cannabisnews.com: Dressing Up Failure










  Dressing Up Failure

Posted by CN Staff on September 10, 2004 at 23:25:32 PT
By Bruce Mirken, AlterNet 
Source: AlterNet 

Despite the feds' positive spin, a national survey shows that drug use remains at near-record levels. In a Sept. 9 press release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson cheerfully trumpeted the "encouraging news that more American youths are getting the message that drugs are dangerous, including marijuana."
Headlined "Nation's Youth Turning Away From Marijuana," the statement announced the results of the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Thompson gave credit to President Bush, saying that stepped-up anti-drug efforts are "a cornerstone of his compassionate agenda." White House drug czar John Walters chimed in, declaring, "Young people are getting the message," particularly about marijuana.Thompson and Walters – who appeared together at a Washington D.C. press conference – failed to mention that drug use remains at near-record levels, vastly higher than when President Richard Nixon declared "war on drugs" back in 1970.Central to Thompson's claim of progress is a reduction in the percentage of 12- to-17-year-olds who say they have ever used marijuana; from 20.6 percent in 2002 to 19.6 percent in 2003. But that 19.6 percent figure is two and a half times the 1970 rate, and exactly equal to the previous historical peak, 1979. The only time it's ever been higher was during a record-setting spike from 1998 to 2002.Overall, use of illicit drugs actually rose a bit in 2003, and the number of Americans who have used marijuana reached an all-time high of 97 million. Some 15 million Americans used marijuana at least monthly, also an increase from 2002. That's the equivalent of every man, woman and child in Alabama, Maine, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Wyoming and North Dakota lighting up each month.Given that for three years running the administration has carpet-bombed the airwaves with commercials designed to terrify the public about the dangers of marijuana, this is an astonishing record of failure.The number of Americans using cocaine in the past month also rose. Sifting through the data, one finds a number of other little bombshells that Thompson and Walters neglected to mention. Particularly telling are the numbers of Americans trying illicit drugs for the first time.In 2002 – the latest figure included in the NSDUH report – just under 1.8 million kids under 18 tried marijuana for the first time. That is barely lower than the late-'70s peak and one third higher than when Nixon began the modern drug war in 1970. The number of Americans trying marijuana is now running neck and neck with the number smoking cigarettes for the first time, while the number of teens trying cocaine for the first time is now nearly four times the 1970 figure.If this is "encouraging news," one wonders what bad news would look like.Even the figures the government touts as positive news have a dark underside. If, as Thompson would have us believe, the federal anti-marijuana campaign is responsible for recent, modest declines in teen marijuana use, it may be coming at the expense of efforts to discourage underage drinking.That's important, because scientifically speaking, there is no doubt about which is the more dangerous drug. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant that, when taken in excess, may cause the user to stop breathing and die. Marijuana has no such effect and there is no documentation that it has ever caused a fatal overdose. Prolonged, heavy alcohol use causes gross and potentially life-threatening damage to the brain, liver and other organs. Marijuana does not.So while the drug warriors focus on marijuana, reasonable people might be concerned that teen alcohol use edged up last year. Even more disturbing, 10.6 percent of 12- to-17-year-olds reported "binge drinking" (having five or more drinks on the same occasion) within the last month – far higher than the 7.9 percent who used any marijuana in the past month.We seem to have convinced young people that binge drinking is safer than smoking even a little marijuana. 54.4 percent of 12- to-17-year olds said they considered it a "great risk" to their health to smoke any amount of marijuana once or twice per week. Only 38.5 percent saw great risk in binge drinking once or twice a week.Policy has come completely unhinged from reality. Despite a tripling of marijuana arrests since the Nixon era, pot use has skyrocketed while officials pick through the data for encouraging snippets and ignoring the big picture. Worse, they find reason to cheer at figures suggesting that we may be driving kids away from a comparatively benign drug toward one that is far more lethal. Bruce Mirken is communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project.Source: AlterNet (US)Author: Bruce Mirken, AlterNetPublished:  September 10, 2004Copyright: 2004 Independent Media InstituteContact: letters alternet.org Website: http://www.alternet.org/DL: http://alternet.org/drugreporter/19854/Related Articles & Web Site:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/More Youths Abusing Prescription Drugs http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19461.shtmlStudy Focuses On Marijuana Use by Teenshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19429.shtmlReport Linking Teen Smoking To MJ Disputedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news//thread17336.shtml

