cannabisnews.com: Crank Hypocrisy Crank Hypocrisy Posted by CN Staff on January 28, 2003 at 16:05:05 PT By Joel Miller Source: Reason Magazine When it comes to the government and its war on drugs, sometimes the right hand doesn't know what the left is peddling. This is especially true regarding the use of amphetamines. From the Drug Enforcement Agency we hear that speed can lead to "addiction, psychotic behavior, and brain damage...Chronic use can cause violent behavior, anxiety, confusion, insomnia, auditory hallucinations, mood disturbances, delusions, and paranoia." Sounds like terrible stuff, right? Not if you listen to the U.S. Air Force. As it happens, American flyboys are given dextroamphetamine—a drug the DEA compares to methamphetamine and which military personnel affectionately refer to as "go pills"—to help them fight battle fatigue and stay knife-edge sharp during their long and difficult shifts. During the war in Afghanistan, "Pilots were allowed to 'self-regulate' their own doses and kept the drugs in their cockpits," reported the unfortunately named Andrew Buncombe for the London Independent. "When they returned, doctors gave them sedatives or 'no-go pills' to help them sleep. Pilots who refused to take the drugs could be banned from taking part in a mission." All well and good—use was so uneventful that most Americans were probably unaware that our airmen were popping pills more potent than aspirin. But then came the event. On a routine air-cover flight in April last year, Majs. Harry Schmidt and William Umbach dropped a quarter-ton bomb on a clutch of Canadian soldiers after seeing what they claim was gunfire from the ground. The friendly fire killed four Canucks and wounded eight others. Now in the middle of an "Article 32" commission hearing—much like a grand jury—the defense is blaming the bombing on the fog of drugs rather than the fog of war, claiming the two were jacked up on speed. If eventually court-martialed, the dope duo could be booted out of the service and spend the next 60-plus years in orange jumpsuits. Of all possible alternatives, one of the best ways to duck responsibility would be to pin the blame on military pill-pushers. This has painted the government into an interesting corner, as it has now been forced to come out and publicly defend the drug. Last week the Air Force Surgeon General sent one if its physicians to do something that no doubt gave people in the drug reform movement more laughs than presidential candidate Clinton's confession to smoking pot but not inhaling: Air Force Dr. Pete Demitry actually praised speed. "He told a news conference the Air Force has used the stimulant safely for 60 years and that it is better than coffee because it not only keeps users awake, but also increases alertness," reported Reuters. "There had been no known speed-related mishaps in the Air Force, whereas there had been many fatigue-related accidents, Demitry said." Because of the danger of drowsy Red Barons at the stick of F-16s and the like, Demitry said that the need for amphetamines "is a life and death issue for our military." Given such a vital need, how much drug use is going on? Col. Alvina Mitchell, chief of Air Force media operations, has told reporters she doesn't know the current rates, but if previous wars are anything to go by, the numbers are quite substantial. "A survey of pilots who took part in the 1991 Desert Storm operation suggests 60 percent of them took [dextroamphetamine]," according to Buncombe. "In units most heavily involved in combat missions, the rate was as high as 96 percent. During Desert Storm, the standard dosage of [dextroamphetamine] was 5mg. In Afghanistan it was 10mg." This is nothing big; usual doses for adults can range from 5 to 60mgs a day, depending on need. Ironically, the drug, branded Dexedrine, carries the warning that it "may impair judgment or coordination. Do not drive or operate dangerous machinery [like F-16s, for instance] until you know how you react to the medication." Once a user knows how he reacts, however, the presumption is that the drug is relatively safe. After all, the Air Force trusts tired men to zip through the air with extremely lethal, million-dollar equipment. The obvious follow-up: If it is good and safe enough for pilots, what about the rest of us? With "no known speed-related mishaps" why shouldn't taxicab drivers, swing-shifters at NEC, or bleary-eyed night-school students be able to take advantage? It's not as if only pilots must battle fatigue, and these folks are certainly not in the position to drop 500-pound bombs on innocent Canadians. A government that punishes people for using a substance it praises as vital seems worse than hypocritical. In Leonard Wibberley's The Mouse that Roared, the national symbol of the duchy of Grand Fenwick is "a double-headed eagle saying 'Yea' from one beak and 'Nay' from another." When next looking for a spokesperson to discuss amphetamine use, perhaps the U.S. government should lease the bird. Joel Miller is managing editor of WND Books, a partnership between WorldNetDaily.com and Thomas Nelson Publishers. Note: Government's two-faced message on speed.Source: Reason Magazine (US)Author: Joel MillerPublished: January 27, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Reason FoundationContact: letters reason.comWebsite: http://www.reason.com/ Related Articles:Bombing Error Puts a Spotlight on Pilots' Pillshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15278.shtmlAir Force 'Go-Pill' Deemed Hazardoushttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15141.shtmlFriendly Fire Pilots 'Pressured' to Use Uppershttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15091.