cannabisnews.com: Drug Policies





Drug Policies
Posted by CN Staff on February 28, 2004 at 09:59:16 PT
Letter To The Editor By Michael R. Butz
Source: Chicago Tribune 
Chicago -- This is in response to "Marijuana is not medicine," by Andrea Barthwell, a deputy director at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and a past president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (Commentary, Feb. 17). Barthwell failed to include some very important truths not only about medicinal marijuana but, more important, the government's determination to keep facts, truth and the ability to make our own health-care decisions from us.
Her commentary should not be read in a health-care context but, rather, in the context of the war on drugs. Marijuana is a Schedule I narcotic, according to the federal government. This means that it has no accepted medicinal value and is considered highly addictive and dangerous. What this placement really means, however, is that researchers looking into the effects of marijuana on humans can only receive permission from the government, the keeper of the keys, if their stated hypothesis is to prove marijuana unsafe.Furthermore, prescribe marijuana to a patient in your medical practice, in a state where a majority of registered voters have approved its use, and the government may take away your license to practice medicine.In fact, there has not been a single death attributed to smoking marijuana, nor any demonstrable studies to prove that marijuana use leads to the use of "harder" drugs or any of the other things mentioned in Barthwell's piece.Barthwell mentions several times that a primary goal of our society should be to stop children from experimenting with illegal drugs in the first place. To this end, state and local governments have been strongly encouraged for more than 20 years to operate the DARE program in public schools, using police officers rather than health-care providers to essentially scare children into compliance with zero-tolerance programs.Several years ago, to answer growing criticism and doubts about DARE's effectiveness, the U.S. government commissioned an in-depth study of children who had been through the program. Not only did this peer-reviewed study find that these children were not less likely to try drugs, they noted that it was possible that DARE actually encouraged drug experimentation. This report was quickly suppressed; the DARE program continues nationwide today.Both government-commissioned and independent studies have also shown that random drug testing of students does not discourage drug experimentation and use. In fact, it tends to discourage students from participating in extracurricular activities--programs that are known to be beneficial to kids and to keep them off the streets after school. Yet President Bush recently called for $23 million to expand this program.If Barthwell and the ONDCP are so keen on keeping our children from trying illicit drugs, why continue failed programs? Our children are put into programs known to be ineffective in helping reduce drug use. Then should they falter and get into trouble with drugs, they are no longer eligible for federal education aid as they try to finance college and beyond.So first we put them into ineffective programs, then if they do try illicit drugs and get caught, we prevent them from learning.Do these policies make sense?What Barthwell's piece does clearly demonstrate is the continuing attempt to keep us afraid of marijuana, despite the facts.Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)Author: Michael R. ButzPublished: February 28, 2004Copyright: 2004 Chicago Tribune CompanyContact: ctc-TribLetter Tribune.comWebsite: http://www.chicagotribune.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htm Marijuana By Prescription Only http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18412.shtmlMarijuana is Not Medicinehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18366.shtml
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Comment #21 posted by Rev Jonathan Adler on March 04, 2004 at 11:49:04 PT:
Dr. Barfwell, did just that!
Spewing falsehoods to disguise government corruption and deceit. This is what we get from the likes of Dr. Barfwell. Clean up the mess and stick to the truth. Marijuana, cannabis is medicine, sacrament and a blessing. She is not. 
I wish the government would finally allow the true meaning of cannabis...........................FREEDOM! Fire the charlatans.
Hawaii Mediucal Marijuana Institute
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Comment #20 posted by John Tyler on February 29, 2004 at 06:16:59 PT
Sterilization comment
The Nazis got their ideas about forced sterilization of the “unworthy members” of society from the good ol’ USA. Virginia (and some other states too) had such laws on the books before Hitler took over. These laws were on the books for decades and were repealed about ten years ago. There were articles in the paper about people caught up in this dragnet. The major criterion for getting “fixed” was, of course, being poor. One of the governors issued an apology to the victims. Yet, even then there were some who tired to defend this policy by saying that it was necessary for the times in which it happened, etc. etc. 