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Comment #7 posted by FoM on September 11, 2004 at 19:38:49 PT

Related Press Release from HHS
America's Youth Turning Away from Marijuana, as Perceptions of Risk RiseSeptember 11, 2004  USA - HHS Secretary Tommy G Thompson announced today that there is a five percent decline in lifetime use of marijuana among American youth between the ages of 12 and 17. Current use of marijuana plummeted nearly 30 percent among 12 and 13 year olds. The findings were included in the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health released today at the annual Recovery Month press conference. The findings, released by HHS’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), show that while overall, the change in the category “current use of any illicit drug” was not statistically significant, the use of some drugs decreased sharply. For youth, 12-17, past year use of Ecstasy and LSD dropped precipitously, by 41 percent for Ecstasy and 54 percent for LSD. Overall, 19.5 million Americans ages 12 and older, 8 percent of this population, currently use illicit drugs. The data indicate that of the 16.7 million adult users (18 and older) of illicit drugs in 2003, about 74 percent were employed either full time or part time. “It is encouraging news that more American youths are getting the message that drugs are dangerous,” Secretary Thompson said. “But President Bush recognizes that we as a nation must do more to ensure that our children don’t use drugs in the first place and to help Americans get the treatment for alcohol and drug addiction that they need.” President Bush’s fiscal year 2005 budget request includes a 5 percent increase for substance abuse treatment, prevention and research, including a doubling of the funding for the Access to Recovery treatment program. President Bush is requesting $200 million for Access to Recovery, which provides vouchers to individuals to access drug- and alcohol-abuse treatment programs. With the doubling of the budget, Access to Recovery would help 100,000 people who want to obtain drug and alcohol treatment services but can’t afford them. “The prevention efforts of millions of parents, educators, and community leaders are working. Young people are getting the message that marijuana, which is substantially more potent today than it was 20 years ago, is a dangerous drug, and they are increasingly staying away from it,” said John Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy. “These new data reaffirm the critical roles parents and anti-drug advertising play in keeping our children safer, healthier, and drug-free.” SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie said: “Employers who think alcohol and drug abuse will never be a problem in their workplace need to consider that more than three quarters of adults who have serious drug and or alcohol problems are employed. Encouraging employees to find help when they need it can result in fewer accidents and fewer workers absent on Monday morning. It may even save an employee’s life, family, or job. Creating a drug-free workplace program or enhancing an existing program can lead to a healthier, more productive work force and be an important part of solving one of our nation’s most persistent problems.” The survey found that of the 19.4 million adults (age 18 and over) characterized with abuse of or dependence on alcohol or drugs (19.4 million) in 2003, 14.9 million (77 percent) were employed either full or part time. This amounts to over ten percent of full-time workers as well as over ten percent of part-time workers. MarijuanaMarijuana continues to be the most commonly used illicit drug, with 14.6 million current users (6.2 percent of the population). The study shows that there were an estimated 2.6 million new marijuana users in 2002. About two thirds of these new users were under age 18, and about half were female. An important positive change detected by the survey was an increase in the perception of risk in using marijuana once a month or more frequently. Both youth and young adults reported a significant increase in their awareness of the risks of smoking marijuana. Particularly striking was the 20 percent decline between 2002 and 2003 in the number of youth that were “heavy users” of marijuana (those smoking either daily or 20 or more days per month). Perceived availability of the drug also declined significantly among youth. The results of this year’s survey demonstrate that anti-drug messages inside and outside of school, participation in religious and other activities, parental disapproval of substance use and positive attitudes about school are linked to lower rates of youth marijuana use. For example, those exposed to anti-drug messages outside of school had rates of current marijuana use that were 25 percent lower than those not reporting such exposure (7.5 percent vs. 10.0 percent). Youth who believe that their parents would “strongly disapprove” of marijuana had use rates fully 80 percent lower than those who reported that their parents would not “strongly disapprove” (5.4 percent vs. 28.7 percent). Alcohol The numbers of binge and heavy drinkers did not change between 2002 and 2003. About 54 million Americans ages 12 and older participated in binge drinking at least once in the 30 days prior to being surveyed. These people had five or more drinks on one or more occasion in the past month. There were 16.1 million heavy drinkers, who had five or more drinks on five or more occasions in the past month. The highest prevalence of binge and heavy drinking in 2003 was among young adults ages 18-25, with both binge and heavy drinking at their peak at age 21. There were 10.9 million drinkers under legal age (ages 12-20) in the month prior to the survey interview in 2003. This is 29 percent of this age group. Of these, nearly 7.2 million (19.2 percent) were binge drinkers and 2.3 million (6.1 percent) were heavy drinkers. Drunk driving declined from the 2002 survey, but drugged driving remained similar to that reported in the 2002 survey. An estimated 13.6 percent of persons aged 12 or older drove under the influence