cannabisnews.com: Panel OKs Bush's Drug-Policy Choice





Panel OKs Bush's Drug-Policy Choice
Posted by FoM on November 08, 2001 at 15:40:58 PT
By Jesse J. Holland, Associated Press Writer 
Source: Associated Press
John Walters' nomination to lead President Bush's national drug policy is on its way to the full Senate for approval, despite opposition from top Democrats on a Senate committee. Walters' nomination was sent on to the Senate floor by the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 14-5 vote. Top Democrats on the committee voting against his nomination included Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont and former chairmen Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Joseph Biden of Delaware. 
Also voting against Walters were Democratic Sens. Richard Durbin of Illinois and Charles Schumer of New York. Walters served as acting White House drug policy director in 1993 but quit when President Clinton announced a reorientation of anti-narcotics policy to de-emphasize law enforcement and interdiction. He attacked the Clinton administration's anti-narcotics advertising campaigns and advocated severe prison sentences for marijuana smugglers and repeat offenders. While he took a softer line after his nomination, ``he is ideological in a time when our efforts to prevent drug abuse call for cooperation and pragmatism,'' Leahy said. While other Democrats agreed, they said it wasn't enough to vote against Walters. ``The standard for voting against a Cabinet member has not been met,'' said Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis. Republicans pointed out that Walters was one of the last unconfirmed Cabinet members, and that his position as ``drug czar'' could be potentially important in fighting drug use in the country. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., pointed out that Democrats confirmed Attorney General John Ashcroft's nomination despite harboring doubts about how Ashcroft would use the position. ``I would hope we could give Mr. Walters the same benefit of the doubt,'' Kyl said. Source: Associated PressAuthor: Jesse J. Holland, Associated Press Writer Published: November 8, 2001Copyright: 2001 Associated PressRelated Articles:Senate Panel Approves Walters as 'Drug Czar'http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11299.shtmlDelay of Drug Czar Confirmation an Act of Treason http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11293.shtmlA Throwback Drug Czarhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11239.shtml
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Comment #8 posted by firedog on November 09, 2001 at 01:07:52 PT
So, Mr. qqqq....
What exactly can we do? Is it even worth trying?I agree with you, Walters will probably be confirmed, and there's precious little any one of us can do about it. I feel like the entire past year has been a long nightmare. I keep hoping that I'll wake up, but instead, it just keeps getting worse and worse.Maybe the whole Bush reign is the equivalent of a correction in the market. Maybe after this whole debacle is over (2004? 2005?) we'll see an period of explosive progressive growth. Maybe in 2010 the U.S. will catch up to the Netherlands (at least the Northeast and the West Coast, along with isolated pockets elsewhere). It's possible, but not terribly likely. The less progressive elements in the U.S. have done a fine job of holding the rest of us back from creating a better world.That stability-seeking, group-thinking, tradition-minded, order-desiring segment of society has order as their highest goal, and organization as their greatest strength. The more unconventional, creative, individualistic elements of society do not have order and organization as high priorities; so they have to take on the united hive mentality as individuals. I think this has always been the fundamental weakness of progressive movements of any kind. The playing field is not level, and never has been.But I still try to fight against the hive mentality, simply because it keeps me alive. Even if I think that it's probably futile, at least I feel like I'm doing something, and not just sitting idly back and watching it on TV. Maybe it's just my latent ADD, my innate restlessness that drives me to action.Of course there have been some bright rays of sunshine breaking through an otherwise gloomy year. England, Canada, and Jamaica have all taken (relatively) bold steps towards a rational, enlightened policy, instead of one driven by fear, uncertainty, and doubt. I guess that's true of Western society in general, with the exception of the United States and a few other aberrations.So I'm trying to concentrate on the positive. Things have been bad in this country for a long time, yet we manage, somehow. At least other countries are paving the way forward, the Netherlands first and foremost. The U.S. is innovative in some areas but very fearful and reactionary in others. But eventually it does come around.Enough rambling for now... so... peace and good night!
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Comment #7 posted by theropinfool on November 08, 2001 at 22:26:07 PT
Is the government a beached whale?
Are all governments beached whales and the internet the new 'government'?
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Comment #6 posted by qqqq on November 08, 2001 at 21:02:07 PT
Another Done Deal
...I hate to say it,,but ya might as well just kick back,and observe Waters' confirmation,,much like Ayatollah Asscroft,,,,or prince Hutchinson,,,,this f*cking asshole will be suddenly,and mysteriously approved with the usual absence of any relevant debate....these deals are made on the side,,public opinion has very little to do with anything nowdays.....I dont remember hearing a national outcry for a "war on terror",,, do you?,,,yet in the US,,we are now citizens of a country thats government has flown off the handle,,,and is involved in the most bizzarre,and unjustified military massacre of all time,,with no specific proof of who,or what we are targeting....the Sheeple are standing by and watching a grotesque,and disgusting ,senseless,and unjustified aggression against people whose lifetime income would not even be enough to buy a tire on a flag ridden SUV! .....The people have no say in what goes on...The voices of those who disagree are drowned out by a carefully designed media brainwashing scheme,,that has been mastered by the powers that be.....I'm afraid the monster is too rich and powerful to do much about....The government has been bought and paid for,and is run by a collusive cartel of Evil! 
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Comment #5 posted by johnrambo on November 08, 2001 at 19:22:56 PT
 a Freight Train's a comin'
The US is ok with killing innocents in South America, directly and indirectly. They freeze assets (with help from the IMF / World Bank) and put people on the streets with ZERO capital to their names (in countries where you should consider yourself fortunate should you make 1$ per week). If this wasn't enough to quench the US's thirst for the blood of innocents, our president (who, along with his ancestors, have ties to neo-nazis and secretly funded the Nazis during WWII) plans to murder more, many more. Appointing Ashcroft has ensured this. So as they train terrorists down south, sing, "HOORAY!" for democracy. If this continues you're sure to see one hell of a terroristic group emerging down south. Larger, stronger, and ready to fight the good fight. Give it a few years, just wait and see. 
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Comment #4 posted by Jose Melendez on November 08, 2001 at 18:26:56 PT:
here's the study
here's the study
http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/issues/current/rfull/yoa20391.html
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Comment #3 posted by Jose Melendez on November 08, 2001 at 18:24:51 PT:
but wait, there's more!
Cognitive Performance Unaffected After Marijuana Smoking
Pot "Has No Effect on Accuracy," Study Reveals
  New York, NY: Marijuana smoking has virtually no effect on complex cognitive task performance - including reaction time, memory and mental calculation - in experienced users, according to the findings of a Columbia University study published in this month's issue of Neuropsychopharmacology.
  "Although marijuana significantly increased the number of premature responses and the time participants required to complete several tasks, it had no effect on accuracy on measures of cognitive flexibility, mental calculation, and reasoning," researchers concluded. "The relatively few accuracy impairments observed is congruent with several other studies investigating acute marijuana effects on psychomotor and simple cognitive performance. Moreover, the present data expands these findings by showing that more complex cognitive performance is only minimally affected following acute marijuana smoking."
  Eighteen subjects participated in the three-session outpatient study. During each session, participants completed a battery of baseline computerized cognitive tasks in various domains, including reaction time, attention, memory, visuospatial processing, reasoning, flexibility and mental calculation. Subjects were then administered marijuana cigarettes ranging from zero to 3.9 percent THC in a double-blind fashion before completing another series of cognitive tests 20 minutes later.
  Researchers found subjects' accuracy on the tests was unaltered following their use of marijuana. "In summary, ... the finding that accuracy was unaffected by smoked marijuana indicates that heavy, daily marijuana smokers will not fulfill the DSM-IV [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition] criterion for marijuana intoxication that requires impairment of complex cognitive functioning," authors concluded.
  The study's findings follow those of a Harvard study published last month in the Archives of General Psychiatry determining that long-term marijuana smokers who abstain from the drug for one week or more perform identically on cognition tests as nonusers. A previous study on marijuana and cognition by researchers at John Hopkins University in Baltimore found "no significant differences in cognitive decline between heavy users, light users, and nonusers of cannabis" over a 15-year period in a cohort of 1,318 subjects.
FROM: http://www.norml.org/news/archives/01-11-08.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by Jose Melendez on November 08, 2001 at 17:30:27 PT:
only deadly drugs are acceptable...
Nicotine takes 400,000+ US lives annually.
The comparable number for alcohol is 100,000
Where is the DEA, ONDCP, and PDFA on drug interactions with these drugs?
Now this:Ecstasy to be tested as trauma treatment
By Andrew Gumbel
from:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=103964
The American government has quietly approved the first clinical trials of ecstasy as a treatment for victims of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Medical researchers at the University of South Carolina said yesterday they had been given permission by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a series of tests, in which they hoped traumatised patients would respond better to psychotherapy once they were under the influence of the drug, most commonly associated with teenage raves and "trip hop" feel-good music.
Dr Julie Holland said: "Being a popular illicit drug does not negate the potential medical benefits.MDMA [the chemical name for ecstasy] provides an opportunity to process a trauma in a more comfortable atmosphere – similar to anaesthesia which allows painful surgery to proceed."
The trials, which still need to be approved by a university research review board, will be conducted on 20 people suffering severe trauma as a result of violent crime, including childhood physical and sexual abuse. Researchers will measure the results against a control group over a period of three weeks to five weeks.
At a time when the government is cracking down on the medical use of marijuana and a hard-liner, John Walters, has just been confirmed as the new "drugs czar", the FDA has kept the trial as quiet as possible – posting nothing about it on its website, for example. What seems doubtful, in the current political climate, is that the drug could be approved for widespread use, whatever the researchers discover. Kids: Do your research. Cannabis is safe. Most other drugs are poison. 
www.narcosoft.com
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Comment #1 posted by null on November 08, 2001 at 17:24:26 PT
Benefit of the Doubt
``I would hope we could give Mr. Walters the same benefit of the doubt,'' Kyl said.Just as we should give Walters the benefit of the doubt that marijuana has no valid medicinal use despite what those quack doctors at the National Institute of Medicine may have concluded after their exhaustive study. We should give him the benefit of the doubt that those 700,000+ that were arrested last year for simple possesion probably deserve to rot in jail because they threatened the very fabric of all that is decent and sane in tis country that is a beacon of freedom. We should give Mr. Walters the benefit of the doubt that despite that fact that treatment has been the only method shown to decrease the problems of drug addiction that he is probably right that we should just keep on locking them up. We should give him the benefit of the doubt that he will maintain this insane status quo that ruins millions of lives every year injustly with cruel and unusual vengence. Ya know, come to think of it Jefferson and Company should have given the King the benefit of the doubt.
 
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