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Comment #19 posted by The GCW on February 29, 2004 at 06:00:32 PT
Don Nord benefit, Wednesday & Saturday
US CO: Community bands in marijuana battle     Pubdate:  Feb. 29, 2004
Source: Steamboat Pilot & Today, The (CO)http://www.steamboatpilot.com/section/news/story/22307
 
Community bands in marijuana battle 
By Autumn Phillips, Pilot & Today Staff Sunday, February 29, 2004 Kip Strean finally has found his cause. The day he met a "soft- spoken, gentle guy" named Don Nord, Strean joined an increasing number of people in Routt County -- and across the country -- who see themselves as activists, helping Nord carry his oxygen tank into battle. "It just broke my heart when he told me his story," Strean said. In mid-October, agents from GRAMNET, the Grand, Routt and Moffat Narcotics Enforcement Team, raided Nord's home and seized his marijuana, pipes and growing equipment -- despite the fact that he was registered with Colorado's Medical Marijuana Registry program. Since then, Nord has been in court fighting to get his medicine back. Strean joined the fight a few weeks ago after reading a quote from Don Nord written in a Steamboat Today article about the case."He said that he didn't know if he would be able to continue the legal battle because he didn't have the money," Strean said. "I thought, ‘Man, you can't stop now.'" It was when Strean decided to organize a benefit that he realized how many people in the community saw this as their fight, too. "It was amazing," Strean said. "I went out and started putting posters up. I held up the poster and people's eyes would get real big and tell me how great it was."Everyone knows the issue." Strean's posters read, "Guys ... please don't bust cancer patients." (Nord used marijuana to treat pain for kidney cancer, diabetes and other illnesses.) To Strean and to many others, the issue is less about marijuana and more about a David-and-Goliath story between nine agents on a federal drug task force and one man so sick that he struggles to get out of his chair. "This is the type of thing I hate to see happen," Strean said. "They thought they could beat up on a little guy. They thought this would be an easy bust and this would be a good use of their time, but this is a bad use of all our time and all the tax dollars we paid nine guys however much an hour."They stepped in the wrong mud puddle." Since November, when news broke of his case, Nord has been overwhelmed not only by what happened to him, but also by the outpouring of support he has received from people he will never meet. He receives letters and cards -- some with checks to help pay his legal expenses -- and his phone rings constantly with calls from reporters across the nation, representing publications including High Times Magazine. "People have been coming out of the woodwork to show their support, both for Don and also for the bigger picture," Nord's attorney, Kris Hammond, said.People are getting behind Nord's fight for several reasons, he said. There are the people who see this as a state's rights issue. For them, it's about the right of the people of Colorado to create laws addressing issues such as medicinal marijuana and have those decisions respected by the federal government. For others, it's about the behavior of GRAMNET. GRAMNET representatives, who did not immediately return calls, have said in the past that the federal task force operates under federal law, which dictates that marijuana is illegal -- period -- with no exceptions for medicinal users. Under the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause, federal laws always supercede state laws whenever the two conflict, making it a black-and-white issue for federally deputized officers."We've gotten support from people you would never expect," Hammond said. "I know a lot of people in town, and I bump into people of all kinds who wish me well and wish Don well."Nord needs the help, Hammond said: "We're fighting the United States government. They brought Saddam Hussein to his knees. Don Nord doesn't have the horsepower to level the playing field.""I know there are a lot of people behind me," Nord said. "But my life hasn't changed much. I'm still doing the same things I did before, and all the money that I have gotten, I turned over to my attorney." Hammond charges $200 an hour for his services. Last month's bill was almost $8,000, Nord said. But Nord is on a fixed income and Hammond lets him pay $100 a month. "Unfortunately, there are these battles that need to be fought," Hammond said. "You don't pick and choose when you're going to be chosen to lead the parade."At Wednesday's benefit, Strean will sing a song he wrote called "The Ballad of Don Nord" sung to the tune of The Who's "Pinball Wizard." The evening will be a kind of variety show featuring We're Not Clowns, singer songwriter Terry Koch, didgeridoo playing by Paulie Anderson and Scott Glackman, piano by Andy Pratt and spoken word by Malcolm Goble. "Everything fell together nicely for this benefit," Strean said. "I barely had to make a phone call. I think the sentiment in town is ‘let's get serious about this and what's going on with (GRAMNET)."Nord plans to attend Wednesday's benefit, and another benefit to be held Saturday in Denver. Someone Nord has never met is throwing the Denver benefit, he said. More information about Don Nord's legal fund will be posted on the Web site www.donnord.org, which is currently under construction and is being donated by SpringSips. 
