The rest of those pages are interesting too. According to the standard error chart, it looks like when applied to the whole population, the estimates are all likely to be fairly good (Assuming I'm reading it right). They do list other issues that may make this less the case though, such as the exclusion of all institutions (boarding schools, prisons, university lodging, hospitals etc). All of this is outlined at the end of the report though, like I said.

On the second last page it mentions the availability of some more detailed data if anyone wants to get to nitty gritty.

It's a bit late for me to type any more so ill attach the pdf, and put the link below in case the attaching doesn't work (haven't done it before).

Download site

Peace,

Mind

thanks for this.

and thanks to everyone, lots of interesting reads to come.

[notguilty]

some good articles here

http://www.tdpf.org.uk/AboutUs_Publications.htm

Edited September 22, 2008 by entheofarm

[MindExpansion]

.

Edited October 2, 2008 by MindExpansion

[notguilty]

War on drugs doco

This is a link baphomet posted in another thread, just thought I'd put it in here too.

Peace

I can't get that link to work?

[MindExpansion]

Woop my bad, link must be wrong... I'll fix that up tonight if i can.

Peace

[MindExpansion]

Great report

The above is a link JDanger posted in another thread... its a really really excellent read, making a lot of good points.

Peace

[Yeti101]

Really good work all. I'm a massive fan of Transform (entheofarm's link), though I feel at times their publications could be better referenced - I guess that's the uni tutor in me refusing to give it a rest. This is possibly irrelevant as references don't impress legislators. Their publication: After the War on Drugs: Tools for the debate is an excellent resource full of great ideas. Another thing that is impressive about this organisation is their media presence - check out how many articles they have had published this year: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/MediaNews_TransformInTheMedia.htm

The JD/Mindexp link is also an excellent example of what we can use or even create. Not only is it well written, but it is packed with solid well referenced facts.

[Yeti101]

The Development Impact Of The Illegality Of Drug Trade

Authors: Keefer, Philip; Loayza, Norman V.; Soares, Rodrigo R.

Source: Research Working papers, August 2008 , pp. 1-26(26)

Publisher: World Bank ( )

Abstract:

This essay reviews many of the less considered consequences of the war on drugs, particularly the consequences for developing countries, and weighs them against the evidence that exists regarding the likely efficacy of current strategies to curb drug use and trade. The most important unintended consequences of drug prohibition are the following. First, the large demand for drugs, particularly in developed countries, generates the possibility of massive profits to potential drug providers. Since they cannot be organized freely and under the protection of the law, they resort to the formation of organized crime groups, using violence and corruption as their means of survival and expansion. In severe cases, the challenge to the state is such that public stability and safety are severely compromised. Second, prohibition and its derived illegal market imply the expropriation of endowments and resources used to produce and trade drugs. In many instances, this entails the transfer of wealth from poor to rich countries and from poor peasants to rich (and ruthless) traders. Third, criminalization can exacerbate the net health effects of drug use. These consequences are so pernicious that they call for a fundamental review of drug policy around the world.

Development_Impact.pdf

Development_Impact.pdf

Development_Impact.pdf

[t st tantra]

current mexico!

t s t .

[apothecary]

current mexico!

t s t .

http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/050106mexico.cfm

Did you see this tantra?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/may/04/usa.mexico

Mexico is to reconsider a drug law that would have permitted the possession of small quantities of hard drugs, after the US warned the legislation could promote drug tourism to the country's resorts.

The Mexican president, Vicente Fox, yesterday sent the decriminalisation bill back to his country's congress for changes, in a reversal of his promise the previous day that he would sign the bill into law.

The law would decriminalise the possession of small quantities of most drugs, including cocaine amd heroin, and was described by its supporters as a routine codification of rules already observed informally by Mexico's police.

US embassy spokeswoman Judith Bryan yesterday said that US officials had urged the Mexican government to re-examine the law, "to ensure that all persons found in possession of any quantity of illegal drugs be prosecuted or be sent into mandatory drug treatment programmes".

A statement by President Fox said that changes would be made to the law "to make it absolutely clear that in our country, the possession of drugs and their consumption are, and will continue to be, a criminal offence". "With sensitivity toward the opinions expressed by various sectors of society, the administration has decided to suggest changes to the content of the bill," the statement said.

Mr Fox, a long-standing supporter of drug decriminalisation, suggested in 2001 that the only long-term solution to the drugs problem was for drugs to be legalised worldwide.

EDIT: Which raises one of the most interesting points relevant to this topic. Even if everything in this thread gets put to good use somehow and we end up SOMEHOW pushing legislation like Mexico's Senate passed, who's to say it won't all be scuttled by one call from the US Consulate? :/

Edited October 3, 2008 by Sina

[Yeti101]

 

 

EDIT: Which raises one of the most interesting points relevant to this topic. Even if everything in this thread gets put to good use somehow and we end up SOMEHOW pushing legislation like Mexico's Senate passed, who's to say it won't all be scuttled by one call from the US Consulate? :/

It could happen. So the question is this: Will we let this possibility stop us from trying in the first place? I am still going to try and I hope others do too.

[apothecary]

I don't mean to sound constantly pessimistic Yeti

Would prefer to try, and include in the plan a way to hinder US involvement

[Yeti101]

Perhaps we could make use of the Free Trade Agreement? Discussion of plans (some of which will be a bit whacky, no doubt ) might be better in their own threads.

[JDanger]

This was posted by RonnySimulacrum in the EGA thread. It's a lengthy Adelaide Now article discussing politicians' handling of the drug war in SA.

The Australian Medical Association- which incidentally, supports a medically supervised, ethically approved trial of pill testing- has said that a zero tolerance drug policy for Australia would have 'catastrophic consequences' for the country.

Mr. Pyne's polemic is yet another example of a political 'free kick', whereby politicians, both state and federal, hide behind press-releases and sound-bites, never having to personally face the scrutiny of science.

[edit] Pyne's Pain

Edited October 4, 2008 by JDanger

[notguilty]

Some resources here

http://www.beckleyfoundation.org/librarycontents.html