of alcohol at least once in the 12 months prior to their interviews (32.3 million people) in 2003, a decrease from 14.2 percent (33.5 million) in 2002. An estimated 10.9 million persons reported driving under the influence of an illicit drug during the past year. This is 4.6 percent of the population ages 12 and older. Prescription Drug Abuse Against the backdrop of generally good news, the non-medical lifetime use of prescription pain relievers showed a five percent increase for the population 12 and older, with young adults (18-25) experiencing a 15 percent increase in lifetime, as well as current use. Over all, current use of prescription pain relievers non-medically remained stable from 2002-2003. There was a statistically significant increase in lifetime non-medical use of Vicodin, Lortab, or Lorcet from 13.1 million to 15.7 million. Percocet, Percodan, or Tylox misuse in a lifetime increased from 13.1 million to 15.7 million people. Hydrocodone lifetime non-medical use increased from 4.5 million people to 5.7 million; OxyContin lifetime misuse increased from 1.9 million people to 2.8 million; non-medical methadone use increased from 0.9 million to 1.2 million; and non-medical use of Tramadol increased from 52,000 to 186,000 from 2002 to 2003. Estimates for persons who currently used psychotherapeutic drugs taken non-medically are similar in 2003 to estimates for 2002. There were 6.3 million persons currently using prescription medications non-medically in 2003, about 2.7 percent of the population ages 12 or older. Of these, an estimated 4.7 million used prescription pain relievers; 1.8 million used tranquilizers; 1.2 million used stimulants, including methamphetamine; and 0.3 million used sedatives. Other Drugs of Abuse There were an estimated 2.3 million persons who currently used cocaine in 2003, 604,000 of whom used crack. One million persons used hallucinogens, including LSD, PCP, Ecstasy and other substances, and 119,000 people were estimated to currently use heroin. These projections are all similar to estimates for these drugs in 2002. But, past month inhalant use among youth ages 16 or 17 increased from 0.6 percent in 2002 to 1.0 percent in 2003. Methamphetamine use did not change significantly between 2002 and 2003, with 600,000 past month users each year. The survey reported 21.6 million Americans in 2003 classified with dependence on drugs, alcohol, or both (9.1 percent of the population ages 12 and older). Over 20 million persons needed but did not receive treatment for an alcohol or drug problem in 2002 and 2003, but the number receiving specialized substance abuse treatment declined from 2.3 million in 2002 to 1.9 million in 2003. Of the 20 million people in need of treatment in 2003 who did not receive it, about 1 million recognized that need. Only 273,000 tried to obtain treatment and were unable to access it. The other 764,000 made no effort to get treatment. Serious Mental Illness and Substance Abuse The report found a major correlation between serious mental illness and substance dependence and abuse. In 2003, an estimated 4.2 million adults suffered from serious mental illness and substance dependence or abuse in the past year. Adults who used illicit drugs were more than twice as likely to have serious mental illness, compared to adults who did not use an illicit drug. In 2003, 18.1 percent of adult past-year users of illicit drugs had serious mental illness that year, while the rate was 7.8 percent among adults who had not used an illicit drug. Among adults with substance dependence or abuse, 21.6 percent had serious mental illness, compared to 8.0 percent among those who did not have dependence or abuse. Among adults with serious mental illness in 2003, 21.3 percent (4.2 million people) were dependent on or abused alcohol or illicit drugs. The rate among adults without serious mental illness was only 7.9 percent. Tobacco Tobacco use rates in the past month remained essentially the same from 2002 to 2003, with 70.8 million people reporting current use of a tobacco product. Of these, 60.4 million smoked cigarettes in the past month, 12.8 million smoked cigars, 7.7 million used smokeless tobacco and 1.6 million smoked tobacco in pipes. There were significant declines in past year and lifetime cigarette use among youths ages 12 to 17 between 2002 and 2003, and a decline in the rate of cigarette smoking among young females. The 2003 survey is based on interviews with 67,784 respondents ages 12 and older who were interviewed in their homes. This includes persons residing in dormitories or homeless shelters. Not included in the survey are persons on active military duty, in prisons, or other institutionalized populations or people who are homeless but not in shelters. Recovery Month is observed in September to recognize the accomplishments of people in recovery, the contributions of treatment providers, and advances in substance abuse treatment. This year is the 15th annual observance. The theme, “Join the Voices for Recovery…Now!” emphasizes that addiction to alcohol and drugs is a chronic, but treatable, public health problem that affects everyone in the community. HHS agencies -- including SAMHSA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) -- play a key role in the administration's substance abuse strategy, leading the federal government's programs in drug abuse research and funding programs and campaigns aimed at prevention and treatment, particularly programs designed for youth. An HHS fact sheet with more information is available at: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press Other background and resources are available at the Web sites for SAMHSA: http://www.samhsa.gov -- CDC: http://www.cdc.gov -- NIDA http://www.nida.nih.gov and NIAAA: http://www.niaaa.nih.gov Findings from the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health are available on the Web at http://www.oas.samhsa.govContact: SAMHSA Press Office
(240) 276-2130Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=13262#
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Comment #6 posted by afterburner on September 11, 2004 at 09:22:18 PT

