cannabisnews.com: The War on Drug Money 










  The War on Drug Money 

Posted by CN Staff on March 19, 2003 at 16:15:15 PT
Commentary 
Source: Mother Jones  

The White House has come up with a clever response to public criticism of its drug policies: lie. Or at least use shady math to gloss over the truth, then spin the numbers so they seem to be in keeping with public demand. According to Paul Armentano at TomPaine.com, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has developed a new method of reporting federal drug spending that only incorporates "primary" drug war activities. 
Interestingly enough, those activities designated primary include treatment for those convicted of drug use, but leave out the expense of incarceration. The new budget cites incarceration and care for prisoners as "secondary consequences of the government's primary drug law enforcement." And some agencies integral in investigation, prosecution, and policing are also absent from the new and improved budget, reports Armentano. As a result, the new budget seems to allot nearly equal funds to treatment and enforcement. It's great news for a public that advocates treatment for convicted drug users in place of imprisonment and is increasingly wary of the cost of a drug war that doesn't seem to be working. Except that, according to Armentano, the budget is disturbingly flawed: over two-thirds of the agencies listed in last year's budget are absent from this year's totals, and, worse yet, the White House is trying to change history by applying the new math to past years and claim that the Drug War has never cost more than $11 billion. In truth, that number was reached in 1991 and has increased ever since. Perhaps the most jarring nugget of information Armentano reveals is not about blurring the numbers, but blurring the laws themselves: "Investigations of this year's budget by analysts from Common Sense for Drug Policy and the Drug Policy Alliance reveal that the Drug Czar's office is inflating their expenditures on drug treatment by including hundreds of millions of dollars in alcohol treatment spending, which by law is specifically excluded from the ONDCP's scope of activities. Ultimately, the goal of all this smoke and mirrors is to create the perception of a kinder, gentler and less expensive drug war -- qualities favored by the American public but seldom, if ever, delivered by federal drug policy. Of course, beneath the clouds it's still business as usual. The only question is: Who's going to report the Feds to the SEC?"Source: Mother Jones (US)Published: March 19, 2003Copyright: 2003 Foundation for National ProgressContact: backtalk motherjones.comWebsite: http://www.motherjones.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:CSDP: http://www.csdp.org/NORML: http://www.norml.org/DPA: http://www.drugpolicy.org/The Drug War's Cooked Books http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15629.shtmlOutside View: Marijuana Policy Fails Youth http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14896.shtmlPaul Armentano: Reason for Skepticism http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13694.shtml 

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Comment #10 posted by FoM on March 19, 2003 at 20:43:34 PT

afterburner 
I never saw The Days of Wine and Roses. I believe in Cannabis Reform. I believe in learning the truth about it. I am a person who wants to see and read and learn about different issues like the war but that is the way I am. I learned years ago that just because we believe we have a right to something that doesn't mean we will get it. I had to argue with a Doctor at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Beverly Hills to treat my son. He was a student and didn't have insurance. They let him lay in a room for almost 12 hours with a raging fever and they didn't treat him but wanted to transport him to an inner city hospital. I realized then that all the yelling and threatening I did was to no avail. They admitted him finally because he was too unstable to transport or they would have sent him on his way. I said that to say this. I can see us solving the problem with Cannabis prohibition but I also know I can't fix most things or even make a dent in them so I try to stay close to an issue where there is hope and that is Cannabis Reform.
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Comment #9 posted by afterburner on March 19, 2003 at 20:19:59 PT:

Days of Wine and Roses
I've been watching Days of Wine and Roses, a very honest movie about alcohol addiction. It was also very sad. I feel that there is little that we, as individuals, can do about the War on Iraq. However, every truth we tell about cannabis, every lie we refute, every life story of people being helped by medical or spiritual cannabis or hurt by cannabis prohibition helps to clear the air, to provide healthier alternatives. Days of Wine and Roses (1962) - A boozing PR man's wife joins him in drinking but not in Alcoholics Anonymous. Directed by Blake Edwards. 
Black and White, English. 
STARRING: Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Charles Bickford, Jack Klugman, Alan Hewitt, Tom Palmer, Debbie Megowan, Maxine Stuart, Katherine Squire, Jack Albertson, Ken Lynch, Gail Bonney. ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question.Pray for peace.
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on March 19, 2003 at 19:39:13 PT