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Comment #18 posted by Cannabis Enthusiast on February 29, 2004 at 00:20:12 PT
Sticky, kind, high-potency cannabis indica
i smoked pot tonight after a 3 month period of not using it at all.relieved some depression and helped w/ back pain...:-)
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on February 28, 2004 at 22:18:40 PT
Virgil, In This Article It Says They Will Pay
Medical Marijuana Sold in the Netherlands September 01, 2003 Amsterdam, Netherlands -- Marijuana went on sale Monday at Dutch pharmacies to help bring relief to thousands of patients suffering from cancer, AIDS or multiple sclerosis. 
Around 7,000 patients will be eligible for prescription marijuana, sold in containers of .16 ounces at most pharmacies. Labeled "Cannabis" and tested by the Ministry of Health, the drug will be covered by health insurance for the first time under a new law that went into effect in March. 
SnipComplete Article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread17201.shtml
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on February 28, 2004 at 21:41:02 PT
Virgil
Thanks. I have a very hard time where the marketing of cannabis is concerned. It seems sometimes that money matters more then it should. I don't think money should matter very much when it comes to a plant and a miracle one at that. I just think very differently about some things.
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Comment #15 posted by Virgil on February 28, 2004 at 21:28:42 PT
FoM, I do not know
I would think it is all about money. The article talks about insurance companies not covering cannabis. As insurance companies are all for increasing revenue and limiting payouts, it sure makes sense they do not open the flood gates to something so desirable as Miracleplant. I do not know what they are talking about concerning insurance companies, because I thought there was socializzed medicine. I do not that the Dutch are burdened with a high percentage of people on disability and it seens like these people would be covered by the government. All I can think of is that with the cost 3 times higher at the pharmacy than the coffeeshops for an inferiior product and no real guidelines for the doctors, the system has got some serious kinks that will take some time to work out.
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Comment #14 posted by lilgrasshoppah77 on February 28, 2004 at 18:54:07 PT:
The irony about the Nazis Eugenics program 
was how hypocritical it was. For example, the number of bisexual and homosexual people in the upper echelons of the Nazi party... not to mention the alcoholism.It's amazing how much self-hatred drove the Nazis. Hitler viewed everybody who was brown haired, brown-eyed and short-statured as inferior. Look in a mirror, bud.And, on a slightly different, but related subject: not to be overlooked is how both Canada and the States experimented with Eugenics in the early part of the 20th century.
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on February 28, 2004 at 16:25:55 PT
Virgil
I thought the government was going to pay for the prescription Cannabis. I wonder why they aren't.
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Comment #12 posted by Virgil on February 28, 2004 at 16:06:20 PT
Dutch mediweed program a failure
Nol van Schaik translated a long Dutch article at http://www.hempcity.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=379&highlight= The first three paragraphs of the article appear below with the entire comment of Nol van Schaik.Pharmacy weed to expensive and of inferior quality’ Source: Haarlems Dagblad By: Monique Verkerk. Haarlem 21-02-2004 
The Mediweed that became available in the pharmacies, from September 2003, is too expensive and of an inferior quality. This is being stated by the Foundation for Patients Interests (PMM), coffeeshop owners and Mediweed users. The pharmacy weed is three times more expensive than in coffeeshops and is not refunded by the Health Insurance Companies, except for a few cases. Less than 4 percent of the total number of (medical) cannabis users has been to the pharmacy, since it has been legalised. 