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #16 posted by FoM on January 30, 2003 at 15:15:41 PT 420toker Thank you. I really didn't know. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by FoM on January 30, 2003 at 15:14:42 PT Good News from a Snipped Source Dad of 4, - 1,249 Other Drug Prisoners see FreedomBesides release of first-time offenders, repeal of sentencing law will save Michigan $41M.By Norman Sinclair, The Detroit NewsTax savingsThe release of 1,250 inmates serving long sentences for drug offenses and the termination of probation for more than 3,000 others will save the state as much as $41 million. Inmates Annual upkeep Savings 1,250 $28,000 $35 million 3,218 $1,900 $6 million Source: Michigan Department of Corrections LANSING -- For more than a decade, James DiVietri, his four sons and the rest of his large, close-knit family could only dream about a date like March 1. DiVietri, 53, locked away for 11 years, was resigned to serving nearly 10 more years behind bars for drug possession -- until last month's repeal of Michigan's tough drug-sentencing law that forced judges to impose long, mandatory sentences. On March 1, DiVietri and other first-time, nonviolent drug offenders sentenced under that law will be freed. Complete Article: http://www.detnews.com/2003/metro/0301/30/a01-72727.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by 420toker on January 29, 2003 at 13:32:55 PT They are the same They are no differentDexadrine=dextroamphetamine Benzadrine=benzoamphetamin Methadrine=MethamphetamineAllmost all ADHD drugs that are not ritillian based are single component or mixtures of these three. I have taken all of these and I couldn't tell the difference in any of them but some ADHD respond to varying mixtures. I responded more to the spansule (slow release) and the only one it cam in at the time was dexadrine, so thats what I stayed on. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by FoM on January 29, 2003 at 10:35:31 PT 420toker Is Dexedrine different then dextroamphetamine?I really don't know.http://www.adhdhelp.org/dexedrine.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by 420toker on January 29, 2003 at 10:29:12 PT Silly, possibly but..... I have been taking Dexadrine for the past 15 years for Child and Adult ADHD, I take a 10mg spansule in the morning and a 5 mg tablet at lunch to carry me through the day. There is safety in Amphetamines it just depends on how they are taken. If you take it according to a schedule (exact schedule) things will be fine, it will do its job and help you focus and remain on task. If you do not take it regularly and only take it when you "need" it you will suffer extram stomach cramps, cold, sweaty hands, sometimes the shakes for a little while. If I were to have to describe the feeling I would say it feels like the 2 seconds before you beat the holy hell put of the school bully for picking on you all year. Only it feels that way for about 2-3 hours about 30 minutes after you take them. The purpose of taking dexadrine regularly is to even out all the highs and lows the military wanted to create the highs and lows. Oh yeah downside is as soon as my medication wears off Im asleep almost as fast as a narcoleptic. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by The GCW on January 29, 2003 at 04:50:08 PT firedog BEANS & BUDS.Yes, the duel quads are suspect. I agree. If there are young people out there, realize the caffeine is addictive, and if You miss Your dose, it is pretty uncomfortalble.And unless You'r traveling or wealthy, forget buying 4 doubles a day, out.You need Your very own dependale super duper portable express-o machine with a proven industrial backround.In many regards coffee is nasty, but I don't think We should cage those drug users, either.Notice We don't refer to "them" as drug users and We don't refer to coffee as "DRUG" & We don't have an equally racist derogatory word working to demanize coffee as We do in the word marijuana, used to describe cannabis.I am glad We don't have (2)helicoptors flying over the Texas / Mexican boarder searching for coffee trafficers, endangering the lives of military troops needlessly. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by firedog on January 28, 2003 at 23:31:45 PT Go Pills and Starbucks If you live in New York, you can't walk more than ten minutes without passing by at least three different Starbucks locations. The same seems to be true in Vancouver, Seattle, and Boston.As I understand it, every rest stop on the Ohio Turnpike now has a Starbucks, so you can get a triple-venti-vanilla-latte every 30 miles or so.But the poor Air Force pilots - there's no Starbucks for them to stop at in Afghanistan or Iraq! And even if there were, landing might present a bit of a problem.This is, I think, a serious issue. I managed to quit smoking cigarettes without too great of a problem, and I can go with or without alcohol or marijuana as I so desire, but caffeine is not negotiable. Without my morning latte I'm a zombie. And I'm certainly not alone in this. The Air Force pilots on long missions could certainly be in this category too, and would you want a zombie flying a fighter into enemy territory? If you were a pilot, would you want to fly around in such a state?We start on the Coca Cola at a very young age and move on to coffee, espresso, and peppermint mochas when we get older. Perhaps Coca Cola is the real "gateway drug"? [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by John Tyler on January 28, 2003 at 