"binge drinking...safer than smoking even a little
marijuana""binge drinking is safer than smoking even a little marijuana""binge drinking is safer than smoking even a little marijuana""binge drinking is safer than smoking even a little marijuana"Do we really believe this, America? Think about it, talk about it, vote about it.
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Comment #5 posted by Virgil on September 11, 2004 at 07:17:02 PT

War, the CIA, and Narco-trafficking
It bears repeating that the CIA is the most global of players in the international drug trade. The real desire of prohibition is to drive up prices. There is no real war on drugs as the CIA is desirous of the fortunes in drug trade profits. From their side, this really is a War for Prohibition itself. People might reject figuring the CIA into the prohibition issue because it is all so dark and a forbidden subject on the nightly news. The fraud of prohibition is all about preserving the status quo where the gold holders make the rules.There is an article at http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney09082004.html dated September 8 that is titled War, the CIA, and Narco-Trafficking- Afghanistan, American Drug Colony. The article really needs to be read in its entirety, because it brings home the fact that the USG wants to control the profits of prohibition and to do that they are not interested in stopping all use as the UN espouses they will accomplish in only 4 more years. It is all a joke, better described as a puzzle that makes no sense, because no one will mention the CIA.The article says some important things. Peak oil is something that many people are watching as it means production has reached its peak while consumption has not and prices will rise accordingly, sending a shock throughout the world economy. It says 2004 is the year of peak oil.The article also said that we invaded Afghanistan in part because of the Caspian Sea oil that estimated reserves at 200 billion barrels. It says that when the estimate was revised after the invasion to 10 to 20 billion barrels of poor quality,high sulfur oil, the war with Iraq was necessary because the alternative to Middle Eastern oil was gone.. We are out to control the economy of the world with oil and the PTB decided it was critic to unleash the military arsenal of the US to accomplish it all.The article is mainly about Afghanistan and the drug trade and it points out that the CIA did not like the Taliban cutting production of opium. It quotes a source that says Bush had authorized the invasion of Afghanistan before 9/11. Now chew on that one for a second. It will quote a summary of Mike Ruppert of FromTheWilderness.com with these words. "Before 1980, Afghanistan produced 0% of the world's opium. But then the CIA moved in, and by 1986 they were producing 40% of the world's heroin supply. By 1999, they were churning out 3,200 TONS of heroin a year nearly 80% of the total market supply. But then something unexpected happened. The Taliban rose to power, and by 2000 they had destroyed nearly all of the opium fields. Production dropped from 3,000+ tons to only 185 tons, a 94% reduction! This enormous drop in revenue subsequently hurt not only the CIA's Black Budget projects, but also the free-flow of laundered money in and out of the Controller's banks"The article will draw Pakistan’s narco-trafficking into discussion where 60 percent of the GDP comes from the drug trade. The article makes it clear that the CIA has an interest in controlling the drug trade, which means there is no war on drugs. There is a war to preserve prohibition where addictive substances with inflated profits are too lucrative to let get away. It will quote Mike Ruppert’s work directly with these words, and I will leave it at that.