BGreen
Bless Your Heart! It's ok you know that. We are watching the war happen as I'm sure we all are. I pray for the young women and young men that will be seriously hurt and very many will die. I believe in peace for all people but it will never happen. The history of civilization shows us that over and over again. If we learn from our mistakes then that's good. I don't mean those in charge but normal people like us. We treated the Vietnam Vet like they were the bad ones. We shouldn't do the same to these young folks. We might not approve of the war but we shouldn't blame the young soldiers who feel they are doing the right thing. Remember I look at this thru the eyes of being a woman. Men think differently then women do. 
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Comment #7 posted by BGreen on March 19, 2003 at 19:10:38 PT

A Prayer For Boys and Girls, Iraqi and US
You don't deserve to die. I can't be a part of this. Soldiers, I'm sorry. You don't deserve this. You're put into danger by men who will be protected from any harm. I won't hold it against you. I'm so sorry.To all of the Iraqi people, I'm sorry. I live with a mad man as a leader and face having people kill me for it, too. I'm sorry you're going through hell on earth.FoM, tell Stick I'm sorry. I know this is tough on you both. Please don't take this as "bashing" anybody. It doesn't mean I'm trashing the men and women who had no choice.I'm so sorry. My tears are for all of the innocent boys and girls involved.The peaceful, sorrowful Rev. Bud Green
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Comment #6 posted by SoberStoner on March 19, 2003 at 19:03:45 PT

And it begins.....
Everyone,Take care of yourselves..our traitorous administration has decided they know better than the rest of the world again..Let us pray the world can survive this madness.SS
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Comment #5 posted by mayan on March 19, 2003 at 18:29:25 PT

Paradigm Shift
The ONDCP can twist the figures, but the truth remains the truth. The ONDCP has been a catastrophic failure. A system that rewards failure cannot sustain. That is why the drug war is coming to an end. Once Canada & Britain officialy decriminalize or legalize, the U.S. war on cannabis is doomed. Is it a cooincidence that the war on Iraq is starting just before the said countries reform their laws? I think not. We are witnessing the greatest paradigm shift in the history of the modern world. Those supporting a non-renewable,non-sustainable energy based economy are desperately trying to hold onto the old model. Their efforts will prove futile, as the rest of the world is ready to welcome the new model of renewable, sustainable energy!!! This is the last gasp of the petrocrats! They will not go down without a fight, however. The dark before the dawn is upon us. If we can jsut make it through this bottleneck, we will see the sun. Now, we must stand and unite! The future is ours. All we have to do is see it! FoM, I believe you will be very busy in the next couple of months. God be with you!The war has started:
http://www.thisislondon.com/news/waroniraq/articles/3895393?source=Evening%20Standard The full text of Robisn Cook's resignation speech!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2859431.stmU.S.'S Image Fast Eroding With War Plans:
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20030318_1784.htmlRep. Stark blasts Bush on Iraq war - Fremont Democrat says plan to bomb Baghdad is 'act of extreme terrorism':
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/03/19/MN26098.DTLCALL TO ACTION: A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO THE WORLD ABOUT CENSORING ARTISTS AND MUSICIANS
http://www.gooff.com/NM/templates/Breaking_News.asp?articleid=437&zoneid=2Impeach Bush Now!
http://www.votetoimpeach.org/
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on March 19, 2003 at 18:10:26 PT

afterburner 
Thank you for the link. I will try to check out the videos a little later. I checked the chat room and no one was there so I left. I'll keep looking for more news to post tonight. I don't think I will find any but I could be wrong.
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Comment #3 posted by afterburner on March 19, 2003 at 17:18:14 PT:

Montreal Gazette special section.
Marijuana - The growing debate http://www.canada.com/search/redirect.aspx?kw=marijuana&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.canada.com%2fmontreal%2fspecials%2fmarijuana%2fSome of the information is dated. I also had trouble keeping the videos going. Let me know how it fares for you.ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on March 19, 2003 at 16:24:21 PT

A Friendly Reminder
It appears that the bombing might start within the hour. If anyone wants to talk the chat room will be open. I will try to get there if others want to talk. If not that's ok too. http://www.cannabisnews.com/chat/
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on March 19, 2003 at 16:18:33 PT

Just a Note
This is the article that Mother Jones is referring to that is on Tom Paine.com. I posted it when it was initially posted on Ludwig von Mises Institute. I didn't want anyone to think I missed it. Here it is!The Drug War's Cooked Books: 
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15629.shtml
What's New
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