According to Ger de Zwaan, chairman of the PMM, the results of the pharmacy weed are less effective than with the use of Mediweed from coffeeshops. Patients have to start using more (Mediweed) to get the same effects. His clients (patients) have often tried the pharmacy weed, but they always came back to him after that. Coffeeshop owners Nol van Schaik from Haarlems Willie Wortel and Edo Landtman from Superfly in Hoofddorp acknowledge this. Nevertheless, says Bas Kuik, spokesperson of the Bureau for Medicinal Cannabis (BCM), the quality (of the cannabis) must be good. The pharmacy weed is tested in a laboratory for strength and it is up to the demands of the European standards for the medicine. ******snipped********I have some comments, remarks and questions to add to this article. Lex Hoekstra prefers to pay for Mediweed from Willie Wortel, rather than having to use the refunded weed from the pharmacy, which does not work for him, and tastes like somebody else’s laundry. That is good for the reputation of my coffeeshop, but it is sad for people like Alex, who have to pay for their own medication, out of a minimum wage, as a disabled person. It is not only sad; it is wrong, and not according to the Dutch National Health regulations.
 
In Holland, we are entitled to the medicine that works best for the needs of the individual patient or disabled person. The Government does advice, in case there are more medicines available, which work equally good, or better, to supply the patient the cheapest possible version/brand of that medicine, for economical reasons, of course. In Holland too, budgets for National Health are being cut, to save money. This seems to be a clear example of that regulation, Lex uses the version/brand of the medicine that works best for him, cheaper than the (only) alternative, and at least as good, if not better, than that single alternative. Since Mediweed became legalised, we can consider it to be a regular medicine in our tiny, yet progressive country, but those who use that medicine, are being denied the right to a free choice out of a wide range of medicines. The Government and the Health Insurance companies could benefit from allowing the patients to purchase and use Mediweed from coffeeshops, for they would only have to refund a third of what they have to refund for pharmacy weed. The patients do not care where it comes from, as long as it works for them! Maybe Corrie and Lex Hoekstra should think about finding a good Lawyer, which will have to be issued and paid for by the State, for people on a low income. They could start a test case over this, to see if Lex is entitled to refund from Mediweed issued by Willie Wortel, we will write them the necessary receipts! Mr. Kuik says that the legally produced pharmacy weed is up to the European standards for this medicine. 
European standards? Now I am curious, what are the European standards for medical grade cannabis, or Mediweed? Did the other countries in our European Union, the countries that do not allow the medicinal use of cannabis, set those standards, with the Netherlands? What are those standards? Do patients in other European countries have the right to Mediweed, if it fits these EU standards? Can other countries have their own medical grade marihuana grown by selected companies, like the Netherlands? Mr. Kuik also states that doctors have to get used to writing prescriptions for Mediweed, because it is a new product. That is absolutely not so, our 110 patients (+30 since September 2003) all came up with a doctor’s prescription, we demand that to prevent abuse of the system, which is being set up to supply the patients for the buyers price, which is a 50 % discount on the price for regular clients. 