"Until February, Afghanistan had been the world's largest producer of opium/heroin, claiming close to 70% of the world's total production. That opium, consumed largely in Western Europe and smuggled through the Balkans, was a direct source of cash deposits in Western financial institutions and markets. The Taliban's actions this year (destroying the opium crop) severed the ruling military junta in Pakistan from its primary source of foreign revenues and made bin Laden and the Taliban completely expendable in the eyes of the Pakistani government. It also cut off billions of dollars in revenues that had been previously laundered through western banks and Russian financial institutions connected to them. ... Prior to the WTC attacks, credible sources, including the U.S. government, the IMF, Le Monde and the U.S. Senate placed the amount of drug cash flowing into Wall Street and U.S. banks at around $250-$300 billion a year. In that context, the real history of Osama bin Laden, as America's useful terrorist-du-jour reveals a long and continuous history, interwoven with the drug trade and the Bush family, of supporting conflicts that have benefited U.S. military and economic interests.""THE TALIBANS DESTRUCTION OF THAT (OPIUM) CROP WAS APPARENTLY THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ACT OF ECONOMIC WARFARE AGAINST US ECONOMIC INTERESTS THAT THE TALIBAN HAD EVER COMMITTED". 

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Comment #4 posted by Overwhelmsam on September 11, 2004 at 05:55:24 PT

-Professional Liars-
The Bush administration is obviously conspiring to perpetuate a fraud on the American people, but I blame the people - blind loyalty is a mental disorder.
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Comment #3 posted by mayan on September 11, 2004 at 05:34:00 PT

oops
I mean, Onterrio.
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Comment #2 posted by mayan on September 11, 2004 at 05:31:04 PT

Go Ontario!!!
Smith Will Play after all for VikingsSmith looks to make impact before suspensionEDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) - Running back Onterrio Smith is back in the Minnesota Vikings' plans for Sunday's regular season opener against Dallas and probably longer. Smith's four-game suspension for testing positive for marijuana is on hold as the NFL waits to set a hearing date for Smith's appeal. Due to scheduling issues, that hearing may not occur until the end of the month. The timing couldn't be better for Minnesota. Smith is Minnesota's top backup to Michael Bennett, who'll be sidelined for at least one game with a sprained knee and probably won't return to the starting lineup until October Tenth. Moe Williams will start in Bennett's place Sunday, but the coaching staff expects Smith to play a prominent role.http://www.ksfy.com/Stories/Story.cfm?SID=1132Let's hope Ontario has a good game! I always root for the stoners and I can't stand Dallas anyway! 
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Comment #1 posted by mayan on September 11, 2004 at 05:22:49 PT

Margin of Error?
What is the margin of error in this survey? I would bet it is pretty high. With the big brother fascists in control and this current climate of fear and oppression many kids might be afraid to admit any drug use. Sorry if these have already been posted...Marijuana ruling appealed:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Sep-11-Sat-2004/news/24744863.htmlMedical marijuana hearing postponed:
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/10702657p-11621174c.htmlWHEN CANNABIS IS GOOD FOR YOU: 
http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=133464&command=displayContent&sourceNode=133158&contentPK=10933750
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