19:41:32 PT Fatigue management sounds good to me "He told a news conference the Air Force has used the stimulant safely for 60 years and that it is better than coffee because it not only keeps users awake, but also increases alertness," reported Reuters. "There had been no known speed-related mishaps in the Air Force, whereas there had been many fatigue-related accidents, Demitry said." Looks like the Air Force is endorsing speed. I have always thought it was a good "fatigue management" tool too. It has helped lots of people pull all nighters in college and beyond. It is interesting to watch the government people talk out of both sides of their mouths on this issue. Drug are always bad unless we say it isn't. What kind of crap is that? Drug use is not a black and white issue, instead it occupies a large gray area. Not all drug use is bad as everyone except the drug warriors know. In many instances it can be good as our new druggie friends in the Air Force have demonstrated. Can you say use in moderation? Of course you can, too bad the drug warriors cant. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Atomic_Rat on January 28, 2003 at 19:06:06 PT: go pill blamed instead of common sense Dextroamphetamine is the same drug given to my kid for ADHA. It helps him focus. For the pilots to blame the pill is silly unless the pilots were abusing the substance. It does not build up in the blood stream, therefor the pilots would have to take rather huge quantities at once in order to experience negative side effects of this drug. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by FoM on January 28, 2003 at 18:51:37 PT Here is the Drug Treatment Part of Speech Another cause of hopelessness is addiction to drugs. Addiction crowds out friendship, ambition, moral conviction, and reduces all the richness of life to a single destructive desire. As a government, we are fighting illegal drugs by cutting off supplies, and reducing demand through anti-drug education programs. Yet for those already addicted, the fight against drugs is a fight for their own lives. Too many Americans in search of treatment cannot get it. So tonight I propose a new 600 million dollar program to help an additional 300,000 Americans receive treatment over the next three years. Our Nation is blessed with recovery programs that do amazing work. One of them is found at the HealingPlaceChurchin Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A man in the program said, "God does miracles in people's lives, and you never think it could be you." Tonight, let us bring to all Americans who struggle with drug addiction this message of hope: The miracle of recovery is possible, and it could be you. By caring for children who need mentors, and for addicted men and women who need treatment, we are building a more welcoming society - a culture that values every life. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on January 28, 2003 at 18:48:55 PT Thanks The GCW! Here's the State of the Union Speech.Prepared Text: Bush's 2003 State of the Union Speechwashingtonpost.comTuesday, January 28, 2003 Following is the prepared text of President Bush's State of the Union address to be delivered Tuesday, January 28, 2003. Text is courtesy of the White House.Complete Text: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onpolitics/transcripts/bushtext_012803.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by The GCW on January 28, 2003 at 18:45:17 PT Drug Czar Defies Nevada Election Officials FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JANUARY 28, 2003 Drug Czar Defies Nevada Election OfficialsRefuses to Disclose Money Spent Against Marijuana Initiative WASHINGTON, D.C. -- White House "Drug Czar" John Walters today refused to report how much money he spent campaigning against question 9, Nevada's November 2002 marijuana initiative. Walters' refusal came in response to a written request from Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller that he explain his failure to file campaign finance reports as required by Nevada law. In a Jan. 27 letter to Heller, Walters' office claimed he was "immune" from Nevada's campaign finance law "as a federal officer acting within the scope of duties, including speaking out about the dangers of illegal drugs." Heller's Jan. 14 letter to Walters, issued in response to a complaint filed by the Marijuana Policy Project, reminded Walters that Nevada statutes require "the reporting of contributions and expenses for every person or group of persons organized formally or informally who advocates the passage or defeat of a question or group of questions on the ballot at any election." Walters flew to Nevada twice to campaign against question 9, traveling around the state in a motorcade with a security detail to speak at anti-question 9 events. For example, as reported in the Oct. 12 Las Vegas Review-Journal, he told a gathering of reporters and law-enforcement officials that the measure was a "con" and "insulting to the voters of the state." He openly acknowledged the political nature of his trip, saying in the Oct. 11 Review-Journal that he was there "to challenge this ballot initiative." The Oct. 23 Chicago Tribune and the Nov. 5 Wall Street Journal reported similar comments. Walters also authorized a series of anti-marijuana television commercials, which saturated Nevada airwaves in the two months prior to the election. "Walters has moved from simply ignoring the law to actively defying it," said Steve Fox, director of government relations for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which sponsored question 9. "Claims that