Some of our patients were even directed to a second opinion doctor by us, in case their own doctor refused to comply, by supplying them with the phone numbers on the prescriptions we have, of doctors who do prescribe Mediweed. A new product? Mr. Kuik, it may be new to you, but the therapeutical use of cannabis dates further back than any history book, and it is certainly not new to the many patients that are using Mediweed since 1996, when the distribution from coffeeshops was initiated, by starting the so-called “Mediwiet Project”. Mr. Kuik states that both the quality of the available pharmaweed and the information about the use of the pharmaweed must be good, and he blames the pharmacists for the failure to inform. Dear, ignorant Mr Kuik, both the pharmaweed and the information about this ‘new’ product are no good at all, denial does not make things better. Ask your boss, Mr. Willem Scholten, to have a talk with some patients, instead of allowing greedy pharmacists and pharmaweed producers to get a monopoly on a plant that grows for every one that plants a simple seed. Willie Wortel does not only have raw cannabis available for its patients, because not all patients smoke. We also supply chocolate bars, which contain 0.6 gram if Ice-o-lator hash, which means that it is easy to dose, with one part containing 0.1 gram of active cannabis substance. We supply these bars to care home Nieuw Unicum for their patients, which make a big difference for the better, for both staff and patients, as I was told by Coby Mobron, the Care-Coordinator. She recommended the chocolate bars to all care homes she is in contact with. Nieuw Unicum pays by bank, for the chocolate bars, and for their monthly 90 pre-rolled joints, in two different strengths. We published a book, ‘Cannabis as medicine in Practice’*, with and by our patients in 2000, about their experiences with the therapeutical use of cannabis, meant to be a support for other patients, who do not know about the medical properties of Mediweed. It is complemented with recipes for food with Mediweed, drinks with Mediweed, sauces with Mediweed, and all other possible ways to ingest cannabis. Maybe the pharmacists want to start selling them, it could save them a lot of work, and it would benefit the patients. Well, nothing changes for us, the people from Willie Wortel’s which take care of the Mediweed patients in and around Haarlem. We’ll just keep informing them about the best way to ingest Mediweed, how to find out what doses to use, before we supply them with the weed or hash of their personal choice, for half the price, we do not wish to make money of the misery of others. We will just keep doing the work that is left undone by the Dutch authorities and Health organisations, just because we care. We will only have reached our goal when good quality Mediweed is available with full refund for everyone, with a choice from a wide variety, like any other medicine, and with a free issued vaporizer, which are already on sale in Dutch pharmacies too, they do seem to know that Mediweed is business! NvS. 
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Comment #11 posted by OverwhelmSam on February 28, 2004 at 15:38:44 PT:
What I Glean From This Article
It is very well written and concise. Unfortunately, they're attempting to use logic against emotion. The government has propagandized this issue on an emotional level for decades. Emotion trumps logic.It occurs to me that the government's back is against the wall. Getting them to admit they're wrong means that all those people who were locked up and killed lost their lives as a result of a farce. That's a seriously jagged little pill to swallow. How can we make it easier for them to back out and save face? Approval of medical marijuana and rescheduling it as a Schedule II drug. That's what the English government did. Are the English more intelligent than Americans?
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Comment #10 posted by Patrick on February 28, 2004 at 14:56:37 PT
More on Mengele
From the following site: http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/history/mengele/nazi_3.html?sect=6As a student Mengele attended the lectures of Dr. Ernst Rudin, who posited not only that there were some lives not worth living, but that doctors had a responsibility to destroy such life and remove it from the general population. His prominent views gained the attention of Hitler himself, and Rudin was drafted to assist in composing the Law for the Protection of Heredity Health, which passed in 1933, the same year that the Nazis took complete control of the German government. This unapologetic Social Darwinist contributed to the Nazi decree that called for the sterilization of those demonstrating the following flaws, lest they reproduce and further contaminate the German gene pool: feeblemindedness; schizophrenia; manic depression; epilepsy; hereditary blindness; deafness; physical deformities; Huntington's disease; and alcoholism.Gives a whole new scary meaning to the Hippocratic oath to do no harm.I would say that little bit of history was sufficient to cause me to think of what the DEA is doing today to medical marijuana patients? And what prohibition does to those of us that see cannabis as an enrichment of our lives. The only difference between the Nazi's of old and the DEA is instead of death we are just fodder for a militarized police force and prison industrial system. Anyone else see that? 
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Comment #9 posted by E_Johnson on February 28, 2004 at 14:51:45 PT
He's out ot touch
What the media is worried about now is teens getting adult onset diabetes and showing signs of heart disease. It's a serious problem. People shouldn't be getting the diseases of 50 year olds when they are 15. Maybe some parents would prefer their kids try pot than that, if they had a choice.
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Comment #8 posted by Patrick on February 28, 2004 at 14:25:23 PT
Poor George, he was born with a silver spoon…
The best way to cut drug use is to cut demand for drugs at the ground level. So my budget includes a $10-million increase for drug-free communities, a common-sense prevention program that supports local coalitions working to stop young people from using drugs.What he is really saying is pee in my cup and pray for your cleanliness you lowly subjects of Uncle Sam or be banished to try and live amongst those who are against us.So I have asked Congress to provide an additional $23 million for high schools who want to develop and carry out drug testing programs. Random drug testing gives students a strong answer to the social pressure to try drugs.Sure it does. Un Huh you betcha golly gee it does that and so much more.On the other hand George, if cannabis were legal and regulated for adults over 21 there would be no "social pressure." Perhaps you could spend the 23 million and the other 10 mil teaching kids to respect our laws. Teach them it is socially normal to wait till they are old enough to drive, old enough to buy tobacco, and old enough to buy alcohol and other substances from a regulated and taxed establishment. Instead you see testing their urine at random as a solution and when caught you take away a chance to go college treating them as if they were worse than violent criminals. That's real motivation for ya! Prohibition puts drugs on the street where our kids can get easy unregulated access. It's not the other way around you goofball puppet of a president. Just two years after Hunterdon Central Regional High School in New Jersey began its testing program, drug use had declined significantly throughout the school. Hunterdon's principal described the program's effect this way: "We have never seen a prevention curriculum that affected the numbers this substantially.If true, it's not a surprising result considering your "captive" audience. And while you are busy performing your little social experiments on our youth why not include a random testing program for say the prevention of anyone wearing white underpants on campus? Just make it a school policy that being caught wearing white underwear will get you in as much trouble as a positive drug test. You urineators could still get to watch the kiddies surrender their privacy in your despicable faces. This too would be a "prevention curriculum" that would affect the numbers quite substantially? What student would "DARE" risk getting caught wearing white underwear anymore. White underpant prohibition would soon force teenagers to sneak around and form an underground "black" market for knowing when to "get away with" wearing the newly outlawed white briefs. And lest you think it trivial of me to equate the smoking of cannabis with the wearing of white underwear by high school students, think about it like this for a moment Herr Bushy Boy. If I am sitting at home in nothing but white boxers, with a spliff in one hand, a good movie on, and a smile on my face, how is it that I am violating your rights and everyone else's rights again eh? The fact that this government feels the need to continue spending billions of dollars enforcing a failed policy of prohibition in attempt to prevent the above scenario in homes across the nation is no less ridiculous. Seems to me that a better solution to end this drug war madness would be to try a revenue generating policy of taxable and legal access. 
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Comment #7 posted by Max Flowers on February 28, 2004 at 12:17:53 PT
Speaking of federal drug policy: Bush radio 
Here is the text of Bush's weekly radio address, where he lies skillfully about his regime's drug "policies".Feel free to dissect mercilessly.====================================Good morning. For many years, illegal drug use has been a serious problem facing our country. Drugs cost people their savings and their health, and rob children of their promise. My administration is taking action to confront this danger. We have pursued an ambitious, focused strategy to cut demand for drugs at home, interdict supplies of drugs abroad, and treat more addicts who seek help.
 
In 2002, I set a goal to reduce illegal drug use by 10 percent over two years, and by 25 percent over five years. This Monday, we will release the annual National Drug Control Strategy, which shows the impressive progress we have made. Youth drug use declined 11 percent between 2001 and 2003, meaning 400,000 fewer young people used drugs. These results exceeded our goal, and proved that our hard work is paying off. This year, we will expand our strategy so that we can make even greater progress in the fight against drugs. The best way to cut drug use is to cut demand for drugs at the ground level. So my budget includes a $10-million increase for drug-free communities, a common-sense prevention program that supports local coalitions working to stop young people from using drugs. 
Research shows that teenagers who abstain from drugs are unlikely to start using them later in life. So I have asked Congress to provide an additional $23 million for high schools who want to develop and carry out drug testing programs. Random drug testing gives students a strong answer to the social pressure to try drugs. It helps schools identify those using drugs so they can intervene with counseling and treatment before experiments turn into addictions. We've seen the positive results of drug testing across the country. Just two years after Hunterdon Central Regional High School in New Jersey began its testing program, drug use had declined significantly throughout the school. Hunterdon's principal described the program's effect this way: "We have never seen a prevention curriculum that affected the numbers this substantially. We finally had a tool that was making a large difference." As we reduce demand for drugs, we're also preventing drug supplies from entering our country. Our military and law enforcement personnel are targeting the world's most dangerous drug trafficking networks. We are dismantling these organizations and putting their leaders in jail. And by working with governments across our hemisphere, we are drying up the world's supply of illegal drugs at its source. Finally, we are taking steps to help those who have fallen into the destructive cycle of addiction. Drug dependence undermines productivity, as well as moral conviction and devastates millions of families each year. Some addicts recognize their problem and want to change, but cannot afford access to professional care. To help men and women like these, I launched an initiative called Access to Recovery. This program will help thousands of Americans get the treatment they need. And because I know a good way to change a person's behavior is to change their heart, faith-based treatment programs will always be an option. Congress has provided $100 million for this life-saving program. And this year, I have asked to double that amount. The progress reported in this year's Drug Control Strategy is encouraging. Our goals are ambitious, and we have seen they can be achieved. Now we will build on the improvement of the past two years. And we will continue working toward a society in which all citizens can lead a life of independence and purpose, free from the devastating influence of drugs. Thank you for listening. [end transcript]
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on February 28, 2004 at 12:17:36 PT
For Those Who Might Be Interested
On the 26th of February I went into the internal stats and got the most viewed articles for the month of February. This doesn't mean they are the top articles because it depends on when an article is released and posted and a really good article could be released late in a month. This gives us an idea of what is important to CNews readers. As of February 26, 2004 - This month onlyMedicinal Marijuana Read - 1855 Times -- http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/news/thread18321.shtml***   John Kerry and Medical MarijuanaRead - 1627 Times -- http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/news/thread18324.shtml***   Transcript: Montel Williams on Medical MarijuanaRead - 1229 Times -- http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/news/thread18288.shtml***  Judge Orders 18 Ounces of ‘Purple Haze’ Returned Read - 1178 Times -- http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/news/thread18300.shtml***World's First Publicly Traded Marijuana Company Read - 1112 Times -- http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/news/thread18289.shtml*** Revamped Marijuana Bill Could Pass Read - 1086 Times -- http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/news/thread18292.shtml***  UK Testing Medical Marijuana Inhaler Read - 1071 Times -- http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/news/thread18344.shtml  
***Pot for Fun Should Not Be LegalizedRead - 1041 Times -- http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/news/thread18372.shtml
   
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Comment #5 posted by E_Johnson on February 28, 2004 at 12:00:30 PT
In other words
The Nazis awarded scientific degrees in genocide.
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Comment #4 posted by E_Johnson on February 28, 2004 at 11:58:07 PT
Mengele had a degree too
The Nazis had many pseudoscientific academic institutions on their side to promote their evil cause and give it a scientific sheen on its surface:http://www.candles-museum.com/mengele.htmIn his university studies, Mengele chose to concentrate on physical anthropology and genetics, eventually working under Otmar von Verschuer at the Frankfurt University Institute of Hereditary Biology and Racial Hygiene.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on February 28, 2004 at 11:31:38 PT
I Have a Degree
I graduated with an SOCS Degree. Most of us here have the same degree.  SOCS = School of Common SenseThat's what matters.
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Comment #2 posted by RasAric on February 28, 2004 at 11:20:57 PT
Barfwell loses again
It's funny how someone with a phd. can be so blatantly misinformed/misinforming.Anyone who had the opportunity to hear or read the debate between Rob Kampia and the governments token phd/liar, Dr. Barthwell, must have a true overstanding that the reasons given by our lying, fraudulent, corporate, sponsered government are nothing more than mere lies meant to further a longtime corrupt agenda.Even Andrea Barthwell, Phd.(sic) cannot produce lies without transparency when matched toe to toe with truth and fact.
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Comment #1 posted by goneposthole on February 28, 2004 at 10:50:11 PT
discourage students from participating 
Which can be read as:"It's a lot more fun smoking weed than it is participating and putting up with the reefer madness. Tell me another one. The last one was a hoot." 
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