he was just doing his job by speaking out about the dangers of marijuana are absurd and insulting. He campaigned against question 9 overtly and energetically, most likely spending tens of thousands of dollars of the taxpayers' money in the process. All we ask is that he follow the law and play by the same rules we had to obey. We reported our campaign expenditures, and he should report his." MPP has filed a separate complaint with the federal Office of Special Counsel charging Walters with violating the federal Hatch Act, which restricts campaign activity by federal officials. A response to that complaint is still pending. With 11,000 members nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana -- both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use. MPP believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is imprisonment. To this end, MPP focuses on removing criminal penalties for marijuana use, with a particular emphasis on making marijuana medically available to seriously ill people who have the approval of their doctors. For more information, please visit http://www.mpp.org.http://www.mpp.org/releases/nr012803.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on January 28, 2003 at 18:32:57 PT President Bush Just Talk About Drug Treatment I was very surprised that he spoke at all about addiction and treatment. Maybe it shocked me more then others but I never expected words of some form of compassion to be said by him tonight. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by mayan on January 28, 2003 at 18:18:47 PT Dextro vs. Cannabis Wouldn't one have to be on a synthetic drug such as dextroamphetamine to drop bombs on their fellow man? Why doesn't the U.S. government give it's soldiers cannabis? Because the soldiers would realize the absurdity of war and go AWOL. Thanks for the idea, GCW! We must express our opposition to this possible war every way we can!The way out is the way in -9/11 Commission Meets, Chooses Director: http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20030128_46.html9/11 Commission - Forgedda Boudit: http://www.scoop.co.nz/archive/scoop/stories/e2/34/200301271107.493836ee.htmlIs Someone Trying To Kill Rudi Dekkers? http://www.scoop.co.nz/archive/scoop/stories/e4/ac/200301280005.404f8e57.html9/11 Prior Knowledge/Government Involvement Archive: http://www.propagandamatrix.com/archiveprior_knowledge.html9/11 Truth Alliance: http://unansweredquestions.org/alliance/index.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by The GCW on January 28, 2003 at 16:51:48 PT Please help, and pass along... There is a grassroots campaign underway to protest war in Iraq in a simple, but potentially powerful way, based on information from People Power: Applying Nonviolence Theory, By David H. Albert, p. 43, New society, 19. Place 1/2 cup uncooked rice in a small plastic bag. Squeeze out excess air and seal the bag. Wrap it in a piece of paper on which you have written: 'If your enemies are hungry, feed them.' Romans 12:20. Please send this rice to the people of Iraq; please do not attack them."Place the paper and bag of rice in an envelope-either letter size or small padded size: both cost the same to mail.Address them to: President George W. Bush, White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington DC, 20500Attach $1.06 in postage or three regular stamps=$1.11 Drop in the mail as soon as you can. It is important that a flood of rice reaches President Bush before the end of the inspection time.In order for this to be fully effective, we hope for thousands of packages to arrive at the White House.Share this information if you will, please.The history behind this is that in the 1950's, the Fellowship of Reconciliation began a similar action credited with influencing President Eisenhower to not attack China. I quote from the above book:"In the mid 1950's, the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation, learning of famine in the Chinese mainland, launched a 'Feed Thine Enemy' campaign. Members and friends mailed thousands of little bags of rice to the White House with a tag quoting the Bible, 'If thine enemy hunger, feed him.' As far as anyone knew for more than ten years, the campaign was an abject failure. The president did not acknowledge receipt of the bags publicly; certainly, no rice was ever sent to China.What nonviolent activists only learned a decade later was that the campaign played a significant, perhaps even determining role in preventing nuclear war. Twice while the campaign was on, President Eisenhower met with the joint chiefs of staff to consider U.S. options in the conflict with China over two islands, Quemoy and Matsu. The generals twice recommended the use of nuclear weapons. President E. each time turned to his aide and asked how many little bags of rice had come in. When told they numbered in the tens of thousands, E. told the generals that as long as so many Americans were expressing active interest in having the U.S. feed the Chinese, he certainly was not going to consider using nuclear weapons against them." [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by druid on January 28, 2003 at 16:09:42 PT W.H.O. www.who.intWHO got a new leader today, Dr. Jong Wook Lee of South Korea. Does anyone know of this guy yet and his views on Medical Cannabis? What is the state of Medical Cannabis in South Korea right now? WHO has a drug summit approaching soon I think and there is going to be more pressure then ever on them to give Medical Cannabis a green light instead of a red this time around. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment